Officials greet Fluor's re-entry to Idaho Falls

Fluor Government Group President Bruce Stanski and Idaho Gov. Butch Otter talk Thursday morning at the company's new Idaho Falls office.

Fluor Corp. has opened a new office in Idaho Falls, but the multinational engineering and construction firm, is no stranger this area.

In the days the Idaho National Laboratory was the National Reactor Testing Station, it built the Materials Test Reactor, the Advanced Test Reactor and the Waste Calcining Facility. If all goes as planned, the company and its Oregon-based subsidiary NuScale will have small modular reactors generating power on the Idaho desert in 2023.

"Planting the Fluor flag again," was how Bruce Stanski, president of the company's Government Group, described the official event this morning at its new offices at Taylor Crossing on the River. Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper, Commerce Department Director Jeff Sayer and several Idaho legislators were on hand to put out the welcome mat.

"We're very excited about you being here again," Otter said.

While the office will initially employ only about 10 people, Fluor plans to expand its presence as NuScale pursues the development of 12 small modular reactors west of Idaho Falls. The developer of the project will be the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, of which Idaho Falls Power is a member.

For Idaho Falls Power Chief Jackie Flowers, becoming the lead utility for the project represents a seven-year process that began with her asking SMR people, "Why not Idaho?" She said the real turning point came five years ago, when she took Mike McGough, now NuScale's chief commercial officer, on a tour of the Center For Advanced Energy Studies.

Based in Corvallis, Ore., NuScale, in which Fluor has been the the majority investor since 2011, announced in late May that it had signed a contract agreement with the DOE for $217 million in matching funds to support development, licensing and commercialization of the company’s nuclear small modular reactor technology.

After review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NuScale expects to submit an application for design certification in the second half of 2016. This they hope will allow them to meet a commercial operation date of 2023, in partnership with UAMPS and Energy NorthWest, which operates nuclear facilities in Washington state.

NuScale has had a prototype small modular reactor operating since 2003. Unlike traditional reactors, which rely on electric pumps to keep water on the fuel rods to keep them from melting, NuScale's self-contained, self-circulating reactors shut themselves down during a station blackout.

Several things have to happen before any dirt gets moved on the desert. While it pursues certification from NRC, the company must identify possible sites on the desert, gathering geological and meteorological information.

In its "State of Energy in the West" report of June 2013, one of the Western Governors Association's stated goals was to find ways to accelerate introduction of small modular reactors into Western states. As for the selection of Idaho Falls, there's the history and the community's favorable attitude toward nuclear energy. "It's a case of going where you are wanted. If the community won't support it, you just shouldn't try," McGough said.

As part of the Intermountain Energy Summit scheduled for mid-August in Idaho Falls, NuScale has set up a Supplier's Day on Aug. 21, where possible vendors can engage in "speed dating" -- 15-minute meetings where they can discuss possibilities. "We were blown away by the response," McGough said. "There is a lot of interest in this project."

"This is where we're going to be and this is where we're going to deploy our first 540 megawatts," said John Hopkins, NuScale's CEO. "This office is the leading edge, an operations center and a hub to build from."

Idaho Falls chosen for mental health crisis center

Idaho Falls has been chosen as the site for the state’s first mental and behavioral health crisis center, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced today.

A press release from the department said Idaho Falls was chosen over Boise and Coeur d’Alene because of its outstanding community and legislative support.

Crisis centers are designed to treat at-risk patients and lower psychiatric hospitalizations, keeping the often uninsured or under-insured mentally ill out of jail or the emergency room.

“This crisis center – and others we hope to develop – will be modeled on the best practices of other states where such plans have been successful,” said Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter, who made an announcement this morning at Idaho Falls Regional Airport. “We’re hoping for similarly encouraging outcomes here, with communities joining in these investments as they see declining use of local emergency rooms, hospital beds and jail cells.”

Data gathered from the center will be used to evaluate the need and resources necessary to create centers in the other two cities, should the Legislature fund them.

During the 2014 session, the Legislature set aside $1.52 million in annual funds and $600,000 in one-time federal money for one center. The department originally requested $4.56 million for all three proposed centers.

State officials said Twin Falls was Idaho’s next-highest priority area to fund the facility. The Division 5 Behavioral Health Board in Twin Falls is pursuing the idea of creating such a center independent of state funding because of the local need.

The board is also looking to fix the problems that led to Boise officials overlooking the area when considering a crisis center.

“One of the things we were missing from the three other areas primarily was that display of readiness,” Scott Rasmussen, Region 5 program manager for the Behavioral Health Division, told the Twin Falls Times-News last week.

For sound clips from the airport this morning, follow this link to East Idaho News.

Nominations open for Distinguished Under 40 awards

The Young Professionals Network of the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for the 2014 Distinguished Under 40 award recipients.

Distinguished Under 40 is an annual awards program exclusive to Bonneville County that honors 10 young professionals who have shown accomplishment in their careers, community and education. To be considered for the award, young professionals are nominated by co-workers, managers, business associates or themselves.

A nomination form can be found here.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore grand opening set for Saturday

Habitat for Humanity will hold a grand opening from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at its new location, 1954 N. Yellowstone Highway (formerly Peaches). There will be a silent auction, door prizes, live music and food and drinks.

This is the third Idaho Falls location for Habitat's ReStore, a home improvement thrift store that accepts donations of new and used home building supplies and furniture then offers the items for sale. Habitat for Humanity is an international organization dedicated to the vision that everyone should have a decent place to live.

The Idaho Falls Habitat ReStore is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The newly renovated 10,000-square-foot building will enable Habitat to display more merchandise and serve its customers and donors more efficiently. Habitat’s offices are are located on the second floor of the same building.

“Volunteers and staff have been working for months renovating and organizing our new ReStore,” Habitat Executive Director Karen Lansing said in a press release. “We are looking forward to being able to serve even more families with the increased revenues this new location will bring to Habitat.”

North Hi-Way Cafe plans 80th birthday celebration

Happy Birthday to Idaho Falls' North Hi-Way Cafe.

Idaho Falls' North Hi-Way Cafe will be celebrating its 80th birthday on Saturday with a car show, which is kind of fitting considering the building may have started as a garage.

Since the 1930s, the cafe has amassed a great amount of goodwill from loyal customers. The food is made from scratchh, the service is friendly and the jokes on the wall behind the counter are corny. If you want a slice of pie, there are four or five to choose from and they didn't come out of boxes.

Wes and Roxanne Smith bought the property in 2003 from longtime owners Butch and Darlene Warrren. The cafe is no-smoking now, which was an issue ten years ago but not anymore.

There are two reasons the cafe seems to enjoy the loyalty it does: the staff and the food. The cafe mashes its potatoes and makes its own sausages. The buffalo grinder might be a museum piece somewhere else, but at the North Hi-Way it gets used every day.

"When we say something is hand-breaded, it's hand-breaded," Roxanne Smith said.

Whether it's coffee, biscuits and gravy, a grilled cheese sandwich and cup of chili, or peach cobbler, the waitresses know what the regulars want. None of this would be possible without a dedicated staff. "Their work ethic is impeccable," Smith said. "There are many people who have worked 22 years or more. They have incredible stamina." Some are the children or grandchildren of people who worked at the cafe in the past.

In the beginning, Northgate Mile was a dirt road earmarked for future development, but there wasn't much in the area besides the Idaho Livestock Auction and some homes. When the cafe started serving coffee, it became a magnet for people from the stockyards and the railroad. It was Evan Cropper who turned it into a cafe, and he managed it for decades.

Smith said she's dug into a rich history, and bases the June 1934 date on a paper she received from Marilyn Cropper Brown, Cropper's daughter. What's most important to her, however, is that the cafe's years be celebrated.

At the barbecue Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., anyone with a cool car to show will receive two free lunches. There will be no trophies, but dash plaques will be given out.
For more information, call 522-6212.