Looking Back at Pages from the Past
The following stories are summarized from past issues of the Caribou County Sun over the last fifty plus years. The Enterprise thanks Mark Steele for permission to use the contents, and the Grace Public Library for access to the archives.
The Memorial in the Grace Cemetery is the site of a Memorial Day visit of honor in 2025.
2021
The eight miles of the Blackfoot River meandering through Idaho Fish and Game’s Blackfoot Wildlife Management Area in Southeast Idaho doesn’t look the same today as it did a year ago…and that is a very good thing for native Yellowstone cutthroat trout and other wildlife.
Tall cut banks of eroding soil have been replaced with low profile slopes covered with newly planted willows and native vegetation.
Segment of the river once characterized by slow moving shallow water are now alive with new riffles and deep pools of cool water. Fish have already discovered the cover created for them by submerged conifer logs harvested from a nearby forest – a selective logging effort that has benefitted both upland wildlife and a declining aspen stand. The outline of a historic oxbow seen only on maps will soon hold water for frogs, ducks and moose.
And this is just the beginning. Future project phases will continue the restoration of the upper Blackfoot River and surrounding upland habitats, making a difference to a diversity of wildlife species and reviving one of Idaho’s remarkable fishing opportunities for native Yellowstone cutthroat trout.
This long-term restoration effort led by Idaho Fish and Game is only passible because of the partnerships formed among anglers, hunters, conservation groups, resource managers, landowners, industries, and other partners.
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MedStar Health shares the following information to debunk common misconceptions around skin cancer and melanoma.
Myth: Skin cancer only affects fair skin. This is the most dangerous myth out there. Skin cancer affects people of all races and skin tones, so it is important for everyone to get their skin and moles checked regularly.
Myth: Keep an eye on moles and get them checked at your annual physical. Melanoma can be life threatening in
as little as six weeks. If left untreated, it can spread to other parts of the body. Sadly, many people wait too long to receive treatment – and the outcome can be deadly.
Myth: Check moles on skin exposed to sun. Skin cancer can be found on the soles of the feet, the toenail and fingernail beds. As mentioned above, if left undetected these can be life threatening.
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Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, a Republican representative from Lewiston, resigned last week after a House Ethics Committee recommended he be suspended after their hearing on allegations he sexually assaulted a 19-year old staffer. He claimed the act was consensual, and it is being investigated by law enforcement officials.
“First, let me thank Jane Doe for her incredible courage and determination in testifying in front of the Ethics and House Policy Committee yesterday,” said Speaker of the House Scott Bedke. “Every member of the House of Representatives is not only expected but required to perform their duties with the highest levels of integrity and dignity. Former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger was found by the Ethics Committee to fall far short of that requirement.
After a transparent and fair hearing, the committee accurately determined that von Ehlinger engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of this House. His behavior is something we will not tolerate and casts a shadow over the good work done in the Idaho Statehouse. It is our privilege to serve and practicing strong ethics is central to serving in these hallowed halls,” Bedke said.
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Pauline Bassett, Caribou Soil Conservation District:
“Before you woke up this morning, a group of environmentalists were already awake, hard at work improving Idaho’s natural resources. When they come home tonight, their boots will be covered in dirt, their hands muddy from fixing irrigation lines, and their brains racked from trying to think of a way to grow more crops using less water.
For Idaho farmers and ranchers, tending to the earth is not a weekend hobby or a once a year celebration. It’s a tradition, a way of life, and for many, a calling that spans generations. On Earth Day, let’s thank them for the stewardship of our resources.
We all know that Idaho is No. 1 in high quality potato production. What may be surprising to some is that we rank in the top five nationally in production. Of peas, barley, sugar beets, mint, hops, alfalfa hay, lentils, prunes and plums, onions, springs wheat, beans, and sweet cherries. We also rank in the top three in production of trout, cheese, and milk. Idaho farmers grow seed, nursery and greenhouse products used by producers and gardeners throughout the world.
A farmer’s land is his home, and even before Earth Day was conceived of, our farmers and ranchers not only “talked the talk,” they also “walked the walk” when it came to conservation. They have a personal interest in constantly seeking and adopting management practices to reduce soil erosion, improve water quantity and quality, reduce air pollutants, and improve habitat and related wildlife populations.
So, today, let’s join our famers and ranchers in protecting theses resources for future children and grandchildren, not just on Earth Day, but 365 days of the year. And let’s join with those who farm and ranch and give thanks for the county of food, fiber, flowers, and fuel that our planet’s resources provide. Like us, America’s farmers and ranchers depend on the earth’s productivity to feed their own families and to help feed the entire world.
They appreciate and respect the fragile nature of our natural resources and know it is important to safeguard the environment today, tomorrow, and always. So let’s salute the American farmer and rancher.
1991
Ten students completed the certified nursing assistant course recently held at Caribou Memorial Hospital. A ceremony to honor these students was held on Saturday. Nancy Hydzik, RN, instructor for the course, gave a short talk congratulating students for their achievement, and thanking them for their hard work. She also mentioned that this was the first time that students from Bear Lake Memorial Hospital had joined the students from CMH, and that this made the class more interesting.
“If the students, both from Soda Springs and Montpelier, represent the quality of caregivers at both nursing homes, then both facilities should be proud of their staff. These are very hard-working and caring people who will do well in their jobs.”
Joyce Newlun, RN, director of nursing for CMH Nursing Home, encouraged the students to continue in nursing, perhaps even continue their education.
Connie Hulme, RN, director of nursing at Bear Lake Memorial Nursing Home, thanked the nurses at CMH, especially Joyce Newlun and Brenda Bergholm, RN, director of cursing at CMH, for cooperation with this program and other times in the past. She said that both facilities profit from exchanges of information and hopes that such cooperation continues.
These students have completed over 100 hours of classroom and clinical instruction and will take a state qualifying exam in June. Congratulations to Kathy Adams, Cory Doman, Karel Love, Nora Ramsey, and Angela Ward, from Bear Lake Memorial Nursing Home, and to Katrina Gorden, Florinda McLain, Lynda Rindlisbacher, Carolyn Rogers, and Penny Smedley from Caribou Memorial Nursing Home.
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The family of Della Allsop Whitehead invites all relatives and friends to celebrate her 90th birthday at an open house at the Williams Ward Church, six miles south of Grace.
Della was born on May 11, 1901, to Reuben and Annie Olsen Allsop in Murray, Utah. They moved soon afterward to Grace. Two sisters were born in Grace, Pearl Allsop DeNike, now of Redondo Beach, California, and Faye Allsop Milligan, Creston, Iowa.
Her mother died in the flu epidemic of 1918,and Della took Faye and raised her when she married Francis Blain Whitehead on Aug 19, 1919.
Lain and Della had three children of their own, Arla (deceased), Mrs. Woodrow (Nin) Taylor, Centerville, UT, and Norval R. Whitehead of Grace; six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Mr. Whitehead passed away May 24, 1979. Mrs. Whitehead has lived at Heritage Place in Bountiful, UT, for the past two winters.
Friends are invited to enjoy her 90th year with her, but no gifts are necessary.
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Soda Springs recently hosted the Annual Gutter Gussie Invitational Tournament. The daily “Spare Bingo” drawing winners were Fran Comish of Soda, who won the bowling ball, and Denise Thomas of Grace, who won the bowling shoes, both donated by Tosoiba Lanes.
The tournament had three teams from Malad, seven teams from Montpelier, three teams from Preston, and 11 Soda Springs teams. Winners were:
1st – Sleepy Heads of Soda Springs, Nicky Parker, Debbie Hamp, Sharon Christiansen, and Sherrie Smith.
2nd – another Soda Springs team, consisting of Sharon Short, Denise Thomas, Vicky Filey, and Carla Hale.
Double winners were Sheila Clearly and JoAnn Hymas of Montpelier, Sharon Christiansen and Sherrie Smith of Soda Springs and Bancroft, Sally Boehme and Carla Hansen of Montpelier, Earlene Crawford and Vicki Hopkins, Soda Springs, and Sandy Lyon and Irene Sorensen of Montpelier.
Singles winners were Judy Pabst, Soda Springs, BernaDee Reid, Preston, Dorothy Bunn, Soda Springs, Denise Thomas, Grace, Cindy Neiffenegger, Malad, Carla Hale, Soda, Sharon Hopkins, Soda, Maureen Stokes, Malad, Nanette Shaw, Malad, Kena Ann Moore, Soda.
All events handicap winners were Judy Pabst, Shirley Skinner, JoAnn Hymas, Kena Ann Moore, and Denise Thomas.
Two hundred games were bowled by Nanette Shaw, Sheila Clark, Cindy Nieffenegger, Linda Hess, Peggy Smith, Sally Boehme, JoAnn Hymas, Lydia Carney, Cloria Wixom, Barabara Hayes, Jody Wood, and Sandy Lyon, Bonnie Schvaneveldt, BernaDee Reid, Lynda Beckstead, Saundra Hubbard, Tammy Greenlee, Vada Vroman, Helen Aipperspack, Vicki Hopkins, Judy Pabst, Kim Wilcox, Lanett Ayers, Kathee Clark, Verlene Humphreys, Carla Hale, Dorothy Bunn, Vicky Filey, Shirley Skinner, Debbie Hamp, Zella Corder, Sharon Hopkins, Virginia Ruger, Denise Thomas, and Sherrie Smith.
The tournament was dedicated to Nina Stuart, who was instrumental in starting the event in 1981. Nina was presented with a “Gutter Gussie” jacket.
The traveling trophy stays with the association of the first place team (Soda Springs) until the next tournament.
The Gutter Gussies is an Idaho organization of women bowlers, and to qualify for membership they must bowl a 225 game or a 550 series.
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A yearly science project of eggs hatching in an incubator at Thatcher Elementary has recently been completed.
The sixth grade class of Greg Lowe’s had the chicken eggs and incubator donated to them by David Anderson. The students had them in the classroom and were responsible for seeing that the temperature stayed warm enough for them to hatch.
The chicks were unaware that the time they chose for hatching coincided with the class taking their national tests. The hatching noises were very loud and noisy, according to Lowe.
“The experience was good for the kids and they enjoyed seeing it,” he said.
The chicks now reside at the Lowe home and there are currently pheasant eggs in the incubator.
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The Grace High School Civic Club purchased a Marshall White Ash tree that was planted by the World Problems Class next to the junior high school.
The class members that were involved in the project were Jeremy Thomas, Micah Coombs, Kent Barker, Angie Elgan, Erin Mecham, Deanna Keller, Maria Mussler, C.J. Koyle, Todd Williams, Wyatt Fowler, Andy May, Roy Hubler, Jenny Williams, Tanya Young, Robyn Barthlome, Kelly Gneiting, Stephanie Swanson, Matisha Hansen, and Kimberly Hembler.
Kareen Olsen is the advisor for the club and class.
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Doris Irving, Caribou County treasurer for 28 years, will be retiring as of July 1.
Mrs. Irving notified the county commissioners of her intent in a letter last week. In addition to serving as the county treasurer for 28 years, she was also deputy assessor for six years.
“These have been enjoyable years, along with heard work and frustrations at times. The good working relationship and cooperation with other elected officials and deputies in the courthouse, county commissioners, and other have made pleasant working conditions,” she told commissioners in her letter.
“I’ve appreciated the support and friendship of the voters who have given me their vote of confidence at each election. I feel now is the time to step aside and do some of the personal things that I have been wanting to do,” she said.
