Idaho town hopes for a happier 2006

PRESTON, Idaho – Preston, famed as the site of the 2004 independent film “Napoleon Dynamite,” is trying to recover from a 2005 that saw its former police chief sent to prison, fraud charges against a former mayor, and a fire that destroyed a historic building.

A new four-lane highway extending from Logan to Preston could be an economic lifeline for the growing town of 5,000.

To take care of that growth, city officials say, requires three new water projects. “Our goals are No. 1 to get these water projects done and No. 2 to stay ahead of the growth thing,” Preston Mayor Neal Larson said. “We know there’s still some repercussions we have to deal with, but I think most of it’s behind us.”

“Napoleon Dynamite” followed the offbeat exploits of a teenage boy in a rural southeastern Idaho community. Among its awards, it won Best Picture at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.

But that was followed by Preston’s former police chief, Scott Shaw, being sentenced in November to up to five years in prison for misuse of public money and perjury.

A day later, the Idaho attorney general’s office filed separate felony fraud charges against Preston’s former mayor, Jay Brent Heusser, accusing him of double-booking $1,300 in travel expenses to Washington, D.C.

In mid-December, a fire gutted a historic building that had recently reopened after being renovated, causing half a million dollars in damage.

“I think we’re on the rebound,” said Larson, who jokingly refers to his two years as mayor as a “sentence.” “We’re looking forward.”

Larson said that recent events have forced the community to evaluate what’s important. “The council’s been more active and the one thing we do know is we live in a great place and we want to keep it like that,” he said.