Looking Back at pages from the past
These are summaries of news stories from editions of the Caribou County Sun during the third week in April. Due to uncertainty about the rights and permissions for the original photographs accompanying the paper, we have opted not to reproduce them, though we are working at resolving that issue.
5 Years ago, 2019
Suspect in the Ireland Bank robbery on March 25 Kevin Martinez of Salt Lake City waived his preliminary hearing on Friday, April 19 before Judge David Kress. Martinez is charged with one felony count of robbery. He was arrested in Utah after an investigation by Soda Springs Police and arraigned in Caribou County on April 10. Originally, Martinez was assigned public defender Don Marler, but will now be represented by a private attorney, Criss James. Jackson was also determined to have been involved in a similar bank robbery in Jackson, Wyoming, where charged against him were pending. He was also being investigated for a robbery in Utah.
The Grace American Legion Auxiliary is sponsoring two Grace High School junior students to attend Girls State in Nampa in June. The girls are Breanna Hill and Brinklee Holyoak. Breanna is the daughter of Matt and Suzanne Hill, and she enjoys basketball, riding her horse, singing, and spending time with her family. She taught herself to yodel at the age of 11. She plans to attend college to become a veterinary technician in large animal science. Brinklee is the daughter of James and Andrea Holyoak. She enjoys reading, singing, dancing, playing the trumpet, and laughing with friends and family. She plans to serve a mission and then major in English.
Christine Hauger, who works at the Soda Springs Post Office as a mail carrier, returned home after taking second place in her category at the USA Triathlon National Championship Speing Decathlon in Greenville, South Carolina. Despite an injury that had sidelined her for six weeks in the lead up to the race, she only missed first place by 13 seconds. But placing second qualified her for the World Duathlon Championship 2020 in the Netherlands.
Second graders at Thirkill Elementary School had a chance to milk Dolly, the cow, and make butter as part of learning about dairies. The teaching device was provided by the Idaho Farm Bureau and Dairy West, with Cheryl Harris as the facilitator.
The awarding of $235,000 in grants from the Upper Blackfoot Confluence was announced for four river restoration projects in the headwaters of the Blackfoot River. The UBC is a partnership between Simplot, Bayer, and Nutrien, Trout Unlimited and the Idaho Conservation League. The projects announced included a major river restoration at the Blackfoot River Wildlife Management area, where IDFG would help to create a natural stream channel for Diamond Creek, and construction of streambank stabilization and structures that will enhance fish habitat on a two-mile reach of the Blackfoot River. A bridge over Diamond Creek would also be replaced with the partnership of Caribou County and the US Forest Service.
Grand Marshals for the 2019 Independence Day Parade were announced. They included Merrill Hulse, Norma Bennet, and Eva Sorensen. The Rotary Club was still seeking the names of anyone in the county who was more than 100 years old, or would turn 100 during 2019 for Special Grand Marshals. Anyone who had lived in the county for 10 years but had to leave for medical reasons was considered eligible and encouraged to contact the committee for a spot in the parade.
10 Years ago, 2014
The Grand Ole Opry presented by Humana showcases talented students through their Music City Performance Program. Soda Springs High School was welcomed by the Grnd Ole Opry and its patrons prior to an April performance in Nashville. The program gives students an amazing performance experience at one of the nation’s iconic music establishments. SSHS was invited to perform for 20 minutes prior to attending the world’s longest running radio show.
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and it was reported by the Idaho State Police that 80 percent of Distracted Idaho Fatalities occurred in rural areas. Distracted driving contributed to nearly one third of fatal or serious injury crashes. 52 percent of those crashes involved single vehicles. Eating, drinking, talking, reading maps, and watching videos were all cited as common causes of distracted driving, with texting having been recently noted as an increasingly serious issue in fatal accidents.
SSPD responded to Stockman’s Bar and Grill which was the site of a reported theft. Police explained that several dollar bills donated to memorialize Jeff Maddocks and Daman Stoddard had been removed for a wall and picture frame where they had been posted. Sentiments about the men had been written on the back in black marker. Two individuals were arrested in connection with the thefts, and police were on the lookout for the remaining bills, some of which had been spent in local establishments by the suspected thieves, Frankos and Utley.
The Chesterfield LDS Ward announced that it was planning a celebration in commemoration of its 130 year anniversary in July. LeAnn Fransden of Bancroft asked for histories and stories from people from the area. Activities including games, entertainment, photo displays, and other historical items. A potluck dinner and program were planned to close the evening.
Beth Newingham of the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources has been working with a team of researchers from several universities to understand the effected of elevated carbon dioxide on the Mojave Desert. The study found that desert plants captured more carbon from the atmosphere than scientists had predicted, and could potentially be a valuable tool in attempt to fight against increased levels of carbon in the
environment.
20 Years ago, 2004
Chief of Police Joe Rice reported that a burglary had been stopped in progress by the son-in-law of one of the residents at the Vista Apartments. The man had apprehended the suspect and was holding him for the police. The police reported that that the apartments had recently been the site of several burglaries, including of pharmaceuticals. Police believe that the suspect was gaining entry to the apartments in order to steal pain pills from senior residents, and then selling them. Police noted an increase in the illegal trade in pain pills, which have become a commonly sold street drug.
North Gem High School band and choir hosted a family magic show as part of a fund-raiser for their upcoming trip to Hawaii. The Mad World of Magic, which is produced by Mark and MarLyn Evans from Utah have presented magic and illusion shows fulltime for over 35 years. The two were in the fist class of inductees into the Intermountain Magician’s Hall of Fame, and were featured on the cover of the Society of American Magicians monthly magazine. The show was scheduled to run an hour and a half, and include a sawing in half.
Mayor Kirk Hansen announced that the city of Soda Springs planned to celebrate Arbor Day for its fourth consecutive year. Dave Campbell, chair of the City Tree Committee and other members of members have planned a celebratory program at the city park for 1 p.m. The city will receive certification as a Tree City USA for 2003, the third year in a row. The city received a grant from the Idaho Department of Lands to purchase two trees, which will be planted in selected locations at the park. The trees are part of the long term plan to ensure continued tree growth within the city.
A letter to the editor from Bill Corbett of Pocatello expressed concern that the geyser was losing height in its eruptions, and that the city should take steps to conserve the water supplies by limiting the number of times the geyser was let off, especially during overnight hours. He also suggested changing the schedule to once every two hours in order to increase tourist stays, and reducing the amount of time the eruptions lasted.
Soda Springs High School hosted a large track meet at Archer stadium in which the team placed second out of thirteen schools. The weather was reported to be wildly variable during the event, from extreme cold to sunshine, rain, and constant wind. In boys team scoring, the teams posted an order of Preston (1st), Soda Springs (2nd), Shelley, Malad, Bear Lake, West Side, Rockland, Marsh Valley, Aberdeen and American Falls, North Gem, Grace, and Sho-Ban. In girls team results, it was Shelley (1st), Soda Springs (2nd), Preston, Bear Lake, West Side, American Falls, Malad, North Gem, Marsh Valley, Grace, Rockland, Aberdeen and Sho-Ban. First place winners included Jake Gummersall, Taylor Barker, Marc Price, Colton Erickson, Keane Shuler, Derek Maughan, Lyndsi Godfrey, Maurie Christensen, Christie Bagley, and Amanda Martinson.
Chad Reiser, of the Grace Chapter of Business Professionals of America, was elected as the state BPA secretary for the 2004-2005 school year. The process was quite challenging, and Chad worked very hard to earn the position. The process involved a resume and screening, followed by an interview. To attain the position, Reiser than had to give extemporaneous public speeches in support of his candidacy and then receive a majority of votes from members of the BPA assembled at the convention.
Work was announced to be nearly completed on the Last Chance flume over the Bear River. The bridge was installed by Jamie Newsom and Jim Williams of Bailey Bridge from Alabama. The bridge was fully built in Alabama, disassembled and galvanized, and then shipped to Grace where it was reassembled by a crew of eight. The bridge is 255 feet long and weighs 140,000 pounds. Most of the work on it has been done by Caribou County residents. The 100 year old flume had collapsed in 2003, precipitating the need to replace the flume.
30 Years ago, 1994
The Soda Springs School District announced that it would be receiving $178,000 less than had been expected for the year, primarily as a result of lower enrollments. Superintendent Lawrence Rigby invited board members to attend a session in Pocatello where the formula for school funding would be discussed.
A home fire caused extensive damage to a house in the Cedar View Subdivision, requiring the combined efforts of the Caribou County and Soda Springs Fire Departments to contain it. The fire, at the Warren Carlson home, was apparently caused by lint in a dryer vent. County Fire Prevention Chief Daren Schwartz reminded citizens to make sure to check their dryer vents yearly for lint build up in order to avoid such situations. He also reminded people that controlled burns needed to be carefully monitored and attended, as the BLM had already reported a number of structures lost due to grass fires spreading out of control.
Two Republican candidates for the state senate in District 32 were announced to be the guest speakers at the Soda Springs Chamber of Commerce no-host luncheon. Dennis Hansen of Soda Springs and Dale Wistisen of Bancroft would be speaking and answering questions at Enders to anyone in the public, in addition to members of the chamber.
Dr. Ken and Tammy Bunnell and their daughter Vanessa spent the week of March 25 through April 2 at Club Med, Sonora Bay, Old Mexico. The Bunnells reported having engaged in deep seas fishing, touring San Carlos and Guaymas, and reading and relaxing. Vanessa participated in the Club Med Olympics competition.
Sponsor sheets are available at Soda Springs schools, Soda Springs library, Grace Library, and Bancroft school for the “Bike Ride Plus/”. The “plus” means that participants can ride, walk, skate, rollerblade, or complete the route however they would like. The event is sponsored by the Soda Springs Lions Club and the American Diabetes Association. EMTs and drivers will be on hand to check bikes
for safety.
40 Years ago, 1984
Confusion about cost caused the Soda Springs City Council to call a special meeting last Wednesday to hear comments by Steve Seamons, a computer specialist from one of the area phosphate plants, regarding the city’s decision to purchase a Hewlett-Packard computer and software system provided by the City of Logan, Utah. Seamons, who had been on the city’s committee to review computer proposals, had inadvertently not been given the latest cost of the new computer that was received only hours before the council’s decision a week earlier. Both cities were weighing the costs of converting between either IBM or Hewlett-Packard operating software and ongoing maintenance fees “in the thousands”.
Lourene Walters, Charlotte Thomas, Verna Kidd, and June Astel drove to Seattle for Tupperware manager training sessions. Following the sessions they toured the Seattle area, including the Puget Sound, the floating bridge, the Space Needle, China Town, and the Underground City. In Boise, they visited the new LDS Temple, which will be opened for public tours
next month.
“Love Make the World Go Round” written by Ruby Conlin, is the title of the Hooper School musical this year. The songs include “What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love” and “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.” First and second grade students will see the program at 1, and then are requested not to attend the evening performances as seating is limited. The audience was asked to leave small children under 2 at home, due to the acoustics in the high school gym making it difficult to hear.
50 Years ago, 1974
Nine contestants are vying for the title of Miss Caribou, in the annual pageant sponsored by the Lions Club of Caribou County. The contestants for 1974 will be Ann Corbridge, Cindy Gilbert, Christine Lynn Langdon, Bobbie Ann Mason, Tania Renae Matthews, Tina Marie Robbins, Pamela Ann Steffensen, Pat Weber, and
Gay Woods.
The Soda Pops Expo ’74 Show will include talent as well as swing choir songs. Proceeds from ticket sales will go toward expenses for the trip to Expo ’74, where the group will be participating in a jazz festival.
