Minidoka County says no to old trailers • Fertility rates high in Idaho • Kempthorne’s Endangered Species Act overhaul criticized • Sun Valley Center for the Arts director on the way out • Gem State native had big career with Westinghouse • Delicious bass just got a little less delicious

Minidoka County says no to old trailers

Minidoka County commissioners signed a moratorium Monday prohibiting mobile homes made before July 1976 from moving into or relocating within the county.

"We are doing this because all the counties surrounding us already have ordinances in place and we were becoming a dumping ground," said Minidoka County Commissioner Bob Moore.

Commissioners think the problem mainly occurs when mobile homes are moved onto farms and ranches and used as living quarters for hired help.

The moratorium will remain in effect for a year while the county's planning and zoning committee passes an ordinance on the issue.

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Fertility rates high in Idaho

The number of women ages 40 to 44 who remain childless has doubled in a generation, the U.S. Census reported Monday.

USA Today says in June 2006, 20% of women in that age group remained childless. Thirty years ago it was 10%.

The Census data shows that Utah, Nebraska and Idaho have the highest fertility rates among women.

Other trends:

• New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island have the lowest fertility rates.

• The highest fertility levels occurred among women with a graduate or professional degree.

• 36% of women who had children were not married.

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Kempthorne's Endangered Species Act overhaul criticized

Papers all over the country, including the Washington Post, are editorializing about Interior Secretary and former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne's suggested changes to the Endangered Species Act.

Kempthorne suggests far-reaching changes to the consultation process between the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service and other agencies. The changes would "render the process meaningless and put all protected species at risk" according to the Post's editorial.

Under Kempthorne's plan, agencies would be able to decide for themselves whether a project such as building a highway is likely to harm a species. If an agency decided to consult on the possible impact, the Fish and Wildlife Service would have 60 days (with the possibility of a 60-day extension) to issue an opinion. If it didn't meet that deadline, the other agency could end the consultation and proceed.

The Post thinks that tossing the consultation process could and should be avoided.

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Sun Valley Center for the Arts director on the way out

Sam Gappmayer, executive director of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Ketchum, is heading off for greener pastures to lead the Colorado Springs, Colorado, Fine Arts Center.

Gappmayer, who has been the director in Ketchum since 2002, will start in Colorado Springs in October.

"Sam Gappmayer has a significant history of achievement in taking the arts organizations he has served to higher ground," Jon Stepleton, chairman of the arts center's board of trustees, said in a statement. "And he has done so in a highly collaborative way, with great integrity, openness and sense of community connection."

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Gem State native had big career with Westinghouse

As a Westinghouse engineer in the 1980s, Idaho native and University of Idaho graduate Richard C. Gaskins helped expand electricity in China.

A year after the United States and China signed a nuclear-cooperation agreement, Mr. Gaskins established a Westinghouse office in Beijing in 1986. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he supervised the building of nuclear plants before retiring as president of Westinghouse China in 1997.

Gaskins, 74, of Media and Ocean City, N.J. passed away last week.

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Delicious bass just got a little less delicious

Idaho health officials issued a statewide advisory on Monday warning about mercury levels in bass.

The recommendation, made by the Idaho Fish Consumption Advisory Program, came after studies across Idaho lakes, rivers and reservoirs showed both smallmouth and largemouth bass may have elevated levels of mercury.

Officials told the Times-News that if people take one thing away from the announcement, it should be to watch what they eat, but not stop eating fish. Fish like trout and perch have very low mercury levels, and the health benefits of eating fish shouldn't be overlooked.

The American Heart Association recommends that individuals eat two to three servings of fish a week, including shellfish, to improve heart health.