Stories from Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Sheep gather around Lee Wright’s Nativity scene as he worked to showcase the meaning of the Christmas season as part of a tradition that began 20 years ago at his home on Colthorp Avenue. The display came as the Mountain Home community prepared to celebrate the Christmas holiday on Thursday...

Winds reaching speeds of more than 60 miles per hour on Dec. 17 led to a number of power outages across Elmore County in addition to damaging trees and other property. One outage reported at 9:36 a.m. that morning affected the residents of the Atlanta community in the northern area of Elmore County that also knocked out telephone communications for those living there...

As winter road conditions led to two rollover crashes and a two-vehicle collision on the interstate east of Mountain Home on Dec. 18, officials with the Idaho State Police urged motorists to take time to check travel and winter road conditions before driving on state highways and other roadways...

A man remains in custody at the Gooding County jail following his arrest in Elmore County in connection with a shooting death in Wendell on Dec. 15. Cesar Padilla, 38, of Wendell stands accused of shooting the man, who sat inside his vehicle that remained parked at the Nampa Auto Parts store in the town east of Hagerman...

A Mountain Home man was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison following his conviction regarding charges of wire fraud involving a national restaurant chain where he worked. Javier D. Ruiz, 35, was ordered to serve two years of supervised release following his prison sentence in addition to paying $685,376 in restitution during his hearing before U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford on Dec. 17...

“Merry Christmas.” When I was a child, those two words were something I enjoyed hearing as the season of generosity approached. It filled me with a sense of sheer excitement as I waited for Dec. 25 to arrive, which grew stronger every time I heard a Christmas carol or I watched one of my beloved Christmas specials on the family’s TV set...

Dear editor – In a letter to the editor from the Dec. 10 edition of the Mountain Home News, Mirazim Shakoori introduced his side of a story. He’s the property owner of a 2,450 square foot building, with the basement included, to a male tenant who is operating his business out of this building...

Students from the Mountain Home area put their basketball sharpshooting skills to the test as they battled for top honors during this year’s Hoop Shoot competition held recently. Hosted each year by members from Mountain Home Elks Lodge 2276, the competition required these students to sink free-throws baskets with the hoop distance shortened for younger participants...

A project aimed at revitalizing a community park along a two-block stretch of Main Street in the city’s downtown area took another step forward last week as the city council met to finalize the agreements involving this renovation effort. Known as the Railroad Park Plaza, the project includes the construction of a community activity gathering space along with a children’s playground as well as a splash pad that may eventually transform into a skating rink throughout the winter...

George Harvey Guertin 95, passed away December 22, 2025, at the Idaho State Veteran's Home in Boise Idaho. George spent his early life in northern Idaho, hunting, fishing, being a lumberjack and providing for his mother and younger sister. As the war came to the United States, George enlisted in the Air force and was trained as a medic. ...