News

JUNE 5, 2012

EDITOR: KATIE ARDMORE | SCROLLNEWS@BYUI.EDU

PAGE 9

Legacy

Air Show
LEGACY FLIGHT MUSEUM HONORS VETERANS, PAGE 10

Rebuilding
Pancheri Overpass
IDAHO FALLS CONSTRUCTION, PAGE 11

POLICE INVESTIGATE STOLEN PIZZA DELIVERY SIGNS, PAGE 12

Blackfoot hosts Special Olympics event

BRETT EVANS Scroll Staff early 300 athletes with disabilities participated in athletic and aquatic events in Blackfoot on June 2. Special Olympics Idaho presented the East Idaho Summer Games at Blackfoot High School and the Blackfoot Community Swimming Pool. Athletes competed in track and field, bicycle races, basketball tournaments and various water sports. Our son Nathaniel is competing, said Pocatello resident Chris Estes. Hes swimming in the 50- and 100-meter relay. Nates mother, Mary Estes, said Nate was diagnosed with down syndrome as a child, and he just graduated from high school this year. Nate was one of about 25 athletes on his team, the Gate City Dolphins. Chris Estes said that they have workouts twice a week and that this Nates second year ScrollDigital is competing in the swimming event. A related video Hes a strong will be available at byuicomm.net kid, so he does well, on June 7. Chris Estes said. Last year, his team went to state and his relay team got first place and he got third in his other two events, Mary Estes said. Those awards are hanging in his room front and center. Delyn Porter, Eastern Idaho area director, said athletes who compete in the area games can qualify for the State Summer Olympics in Boise. From there, the top three athletes or teams in each event go on to compete

SCOTT AUSTIN | Scroll Photography

SCOTT AUSTIN | Scroll Photography

Left: Skyler Morgan holds the torch during the opening ceremonies of the East Idaho Summer Games. Right: Participants march as they hold their team flag. Special Olypmics Idaho provides training year-round in 15 olympic games for over 2,500 children and adults with disabilities.

in the Special Olympics World Summer Games, which will be held in Los Angeles in 2015. Summer events were also held in Caldwell, Coeur dAlene and Worley on the same day as the Blackfoot games. Special Olympics Idaho sponsors three other events. We also have a fall games, a winter games and a bowling tournament that we host every year, Porter said. Porter, a professional vocational rehabilitation counselor, started working with special olympics 21 years ago.

I work with a lot of people with disabilities, and a lot of them were involved with special olympics, Porter said. He said he initially got involved temporarily just to pay off student loans, but he enjoyed it and ended up staying with the program. Porter said that if someone has never seen the special olympics, they are in for a treat. Chris and Mary Estes said they have been involved with special olympics since their son was born and diagnosed with down syndrome.

I think the best thing to remember is that theyre just like regular people, but with a few special needs, Chris Estes said. He said that when Nate was born, their family felt overwhelmed because they received many pamphlets and readers about down syndrome. He said the pamphlets seemed insincere and promoted unrealistic depictions of what kids with down syndrome are like. Theyre just like you and me, Chris Estes said.

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Legacy Air Show will honor veterans

ALICIA MIHU Scroll Staff The Rexburg Legacy Air Show will honor Idaho veterans at the Rexburg Legacy Flight Museum June 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The museum puts on the show to honor the veterans, the men who flew and fought in the wars to make us free, said John Bagley, chief pilot of the Legacy Air Show. Bagley has been a pilot since he was a teenager, and he has flown in air shows in Washington and California as well. Another reason behind the air show is to draw attention to the veterans who flew the warbirds that are now held at the museum. The museum hired six professional aerobatic performers to do six shows for the event. The seventh performance, titled Ole Yeller Airshows, will be performed by

[The purpose of the air show is] to honor the veterans, the men who flew and fought in the wars to make us free.
JOHN BAGLEY
CHIEF PILOT, LEGACY AIR SHOW

museum volunteers. The show will feature warbird airplanes like the P-63 King Cobra, P-51 Mustang and TBM Avengers. Were going to have a lot of aerobatics, and there will be a lot of World War II and Korean War series aircraft, Bagley said. The tradition first started in 2006. The show is run every year through donations from local businesses. We have to garner about $50,000 to put one of these shows on, said Brad

JORDAN HINCKLEY | Scroll Photography

The Legacy Air Show will be June 16 at the Rexburg Legacy Flight Museum. The museum offers a venue for parties, receptions and other events.

DeBow, Legacy Flight Museum manager. However, the air show is free for residents and students. No one gets

paid to work at the show, and DeBow said theyre always looking for more community members to volunteer.

Officials see fewer illegal fires since giving citations

KATIE ARDMORE News Editor Law enforcement officials have seen less illegal burning since the Bureau of Land Management started issuing citations, officials say. Illegal burning consists of burning campfires outside designated areas on the St. Anthony Sand Dunes or burning materials other than nontreated firewood. People are not allowed to burn pallets, furniture or anything that leaves behind debris. BLM Ranger Jeff Long said he has seen less illegal burning since word has gotten around that the consequence could be up to $1,000 in fines or up to a year in jail. Until we start issuing citations, the message doesnt get out. Its amazing how much it cleans up after we do, Long said. Long said the BLM is seeing wildfire conditions a month earlier than normal, and rangers are taking special precautions. I havent been out here once without getting questioned by an officer, said Brandon Bush, a junior studying accounting. Long said he doesnt have many problems with students on the dunes aside from illegal burning. It really is good, clean fun if we could get them to do it the right way, Long said. But this can be difficult because many visitors dont know the rules about campfires on the dunes. Brandon Bushs wife, Britten, said its hard to tell where the burn zones are because the signs are easy to miss. The only thing is knowing the rules, Brandon Bush said. I dont know what the laws are. I just come up here to have fun.

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JUNE 5, 2012 PAGE 11

SELECTIONS FROM REXBURG POLICE LOG:

MAY 25-31
Editors note: All information contained in this section is public record and is accessible to anyone through the Rexburg Police Department. Disturbance at Walmart. Group of people arguing. Malicious injury. Bicycle seat and cover damaged while parked at the Eliza R. Snow Center. Call of a moose and two calves causing a traffic hazard. South Fifth West at 8:15 p.m. Complaint of apartment damage after tenants left. Two mattress fires. Highway 20 South exit. First call was at 2:41 p.m. Fire was put out and started burning again at 6:41 p.m. at the same location. Complaint of a semi truck running a stop sign and almost getting hit by a train. Theft. Stolen backpack, Toshiba computer, Verizon cellular phone, religious book. Stolen from Mountain Pines apartments, West Viking Drive. Complaint of an individual giving away dogs without a permit. Malicious injury. Unknown persons have been entering a vacant home on Yale Avenue and causing damage inside. Holes and spray paint on walls. Dog bite. Complaint of someone tailgating and making hand gestures. Vehicle theft. 2011 Honda CRV. Vehicle was parked in the apartment complex parking lot at 677 East Second South. Vehicle was located in the Gordon B. Hinckley parking lot. Vehicle keys were not with vehicle. Vehicle burglary/malicious injury. Vehicle side window broken out while parked in the driveway in residential area. Carton of cigarettes stolen.

JORDAN HINCKLEY | Scroll Photography

Construction crews work along Pancheri Drive where they are replacing the Pancheri Overpass near Idaho Falls. The project will continue seven days a week until November.

Construction crews build new overpass

HANNAH DAVIS Scroll Staff Construction to replace the Pancheri Drive overpass continues near Idaho Falls, reducing traffic to one lane in each direction. The construction is near Idaho Falls and started on May 2. The overpass is being replaced by a wider structure with two lanes of traffic, and a bike and pedestrian path in both directions. Construction is scheduled to be completed in November of this year. This new construction project is designed to reduce traffic congestion on Pancheri Drive while also improving the flow and safety of traffic The Pancheri Overpass was built in 1962 has reached its design life. This is the estimated time in which a facility can be expected to perform its designed function. Bryan Young, the staff engineer of the Idaho Falls Auto Transportation Department, said that the construction will be beneficial to Idaho Falls. The old bridge is outdated; its not built for the traffic flow its getting. Its design life is over. Itll help a lot with both pedestrian traffic and motor traffic. Itll also help a lot to get traffic moving from east to west and across the freeway, Young said. Travel will be kept at one lane in each direction, and no serious traffic backups are expected. Construction will take place seven days a week. During construction, drivers may consider following safety precautions such as looking for construction crews. No delays should be expected. Were trying to minimize them, Young said. The construction will close Pioneer Road in Idaho Falls at its intersection with Pancheri Drive. Pioneer Road can be accessed through Sunnyside Road. The new overpass will be erected just south of the existing one, after which the old overpass will be removed. The project will also include building a new five-lane roadway on each side of the new overpass between Blue Sky Drive and a point near Utah Avenue. The construction crews will also install stormwater treatments, control systems, light poles, a traffic signal, curbs, gutters and sidewalks. The Idaho Transportation Department, Bonneville Metropolitan Planning Organization, Bonneville County and City of Idaho Falls are all participating in this project. The Idaho Falls Transportation Department awarded HK Contractors Inc. the $9 million contract on May 9 for this project.

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Police investigate delivery car sign thefts

BRETT EVANS Scroll Staff Two delivery vehicle signs were stolen in Rexburg, May 26. The signs were both taken within about 35 minutes of each other, according to the Rexburg police report. A Dominos Pizza car topper, worth around $400, was stolen while the car was parked at Hillcrest Apartments at about 10 a.m. on May 26. Later that morning, a Pizza Hut topper was taken from a vehicle in the Pizza Hut parking lot at 163 W. Main Street. It might be a coincidence that both of the signs turned up missing within 30 minutes of each other, but it was probably the same group or person, although we have nothing to substantiate that yet, said Captain Randy Lewis of the Rexburg Police Department. Lewis said that in situations like these,

It might be a coincidence that both of the signs turned up missing within 30 minutes of each other, but it was probably the same group or person, although we have nothing to substantiate that yet.
RANDY LEWIS
CAPTAIN, REXBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT

REPORT INFORMATION TO POLICE

The Rexburg Police Department asks that anyone with information about this theft contact them immediately. The following are ways to contact the police department: Phone: 208-356-3008 Email: rpd@rexburg.org

the integrity of the community becomes very important. He said Rexburg has a low crime rate because people are honest and report things that are suspicious. Lewis said witnesses become important because they provide police information that would otherwise be difficult to find. Lewis said the police department is looking for witnesses of theft by making the community aware of whats going on in town. We put the word out and sometimes

well offer a reward, but most of the time, community members just want to do the right thing and tell the police what they saw, he said. Lewis said the police department probably wont offer a reward for information on these thefts. However, they encourage community members to contact the Rexburg Police Department immediately if they have any information about the thefts or if they notice any suspicious activity. There is a form on the City of Rexburgs website that community

Address: 25 East Main Street City of Rexburg website: www.rexburg.org

members can use to report criminal activity. Lewis encourages residents and students to use it anytime they witness something that doesnt seem right. They can either call the police department directly or go to the website and report any information, he said.

Medicare funding pulled from Idaho Falls facility

ALICIA MIHU Scroll Staff Medicare funds have been removed from the Idaho Falls Care and Rehabilitation Center, which has forced patients to find new homes in less than one week. Patients will be moved from the rehabilitation center to other area nursing centers due to the mismanagement of the facility, according to Local News 8s website. The center did not comply with regulations, so federal funding for Medicare has been removed at this facility, which has caused its closure. Our top priority is to ensure the safe transition of our residents and that the staff are supported throughout this process, said Kelly Spiers, administrator at the Idaho Falls Care and Rehabilitation Center. In order to safely move all the residents from the rehabilitation center, Spiers said they are working with the State Department of Health, residents families, residents and guardians for assistance. Although the facility will close, Spiers said that they will continue to discuss the future of the rehabilitation center with the state. ScrollDigital If they are given the A related video opportunity is available at to reapply for byuicomm.net. Medicare, Spiers said that is the course of action they will take. In the meantime, we will continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the Idaho Department of Health, Spiers said. No other facilities will be affected by this termination.

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Resident loses $400 in scam

NICK HARMER Scroll Staff An Idaho Falls man paid $400 to a scammer claiming to be from the Rocky Mountain Power Company. Officials from the Idaho Falls Police Department said a resident had been contacted over the phone by a person claiming to represent the Rocky Mountain Power Company. The man on the phone told the resident his electric bill was overdue, and he demanded the resident pay a $400 fine immediately or his power service would be disconnected the following day. He paid the $400 over the phone using a prepaid VISA card, as he had been instructed to do by the scammer. The resident was contacted again by the scammer and told him he would need to pay an additional $500 if he wanted his service to be continued. The resident became suspicious and contacted the city utility department and the police. The police said scams like this have happened before and are not uncommon. The city utility department reminds the public that this is not standard protocol for utilities. A resident whose service may be in danger of being discontinued will receive a series of bills and warnings in the mail, and then card on the door as a final notice. According to the utility department, a utility company will rarely call the resident to warn about the discontinuance of services. Idaho Falls law enforcement officials said the best way to avoid a phone scam is by being aware. Individuals should ask suspicious callers questions to figure out the situation. If their answers seem unusual, individuals are encouraged to contact the police immediately. Individuals are encouraged IDENTIFYING A to avoid giving SCAMMER away personal If it sounds too information good to be true, it probably is. over the phone. Google search the If a company companys name asks for billing and see if others have been scammed information, it by them. may be a scam. The company probably already has that information. Customers may contact Rocky Mountain Power at any time at 888-2217070 if they think they might be victims of a scam. The police said that if a resident thinks a company sounds suspicious, they should contact the Rexburg Police Department at 359-7351.

NEWS IN BRIEF
Residents observe Venuss transit at Madison library
The planet Venus will cross in front of the sun, casting a shadow that can be seen on Earth, on Tuesday, June 5, at 4:05 p.m. It is an astronomical event that wont occur again until December 2117, over 105 years from now. Individuals are advised not to look at the sun to see this event, as blindness may occur. Residents can take advantage of this phenomenon by visiting the Madison Library between 4 and 8 p.m. on June 5. The library will use a mirror to project an image of the sun on their community room wall for safe viewing. They will also have instructions for patrons to make and use a pinhole viewer and they hope to have a telescope with an appropriate sun filter.