Engineering firm leases old Ronsen's space on Broadway

Applied Engineering Services has moved to downtown Idaho Falls, setting up in the long-vacant Ronsen's State Hardware building on Broadway.

After more than 20 years at the Idaho Innovation Center on North Yellowstone, Applied Engineering Services, Inc., has moved to downtown Idaho Falls, occupying the storefront on Broadway that was home for years to Ronsen's State Hardware.

Formed in 1992, AES provide engineering services nationwide in areas of specialized studies, design, systems analysis, consulting, project management, and environmental restoration. On its Web site, the company describes itself as "engineers with a practical, no-nonsense approach for your project."

Downtown Development Director Bob Everhart said there wasn't much work involved in bringing AES downtown. "They had pretty much decided that was what they wanted to do," he said. But the lease allows the building owner, Janet Jack, to continue remodeling residential units upstairs.

"There's a growing interest in downtown's residential component," he said.

DOE announces extension of Battelle INL operations contract

The U.S. Department of Energy announced today it will be extending Battelle Energy Alliance’s original 10-year contract to operate Idaho National Laboratory an additional five years.

The contract was awarded to BEA in November 2004, and was notable in that it merged the lab operations that had been managed by BWXT Idaho, and before that Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies, with Argonne National Laboratory-West, which had for decades been run by the University of Chicago. The 10-year INL contract began on Feb. 1, 2005, with the current period of performance scheduled to end this Sept. 30. The extension announced today means BEA will operate INL through Sept. 30, 2019.

In a news release, DOE cited BEA’s "consistently strong annual performance and success" in managing INL, focusing in particular on the creation of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies. BEA partnered with the State of Idaho to establish CAES, which has generated nearly $60 million in competitive research opportunities for Idaho's universities and INL since 2008, the release said.

Now with about 3,500 employees, Battelle's work at INL is in three areas: nuclear energy and technology; energy and the environment; and national and homeland security. Its contract with the DOE allows the federal government to adjust its annual payout based on performance, up to a ceiling of about $18.5 million.

In December, the Associated Press reported BEA had earned 91.4 percent of its available fee during fiscal year 2013, an improvement over 2012, when the company earned about 86 percent. The fiscal year 2012 rating was the company’s lowest in the time it has run the lab.

According to the report, Battelle didn’t get a 100 percent rating for 2013 in part because of deficiencies in worker safety and other operations. On the positive side, DOE reported that INL had several achievements to boast in 2013, including a research discovery advancing scientist's understanding of fuels used in high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors.

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Businesses report phone scammers posing as city of I.F. representatives

Five Idaho Falls businesses called City Hall Tuesday to report they had received calls from people claiming to represent the city and threatening to shut off their utilities unless they paid allegedly overdue bills with a credit or debit card.

The city never calls anyone to demand immediate payment over the phone, said Lori Holverson,  Idaho Falls' collection adviser. “If you do receive a phone call requesting immediate utility payment, write down the phone number of the individual calling you and contact the Idaho Falls Police Department,” she said.    

The city offers a link with further information on how to avoid being scammed. Here are some key bullet points from it:

• Ask for verification: IFP and Utilities employees rarely call residential customers. If they do, however, they will know the customer’s name and address, account number and account balance. If you suspect a scammer is on the other end of the line, hang up and call the Utilities office at 612-8280. 
• Keep your information safe: Do not provide account information to any caller. No one from Idaho Falls Power or the city Utilities office will ever ask for account information. 
• You always have options: A number of payment options are available to customers and the Utilities office can usually work out a payment arrangement for a customer who has fallen behind on his bill. 
• Please report scam calls: If you receive a suspicious call, write down the phone number if you have Caller ID, hang up and call the police. 

If someone comes to your door: 

• Did you have an appointment? IFP employees who conduct energy audits or other projects that require home visits always make appointments. Collections agents with the Utilities office often don’t have an appointment, but they drive city vehicles, wear marked clothing, carry ID and all pertinent account information, and will provide a receipt for any payment made. Meter readers will never collect payment. 
• Check the vehicle: IFP and city Utilities employees drive white or yellow vehicles bearing the IFP logo or city logo. 
• Ask to see ID: City employees always carry ID cards. 
• Verify: To confirm the person at your door is an IFP or Utilities employee, ask them to wait outside and call either IFP at 612-8526 or the Utilities office at 612-8280. 

Idaho Falls Good Samaritan Center names new administrator

Dr. Susan Jones has been named administrator of the Good Samaritan Society-Idaho Falls Village living center.

According to the press release announcement, Jones brings many years of health care experience to the position, with degrees in nursing and health care administration. Prior to this appointment, she was the center's nursing director.

Founded in 1922, Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society is the largest not-for-profit provider of senior care and services in the United States, with more than 240 locations. Its centers offer rehabilitation and skilled care services, including in-patient therapy and memory care as well as home and community services such as outpatient therapy.