Mock disaster teaches valuable lesson
Carrie Kennington / Argus Observer / May 26, 2000

Fruitland High School students came outside Wednesday to the scene of an accident in the parking lot. Thankfully, it was all fake, and next year's student body president was just playing dead on the ground next to a wrecked station wagon.

Fruitland School Resource Officer Jeff Morford got Idaho State Police, United Ambulance, fire crews from Payette and Fruitland and a mortician from Shaffer-Jensen Memorial Chapel of Payette to show students what happens when an accident is reported.

The crews also wanted students to think about driving sober and driving safer to prevent such an accident from happening to them. "What we're trying to instill is safety," Jeff Sands of the Payette Fire Department said. Sands narrated the mock accident so students could follow along with the action. Sands explained to students that after the accident, the lives of the victims will never be the same again.

Then it began.

Morford waited a few minutes after the "accident" happened before dispatching police to the scene.

Time was ticking.

"I can't explain it any other way. Trust me, it will change your life," Sands said.

Ambulance crews also arrived on the scene and found the "dead" James Lewis on the ground covered in fake blood. Three more students were trapped inside the vehicle, including next year's student body vice president Stacy Taylor, and students Kayla Bishop and Jessica Cowgill.

One student was "dead" and was placed in a body bag and put into a hearse, along with Lewis. The two others could not be removed without the help of saws to cut through the car and open the top.

"It's going to take time and that whole time your friend is laying on your lap," Sands said. Once the extrication was finished, the two were moved to the ambulance.

The whole accident from start to finish took 32 minutes. After the incident was over, the victims told the rest of the student body what it felt like. "It's something you don't ever want to go through," Taylor said. "Even though it's fake, it can be real," Evers said.

The station wagon was donated by Art's Service of Ontario.

Morford said he would like to thank the Fruitland schools, the public works department and KSRV.

Back to top

Traffic stop leads to drug arrest
Carrie Kennington / Argus Observer / May 16, 2000

Following a routine traffic stop Saturday, New Plymouth Officer Mike Slover uncovered drugs and a large sum of money the passenger's purse.

New Plymouth Police Chief Lennie Elfering said about 5 p.m., Slover stopped a Nampa couple after he noticed they were driving too close to the vehicle in front of them. Elfering said Slover stopped the couple's vehicle near New Plymouth City Hall.

The driver did not have a driver's license and Elfering said the vehicle was not registered to the man or woman.

Slover asked the couple where they were headed, and according to police, the man and woman gave different stories.

Chad Evers, a student who posed as the drunk driver of the vehicle that "crashed," was taken away and questioned by police.

He was later arrested, cuffed and put into a police car.

Elfering said in a consentual search pursuant to the stop, Slover found drug paraphernalia in the glove compartment of the vehicle. Slover also found 1/2 an ounce of crank and $920 in the woman's purse.

The New Plymouth Police, Elfering said, believe the couple were attempting to make a drug drop. Elfering said the police department had the woman's pager in the office Monday and it was going off every two to three minutes.

The man was charged with failure to carry a driver's license and possession of paraphernalia.

The woman was charged with possession of paraphernalia, possession of controlled substance marijuana and possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver.

The two are being held in the Payette County Jail.

Back to top

Cars are more than a hobby for New Plymouth's Scheihing
Carrie Kennington / Argus Observer / August 20, 1999

One may notice something a little odd about an extra four-car garage on the property of a New Plymouth woman whose children have grown and moved away, but Lyla Scheihing needed some place to put her vintage automobiles.

For more than 20 years Scheihing has pursued a hobby a little different than most women her age -- she restores old cars.

"I've always been fascinated with the idea of the automobile and how it's changed and progressed over the years," Scheihing said. "It's amazing how far we've come."

Scheihing said she first began restoring old cars in the 1970s one day while her husband was out fishing.

That's when she found an old 1952 Studebaker the rest is history.

Her husband eventually turned the old lumber shed on their property into a four-car garage

She said one of the cars took a year and a half to complete, though times vary depending on what other things are going on at the time.

"It's a very slow process to get all the parts and work on it," she said.

But Scheihing said there's never any time for boredom while a car is being restored. She attends many swap meets to get parts for the rare cars.

She said over the years many parts for her cars have come from all over the United States. "It's great socially, because of the people you meet," she said.

Scheihing has also been involved in numerous car shows and is a member of the Treasure Valley Crankers and other clubs organized by auto enthusiasts.

Along with the Studebaker, Scheihing's garage also holds a 1930 Model A Ford, a 1953 Willie's Car and a 1926 Ajax Nash, which she said had its name later changed to the Nash Lights Six, causing the company to recall the nameplates and hubcaps.

Later this month, Scheihing said there is Model A Ford Club Tour, which will take her and many other Model A owners on a caravan to Indian Valley, north of Cambridge. "It's quite showy to have all those Model A's driving along," she said.

Scheihing said the older cars usually don't top 40 miles per hour. They may even have a little car trouble from time to time, but Scheihing is ready with a built-in tool box and an "auxiliary" tank of gas hooked onto the side.

She said her Model A has about a 10-gallon tank. Scheihing added the engine on the Model A is simple, since it uses gravity and therefore doesn't need a gas pump. She said probably her favorite car is her Model A, which she said is more reliable to drive than the others.

"I marvel to think it made it through all these years," she said. "It was in pretty bad shape when I found it." Scheihing said back when other cars were made after the Model A, people tried to get rid of them by driving them off the edge of ravines.

Many of the old cars people buy to restore, she said, have just been walked away from, left sitting out in the country some place.

When she buys an old car and starts the restoration process, Scheihing said she strips the car down to the frame and starts over, replacing parts as she finds them."Some of the old cars even have old wooden parts that have to be replaced," she said.

When the car is finished, she said, it's great to drive it around and have a little piece of history in her garage.

What she is looking for now, however, is a car she has always wanted to restore -- a Ford Model T.

While she is waiting for that day, Scheihing drives her white minivan to work at Waldo Real Estate, taking the occasional spin in her Mustang convertible during the summer.

Her other four cars sit in the old lumber shed, waiting for their day at a car show or driving around the block with a grandchild inside.

Back to top

Looking back over 150 children
Carrie Kennington / Argus Observer / May 15, 2000

Shawn he was stubborn. Mark he had been in a gang. David -- their first. Herb and Opal Futter of Ontario read through the 150 names the names of their children.

"I can put a face with every name, even if they just stayed one night," Opal said.

After 30 years of being foster parents, all that remains is the list the Oregon Youth Authority gave them and some pictures. They also have a lot of memories.

With about six foster children at a time, sometimes up to nine, the Futters helped to raise child runaways to children who had trouble with drugs. Somehow, though, it all seemed to work out.

"They bonded almost like family," Opal said.

The Futters agreed they had a normal family -- children who didn't want to clean their rooms or eat their vegetables, children who didn't want to do the dishes or take out the trash.

The Futters even got to experience some of the children's "firsts."

"Some kids had never roasted a hot dog before," Herb said. "I got to be there when they caught their first fish. They were hooked -- literally."

The Futters started out with young foster children, but it got hard to let them go after having them for a few years. "We just got too attached," Opal said. So they traded in that idea for a different one lots of teen-age boys.

The Futters said they set clear rules and had weekly chores for the children. The boys even found some things they liked to help with, like irrigating the Futters' three acres, caring for the donkeys and horses and mechanical handiwork.

Juan, they remember, loved to cook. He was really good at it, too, they said.

Besides having chores, the Futters also attended seminars on parenting, sought help from therapists and kept in close contact with the school. So close, in fact, that sometimes teachers would contact the Futters if there were any problems.

"The kids thought we had eyes in the back of our heads," Opal said.

The Futters also tried to involve the birth parents of the children as much as they could. "Every child needs to now they are loved by their parents," Opal said. "The number one place that we tried to get them to go to was back to their homes," Herb said.

When the children could go to their homes, it still wasn't easy for Herb and Opal. "It was heart-breaking to let them go," Herb said. "But it was great to see them reunited with their family," Opal added.

The Futters are retired now, planning trips to Alaska and other places.

They still hear from some of their children every now and then, but some they never hear from again.

"We kind of wonder about the ones we don't hear from," Herb said. "Then they call up one day and say, I've got it together and I'm doing great.' It just warms your heart," Opal said.

In fact, the couple heard from Jason just last week. Then there's Shawn -- the stubborn one. "We just didn't think he would make it, he was so stubborn, but now he's married and going to college," Opal said.

Don't forget Mark the one who had been in a gang. "He had a rough childhood," she said. "When he left here he had become a big shot in high school, had started his own band, and he was going to start college."

The couple said they never planned on this when they started with the first one David, who they raised from age 3 to 22 but they said they would do it all over again if they could.

Back to top

Bourasa: Glad to be back in New Plymouth
Carrie Kennington / Argus Observer / June 1, 2000

New Plymouth Police Officer Kelly Bourasa is back at his post, back in the town he loves.

A decade ago Bourasa started working with the New Plymouth Police Department, right along with his buddy, Wade Feldner. "We've known each other since we were itty bitty little kids," he said.

Back in high school, when Bourasa lived in Vale and Feldner lived in Ontario, the two did all kinds of things together. He said they rodeoed quite a bit.

"We'd hunt and fish and buckaroo," he said.

So when the chance came for Bourasa to work with Feldner in 1990, it was an easy decision. It seemed like just another decision to ask Feldner to cover for him the night of Jan. 19, 1994.

Bourasa had an event to go to, so Feldner stepped in for his friend. What happened later on in Feldner's shift took Bourasa years to get over.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 20, 1994, Feldner conducted a routine check of a vehicle parked at the New Plymouth High School.

Moments later he was shot and killed.

Bourasa was in bed when he got the call his friend was dead.

His first reaction was denial. He remembers thinking, "No, it's not true, they have it wrong."

The shock overtook Bourasa and the town of New Plymouth. Some were angry that something like that could happen in the small farming community.

Bourasa was hurt because he had lost a dear friend. He still had to cover his shift the next night, though. "I don't think I functioned really well," he said. "But I was there." That's what mattered.

His friend Feldner had been there for him. Bourasa still had a job to do, and he did it. He was there for his town of New Plymouth.

Bourasa still thinks about the night his friend died. After all, it could have been him. Bourasa said he thinks that it could have been him "everyday."

"It's something that comes with the job," he said. Policeman have to kind of expect it, he said. "It's like the military. You hope it ain't one of your comrades," he said. "But when you go out to a car accident and you see a kid mangled up, you're thinking about your kids. "It's mind over matter. That's why some policemen have a sick sense of humor," he said.

Bourasa admits he'd rather be ranching than policing, but ranching does not make enough money to support his family in Weiser. So he continues to try to keep the streets of New Plymouth safe.

"If nobody was willing to put their life on the line, then who would? I would feel better me doing that because it's me. I'd much rather do that than have people in the community do it."

That is the reason Bourasa came back to New Plymouth. He loves people in the small Idaho town, and it is his job to protect them. They are the kind of people who stop by the police department just to say "Hello."

He said the older people in town have the best stories to tell, and he loves hearing them.

For a while, though, the streets of New Plymouth were too tame for Bourasa. "You get tired when you drive around and have nothing to do," he said. As a young officer Bourasa decided to try Payette on for size.

From 1995 to 1999 he harvested the excitement he thought he wanted. He soon found out his roots were back in New Plymouth. "In Payette, you're running around so much you don't get a chance to talk to people," he said. "If you stop in just to talk to someone, the first thing they think is that they did something wrong."

Not so in New Plymouth.

Bourasa can wave to everyone and stop by and help a neighbor pull weeds.

So Bourasa is back to work at his post. Bourasa's first day back was May 15. This time he may not be back to work with an old buddy, but Bourasa is working with a good friend, New Plymouth Police Chief Lennie Elfering. "Me and Lennie go way back," Bourasa said.

The town of New Plymouth and Bourasa go way back, too. And hopefully, this time he's here for good.

Back to top

New EPA restrictions could mean trouble locally
Carrie Kennington and Mary Aldred / Argus Observer / June 13, 2000

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a proposal to change the standard level of arsenic in wells from 50 parts per billion to 5 parts per billion and the shift could hit hard locally.

The modification of the current EPA standards, in effect since 1975, could make an immediate impact locally because Malheur County, along with Washington and Payette counties in Idaho, have some of the highest levels of arsenic in the nation.

Residents of those counties have area landmarks to thank.

If the proposal is approved by the EPA in January, the federal agency said "only 12 percent of community water systems would need to take corrective actions to lower arsenic levels in drinking water to 5 ppb."

Some cities within the tri-county area fall within that 12 percent. Consumers can attribute the high levels of arsenic to the scenic landmarks that dot the valley. Virginia Gillerman, of the Idaho Geological Survey in Boise, said buttes in the area are evidence of what happened millions of years ago and contribute to arsenic levels today.

She said the buttes are areas where arsenic-carrying hot springs circulated along the fractures in the earth.

Some of those hot springs, she said, are still around.

"Rocks in (the) area have unusual amounts (of arsenic) in them," Gillerman said.

The rocks in the Northwest are relatively young compared to the rest of the nation, and the arsenic contained within the rocks is still weathering out, Gillerman said.

She said another possibility for the origin of arsenic could be pesticides and herbicides.

"A lot of fruit tree sprays can have heavy metals," she said.

Mike Holladay, engineer for many area cities, introduced the EPA's proposal to the New Plymouth City Council during its regular meeting June 5.

He said New Plymouth's two wells, one which has an arsenic level of 10 ppb and the other which has 13 ppb, would not comply with the new standard.

Though not a law right now, Holladay said he thinks the proposal will be passed.

Jerry Campbell, Fruitland public works supervisor, said each of the 11 wells in Fruitland are above the proposed standard of 5 ppb.

In fact, two of the wells are so close to the current standard they must be tested every three months.

With the standard at 0.050, he said, one well is at 0.048 and another is at 0.034. If either of those wells were to exceed the limit, he said, the well would be shut off and an alternate well would be used.

Campbell said he's heard about the EPA's arsenic proposal for the past year or so, but he said there is not much the city can do until a law is passed because treatments are expensive, and they are not sure which of the many remedies available to choose. If the proposal passes, the EPA will likely recommend treatments.

Campbell said the EPA will probably allow a grace period if the standard is passed, to allow affected water systems to install treatment plans.

"It's a disappointment that they're considering it," he said. Water treatment may cause water rates to go up, Campbell said. He said the affected cities will also try to find funding through grants.

Another problem, Campbell said, will be what to do with the arsenic once it is removed from the water.

Unlike some area water systems, Ontario Water Treatment Supervisor Ken Rawson said Ontario's water would be ready if the EPA's proposal passed.

In 1999, Ontario's drinking water, which is a blend of the Snake River and a shallow well, tested at 5 ppb for arsenic.

Its low count, he said, can be attributed to the use of surface water and the shallowness of the city's well.

"If it were a deep aquifer, you would see a higher level of arsenic," Rawson said.

Weiser also has a water plant that produces drinking water from surface water, and its arsenic level in 1998 was 7 ppb. The two wells in Weiser are at 25 ppb and 26 ppb. One of the wells is in use.

Rod Millbrook, Weiser water superintendent, said if the EPA's proposal passes, the wells would probably be shut down and the water plant would supply the drinking water. Plans are in the making to upgrade the water plant, Millbrook said.

Millbrook said the EPA proposes a lot of new standards, but he said the technology is out there to meet the more stringent standards.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996, the EPA has to finalize a new regulation by January 2001, according to the EPA's press release. The EPA said its goal in changing the standard is to "significantly reduce public health risks."

The recommendation of the standards change is based on the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences' assessments of the risks of skin, lung and bladder cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and anemia, as well as other effects.

According to a National Academy of Sciences news Web site, "No human studies of sufficient scope in the United States have directly examined whether regular consumption of arsenic in drinking water at EPA's current standard increases the risk of cancer or other adverse health effects.

Rather, the committee's characterization of risk is based on findings from the international studies, experimental data on the mechanisms through which arsenic causes cancer, and available information on human susceptibility."

Robin Woods, of the EPA, said the agency took updated scientific data on arsenic from the National Academy of Sciences and decided 5 ppb was prudent for public health, though its public health goal is 0 ppb.

The EPA is taking public comment for 90 days. The EPA's drinking water hotline is (800) 426-4791.

Back to top

Home | Babes | Guys | Farm

Copyright © 2000 Carrie Kennington

Do not copy, use or distribute without permission