Fires lead year's top stories

Wednesday, January 1, 2014
The Elk Complex Fire, one of four major fires in the county this year, burned to the doorsteps of Pine.

inated the news and were the number one story in Elmore County as determined by the Mountain Home News.

The Elk Complex and Pony Complex fires, the two largest, which erupted simultaneously, devastated northern Elmore County, destroying more than 70 buildings, prime feeding range for cattle and charred the forests from Prairie through Lester Creek and to the very doorstep of Pine. Hundreds of firefighters fought the blazes for a month in August, as well as the Little Queen Fire near Atlanta and the Kelly Fire that burned to the edge of the popular Baumgartner Campground.

Number two on our list of the top ten stories in the county involved the inaction of Congress that led to automatically triggering the across-the-board federal cuts known as sequester, and their impact on Elmore County. Not only did it ground the U.S. aircraft at Mountain Home AFB for weeks, but the furloughs of 400-500 federal employees resulted in the equivalent of the loss of 80-100 full-time jobs in the community.

Number three on our list was crime in the community. The Orozco case concluded with the triple murderer being sentenced to three life terms in prison, but the Mountain Home News also covered an alleged murder of a child, a murder-suicide, an alleged rape, an arson, the murder of a former resident and several major theft/embezzlement cases.

Fourth on our list of top stories were the many actions involving education. From the implementation of Common Core standards following adoption by the state, to new levy requests to make up for the lack of state funding, the opening of Bennett Mountain (alternative) High School, a proposal for a charter elementary school, and academic students winning a large number of awards in speech, debate, drama and other programs, the local school district kept us busy all year long.

Fifth on our list was the formal merger in April of the Elmore County Hospital District with the St. Luke's family of hospitals. The old Elmore Medical Center became St. Luke's Elmore. The merger was designed to improve health care in the community and much of the year was spent planning for the capital improvements that will kick in during 2014.

Sixth in the top ten stories of the year involved the effects of the drought. Between wells going down in the city and the lack of snowpack over last winter, the drought left everyone high and dry and mandatory conservation measures were just barely avoided.

Seventh on our list were the political changes in Elmore County. Bud Corbus was sworn in as a new commissioner and in Mountain Home Geoff Schroeder was elected to rejoin the city council this year. Hotly contested elections in Glenns Ferry saw Connie Wills elected mayor with Larry Stevenson elected outright to the city council and Robert Janousek winning a seat due to a coin toss.

Eighth on the top ten list was the slow start of an economic recover locally. Like the first buds of plants in spring, a few things started cropping up that gave hope for the future. Several new businesses opened, including Wolfe Pac Pellets in Mountain Home, and overall, property values began to stabilize after years of decline.

Ninth involved activity at the airbase. From a major deployment to support Operation Enduring Freedom, to a huge exercise on base that drew hundreds of personnel and scores of aircraft from throughout NATO and the United States, the base kept busy. But it was also a sad year for the base, with the deaths of three airmen, including one who fell into the Bruneau Canyon while on a hike.

Tenth was a feel-good story that had everyone talking when a couple in Tipanuk actually won one of the top prizes in the famous Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes, becoming instant millionaires.

For a complete wrap up of this year's major stories, pick up a copy of the Jan. 1 edition of the Mountain Home News.