GARVEE
Idaho board to request $125 million
The Idaho Transportation Board Wednesday recommended issuing another $125 million in bonds next year to finance reconstruction and expansion of the state’s highways and bridges. The bond request is part of the $998 million GARVEE Transportation Program approved by the Idaho Legislature.
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Highways
D-5 groups honored for highway cleanups
Sections of state highway in southeast Idaho are cleaner today because of two strikingly different groups, one large and one small. Wednesday the Idaho Transportation Board honored the Bannock County Sheriff’s Inmate Labor Detail and the two-person team of Tony and Jeanne Varilone as Adopt-A-Highway groups of the year for District 5.
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ITD, Fish & Game unveil wildlife crossing Web site
As most of you know, the issue of collisions involving wildlife and vehicles is a very costly and dangerous element in our daily use of Idaho roadways. Many of us in the environmental arena have been working for a number of years to arrive at some sort of solution to cut down on the number of incidents encountered yearly.
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Missing colleague
Search continues for ITD's Eric Elle
Solid leads remain elusive nearly two weeks after ITD’s Eric Elle was reported missing from his duties as a motor vehicle inspector. Aerial searches, which concentrated on highways and roads in southeast Idaho and expanded to other parts of the state, were discontinued early this week. More than a half-dozen aircraft were activated at one point in an attempt to find Elle, 60. 
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Charitable giving
ITD director to lead state employees' campaign
ITD Director Pam Lowe will welcome leaders from other state departments Wednesday to formally launch the 2008 State Charitable Giving Campaign that benefits non-profit organizations throughout Idaho. Lowe, who will serve as chairperson of this year’s United We Care – Idaho State Employee Charitable Giving Campaign, will encourage her peers to support the drive and work internally with their respective state employees to generate contributions
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Safety
ITD continues alliance with OSHA
ITD affirmed its commitment to occupational safety and training by extending its participation in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Alliance Program. Director Pam Lowe joined OSHA representatives Bill Bankhead and Jerrold R. Hockett recently in renewing a three-year contract initially signed in 2005.
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Aeronautics
Pape honored for work with business aviation group
Mike Pape, director of ITD’s flight operations the past year, was honored with the “Silk Scarf” award Thursday during a luncheon meeting of the Idaho Business Aviation Association at the Boise Airport, signifying his membership in an elite aviation organization.
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Employees
Don't pack around someone else's garbage
One day I hopped on a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded and missed the other car by just inches.
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In Memoriam
• Laurence F. Browning
•  Larry F. Free 
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Research
TRB engages in information sharing visit
Peter Shaw maintained a three-day schedule this week that would rival a physician’s – non-stop appointments from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and beyond, with few pauses. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) senior program officer, who is based in Washington, D.C., met with ITD officials and university faculty in Boise on an information sharing mission. The non-profit research organization, chartered by Congress, dispatches staff members to all state transportation departments to discuss ongoing and proposed research projects.
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Highways
Fire in the hole
Two weeks of preparation, a couple hours packing the charge, and stopping all the traffic for as little time as possible. When there’s only one road for traffic to use for a hundred miles in either direction, blasting at a place like Galena Summit has to go right the first time.

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ITD unveils new detour plan for incident management
ITD’s emergency program office introduced an updated Transportation Incident Management Plan late this summer that contains an important new feature – clear identification of preferred detours designed to keep traffic flowing during highway closures. Mapping detours for most of Idaho’s state highways has been a two-year process, guided by consultant Kimley-Horn, an Arizona-based company that recently opened an office in Meridian.
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Public Transportation
Independent living group teams with AmeriCorps
A statewide organization that supports independent living for Idaho’s special-needs population has joined with AmeriCorps to create an accessible transportation network. The Idaho State Independent Living Council this week announced creation of the new program through an AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service and Serve Idaho.
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Employees
Supplemental life insurance option available
As a benefited state employee, you have a free basic life insurance policy that is worth your annual salary  (minimum of $20,000). This plan is underwritten by The Principal Financial Group and is administered by The State of Idaho Office of Group Insurance. Along with this policy, you have an option to apply for two separate supplemental insurance policies. The first one is a direct supplement to the basic plan. This one is worth an additional annual salary (minimum of $20,000.00).  The cost is based on your age and annual salary.  The enrollment for this option is only available upon hire.  However, a health statement may be submitted for consideration.
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HRD training schedule
	Oct. 28-30	Basic Communication
	Nov. 18-20	Intermediate Communication
	Dec. 9-11	Introduction to Supervision
This schedule represents training classes available at Headquarters. For schedules at specific districts, please contact your EST or refer to the training calendar.