Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Saturday’s edition.
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GRANGEVILLE — By its own figures, Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) is busily handling the multitude of issues with stray and feral cats and dogs within the region. The numbers speak of the need for the service, and ARF states it easily could do more, if it just had the space.
Last week, organizers made the plea to the Grangeville City Council to review whether it had an acre of land — preferably located in proximity to the wastewater treatment plant — where ARF could locate a permanent facility.
“We provide a fairly valuable resource to the community at present, but we are missing a shelter,” said ARF board vice president Terri Tackett at the Jan. 17 council meeting. “Our programs are growing, and we’ve come to a place where we have funding to grow the program more. We just don’t have a place to do it.”
Tackett provided council the annual report for ARF, noting it has transferred 993 animals — primarily cats — to partner shelters during a three-year period (2020-22) that could not be re-homed locally. In 2022, ARF spayed or neutered 299 cats. ARF provides animal spay and neuter vouchers, mainly to low-income residents, and since 2020 240 vouchers have been utilized. Last year, ARF started a support program to help residents in need with emergency or crisis animal veterinarian care, and this year it has started a pet food and supplies pantry, courtesy of a start-up grant by the Elks Lodge. Along with this, ARF contracts with the city to handle fostering or adoption of animals taken in at the city pound, located at the city wastewater facility.
“All these things we need to run these programs are in a barn,” Tackett said, a rented structure adjacent to Tackett’s Saw Shop on East Main Street. “And Karin [Vetter, ARF volunteer and board member], her little SUV looks like the ARFmobile, there’s so much stuff in it.”
Ideally, ARF is looking adjacent to the city pound where it would also be in proximity to the proposed administrative and jail facility for the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office. Tackett explained this would keep services close to town for convenience of both residents and volunteers, and coordinate with Grangeville Police, who handle city stray calls, and potentially utilize county jail inmates as volunteer labor.
Councilor Dylan Canaday questioned how ARF came up with its one-acre figure. Tackett summarized the backstory with ARF since its formation in 2014 on initially it envisioning a larger structure with more services, but since this has been scaled back to a facility serving a more focused need.
“We don’t need to be like McCall or Spokane,” elaborated Kim Wolfrum, ARF volunteer, veterinarian and owner of Tolo Veterinary Clinic in Grangeville. “We need to be more of a transfer site, because we don’t have the population to take animals that need adoption.”
Tackett gave an example from that same day where a volunteer vaccinated 13 kittens at a local business, Bettie’s Floor and Decor, so they could be transferred to an adoption facility.
“This is how we’re making do,” Tackett said.
Wolfrum said other counties in similar size to Idaho County have gotten on board with shelters, and they have improved city issues with cats.
“So that’s the standpoint I’m coming from,” she said, “and we are really, really hoping to get the land this next year and move forward with the building.”
Tackett noted early in her presentation she didn’t expect an answer that evening, rather wanting the council to review the matter, and potential available property, and contact ARF later. ARF has the funds to purchase property, but she also said the nonprofit would be open to a deduction or outright donation the city may want to make.
“Sometimes it feels like we’re treading water, because our list of feral cats that need to be spayed and neutered is always the same,” she said, and questioned with a smile whether Montana or Lewiston were dropping their cats off in the county. “We can’t seem to keep up with the population of feral cats, and we need to expand some of these programs to do that, and we can’t do that without an actual facility.”
— David Rauzi, Idaho County Free, Grangeville
Governor recognizes KHS student’s scholarship idea
Last fall, when Lewis-Clark State College student body president Caden Massey proposed a new Idaho scholarship plan, he never imagined the Idaho governor, Brad Little, would take notice. Massey, a 2018 Kamiah High School student, is a senior at LCSC.
At the Sept. 1, 2022, special legislative session, the Idaho legislature earmarked $80 million for post-secondary education. In response, Massey developed the idea with three other student body presidents, Adam Jones, Boise State University, Tanner McClain, University of Idaho, and Flora Koenig, College of Western Idaho. The four wrote an article, “The Idaho Legislature Should Invest Directly in Idaho Students,” published in Idaho Education News (10/10/2022).
The students proposed investing $8,500 per student for higher education to encourage Idaho students to stay in Idaho and train them for workforce needs in the state. Welders, plumbers, electricians and other technical trades are in demand. In 2021, only 37% of Idaho’s high school students continued directly to further education, barely half the national rate, according to the article.
Massey said the article also ran in LCSC’s student newspaper, Pathfinder. After pitching the idea to LCSC administration and not getting any traction, Massey thought the scholarship was “dead in the water.” Then Jones began conversations with the governor’s office.
Five days before Little’s 2023 State of the State address, Massey got a call to come to the capitol for the speech.
“I was shocked. It is really exciting,” Massey said upon hearing of Little’s interest in the students’ proposal.
“I think these students nailed it,” Governor Brad Little said in his speech. He called out Massey, Jones, McClain and Koenig, crediting them for the “Idaho Launch” scholarship idea. Massey said this was the first time he had been honored by the governor.
“I really appreciated the recognition. Students in Idaho don’t really get the credit they deserve,” said Massey.
Little said that his budget proposal includes $8,500 to graduating high school students in Idaho to attend an Idaho University, community college, career technical or workforce training program of their choice.
“The ‘Idaho Launch’ scholarship will be the single largest investment in career technical and workforce education in state history,” Little said.
— Norma Staaf, The Clearwater Progress, Kamiah
Whitman County house prices rise
COLFAX — The Whitman County Association of Realtors released the December housing market numbers, which state that the average price for a home sold in the county last month was about $351,000.
Reports state that the average price last month increased by around $35,000 from November, and $25,000 from a year ago.
There were only 21 homes sold in the county last month, down 50% from November. Statistics state that homes were on the market for 36 days on average, down from 52 days the month before.
The record-high average price for homes was set in July, at $430,000.
President of the Association of Realtors, Whitman County, Kris Finch, said there are more listings on the market at this time.
“This gives people more choice,” Finch said. “We definitely have more homes on the market.”
Finch added that the average price of houses sold is up about seven percent from over a year ago.
“The number of homes that are available right now in Whitman County is 75,” Finch said. She further stated that the number was 37 at this time last year.
“That’s super important because it tells people we’re getting a little more inventory and there may even be a little more negotiation on housing prices in the future,” Finch said.
Active residential listings have also gone up.
Finch said that the more houses that are in the market, the more of a choice people have and the more flexible sellers may need to be to sell their home.
“The good news is the average sold price has increased since last year,” Finch said. “So that’s good news for sellers.”
— Teresa Simpson, Whitman County Gazette, Colfax
