Government And Politics
Rising gas prices playing havoc with government budgets
(07/06/08) Gas prices that have seen each station in town exceed prices of $4 for regular and $5 for diesel are having a significant impact on local government budgets. According to Mountain Home Mayor Tom Rist, the city's budget has been readjusted to reflect the high cost of fuel...
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(06/20/08) Tammy Law, 33, of Mountain Home, pleaded guilty June 16 in Boise's federal court to embezzlement of more than $400,000 from the Pioneer Federal Credit. Law had worked at the Mountain Home branch since 1995. In October 2001 she became manager of the collections department and authorities believe she started embezzling funds in mid-2002 until she was caught in March. Anita Twitchell, president and CEO of Pioneer Credit Union, said managers discovered the embezzling internally during the course of normal business on March 26. Bank officials notified the Mountain Home Police Department which worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate further. Mountain Home Police Chief John Walters said the FBI was initially involved because both state and federal government has jurisdiction over the crime. Walters said the department originally thought the amount embezzled was far less than $400,000 but once the high dollar amount was determined, letting the federal government proceed with the case became an easy decision. Law waived her right to a grand jury indictment and agreed on June 6 to plead guilty to a felony charge of embezzlement. She appeared voluntarily in court Monday to formally enter her guilty plea. She was never arrested. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Breitsameter, who prosecuted the case in federal court, said Law never offered an excuse for embezzling the funds. Her attorney, Boise attorney D.C. Carr, declined to comment on her motives for the crime or how the funds were used. Twitchell said Law used many different methods and mixed up the way she embezzled money, which enabled her to prolong the time she avoided getting caught. She was able to use her position as a manger and her length of employment at the credit union to facilitate her actions. The majority of the embezzled funds occurred in the last 18-24 months before she was caught. Only one credit union member's account was affected by the crime, where she took an undisclosed amount of money. Law had a non-business related connection with that member. However, Twitchell said the funds embezzled from that account were small in comparison to the credit union funds she misappropriated through the diversion of credit union operating monies and/or assets and the falsification of expense invoices. Those amounts were than channeled by Law, using several fraudulent means, to her for her own personal use. According to Law's plea agreement, she admitted, for example, that she caused credit union checks to be issued to Magic Valley Collections, which she then presented for payment. That was one of several methods she used to steal from the credit union. She used the proceeds from the checks for her own personal benefit. The credit union expects to be recover the loss funds from CUMIS, a credit union insurance company, and the loss of funds will not negatively affect any member's accounts. Twitchell said she is willing to talk or meet with any customers who have questions about their account regarding Law's guilty plea. Law's sentencing is set for Sept. 15 before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge in Boise. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and supervised release of five years following the term of incarceration.
Nuclear power info meetings underway
(06/11/08) Idaho Energy Complex, the company that seeks to build a nuclear power plant in Elmore County, held a public information meeting in Mountain Home Tuesday, June 10. Don Gillispie, Chairman and CEO of the company, made a brief presentation to the approximately 60 people in attendance before opening the floor for questions from Elmore County residents...
Pizza man assaulted Saturday
(05/14/08) A Domino's Pizza employee was assaulted while making a delivery at Day Meadows Apartments Saturday evening, sending him briefly to the hospital. According to the Mountain Home Police Department, at approximately 11 p.m. that night the Domino's Pizza employee was going up to the door of building 445 when he was approached in a threatening manner by four to six males. He turned to run away and was grabbed by one of them and fell to the ground...
Teen dating violence seminar tonight
(05/12/08) The Elmore County Domestic Violence Council (ECDVC) has scheduled a presentation about Teen Dating Violence on May 12, at 6 p.m., at the Mountain Home Police Department meeting room. Rod Gere, the managing attorney for Idaho Legal Aid Services in Boise, is hoping for a good turnout...
Craig receives commitment for Mountain Home AFB
(05/08/08) WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An Air Force representative assured Idaho Senator Larry Craig today that the construction of a new Logistics Readiness Center at Mountain Home Air Force Base will be in the Air Force budget for fiscal year 2010. The commitment came during a budget hearing by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, during which Craig called attention to the dire conditions of the Base's Logistics Readiness Center which was condemned in the late 1990s.. ...
School district looks for options after bond defeat
(05/07/08) The $37 million Mountain Home School District bond issue went down to defeat in heavy voting last Tuesday, a decision that will leave the district scambling to find solutions to the problems the bond might have solved. Only 1,465 voters cast ballots to approve the bond, with 952 of the 2,417 total ballots cast marked "no." Although the bond received a 60.6 percent approval rate it required 67 percent to pass...
Steven Cornford awarded Silver Star for actions in Iraq
(04/30/08) Army Specialist Steven Cornford, a former resident of Mountain Home until he joined the Army, was presented with the Silver Star two weeks ago at Fort Hood, Texas. The Silver Star is the third highest military decoration awarded to a member of the armed forces...
Doug King hopes to upset Rose for county commission post
(04/30/08)
King Hill resident Doug King has announced his candidacy for District 2 County Commissioner. King is running on the Republican ticket and will face incumbent Larry Rose in the May 27 Primary Election. This will be King's second attempt to unseat Rose who has served as county commissioner for District 2 since 1997... |