Regional News Roundup: Donation gives Lewis County livestock building project a boost

Stories in this Regional News Roundup 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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NEZPERCE — A $10,000 donation last week from Freedom Northwest Credit Union is a big boost toward constructing a new livestock building for the Lewis County Fair.

The contribution was made Aug. 4, by Betty Cloninger, FNWCU board member, to Libby Richardson, president of the Big Butte Buck-A-Roos 4-H Club.

“We are big supporters of our youth,” Cloninger said, “and we felt that this was a great opportunity to show that support, with many, many children in our local area.”

For this year, the Lewis County Fair, Sept. 29-Oct. 2, will be set at the Idaho County Fairgrounds in Cottonwood. This is due to the loss of the livestock building on Jan. 6 of this year in Nezperce when heavy snowload combined with precipitation caused the steel structure to collapse. While some building contents were able to be salvaged, the overall structure was a complete loss.

Last month, the Lewis County Commission awarded the $925,000 bid to Arnzen Construction of Cottonwood to put up a new livestock barn.

“We’re scheduled to have the building completed by the end of July (2023), because we really want to have the fair in our county next year,” said Lewis County Commissioner Justin McLeod, “and the contractor certainly believes that’s an attainable goal.”

With the bid awarded, the project is in the planning stage with work being developed on the contract and schedule. According to McLeod, the building has been ordered with delivery in approximately 10 weeks.

“The original building was 80 by 140, and it came right up to the streets,” he explained, with doors on the alley, for example, opening right onto the alley. “So for setbacks and safety, were changing the size,” to 100 by 120, which is slightly larger while also setting more distance between it and the road, and improving safety.

The county’s insurance provider, ICRMP (Idaho Counties Risk Management Program) will fund replacement of the structure to the standard of what was on site, explained McLeod. However, both the Lewis County Fair Board and county commissioners opted to raise additional funds a goal of $160,000 to provide improvements and amenities. FNWCR’s donation last week will go toward these extras.

Bathrooms alone are estimated to eat up the majority of this, $120,000, with additional plans to install insulation, radiant propane heaters, as well as a concessionary where 4-H clubs can sell food items as a fundraiser during the fair. So far, the project has raised around $75,000, according to McLeod.

“It’s a big number,” he said, “referring to the $160,000, but it’s an obtainable goal at this point.”

— David Rauzi, The Clearwater Progress (Kamiah), Thursday

Salmon River to ask patrons for $495k levy

RIGGINS — A clerical glitch earlier this year canceled the Salmon River levy election; however, that error has been remedied on the ballot and the election is on.

Tuesday, Aug. 30, Salmon River Joint School District 243 will be asking voters to renew its supplemental levy of $495,000. This is not on top of the previous year’s levy, but completely replaces the prior year’s levy.

“The levy is needed to help fund the district operations that are not fully covered by state funding,” said board trustee Cody Killmar.

Supplemental levies are common in Idaho school districts, as currently 92 out of 115 school districts in the state rely on supplemental levy funding.

Riggins has been able to successfully pass school levies with a wide margin of support for the past 16 years. For years, the district’s levy was set up at $545,000, and last year it was $515,000.

“Levy monies will be used to preserve class sizes and continue the high-quality programs that make our schools a great choice for students in Riggins,” said new superintendent Trish Simonson.

Should the levy fail, the school board would have to consider how to cut $495,000 from the budget, Killmar explained.

“This could mean the reduction or elimination of some programs in which students benefit from and/or participate in, and none of us wants to see that,” he said. “I have always been impressed with how our community supports its schools and I am asking for that support again.”

— Lorie Palmer, Idaho County Free Press (Grangeville), Wednesday