Cole: a regular at city council

By Lisa Dayley

Weekly News Journal

 

RUPERT – Barbara Cole may be the only Rupert resident who regularly attends city council meetings.

 

Unless there’s some controversy, very few attend and the meetings aren’t always that exciting, but Cole likes to know what’s going on. The first time she attended, she decided to go back for more.

 

“I just found it interesting,” Cole insisted.

 

Cole admits that she has missed a time or two.

 

“One night it was a toss up between city council and Dancing with the Stars. Dancing with the Stars beat them out,” she said.

 

Yet, Cole likes to go and make her voice be heard. She has often stood before the council, voiced concern and expressed her opinion on this or that. And if she has a complaint she knows the council will listen, she said.

 

“I feel if there’s something I want them to know, I’ve got to get up there and say it,”
Cole said.

 

For the past three years Cole has been a regular visitor at city council meeting.

 

A lifetime Minidoka County resident, Cole spent part of her childhood in Minidoka City. There her father, a former Conservation Corps Camp worker, served with the railroad. The winter of 1949 buried little Minidoka so much that “you could walk across the clothes lines.” The snow shut down the trains, forcing travelers to spend some time in Minidoka. One of those travelers was the legendary Clark Gable, who was traveling to Sun Valley.

 

“He just seemed different than I thought. I didn’t talk to him. I stood right next to him. He looked at me and kind of smiled. I just stood there, and he walked into a café,” she recalled, and added, “As far as I can recall he was a good looking man.”

 

And also traveling with the actor?

 

“We heard Trigger – Roy Roger’s Trigger – in one of the train cars,” she said and added “I never did see Roy Rogers.”

 

Cole’s family later moved to Rupert where Cole continued with her schooling until the age of 16. Not liking high school very much, she opted to go to work instead. She later married husband Don, and the pair had five children. Barbara worked at various Rupert potato processing plants, later retiring from Arrowhead Potatoes.

 

“When you know what you’re doing, and you’re good at it, it’s not hard to go up and go to work,” she said.

 

In the 1980s, Cole returned to school to get her GED. This time she was more than happy to be back in school.

 

“It just ended too soon. I really enjoyed it,” she said.

 

Today, happily retired, Cole spends her time with her quilting group which makes comforters for various charities such as the Christmas Council. They often discuss politics and what happened at city council.

 

“They’ll ask me what went on at city council, and I’ll pass it on to them. I try and encourage them to come to city council,” she said.

 

While she likes attending council meetings, Cole has no interest in running for government office. She says that if she could serve as President of the United States, she would make sweeping changes.

 

“The first thing I would do is cut off all the foreign aid. I don’t think they deserve it. We have helped them enough, and they just turn against us. I would give them nothing,” she said.

 

Cole would instead use those resources to strengthen the armed forces. She would also insist that American companies operate from the United States.

 

“People who take their business overseas – to me their traitors. We need to get some business in the U.S. and put people to work,” she said.

 

It galls Cole to receive telephone calls from American companies doing business from overseas.

 

“I’ll say’ where are you calling from?’ And they’ll say ‘India.’ And I’ll say ‘you’re the one who took all our jobs. Don’t call me again,’” she said.

 

Cole would also investigate the shady business deals of congressmen.

 

“I would get rid of lobbyists,” she said.

 

While Cole isn’t interested in running for political office, she says that she’ll continue to attend Rupert City Council meetings.

 

“City council is something to look forward to. For the most part, I enjoy coming,” she said.

Wind farm power to flow through Minidoka

By Lisa Dayley

Weekly News Journal

 

RUPERT – Expected tax revenues from NorthWestern Energy’s proposed Mountain States Transmission Intertie (MSTI) have been increased from an estimated $118,000 to $175,000.

 

NorthWestern representatives Dan Rapkoch and Ron Olson met with the Minidoka County Commissioners Monday to discuss ongoing plans to construct 400 miles of transmission lines from wind farms in Montana that the company hopes will eventually cross 18 miles of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Minidoka County, generating power throughout the west.

 

“There would be four to five structures per mile. They would be 125 to 145 feet tall. There would be 1,400 feet between each,” Rapkoch said.

 

The commissioners were receptive to the men’s proposal.

 

“We don’t have much problem with it. It’s far enough out there that it doesn’t affect our farm ground. It’s mostly BLM ground out there,” Commission Chairman Dan Stapelman said.

 

Plans call for construction to start in 2012 with an estimated completion date expected for 2015. The project would bring in around $3.9 million to the local economy where it’s estimated it will create a ripple effect, resulting in a total increase of $17.8 million. It’s estimated that Idaho stands to gain $1 billion in revenues thanks to the project. Jefferson County’s cut means an extra $27,000 in its tax revenues while Bingham County’s tax income will increase by $499,000 thanks to the placement of the wires.

 

A total of 200 workers would be hired to build the transmission lines and more than one supplier would be needed to complete the project.

 

“The project is too big for one contractor,” Olson said.

 

Minidoka County is vital to the MSTI project as it needs to hook its wires to a substation in neighboring Jerome County. NorthWestern wants to run its 500vK transmission lines from Townsend, Mt. to its Jerome substation where it will hook up to power lines supplying electricity to homes and businesses. The wires have the capability of carrying 1,500 megawatts of energy.

 

But before anything is built, NorthWestern plans a series of public hearings with residents and is also in the process of doing an environmental impact survey. Officials plan a series of public hearings in April followed by a 90-day period where residents can continue to comment on the proposed transmission system.

 

A similar proposal suggested by Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power to string transmission lines through Cassia originating from Wyoming and running to California recently was met with much resistance from residents. During the emotionally charged meetings, residents voiced concerns that the power lines would adversely affect the health of people and their livestock. The concerns later motivated the two power companies to consider moving the power lines far from the residential areas.

 

Transmission lines produce an Electric Magnetic Field (EMF) that some believe causes cancer. The National Cancer Institute writes on its webpage that there is no hard evidence linking EMF to the disease.

 

“EMF is created by anything that uses electricity. We’re talking about your computer, your television and your cell phone,” Rapkoch said.

 

There is a great need for other energy sources in the country and wind energy is considered a leading source to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Considered a “clean energy,” it’s estimated that one wind turbine can generate enough electricity to power 500 homes. Eventually, it’s expected that wind farms will produce enough energy to provide as much as 20 percent of the country’s power needs. It’s expected that “wind generation” could create up to 500,000 jobs over the next two decades.

 

Western States have created Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards, meaning they need to rely more heavily on renewable energy such as wind farms. The Obama Administration wants renewable energy to make up 25 percent of the country’s power needs by 2025.

 

Stapelman said that the extra money generated by the power lines will be much appreciated by him and fellow commissioners.

 

“We’re a pretty cash strapped county, but we have to weigh these things carefully. If we have income from a proposition that doesn’t harm the county, it’s really easy to accept,” he said.