Volunteers seek funds to get Moon Pavilion built in Pedersen Sportsmans Park by 2014

The Dragon's Path and deck in the Friendship Garden at Pedersen Sportsmans Park, south of the Broadway Bridge. All this work has been done by volunteers since 2011. The deck is built over the decrepit concrete fish runs that date back to 1930s. (Photo by Paul Menser)

As a master gardener, Judy Seydel has never had a problem with jobs starting small and getting bigger, but she admits she wasn't prepared for how much work would be involved in building a pagoda at Pedersen Sportsmans Park.

Located on an island just south of the Broadway bridge, the park has been home to one of the Japanese lanterns donated by Tokai-Mura, Japan, which has been Idaho Falls' sister city since 1981.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Sister-Cities relationship, Clarke Kido, a member of the steering committee, suggested it would be nice to build a friendship garden around the lantern. The city of Idaho Falls gave its permission, with the caveats that work could only be done north of the Taylor Toll Bridge replica and no public money would be spent.

Gloria Miller-Allen's painting of what the Moon Pavilion will look like.

Through donations, both cash and in-kind, and volunteer work (about 250 people were involved, many of them Idaho Falls Civitans), they removed old plants and brush removed and got a deck built in 2012.

As for the city, "Once they saw what we were doing they got all excited about it," Seydel said.

In 2012, the volunteers were allowed into the south end of the island, clearing out volunteer day lilies, landscaping a "dragon path" across the settling pond, planting Japanese irises and cattails. Volunteers Ed Zaladonis and his brother Mike Zaladonis suggested the crowning touch would be a "Moon Pavilion" open-air pagoda, built in time for the July 2014 visit of the Sister Cities delegation from Tokai-Mura.

They discovered challenges right away. First of all, it had to be earthquake proof, but with no walls and nearly 8,000 pounds of tile on the roof. While the original plan was to drill into the bedrock and anchor six 12-inch posts, they discovered the bedrock was too uneven. Then they found the culvert underneath the site was compromised by rust and needed to be replaced.

They have since designed larger footings that do not need to tie into bedrock. The design and structural calculations were approved in May by the City of Idaho Falls Building Department.

Seydel estimates they have collected $56,000 in donations and grants, from the CHC Foundation, Idaho Cities Foundation and Japanese American Citizens League. Corporate support has come from Wal-Mart, Kohl's, CAL Ranch stores and other sources.

The professional team that has helped with the project includes:

• Mark Andrus, G&S Engineering (structural design and certification)
• Mike Bowcutt, DAFAB Construction (construction adviser/liaison)
• Steve Dick, BMC Building Materials (scaffolding materials)
• Kurt Karst, Alderson Karst & Mitro Architects (architectural review)
• Mark Andrew, Alpine Timber (timber frame adviser)

Still, to get the job done she estimated they need another $5,000.

"This town really needs to know what has been going on down there for three years now," said Gloria Miller-Allen, a well-known Idaho Falls painter. "Many people do know it is there, but few know who is doing it, and fewer still know they are trying to build a pavilion. They are sand-blasting bricks with the names of contributors sometime soon. It sure would be nice to include a few more names on those bricks."

"I like how they're redoing it," said Cheri Okelberry of Idaho Falls, who was in Pedersen Sportsmans Park today taking pictures of her friends Daniel and Katie Paulson at the Japanese lantern statue. "It's really beautiful. I remember when there really wasn't much." (Photo by Paul Menser)

"One thing leads to another then leads to another," said Seydel. "Someone will say, 'The deck looks too bare.' Or the meadow stream, it would look cool if there was a cement bridge."

One thing there is no shortage of is water, a necessity for any Japanese garden but a problem at Pedersen Sportsman's Park because of the crumbling fish runs that date back to the 1930s, when the local Sportsmans Association founded by Peder Pedersen hatched fingerlings there.

"Some of them are leaking into the shady, grassy areas," Seydel said.

The island's importance to the city is not lost on Seydel and her fellow volunteers. In 1865, it was where the toll bridge and stage stop were built. Eagle Rock grew from there, becoming Idaho Falls in 1891.

"It's a big part of the city's history," Seydel said. "When we started this we had no idea."

Anyone interested in contributing can contact Seydel at (208) 529-3144 or by e-mail at jcsjas@yahoo.com, or Ed Zaladonis at (208) 243-1920.

Drag boat drivers roar in for Saturday's Duck Race

Steve Anderson putting his drag boat through the paces on the Snake River late Monday afternoon. That's me in the passenger seat, not hanging on for dear life but close. (Photo by Melissa Bristol)

With a 620-horsepower Chevy V8 engine roaring at 160 decibels two feet behind you and the tachometer reading 6,800 rpm, it's hard to be anywhere but in the moment in a drag-racing speedboat.
Nevertheless, there came a moment of calm when I noticed Keefer's Island from an angle I'd never seen before. Neat! Then it was over, gone in the wake.

Yes, Monday was demonstration day for reporters interested in the speedboats coming to the Idaho Falls Rotary's Great Snake River Greenbelt Duck Race, which takes place Saturday. Steve Anderson was on hand with his machine, and rides were made available to those brave enough to take one.

Since 1991, this event has been raising money to help develop the Greenbelt along the river. In its first 12 years, the race raised over $750,000, which has been led to more than $2 million being spent on Greenbelt development -- trail paving the replica of the Taylor Toll Bridge on the spot where Idaho Falls was founded in 1865.

The speedboats, which can reach speeds of over 100 miles per hour, were introduced 12 years ago to make the day more exciting and to raise more money.

"Most of the ducks are sold the day of the race, and people were coming at 4 o'clock," said Mark Baronian, who oversees the boat racing. "They figured if they put on something earlier they might sell more ducks." As a result, sales jumped 25 percent, from $60,000 to $80,000.

For the dragboat race, the field is split evenly between amateurs and pros. The course is 3/16-mile long, a compromise between the amateurs, who wanted 1/4-mile and the pros who wanted 1/8-mile. All races will be straightaway, Baronian said.

A full schedule of Duck Race events can be found here: http://www.duckrace.com/Default.aspx?alias=www.duckrace.com/idahofalls.

All About Socks store planned for Idaho Falls

All About Socks, a Utah-based chain that specializes in socks of all sorts, has signed a lease for a store at 2155 E. 17th St., in the Teton Village shopping center. An opening is anticipated for Aug. 23.

The first store opened in 2010, but the company dates back to 1991, when Ken Wong and Hillary Lin started Lin Manufacturing in Logan, Utah. The couple have turned the company into one of the largest sock manufacturing companies in the world, making bamboo, compression, diabetic, high performance and novelty.

With all about socks, they had a vision of cutting out the middle man, and bringing well-made socks for the best prices to the public.

The company's Web site can be found at this link: http://www.allaboutsocks.com/

Dunkin' Donuts opens in Utah; expansion planned into Idaho

This map indicates that Dunkin' Brands is developing other Western states before it comes to Idaho.
Link: http://www.dunkinfranchising.com/franchisee/en/whatsavailable.html#availability.

I know a lot of BizMojo Idaho readers salivate at the thought, so it is my great pleasure to report that a franchisee has opened Utah's first Dunkin' Donuts store and plans to open 15 more.

I was in Salt Lake on Sunday and saw the place, at 200 E. 400 South, with my own eyes. I resisted the temptation to buy a dozen donuts for the road. I had already eaten two servings of cobbler at a picnic, so my appetite was in remission.

The franchisee for the Salt Lake store at 200 E. 400 South is Sizzling Platter, a Utah-based restaurant management company. Sizzling Platter operates Dunkin' Donuts locations in Texas and manages restaurant locations across seven western states. Besides Dunkin' Donuts, they are involved with the Little Caesars, Sizzler, Red Robin and Hoppers Grill & Brewery brand. It operates Sizzler in Idaho Falls and was the operator of the Ruby River, which closed in 2009.

While Dunkin' Brands (also the owner of Baskin-Robbins) has been expanding aggressively in Asia, the Western United States have been a void. In fact, the company pulled out of California in the late 1990s and acknowledges that it faces some challenges regaining market share there.

Here's a link to a story that ran in April in Bloomberg Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-11/america-dunkin-donuts-next-frontier And here's a quote from the article that ought to bring joy to anyone who occasionally longs to have the front of his shirt covered with powdered sugar: Expanding west means California, as well as the 12 states back home still sans Dunkin' Donuts: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. By 2015, about two-thirds of the chain’s new U.S. stores will be in the western part of the country.

Middle Market companies report widespread need for more skilled workers

Source: Deloitte Development LLC

Here's an interesting story I found on Slate this morning and shared immediately with my friends at Eastern Idaho Technical College (and now I'm sharing it with you):

Want to help the economy? Don't get a four-year degree

The author's case is that American manufacturers are dying for skilled labor. The takeaway quote is from Chris Buch, sales manager for Omega Plastics, a Detroit-based company:

"American students need more encouragement to learn manufacturing skills," he said. "They need encouragement from higher education institutions telling them to look into manufacturing — there’s a home there for just about anybody."

A related link comes from a story July 2012 story in Bloomberg Business News: Companies Say 3 Million Unfilled Positions in Skill Crisis: Jobs.

As we debate the future of education in Idaho, these might serve as the basis for discussion. I would be curious to know how many Middle Market companies -- companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion -- there are in Idaho and eastern Idaho in particular.