In brief: YMCA increases fundraising goal

So many more people in need wanted to take part in programs offered by the YMCA of the Inland Northwest last year that the organization boosted its fundraising goal for scholarships.

The YMCA’s Partners for Youth annual campaign raised its 2011 goal to $550,000, from $330,000 the previous year, communications director Mary Berry said.

“Last year we actually saw a 50 percent increase in programs and memberships for folks in need,” she said.

The nonprofit has raised about 65 percent of its goal – $360,611 – so far, Berry said. The Partners for Youth campaign launched on Feb. 3 and is scheduled to wrap up on March 3.

Berry said the money is used for scholarships in specific programs, such as swim lessons or youth sports, as well as to subsidize sliding-scale memberships for the low-income.

“More people are in need of our services but more people are aware of (them) as well,” Berry said of the dramatic increase in demand for scholarships.

Craig touts bills to delist wolves

BOISE – Former Idaho U.S. Sen. Larry Craig is working for a sportsmen’s group that wants Congress to lift Endangered Species Act protections from wolves on the grounds the prolific predators are hurting big game populations.

Craig represents Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife and was in Idaho’s Capitol this week, touting wolf delisting bills now in the U.S. House and Senate.

Lawmakers, including Idaho U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, Craig’s successor in Washington, D.C., seek to bypass the Endangered Species Act and lift 36-year-old protections for today’s booming U.S. wolf population.

Craig told the state House Resources and Conservation Committee a new law would return management of wildlife to states, reversing decades of federal government encroachment. Craig believes the Republican landslide in last November’s election increases the likelihood of congressional action.

Idaho agency hiring four seasonal rangers

The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation is advertising for four seasonal trail ranger positions.

The rangers will perform trail work from the end of May through the end of September. Pay is $9.50 per hour, with a $30 per day per-diem allowance. Applicants must be 18 or older with expert riding skills.

They need to be able to handle a Yamaha WR250F loaded down with 40 pounds of gear on narrow, rocky, steep, rutted trails.

One ranger is needed in North Idaho, two in Southwestern Idaho and one in East Idaho. For more information, visit www.parksand recreation.idaho.gov.

Elementary school signup is March 8

Registration is March 8 for kindergartners and new first-graders planning to attend in the Coeur d’Alene School District in the fall.

Parents need to bring a student’s certified birth certificate, immunization records and proof of address (rental receipt or utility bill), said Laura Rumpler, district spokeswoman. To be eligible for kindergarten, a child must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1.

Registration is 9:30 a.m. to noon for students who live in the boundaries of Borah, Bryan, Dalton, Fernan, Hayden Meadows, Sorensen and Winton elementary schools.  

Students living in the Atlas, Ramsey and Skyway areas also need to register at their neighborhood schools 9:30 a.m. to noon on March 8, but they will attend school at the Hayden Kinder Center in the fall.

For information, call the nearest elementary school or the district, (208) 664-8241.