Saturday, October 31, 2009 From the Coeur d’Alene Press Schools try to calm worried parents From the Idaho Spokesman-Review No education stories posted online today. From the Moscow Daily News (password required) No education stories posted online today. From the Lewiston Tribune (password required) No education stories posted online today. From the Idaho-Press Tribune, Nampa Welding ignites fire at Middleton High Caldwell Schools hires communications officer From the Idaho Statesman NNU donor's fortune came from Alaska real estate NNU homecoming blends old, new From the Twin Falls Times-News Lockdown lesson Deadline passes for State Board of Education From the Idaho State Journal Halloween party is fun, educational for class Vailas‘ plan takes shape (Editorial) From the Idaho Falls Post Register (password required) No education stories posted online today.
FROM THE COEUR D‘ALENE PRESS Schools try to calm worried parents JoNel Aleccia Staff writer November 1, 2007 Good hygiene and proper care for cuts, scrapes and other wounds is the best prevention and treatment for minor cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. •Keep hands clean by washing frequently with soap and warm water or by using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. •Keep cuts, scrapes and other wounds completely covered with a bandage sealed on all four sides. Children with weeping or draining wounds should be kept home from school until they‘re healed. •Don‘t share personal items. At least nine cases of drug-resistant staph infections have been reported to schools across the Inland Northwest in the past week – and more are sure to follow. With three confirmed cases in Coeur d‘Alene, three cases in Post Falls, and three cases suspected in Spokane‘s Roosevelt, Audubon and Jefferson elementary schools, concern about methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, has skyrocketed. Health experts say growing awareness is likely behind the spike in MRSA reports. But school officials, seeking to calm worried parents, say they‘ve adopted new protocols or emphasized existing plans to deal with the highly contagious and potentially dangerous germ. Letters home, updated Web sites, serious scrubbing and classroom discussions are among accelerated efforts to ensure that parents and students respond appropriately to the threat of infection. ―We want to be as responsive as we can without blowing it out of true proportion,‖ said Judi Christianson, spokeswoman for the East Valley School District. That can be a tricky line for school and health officials to straddle. On one hand, MRSA, like other drug-resistant bacteria, have become more common and more potentially dangerous than ever before, said Dr. David Bare, medical director for the Community Health Association of Spokane. That was underscored by recent research that showed serious MRSA infections affected 94,000 Americans in 2005 and killed nearly 19,000. The MRSA-related deaths of two teenagers in Brooklyn and Virginia also spread alarm. The bug has been showing up more often in Spokane and across the region, where half of the infections he sees at CHAS are turning up positive for MRSA, Bare added.
―This is almost an epidemic,‖ Bare said. ―It gets in a family and it‘s hard to treat.‖ In one family under Bare‘s care, the youngest child developed MRSA infections three times. Most cases are minor skin infections, but MRSA can become life-threatening if it invades the body and reaches vital organs or the bloodstream. People with underlying medical conditions or weakened immune systems are more susceptible. On the other hand, because minor MRSA cases can be cured, usually with oral antibiotics, they‘re less of a threat to kids than other more common ailments, such as influenza, Bare said. Some schools have responded to the alarm with increased cleanliness. In Coeur d‘Alene, Ramsey Elementary School was sanitized from classrooms to playgrounds last week. But other districts said their existing procedures are already aimed to decrease infection. In the West Valley School District, staff members typically intensify cleaning efforts between November and March, the prime season for colds and flu. ―It‘s nothing that we jump to because somebody has a case of MRSA,‖ said Sue Shields, the district spokeswoman. And almost all districts say they plan increased communication about the issue. Thousands of families across the region were sent letters detailing how to prevent and treat MRSA. Schools with specific cases sent letters home about the individual events, a practice that will continue on a case-by-case basis, said Terren Roloff, a spokeswoman for the Spokane Public Schools. ―We‘re reminding them that the best thing they can do is wash their hands and don‘t share personal items,‖ Roloff said. Parents shouldn‘t panic about MRSA, Bare noted, but they should take the potential for infection seriously. ―You have to keep that in perspective,‖ he said. ―If you list everything that kills kids, staph is not that high.‖ Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at (509) 459-5460 or by e-mail at jonela@spokesman.com
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FROM THE IDAHO-PRESS TRIBUNE, NAMPA Welding ignites fire at Middleton High Idaho Press-Tribune staff MIDDLETON — The roof of the Middleton High School rebuilding project caught fire around noon Wednesday after sparks from welding on the deck of the gymnasium ignited the roof decking below. Although workers called the fire department, they were able to put the blaze out with a fire extinguisher before rescue crews arrived. Welders will finish their work on the gymnasium in the next five to seven days. About 75 percent of Middleton High School was destroyed in February after an electrical fan overheated and caused a fire. Middleton received $7.2 million from an insurance policy to replace the school. The old building was demolished this spring before construction crews began work on the replacement building, which will eventually become Middleton Middle School when the district opens a completely new high school, likely in 2011. While the high school structure is being rebuilt, students are dispersed across Middleton High‘s campus, crowding into portable classrooms and other district buildings. Administrators expect the rebuilt school to be finished by summer 2008.
Caldwell Schools hires communications officer EDUCATION: Longtime journalist will be responsible for getting information to district residents, community By Christin Runkle crunkle@idahopress.com CALDWELL — The Caldwell School District has created a new public information officer position that administrators say is necessary to open lines of communication with the community. The district recently hired Vickie Ashwill, an Idaho Statesman reporter and editor who has an extensive background in both higher education and journalism, to fill the position. Ashwill will start at the district in mid-November.
Ashwill, who has covered Caldwell and Canyon County for The Idaho Statesman during the past year, said she made the decision to leave the newspaper after nine years because education is ―one topic I feel I could get behind.‖ ―I want to help other people,‖ she said. ―I think this is a really unique way to try to do that.‖ Superintendent Roger Quarles said school leaders created the position because of complaints from parents and other residents in the district that there‘s a lack of communication between the administration and the community. Getting accurate information to stakeholders is ―a critical part of creating a culture of a community of learning,‖ Quarles said. ―We think it will be money well spent,‖ he added. Quarles said the district has budgeted up to $55,000 a year for the position but officials haven‘t yet determined how much Ashwill will be paid. The public information officer will develop with district administrators a comprehensive plan for communicating with the community; coordinate the district‘s formal publications, such as annual reports and informational brochures; speak with members of the media and prepare news releases; and respond to requests from patrons, business representatives and government agencies for information. Quarles also emphasized that the public information officer will provide content for a more informative and user-friendly district Web site.
FROM THE IDAHO STATESMAN NNU donor's fortune came from Alaska real estate Pioneer Leah Peterson, an Idaho native, taught school, but she and her husband struck it rich in Anchorage. BY VICKIE D. ASHWILL - vashwill@idahostatesman.com Edition Date: 11/01/07 The woman who left $7 million to Northwest Nazarene University last month was an Idaho-born Westerner who took her skills as teacher to the Alaska frontier. Leah Jane Peterson, who died at 99 on Sept. 30, rode a horse to elementary school from her family's ranch near Horseshoe Bend and, as an adult, shot a bear when she was hunting by herself in Alaska, said Richard Hagood, president of NNU. She had spent one year on the NNU campus in 1927-28, getting the necessary teaching credentials of the time. She then left to teach in a one-room schoolhouse in Pasimeroi Valley in the Salmon River backcountry before heading to Kodiak Island, Alaska, with her husband, Chester Peterson, a fellow teacher, in 1939. They had been offered teaching positions with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
She became the iconic Alaskan, Hagood said. "Independent, fully capable of taking care of herself, engaged in social, political and spiritual issues," he said. She didn't make her millions as a teacher but struck a kind of oil in Alaska when her husband entered the real estate world in 1941. "When they moved from Kodiak (to Anchorage) they began buying property," Hagood said. "Some of that is now downtown Anchorage." According to her obituary, Leah Peterson was born on Aug. 8, 1908, to Alphus and Lilli Webster in Boise County. The family eventually moved to Boise, where she graduated from Boise High School in 1927. Her only residential time at college was the year at NNU, but she eventually completed a bachelor's degree from Colorado State University and earned a master's degree from the University of Alaska. She also worked on a doctorate at the University of Washington. When the couple moved to Anchorage, Leah Peterson taught at the only Territorial school in the city. She stayed in the school system for 42 years as teacher, remedial reading specialist, curriculum coordinator, elementary director and principal. In 1948, she was named teacher of the year. In 1958, she wrote the textbook, "This Is Alaska." Hagood first met Peterson in the late 1980s, when a retired NNU development officer moved to Alaska and helped the university reconnect with the alumna. She was living in top-floor condominium in Peterson Tower, a 10-story building built in 1976 in downtown Anchorage. Her husband had died in 1972. That was the beginning of a 20-year friendship. She was still active, Hagood said, and carried fishing poles in her car. Hagood called Peterson "very, very sharp." "Until her last year or so, she was managing all her finances herself," Hagood said. "She was working with 28 stockbrokers." Gary Skaggs, NNU vice president for university advancement, met Peterson in 1993.
"I developed a close relationship with her," he said. "She was a marvelous woman." Skaggs worked with Peterson when she decided to donate money to the university. She later named NNU as the benefactor of her estate. The $7 million is an approximate number because assets still need to be sold, said Skaggs. NNU honored Peterson with an honorary doctorate in 2001, and she spoke at that year's graduation. It was the first time she had been on campus since 1928. "She said, ‗Things sure have changed here,' " said Hagood. "She was very impressed." Vickie D. Ashwill: 373-6691
NNU homecoming blends old, new Traditional events will take place this weekend instead of during Thanksgiving. By VICKIE D. ASHWILL - vashwill@idahostatesman.com Edition Date: 11/01/07 An auction, concert, play and astronaut are all part of Northwest Nazarene University's four-day homecoming celebration that starts Thursday. Of course, there are sports events as well, including soccer, volleyball, basketball and flag football. But this year, NNU's homecoming is also a break with tradition, said Hollie Lindner, university spokeswoman. Homecoming has been held on Thanksgiving weekend since 1948, but was moved to see if it would accommodate more alumni and students. Lacey Young, president of the Student Alumni Council, said moving the date makes homecoming a "bigger deal than normal." "This is cool," she said. "Now we can stay for homecoming and still go home for Thanksgiving." Del Wiedmeier, a alumni who is coordinating the class of 1962 reunion, isn't as sure about the date change. This is his third reunion, although he and his wife, Sue, regularly go to homecoming events. "We'll see," he said, regarding the non-traditional date. For Sue Wiedmeier, NNU's homecoming is about friends she hasn't seen since 1962.
"Three of the gals I did quite a few things with haven't been back for 45 years," she said. They've connected by e-mail and are planning to share photos of their lives during the weekend. "They are going to be very shocked about how much the Valley has changed in 45 years," she said. Both Wiedmeiers are retired from the Boise School District NNU alumnus and astronaut Richard Hieb will speak twice this weekend about his experiences walking in space and his career as an astronaut. Hieb, class of '77, is a veteran of three shuttle missions, logging more than 750 hours in space, as well as 17 hours on three space walks. A public lecture with Hieb is at 3 p.m. Friday in the Science Lecture Hall, and an alumni event is set for 8 a.m. Saturday. A silent auction is planned for Friday and Saturday, with a live component at 9 a.m. Saturday in the Brandt Center lobby. At that event, you can bid on 1949 Buick Super donated by Jim and Carolyn King at the Green Barley Nutrition Center in Nampa, and a black Lab puppy donated by Canyon County Sheriff Chris Smith. Vickie D. Ashwill: 373-6691
FROM THE TWIN FALLS TIMES-NEWS Lockdown lesson Mock terrorist drill opens students' eyes By Cass Friedman Times-News writer GOODING - A man's voice penetrated a classroom wall into the hallway. "I pulled you over?" asked the voice belonging to a cop engaged in a discussion with a student about a previous encounter. Minutes later, the cop's presence at Gooding High School would grow far more serious. The officer, along with four others, impersonated terrorists who wreak untold pain on Gooding residents and their kids for unknown reasons, as part of a staged SWAT drill Wednesday. The drill was the largest of its kind at the high school - bringing in an air ambulance, medics, firefighters and cops from the northwestern counties of the Magic Valley.
Besides a dysfunctional radio belonging to a school resource officer - the first of the would be first-responders - the drill by all accounts went smoothly. Officials say hostages can sometimes warm up to their kidnappers. Wednesday's drill was no exception. Fraternizing went on in some corners of the school where roughly 35 students were holed up with their imaginary terrorist counterparts. What would you do if I was a real kidnapper, asked the officer of surrounding students. "Come on, man up," he said, jokingly. A few seconds later the pseudo-terrorist and the students were back to being enemies. And then another moment passed and the terrorist was dead, shot in a SWAT assault through the classroom door. The spectacle included smoke in the hallways, explosions and the sounds of live rounds piercing the corridors. A bomb explosion in the band room was the perfect scenario for the Twin Falls City Police bomb squad. But other theatrics, such as the shrill screaming of a teenage girl writhing on the floor with her leg dramatically torn open, seemed chillingly real. And when the special weapons and tactics teams burst through doors to loud clanging, screaming and gunfire, even the principal who helped plan the event felt jolted. "It's practice, but it still causes you to give pause," Principal Eric Raine said. Raine moved up and down the halls as the drill evolved. He saw the SWAT teams surge down hallways like tightly bound balls of yarn. Gooding County Sheriff Shaun Gough, who gave a wry smile as he inspected the officer's failing radio, toured the premise like a professor - analytical and completely aloof from the drama. "So far so good," he said. "And it's all a learning experience." Cass Friedman can be reached at 735-3241 or cfriedman@magicvalley.com.
Deadline passes for State Board of Education $1.5 million needed for key scholarships By Andrea Gates Times-News writer
A deadline for the Idaho State Board of Education passed Wednesday with little fanfare, and an announcement today could affect the future of a heavily lauded program. The State Board had until Wednesday to come up with about $1.5 million for the state's match to a federal grant initiative that helps lower income children go to college. The program called GEAR UP - or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs - is designed to increase the number of low-income students entering post-secondary education. It is a six-year grant-match program totaling $18 million. A key "foundation" is under heavy solicitation by the State Board for the remaining $1.5 million portion. State Board spokespeople, however, are not naming that philanthropic entity. "I'd rather not say which one," said State Board spokesman Mark Brown-ing. "Because minor ones out there might back off." But that foundation has apparently not yet told the State Board if it will chip in for the cause. "We're very anxious. It looks like we won't know anything until tomorrow morning," Browning said around 5 p.m. Wednesday. If the money is not obtained, the future of GEAR UP could be bleak. "Then the board will need to make the decision … whether to continue the program," Browning said. The state is in its second year of GEAR UP, and it affects 20 schools in the state. The first year of the grant involved "setting up," and making awards and notifications to qualifying schools. One of those schools is Robert Stuart Junior High in Twin Falls. Twin Falls School District Superintendent Wiley Dobbs does not want to see GEAR UP gear down. "We're hopeful the matching amount will be found," he said. The College of Southern Idaho, the CSI Foundation, Qwest, Idaho Community Foundation and Micron, have all contributed so far to the cause, said Browning.
GEAR UP funding woes evolved during the grant writing phase, when unallowable inkind matches were factored into the funding scheme. Elected and educational leaders like the program, and they said its loss would be a shame. "Superintendent (Tom) Luna believes GEAR UP is a valuable program, and as a member of the State Board of Education, he has been working to secure matching funds so the program can continue in Idaho," said Luna's Spokeswoman Melissa McGrath. State Rep. Sharon Block, R-Twin Falls, also sees a huge value in the GEAR UP program. "I'm hopeful and optimistic that we will get the money together," said Block, who is a former teacher. "We need more of Idaho's children to obtain higher education." Andrea Gates can be reached at Andrea.Gates@lee.net
FROM THE IDAHO STATE JOURNAL Halloween party is fun, educational for class BY CASEY SANTEE csantee@journalnet.com POCATELLO — Tami Jones‘ special education class celebrated Halloween in true Idaho fashion this week by eating potatoes with all the fixings and painting pumpkins. Some of the pumpkins, which were displayed on a shelf in Jones‘ Highland High School classroom, had spooky faces with pointy teeth. Others were smiling. Sixteen-year-old Nicole Ward‘s pumpkin had pink whiskers. ―Cats are my favorite animal, and pink is my favorite color,‖ Ward said. ―I‘m going to take it home.‖ The class recently collected the potatoes at a Fort Hall farm owned by V.O. Enterprises based in Pingree. The pumpkins came from Smith‘s Food King in Chubbuck. The store‘s management donated them to Jones, along with cookies and punch for the Halloween party. Jones and her assistants baked the potatoes Wednesday morning. The toppings included chili, as well as broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce that Jones made. Jones said the Halloween party is good for her 13 students because it develops their social skills, and painting the pumpkins improved their motor functions. In addition, writing the thank you notes to Smiths for the donations helps with language. Jones began teaching special education 11 years ago. She said working with highneeds students has been a satisfying and rewarding experience. ―School is a place to come and learn, but you also need to have a good time,‖ Jones said. ―I really enjoy the kids and the people I work with because they enjoy the kids. They actually pay me to do this.‖
Vailas’ plan takes shape (Editorial) K, here‘s the game plan which Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas is nurturo ing Medical The for university statewide Center and would medical other affiliate education with for . Portneuf a ―dishospitals tributive‖ medical school that would embrace all of Idaho. As outlined last week, the Vailas plan would designate ISU as the starting point for medical students who would subsequently move on to hospitals, clinics and schools across the state to complete their degrees with clinical experience in residency programs. Vailas has talked about such a project for months, and even Gov. Butch Otter has apparently bought into the idea. Now, the program has a name — ISU Hospitals and Clinics. What‘s also new, at this point, is a nebulous compact among ISU, Portneuf Medical Center and the Bannock County Commission. Representatives of the three entities signed a memorandum of understanding in which they agreed to explore the feasibility of creating ―a formal, highly integrated collaborative relationship.‖ That could mean anything they want it to mean, but does seem to herald a future in which the hospital and the university work together — and the county giving up ownership of the hospital. ―I foresee the County Commission and the county getting out of the hospital business some day,‖ Chairman Larry Ghan said, which may be news to some residents. Vailas is enthusiastic, but cautious. He suggests it will take at least eight years to bring his plan to fruition — and it may take that long to convince skeptics who have harbored the erroneous impression that when the ISU president talks about a medical school, he means a brickand-mortar institution and an expensive faculty. It must be clear by now that is not what Vailas has in mind. Several newspapers have suggested Idaho could train more doctors at less cost by paying for additional seats at the University of Washington or University of Utah. Perhaps, but that overlooks the benefits to Idaho students, patients and medical professionals of having a statewide public health network. Besides, Vailas believes the school could reap millions in grants for medical and health care research. Unresolved amid the enthusiasm enveloping the prospective participants in the plan is the question of how Portneuf Medical Center can raise the millions it needs to continue its ambitious building and expansion projects. The Frazier opinion rendered last year by the Idaho Supreme Court, which ruled that such costs must be paid through a public bond issue, continues in effect until the hospital either changes its status to private or nonprofit. Vailas is a visionary, far-sighted proponent for his plan. He will still have to convince legislators, the medical establishment and those in his own university that ISU Hospitals and Clinics is a viable concept. But it‘s an ambitious start.
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