Shaltry recognized locally as Administrative Professional of the Year

Diana Shaltry

Diana Shaltry, administrative assistant for the Very High Temperature Reactor Technology Development Office, was selected as the 2012 Administrative Professional of the Year by the Eagle Rock Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals.


Shaltry was nominated by the entire group she supports at the Idaho National Laboratory and was honored at the 2012 Administrative Professionals Seminar at the Red Lion in Idaho Falls.


Shaltry has worked at the INL for nearly four years. Her boss, David Petti, said the first interaction many people have with the VHTR program is through Shaltry. “She has exceeded all our expectations in successfully working not only on day-to-day affairs of the program, but also in interacting with stakeholders," he said. 


As winner of the award, she received a special gift package, recognition by her peers at the award luncheon and free admission to the seminar. Administrative Professionals Day marked its 60th anniversary on April 25.

Carl's Junior files for certificate of occupancy

We visited the city of Idaho Falls Building Department office Thursday morning to find out whether there was anything new to report. There wasn't anything big, but there were a few things worth relating.

Carl's Jr. filed Wednesday for a certificate of occupancy for its Northgate Mile restaurant. The opening was originally planned for April 16, but there were delays in getting the parking lot finished and engineering the storm water collection system. The restaurant is taking applications.

Teton Pharmacy has filed a site plan and building plan Wednesday for a new building on Jafer Court, south of Bonaventure Senior Living on Hitt Road. The main floor will be 5,350 square feet, the basement about half that size.

Rosemark Women's Care Specialists is looking at moving to a new location, at the corner of Potomac and Fountainbleu. The plat has been recommended for approval by the Idaho Falls Planning and Zoning Commission, and is scheduled to go before the City County at its May 10 meeting.

Last of all, Dr. Slaughter's House of Terror is moving to a new location at 680 First St., next door to Bowl-ero (the old Buttrey Food & Drug, later LifeLink). A sign has already been put up advertising a Friday July 13 opening. Thursday morning we stuck our head in to hear circular saws and hammers (though no chainsaws; that must come later), with plenty of framing already done. The city building officials were very curious to learn of this, since they had seen no permits. We're sure the matter will be resolved to everyone's satisfaction, if it hasn't been resolved already.

Celt Pub plans July 28 opening

The scene Wednesday at The Celt Pub, 398 W. Broadway.

Major renovation is going on at The Celt Pub, at the corner of Broadway and Park Avenue, in preparation for its opening this summer. Owner Janice McGeachin said she and her husband, Jim, are planning a July 28 opening.

Upgrading a building so old has its own special challenges and surprises. McGeachin said that cracks in the bricks and a lack of structural support made them decide to rebuild the walls. This necessitated the removal of the old wagon wheel windows, which have gone into storage.

"It actually will look more like the original, but also fit the look of an Irish pub," McGeachin said. "We think the wheels are cool, and want to incorporate them into the interior decor, any ideas?

The Celt's Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/index.php?lh=224c4949c17b84ab22ae5a180f19f4e4&

Allegiant flights to Bay Area begin Friday

Allegiant Travel Co., which currently runs non-stop flights between Idaho Falls and Las Vegas, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Los Angeles, starts its twice-weekly flights to Oakland, Calif., on Friday.

Fares for the first few weeks start as low as $40 one-way, although that applies only to certain dates. Using the booking program on Allegiant's Web site, if I wanted a round trip this weekend, flying out Friday and returning Monday, the cost would be $493.20 (that includes taxes). That's last minute, though. If I wanted to do the wine country for my birthday at the end of July, I could get a ticket and a room in Napa for as little as $542.83.

Other big news from Allegiant is that they are adding service between Las Vegas and Honolulu starting June 29. This doesn't mean you can book Allegiant out of Idaho Falls, change planes in Vegas and head for Hawaii.

"Our business model isn't based on connecting flights," said Sabrina LoPiccolo, spokeswoman for the company. Allegiant is more focused on offering travel deals to its customers by providing low-cost travel packages that include not only air, but hotel, rental car and attractions.

Bonneville County first-quarter home sales show growth over 2011

Today's big economic indicator story was new home sales and how they fell 7.1 percent in March. The Commerce Department said that sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 328,000 units. That followed a 7.3 percent increase in sales in February. The figure from February had been revised up from an initial estimate that sales had fallen 1.6 percent.

If you haven't heard the story, here's the link from NPR: http://www.npr.org/2012/04/24/151276146/new-home-sales-drop-after-big-revision

And here's something even niftier, also from NPR, an interactive map that shows county-by-county foreclosure and unemployment rates, plus median household income: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111494514. Here's what the local numbers were:

Bonneville
39,731 households
Foreclosures: 1 in 1,046

Bingham
16,141 households
Foreclosures: 1 in 2,306

Jefferson
8,722 households
Foreclosures: 1 in 2,907

Madison
11,280 households
Foreclosures: Data not available

Fremont
8,531 households
Foreclosures: 1 in 4,266

The best local figures I have for real estate come from the Snake River Multiple Listing Service. Crunching the numbers from the first three months of 2011 and 2012, it looks like business is picking up in Bonneville County and at least holding steady in the outlying areas. Take a look for yourself: