Stories from Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Amy Aggen wasn't about to let her friends lose. Digging in her heels, she gritted her teeth and gave the length of rope a hearty tug as her classmates gained some ground. Step by step, they moved slowly backward knowing they were just inches from victory...

In a cooperative effort between the BLM, fire department personnel from Caldwell and Boise, and the Idaho National Guard's 101st Civil Support Team, the BLM fire station in Hammett became the scene of a full-scale terrorism exercise on Friday, April 12...

President Obama and the Pentagon on urging Congress to approve a new round of base closures and realignments beginning at the end of next year. The $526.6 billion defense base budget request included in President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2014 budget proposal, which he submitted to Congress last week, calls for a round of base closures that would start in 2015, with the promise that consolidating the military's "excess capacity" in real estate would pay dividends over the long term...

Dear editor: I like to use the gravel pit off Bennett Road, which is BLM land, for target shooting. Lately, it has been the site of lots of dumping: truck tires, a sofa, 6 or more TV sets, etc. I contacted BLM and proposed a volunteer effort to clean up the area, which they approve of. A date has been set for Saturday, April 27, and I am hoping that there are other sportsmen who will volunteer to help in the clean up...

Dear editor: So, the story is that Saturday, one genius managed to place a loaded gun on display at the Fort Boise Gun Show. A second genius picked up the gun and fired it. The bullet hit some other guns and sent shrapnel flying. Two casualties to bystanders, including an eye injury, which could be quite serious...

Howard and Dolores Chitwood of Mountain Home celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary during an observance April 9. They met while Howard was stationed at Lake Worth Inlet Station, a U.S. Coast Guard lifeboat installation in Florida. He admits that they were destined to meet that day...

Robert Foss of Mountain Home has announced his engagement to Katherine Cotnoir of Mountain Home. Robert is the son of the late Conrad and Majella Foss of Mountain Home. Katherine is the daughter of Katherine and Kenneth Callei of Woonsocket, R.I., and the late Robert Giguere of Blackstone, Mass...

Robin Hicks and Cheryl Hicks of Mountain Home have announce the engagement of their daughter, Lauren Ann, to Kyle Penland, son of Roger and Linda Penland of Omaha, Neb. Lauren is a 2004 graduate of Mountain Home High School and a 2008 graduate of Gonzaga University...