Regional news roundup
Stories here are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two set to appear online Monday at lmtribune.com.
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McCALL — The University of Idaho has substantially reduced the size of improvements planned at the University of Idaho Field Campus in McCall.
In 2014, the university announced plans for what was expected to be 22 new buildings over the next 10 to 15 years at a cost of $40 million.
Since then, a new shower house has been built in 2016 and two new cabins for those attending programs are nearing completion.
The field campus is located adjacent to Ponderosa State Park in McCall.
The plan unveiled in 2014 has now been scaled back to two large buildings — a dining lodge and teaching center — and four new cabins.
The new cost of the improvements is set at $12 million, which is intended to be paid with a combination of state funds and donations.
A fundraising effort has been launched and so far $1.5 million has been raised.
The needs of the McCall campus have changed in the eight years since the 2014 plan was unveiled, said Gary Thompson, leadership coordinator and public relations specialist at the McCall site.
The 2014 plan “is not gone, it is just different and scaled to our current needs and capacity,” Thompson said.
The current McCall Field Campus consists of 26 building, many of which were designed in the 1940s to support undergraduate summer programs.
“As our population and programs have changed, we now occupy the campus year round and have residents at all times of the year, field campus Director Karla Eitel said.
Here is a summary of the improvements:
Dining Lodge
A new 8,900-square-foot dining lodge is planned at an estimated cost of $5 million. The current dining hall will be converted to meeting space.
Teaching Center
A 7,200-square-foot Teaching and Learning Center is planned to provide work space for graduate students, office space for 15 employees, and spaces for community organizations for training and retreats. Estimated cost is $4.3 million.
The building also will provide a central operations hub and welcoming entry point for visitors to the field campus.
New Cabins
Four cabins are planned to be added to the 10 cabins now on site for students, faculty, staff and visitors, two of which are nearing completion.
Improvements have been made to the existing 10 cabins, including new heating equipment and new furniture.
The new cabins will increase capacity for overnight visitors from 120 now to 150.
Other Plans
Other planned expenses include $300,000 for electrical upgrade and new signs that were installed this summer, Walker said.
A total of $1 million from the fundraising is planned to be placed into an endowment to fund future purchases. Another $1 million would be used for scholarships for student attending campus.
Buildings in the 2014 master plan that have been eliminated include housing for graduate and undergraduate students, housing for the McCall Outdoor Science School, and a 225-seat educational auditorium.
— Tom Grote, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday
Kamiah Fire-Rescue chief injured while responding to rollover crash
KAMIAH — Bill Arsenault, Kamiah Fire-Rescue (KFR) chief, was life-flighted to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center following a serious injury.
He and other KFR members were responding to a rollover crash along Idaho State Highway 64 at 1:30 a.m. July 29 when the injury occurred. Arsenault stepped into a hole as he and others hiked down a steep, rocky, brushy slope to reach an injured person in a vehicle.
“I broke a bunch of bones in my left leg and ankle,” Arsenault said.
Arsenault is thankful to his KFR crew for taking care of him and for Life Flight Network for taking him to St. Joseph’s in Lewiston. Arsenault said he was released from the hospital on Saturday, July 30. The next day he returned home to Nampa, Idaho, to recover with his family.
— Norma Staaf, The Clearwater Progress (Kamiah), Thursday
