Archive - 2013 - Latest News
March 6th
POCATELLO — Sixth Judicial District Judge Robert Naftz sentenced Jason Lee Rollene, age 37, of Blackfoot Monday on two counts of video voyeurism. In November, Rollene changed his plea to guilty.
"To protect society and to deter you and others from this felony, I am sentencing you to three years fixed and two years indeterminate," Naftz said.
The judge then retained jurisdiction for 365 days. Rollene will be turned over to the Department of Correction.
BLACKFOOT — Blackfoot Mayor Mike Virtue accepted the resignation of Police Chief Dave Moore at the City Council meeting Tuesday night.
Virtue read aloud the resignation letter submitted by Moore stating that "while his decision comes with some mixed feelings, he has decided that it's time' to retire." Moore's official retirement date will be May 31. A native of Pocatello, Moore has served as Blackfoot Chief of Police since 1997.
March 4th
East Idahoans are proud of their heritage and they showed up in force to celebrate it at the Eastern Idaho 150 Kickoff Celebration at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Events Center Monday night. Committee Chair Jacquee Alvord said she couldn't have been more pleased with the attendance of over 700 people in celebration of Idaho becoming a territory.
"This is the first time such an event has taken place," a beaming Alvord said. "This is unique; it's quite the gathering and it's only the beginning of a year full celebrations in honor of the sesquicentennial."
March 1st
Magistrate Judge Gilman Gardner found probable cause to bind Blackfoot resident Adan Adolfo Arroyo, 22, for trial after seven hours of testimony in a preliminary hearing on Friday.
Arroyo faces two felony counts, one for first degree murder and the second for use of a deadly weapon in commission of a felony.
Arroyo is accused in the shooting death of 21-year-old Kristy Aschliman on Jan. 19.
February 28th
On Thursday afternoon, The Willows Assisted Living & Memory Care in Blackfoot hosted its first Senior Awareness Day.
A variety of services were available for exploration. These included hair care for mature hair and information about adult cradle cap, elder care--estate and life care planning for seniors--and denture care.
Information about home health and hospice services, pharmacy services and diabetic foot care was also available.
“What I’m emphasizing here today is crime prevention for senior citizens and how to get rid of unused meds,†said Blackfoot Police Detective Paul Hardwicke.
The Snake River Panthers took center stage as they opened the 2013 Class3A state basketball championship tournament against the Buhl Indians on Thursday. Riding a nine-game winning streak Snake River looked to run it to 10 and that is exactly what they did, although it was a little tighter than anticipated, as they held off a furious Buhl comeback attempt before escaping with a 38-37 victory.
While many urgent issues need to be addressed, Blackfoot School District 55 trustees will not have a school board meeting in the month of February, because of a lack of a quorum to legally conduct business.
February 27th
Students from Blackfoot and Firth high schools will have a full day in a real Bingham County courtroom on Saturday. They will be competing in the annual "Idaho Law Foundation's" Mock Trial Competition.
Four teams consisting of 6 to 9 students from Valerie Williams (BHS) and Trevor Clayson's (FHS) "Mock Trial Classes" will compete against one another, playing various roles as they simulate a real trial on "battery and bullying allegations."
Local attorneys Ann Taylor and Jared Harris volunteered as "attorney coaches" preparing the students for the competition.
February 26th
Southeast Idaho residents  Stacy Stutts, a freelance film producer formerly with CNN and Al Jazeera, and brothers Jonas and Ivan Marcinko recently attended and filmed a project called Wings of Kilimanjaro. Â
This took place on Feb. 5 on the African mountain itself.
Stacy, Jonas and Ivan, along with a group of 95 paragliders from 27 different countries and a crew of over 750 guides and porters ,ascended ‘Kili’ as the locals sometimes call it, to cover the story.
The Idaho contingent was there to cover the extreme event. The goal was to launch the biggest paragliding event to date.
