July 24, 2009
Change provides opportunity to move forward as a team
ITD community,
We extend to each of you our sincere appreciation for the unwavering loyalty and dedication you have shown during the recent administrative changes. While change can present challenges, the cooperation, support and commitment to move forward together that you have demonstrated is greatly appreciated. The challenge ahead is to continue doing what we do best and to do it even better.
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Highways
Gov. Otter leads ceremony to begin construction of new bridge
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter joined business and government leaders this morning to formally launch a project that will replace one of Idaho’s most dangerous bridges, improve safety for motorists and sustain or create 400 jobs. More than 100 people participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Dover Bridge on U.S. 2.
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Volunteer firefighters join highway cleanup battle
When the emergency call comes in, members of the East Side Fie Protection District respond. Their primary goal is to save lives, property and land. When there is no call, members engage in another form of saving property and land – they clean it up. Volunteer firefighters also volunteer to clean up a 26-mile stretch of Idaho 97 as part of the Idaho Transportation Department’s Adopt-A-Highway program.
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Log cabin navigates twists, turns of Idaho 55
As reported in last week's Transporter, a red log cabin was moved from its home in Horseshoe Bend to Smiths Ferry Tuesday afternoon and into the wee hours Wednesday morning. The cabin was donated to Chapel of the Pines church to serve in their ministry. The entire 33-mile operation was slated to run until 6 a.m. Wednesday, but was actually completed four hours earlier because of ideal travel and traffic conditions.
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Hot cars
Rising temperatures turn cars into lethal greenhouses
There’s little debate – cars and alcohol can be deadly combinations. Add extreme heat as a contributor to fatalities. Anytime ambient, outdoor temperatures reach the 80s, inside temperatures can rapidly rise to more than 100 degrees, proving lethal to children and pets that have been left inside with no relief.
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Environment
Officials discuss Idaho 74 wetlands/mitigation plan
On a field trip to the Boulder Flats mitigation site along Idaho 75 north of Ketchum, about 30 federal, state and local representatives discussed the plan to realign the road and recreate several acres of Big Wood River wetlands. It’s a plan that will take a lot of cooperation between the agencies, it won’t please everyone but in the end will be the most beneficial to the natural state of the land.
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Employees
Two trainers join department
The Human Resource Development training unit introduces two new professional development trainers: Stephanie Miller-Sayegh (pronounced Sawegg) and Mark Vachon (pronounced Vahshawn). You can expect to see them out and about in HQ and district offices in the near future. Now that Stephanie and Mark have joined the team, we will be able to move forward toward our long-standing goal of reviewing and revising existing trainings as well as developing new ones. Please join us in welcoming Stephanie and Mark to the department.
– Marcia Aitken
Administrative change
Board announces Lowe's departure; Stokes named Acting director
Pamela Lowe will no longer serve as director of the Idaho Transportation Department effective July 31, the Idaho Transportation Board announced. Lowe has been director since 2007.
The transportation board Thursday named Deputy Director L. Scott Stokes as acting director while a search is conducted for a permanent replacement. Stokes started with the department in 1992 and served as deputy director since 2007.
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Board member Sweeney honored for gift
Work to renovate Lewiston High School's track and field facility is moving right along. A new terraced seating area at the Vollmer Bowl looks like it will quadruple the number of seats for track fans. The project is set to be finished before school starts late this summer. But more impressive than the new seating capacity is the generosity that made the project possible.
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Employees
State limits service awards to certificates
In response to the realities of a deteriorating economy, the governor’s office has made the directive that state funds no longer be used to purchase service awards. In a memo to all Executive Branch Agencies Judie Wright, Administrator of the Division of Human Resources, stated that, “Beginning July 1, 2009, DHR will send the agencies certificates of service signed by the governor for those employees reaching a service milestone...
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WASHTO
Projects creating jobs, bolster economy
Directors of state departments of transportation from more than a dozen states described at a news conference this week the rapid pace of delivering jobs and highway projects to bolster the nation’s economic recovery. Nationwide, 2,000 construction projects are now under way, worth more than $6 billion. A total of 5,600 projects have been identified and approved for bidding, which means that a total of $16.7 billion will be flowing into the economy over the next two years.
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