Volume 4 4 | Number 2 | 3 Sections | 36 Pages 50¢ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018 S U N
V A L L E Y
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K E T C H U M
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H A I L E Y
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B E L L E V U E
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C A R E Y
IDAHO MOUNTAIN
Ketchum eyes new LOT for housing
Guests Wowed A t Argyros New arts center opens doors
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Arts, Page 4
Hailey town square site hits a hurdle
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Voter turnout here highest in Idaho Page 4
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Ketchum hires Sun Valley fire chief In temporary role, Robrahn will split time between cities By PETER JENSEN Express Staff Writer
Express photo by Willy Cook
Joe Hilber, left, Tre Black, Lukas Taylor and JoAnn Levy celebrate catching the season’s first chair up Bald Mountain on Thursday, Nov. 22. “It’s something I’ve tried to get for a long time,” said Black, who lined up four hours early just to make sure.
Sun Valley rings in the season, 2,000 skiers strong Resort to reopen Warm Springs Lodge on Dec. 15 By MARK DEE
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Express Staff Writer
re Black set down his skis at 5 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, almost two hours before the sun rose on Sun Valley’s 83rd winter season. Black and his buddy formed the year’s first lift line at the River Run quad—four hours early—and, as a reward, got the first chair up Bald Mountain. “We were in it for the long haul,” said Black, who, in his zeal, parked at the base two hours before the third and fourth guests arrived to fill the inaugural foursome. “It was a cool experience—I felt like I got a little extra speed on everyone else.” Some 1,999 more skiers and riders followed Black’s lead last Thursday, as the resort opened both Baldy and Dollar Mountain for the season, according to Sun Valley Resort spokeswoman Kelli Lusk. In return, Sun Valley gave them the white Thanksgiving weekend they were dreaming of, painting a top-to-bottom path of manmade snow down Bald Mountain. Mother Nature held up her end on Friday and Saturday, dropping some 8
inches of fresh snow atop the base crews In the meantime, the River Run side of had been cranking out for nearly a month. the mountain remains open. As of Tues The machine-made stuff was enough day morning, three lifts—River Run, to start the River Run lifts spinning on Lookout Express and Christmas—as well Thanksgiving itself. River Run, Lookout as the Kinderspielplatz—were open, servExpress and the Roundhouse Gondola ing 11 runs, including cat tracks and the kicked off the year, opening up a lap of bunny hill. Depending on the weather, the resort almost 3,300 vertical feet. “It was busy,” Black said. “But you do aims to open the Challenger and Greyit because you want to get back on your hawk lifts on the Warm Springs side of the mountain on Dec. 14, Lusk said. skis, not because of what’s open The plan, Lusk said, is to up there.” have skiing on the north side of For beginners, the resort Baldy when the Warm Springs opened the Kinderspielplatz Lodge reopens its doors on Satat the base of Baldy, as well as urday, Dec. 15—less than eight Quarter Dollar and The Accelermonths after it was gutted by an ator magic carpet on Dollar. overnight fire. “Things went very well for Tre Black That will be a busy day for us,” Lusk said. “The fact that we Skier Sun Valley. In addition to unveilhad Baldy, Dollar and the goning the lodge, it will also host its annual dola open, that was a fantastic start.” Dollar shut down after Sunday to con- tree lighting up the road at the resort, and tinue to prep the hill for the season; Lusk debut the remodeled Sun Valley Inn with said the resort plans to open it back up a public reception. on Dec. 8. The gondola is also closed this As for the skiing? Check Sun Valley’s week, with a scheduled reopening to coin- online mountain report for the latest concide with the Roundhouse restaurant on ditions, and pray for snow. Dec. 7. (Mountain staff may choose to “We can aim to open certain things reopen the gondola sooner, if conditions on certain dates, but it all depends on the weather,” Lusk said. “So far, so good.” cooperate, Lusk said.)
“We were in it for the long haul.”
A potential consolidation of public safety services between Ketchum and Sun Valley moved another step closer during the Ketchum City Council meeting Monday night. The City Council voted unanimously to spend up to $150,000 on a contract with the city of Sun Valley for the part-time services of Fire Chief Taan Robrahn and Public Safety Director Walt Femling. They will replace interim Fire Chief Marcus Kragness, whose contract terminates at the end of November. The contract pays for half of Robrahn’s salary and benefits with Sun Valley, and he will work parttime overseeing the Neil Bradshaw fire department in Ketchum mayor Ketchum. The cost of the contract will be less than the anticipated $180,000 it would cost the city in salary, benefits and taxes to hire a full-time fire chief, according to a city staff report. The move doesn’t commit either city to consolidating fire and police services, but is another step in that direction. The Ketchum City Council also voted unanimously Monday to approve a $126,500 contract with Cole Architects to design a new joint police-fire station, although a site has not been identified. That will cover the first phase of design, and provide firmer details on how large the station will be, how much it would cost and where it would be located. The second phase would cost $919,745, according to the contract with Cole Architects. The second phase would entail developing construction documents and supporting the city during the procurement and construction phases of the station’s development. The City Council has not committed to funding the second phase. Mayor Neil Bradshaw said Monday that the city is no longer considering building a fire station on Warm Springs Road, just south of the Wood River Community YMCA. “We’ve tabled the discussion for the YMCA lot,” Bradshaw said. “That’s kind of off the table at this point. What we’re See FIRE, Page 10
“We’ve tabled the discussion for the YMCA lot. That’s kind of off the table at this point.”