Year in Review: Caribou County News

Bright and early on Monday January 13, 2025, a number of Caribou County officials were sworn in in the second-floor courtroom of District Judge Cody Brower.  Newly elected County Coroner Casey Batterton was not available during the morning session, but was sworn in later in the afternoon.

In the presence of family and co-workers, Judge Brower administered the oath of office to Chairman of the Caribou County Board of Commissioners Mark Mathews, County Commissioner Marty McCullough, Caribou County Sheriff J. Adam Mabey, and County Attorney S. Doug Wood.

The newly sworn in officials are not new to the positions, having won re-election in November.  The primary challenges to successful candidates came in the form of primary opponents earlier in the spring, leaving continuity from the last governmental session relatively seamless.

The Board of County Commissioners meets every second and fourth Monday throughout the year at 9:00 a.m. at the Caribou County Courthouse.  Members of the public are always invited to attend the meetings and find out what is happening in their county.  As a newspaper, we try to make the proceedings of those meetings available to the public the same week they occur by way of the County Commission report, but the sessions really do deal with a large agenda of items, and being in attendance is by far the best way to keep a line on issues going on throughout the county.

Alexander Reservoir at center of Water Use Discussion

During a special meeting of the board of county commissioners last January, Commissioners Mark Mathews, Marty McCullough, and Bryce Somsen were joined by Emergency Services Director Eric Hobson, Road and Bridge Supervisor Kevin McLain, Planning and Zoning Administrator Helen Barker, and Building Supervisor Rowdy Larkins for a site tour of the Oregon Trail picnic spot and boat launch on Alexander reservoir.  JUB Engineer met with the group to discuss creating a master plan for the county’s planned campground/RV site on the location.

The campground plan came about as the result of the grant which will be used for that purpose, though there are other compelling reasons for the move.  For one thing, it was noted by both the commissioners as well as the engineer that having people in the area on a more consistent basis would prevent some of the vandalism that occurs with the floating docks and restroom facilities on site.  

A wrinkle to the plan emerged as a result of Rocky Mountain Power determining that it was the entity with authority to set boating policy for the reservoir, as a result of its not being classified as a “navigable waterway” under state code.  The legal and historical situation was raised with the county commissioners several weeks ago, when RMP announced their plans to look into boat regulation.

Obviously, changes to how the reservoir is allowed to operate, and what kind of watercraft will be permitted on it may have a big impact on the planning of the camp and RV facility.  The commissioners are in discussions in an ongoing way on the matter, and County Attorney Doug Wood is examining the relevant state codes governing the waterway. 

There was a flurry of reactions after Rocky Mountain Power initially announced new boating restrictions on Alexander Reservoir.  The initial announcement was received by many as indicating that boating would be restricted on the reservoir entirely.  Members of Rocky Mountain Power met with the public at the second bridge launch site to take questions and address some of the concerns that had been raised, as well as attempt to provide some clarity.  Despite the efforts, there was a certain amount of resistance to the idea of watercraft restrictions on the part of many members of the public, and some of the public officials on hand.  

At heart was the issue of bank erosion throughout the reservoir, and the “wake enhanced craft” that RMP believes to be a major contributor to that erosion.  

There is erosion on the banks—that much seemed to have been a point of universal agreement.  However, the cause and extent of the erosion, as well as the best methods for remediating it, became a back and forth discussion that revolved around questions of how data about the erosion had been gathered and how it should be interpreted.

During the course of the meeting, spokesperson Mark Stenburg noted that the initial announcement had been revised, and that the nature and scope of restrictions was still to be fully determined.  He also noted that until signs were posted the policy was not officially set.  The final form of the restrictions will be arrived at in part as a result of a committee that RMP plans to assemble to gather input and information on the reservoir’s usage, the needs and interests of the community, and protection of the natural resources involved.  According to officials on site for the tour, the committee will be composed of community members, policymakers, company officials, and other stakeholders.  

Rep. Andrus takes USDA position; Veile appointed

District 35A Representative Kevin Andrus (Lava Hot Springs) announced that he has been appointed to a position within the Trump Administration’s USDA.

Andrus has been appointed as State Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency in Idaho. He previously served in the Idaho House of Representatives, where he chaired the House Agriculture Committee. Kevin has hands-on experience in agricultural production, including raising cattle and horses, and has also worked as a loan officer for Ireland Bank.

Andrus had previously planned to run for his seat again in 2026.  The vacancy was filled by appointment through the party until a special election can be called, according to sources familiar with the process.  After a meeting of committeemen from District 35 in which they selected a slate of three names to be submitted to the governor, Governor Brad Little announced his appointment of Michael Veile to the District 35 House Seat A vacated by Kevin Andrus.

Veile is the owner of Process Improvement Engineering, an engineering, procurement, and construction management company based in Soda Springs. He worked for Monsanto from 1998 to 2025. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Utah State University and is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Idaho. Veile was a school board trustee for the Soda Springs School District, past president of the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and a past board member of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry and Idaho Business for Education. Veile and his wife, Shelly, have been married for more than 30 years and have four children.

Veile will complete the remainder of Andrus’ term, which ends Nov. 30, 2026. The Trump administration appointed Andrus to serve as the state executive director for the Farm Service Agency at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in June of 2025.

Election sees a changed landscape

November’s election brought significant changes to the political ground in Caribou County, with all three major cities seeing changes at the mayoral level, and the others seeing some changes in the council makeup.

According to County Clerk Jill Stoor, the number of voters participating in the election was a bit higher than average for off-year elections.  Whether this is due to the sheer number of contested elections or enthusiasm for the candidates, the result is the same—more citizen voices were heard in the weighty decision-making process that elects our governments.  Another inescapable reality of this election specifically is the importance of any one individual vote.  While it is often said that “one vote really can make a difference,” some of these results make a powerful demonstration of that case.  There have not been any suggestions from any of the locations about potential recounts, but there certainly were some very close races.

The closest race was that for Bancroft City Council seats.  The race is interesting for its razor-thin closeness, but also for the fact that all of the candidates participating were write-in candidates.  It’s not unprecedented, but it certainly is uncommon.  The race for two positions between Mike Ackerman, Raquel Reed, and Jessica Thurman was separated by a total of 5 votes.  Thurman received 45, Ackerman received 43, and Reed received 40, which means the total spread was 12.5% of the total votes.  It does go to illustrate how important votes can be in deciding races.

In the mayoral race for Bancroft, the spread was larger, but still a quite close result, all things considered.  Joe Perry was elected to the position with 75 votes to Eric Christensen’s 58.  The Cemetery levy and North Gem supplemental levies also comfortably passed.  In the North Gem Trustee race, Philip Knox received 45 votes to Brandi Wakley’s 18.

In Grace, Mayor Jackie Barthlome received 86 votes to challenger Dave Pristupa’s 142.  Barthlome finishes a tenure which saw a lot of changes in Grace, and we hope to sit down with her, as well as mayors Austin Robinson in Soda Springs and LuCus Spencer in Bancroft for an exit interview when they have the time.  Grace and Thatcher’s cemetery override levies also passed.

In Soda Springs, Paul Gritton was elected mayor, earning 343 votes to Brock Byram’s 237 and Robert Lau’s 142.  In the City Council race, the top two were Ryan Carpenter, with 612, Paige Byram with 439, and Rod Worthington with 337.  Gritton’s seat will need to be filled by appointment, which will involve the approval of the council and will take place next year when Gritton becomes mayor.

Event Center holds ribbon cutting, open house

The new-as-it-can-get Caribou County Event Center at the County Fairgrounds in Grace held its ribbon cutting in December, giving the public a chance to tour the facility and see what the community space is like.  

The Event Center is designed as a community resource, which will now 

At long last, the Event Center was officially opened last month.

 permanently house the county’s Ag Extension Office, Fair board, and County emergency vehicle bays.  It also boasts a large event space, with the capacity to hold hundreds of visitors. 

The night was kicked off with Serendipity, the Grace High School Choir group, who honored the attendees with a fantastic rendition of the National Anthem.  A video of the performance can be found on our Facebook page, by searching “Idaho Enterprise Caribou County.”

Following the performance, Board of County Commissioners Chair Mark Mathews and County Commissioner Bryce Somsen cut the ribbon at the entrance, officially opening the building.  The two gave some brief remarks.

Afterward, the commissioners took their places on the server side of the line and dished out food to the guests, along with members of the clerk’s office.  It was an early chance to use the kitchen, which is situated between the event area and the smaller conference room area of the building.

“It will allow us to hold programs and activities that would have been impossible without it,” Extension Educator Justin Hatch said.  “It’ll completely change everything we do, I think.  Give us a lot more opportunities.  Provide more opportunities to kids and the community that just weren’t possible before.”