Best ideas for region homegrown, Otter says

BOISE – In his keynote speech this past week at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s big annual conference in Boise, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter had some sharp words for the federal governments of both Idaho and Canada.

Otter told the group the best answers come from groups like PNWER, which brings together state and provincial officials from the U.S. and Canada to address regional issues. Ideas that bubble up from communities around the region, he said, “are going to be a whole lot better than either you get out of Ottawa or we get out of Washington in the United States.” That drew a burst of applause. “I’m gonna look for answers from you,” he said. “… All we need is for the rest of those folks to get the hell out of the way.”

Among those Otter was fingering: He said at a recent meeting of Western state governors in Park City, Utah, federal officials attending included representatives of “the White House committee on we’re gonna disapprove of whatever you want to do – whatever that committee is called.” That drew a laugh. “By the completion of this conference, I believe we can start truly planting the seeds for designing our own destiny,” Otter declared.

Bear found and it’s OK

The mama grizzly bear that attacked an eastern Idaho hunter after his hounds surrounded her and her cubs has been located. And either the hunter’s brother missed when he fired his pistol at the bear, or any wound she suffered was minor.

Idaho Fish and Game reports that DNA tests showed the grizzly was a radio-collared female with three cubs who was known to be in the area. Spotted by a Fish and Game monitoring flight, both the collared bear and her three cubs “appeared fine,” reported Daryl Meints, regional wildlife manager for the Upper Snake Region of Idaho Fish and Game.

The injured hunter was treated for lacerations to his right arm. He and two others were hunting black bears when they surprised the grizzly; the incident left Fish and Game warning that a wounded grizzly might be on the loose in the area, on Bishop Mountain near Harriman State Park. Now, officials “recommend that anyone heading into the backcountry carry bear spray.”

Kootenai official leads national board

Kootenai County Clerk Dan English has been named chairman of the Standards Board of the United States Election Assistance Commission, a 110-member panel that oversees election issues nationwide under the Help America Vote Act.

His vice chair is North Dakota Deputy Secretary of State Jim Silrum, and Indiana Elections co-director Brad King is the secretary.

Lawmakers study energy

Legislators from the U.S. and Canada will have a chance to learn about energy issues through a new Legislative Energy Horizon Institute. Otter joined University of Idaho President Duane Nellis to announce the new certification program, along with Washington House Speaker Pro-Tem Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon, and Idaho state Sen. Curtis McKenzie, R-Nampa. Nellis said the institute will help prepare policymakers for a “future that I think will be more promising as far as sustainability.”

McKenzie is among four Idaho lawmakers in the first 36-person class of the certification program; it includes lawmakers from six states and two Canadian provinces. The program will run for 18 months and result in a certificate in energy policy planning for the participating lawmakers. It’s a joint project of PNWER and the National Conference of State Legislatures, in partnership with UI and the U.S. Department of Energy, which is providing funding.

The program is a pilot project; if it’s successful, it could be expanded beyond the region.

Last out-of-state inmates return

Idaho’s state Department of Correction says it’s brought back 188 inmates who were being housed in a private prison in Oklahoma, and that completes the job – Idaho now has no more inmates housed out of state due to overcrowding. It’s been four years since the state could say that. “This is a milestone for the department and something the people of Idaho can truly celebrate,” said Brent Reinke, state corrections director.