February 11, 2011

Transportation board
Meeting to begin with ACHD, State Comm tours
Idaho Transportation Board members will get a first-hand look at Treasure Valley traffic and a program to monitor it when they tour the Ada County Highway District’s traffic management center Wednesday. The board also will tour the State Communications (State Comm) center in Meridian in the afternoon.
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Board visits Aeronautics before January meeting
The Idaho Transportation Board prepared for its last business meeting(Jan. 19, 20) by making a side trip – to the Division of Aeronautics facilities located at the Boise Municipal Airport and an informal visit with the five-member Aeronautics Advisory Board. Every year, the Transportation Board is briefed on aviation activities throughout the state. The tour of Aeronautics and meeting with the advisory committee provided valuable background information on the state’s aeronautics system.
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Wildlife
National Geographic to film District 6 moose project
Ongoing wildlife research conducted in the Island Park area of District 6 will be part of a documentary filmed by National Geographic Television. David Hamlin, the Emmy Award-winning producer of the National Geographic Explorer series is working on a new documentary that focuses on America’s “Big 5. “
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Performance
Governing magazine acknowledges ITD dashboard
ITD’s new web-based dashboard that tracks progress in nine transportation performance areas caught the attention of Governing magazine, a nationwide publication for state and local government leaders. Managing Editor Elizabeth Daigneau described ITD's use of technology in the magazine's Jan. 27 online edition as part of the "Idea Center" column.
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Telephones
Headquarters phone replacements begin Feb. 18
A new telephone system and new phones will be installed throughout Headquarters buildings beginning at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 18, and continuing through Monday, Feb. 21. A large group of people will be involved with the deployment, going into each office and cubicle, rapidly changing out the phones.
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Highway safety
Meridian officers urge drivers to turn off cell phones
Take attention away from driving long enough to scan a text message or search for a contact and you may find that your motor vehicle has traveled more than three city blocks with no one looking at the road ahead. Sgt. John Gonzales and officer Will Stoy, with the Meridian Police Department, recently talked about the dangers of texting while driving at a Headquarters presentation sponsored by the ITD Safety Committee.
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Employees
HRS offers new 'benefits' link on Intranet
We would like to introduce you to the new Intranet Benefits Link (Under Human Resources-Things you need to know). The purpose of this link is to quickly help you understand the various benefits and direct you to valuable resources. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with this new tool.
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Credit union offers tips on tax process
Mandy Wood, Icon Credit Union
It is that time again that we all should be thinking about taxes! Get ahead of the game by doing your taxes early and be one of the first to get your money back. Icon Credit Union provides some helpful tips on preparing your tax return -- gather all your info; watch for W-2 and 1099s; use free file or a hire a professional; consider e-file and direct deposit.
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Highways
Cloverdale bridge to get new surface
The first major resurfacing of the Cloverdale Overpass Bridge deck since its construction nearly 45 years ago will take place in July. The bridge spans Interstate 84 in Boise. The resurfacing project is scheduled around the close of Spalding Elementary School for summer vacation. The school is located at the base of the bridge on the north side.
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FHWA
New website to foster information exchange
Victor Mendez, administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, recently introduced a new “first-person” web-based information exchange program for transportation professionals, “Every Day Counts.” The initial edition of the forum includes discussions of the challenges and opportunities faced by professionals and leaders from across the country. They provide input on the questions, “Why innovate?” and “Why now?”
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ITD Mailbox
• Right man for right of way
• Lives saved, improved by Driver Services support
• At the top of his list for service
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Wearing red for a worthy cause


A group of ITD women who share a passion to reduce heart disease also shared a common color recently – they all wore red as part of an American Heart Association program to raise awareness of the disease. The “Go Red for Women” program encourages awareness of the issue of women and heart disease, and also action to save more lives. Headquarters employees who supported the effort by wearing red were: Back row (l to r): Janie Stillwell, Jo O’Connor, Karin Walser, Rebecca Howell, Alice Askarnia and Dana Bailey; Front row (l to r): Patti Fanckboner, Karli Hitchcock and Sandy Nelson.

Encore
 Published February 4, 2011

Human Resources

Performance management makes organizations stronger
From Mary Harker, Chief Human Resource Officer
Performance Management is a broad topic and has several components to it. The Executive Leadership team is committed to making the most of performance management in order to align the department top to bottom and ensure that we all focusing on the same goals: improving safety, enhancing mobility and supporting the economy.

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Affirmative Action Plan on Intranet for easy access
ITD’s five-year Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) is available on the department’s Intranet site for easy access. The AAP focuses on the hiring, training and promoting of individuals in protected classes that are under-represented within ITD’s workforce. The plan establishes employment goals for minorities and women whose representation in the workforce is less than would be reasonably expected by availability estimates of the qualified labor pool.
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Information
Survey shows how Treasure Valley residents learn of projects
Reaching the public with road construction information – how traffic might be impacted and how businesses and patrons will be affected by what we’re doing – has been a vital part of ITD’s project plans for decades. Recently we conducted a survey to see how drivers generally receive – or would like to get – their construction information. The results were very encouraging. Respondents were overwhelmingly positive about the construction bulletins they received by e-mail from ITD.
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Employees
Rosti appointed to chair internal review subcommittee
Carolyn (Carri) Rosti recently was appointed to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials subcommittee on Internal/External Audits. AASHTO president Susan Martinovich announced the appointment last week. Rosti, ITD’s manager of internal review, has been selected to serve a two-year term as the subcommittee's chairwoman.
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