Victor man named to national utilities co-op board

Jay Hanson

Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative’s board president, Jay Hanson of Victor, has been elected to the board of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation. Hanson will represent District 9, which is comprised of 12 western states and territories.

Formed in 1969, CFC is a non-profit finance cooperative created and owned by America’s electric cooperative utilities, and is guided by a 23-member board of directors that represent ten geographically defined districts. It helps ensure access to low-cost funding for electric cooperatives.
Hanson has been on Fall River Electric’s board for the past nine years. Before that, he spent 33 years as an agricultural extension agent for the University of Idaho and the University of Wyoming.

CFC was instrumental in helping Fall River Electric secure $14 million in clean renewable energy bonds, to finance the Chester hydroelectric project. “In addition to assisting us toward securing the financing, CFC’s fixed interest rate of 1.4 percent will save our owner-members over $9 million when compared to conventional financing options,” said Bryan Case, Fall River’s  CEO and general manager.

Salon h. davis holding canned food drive to aid Soup Kitchen

Salon h.davis, 2450 E. 25th Street, is partnering with Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen, 301 S. Boulevard, to collect canned food items to stock its pantry.

Founded in 1985, the Soup Kitchen is open seven days a week and serves more than 55,000 meals a year, relying solely on donations and community volunteers. People served by the Soup Kitchen include the working poor, homeless, transients, low income, elderly, children, unemployed and handicapped. No one is turned away and no questions are asked.

“In preparation for cold weather, we want to make sure they have enough donations to feed anyone who needs a good meal,” said salon owner Niki Young.

“The Soup Kitchen is an incredible resource to our community. Many of the guests that they serve are employed, but are not making a wage that is allows them to be food-secure. We cannot stand idly by while families with children struggle to obtain food. Our salon needed to find a way to help.”

From not until Nov. 29, salon h.davis is offering a $5-off coupon for any service at salon h.davis in exchange for five cans of food or five non-perishable food items. Canned fruits and vegetables, creamed soups like cream of mushroom, chicken, tuna, etc., canned chili and canned spaghetti sauce are good, too. Please consider purchasing a few extras and dropping them off this month, Tuesday through Saturday.

On a personal note, I would encourage anybody to eat lunch at the Soup Kitchen sometime. The food is always good, but you will get more than something to eat — you will meet real people who aren’t a whole lot different from yourself. You will not be taking food out of anyone else's mouth. No one is going to hassle you about whether you are deserving or “gaming the system.” What you will come away with is a true appreciation for God's love at work in the world.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

Melaleuca hands out $1.6 million in bonuses to 150 longtime employees

Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot with Jolene Hill and Dauphne Lords at Tuesday's annual employees' meeting.

Melaleuca, Inc., paid out more than $1.6 million in bonuses Tuesday at its annual employee meeting, recognizing 150 longtime employees for their years of service.

The company's loyalty and longevity bonus is available to all full- and part-time employees, regardless of position or pay level, and is simply based on length of service. The company pays $5,000 for five years, $10,000 for 10, $15,000 for 15, $33,361.55 ($20,000 net) for 20, $25,000 for 25 and $30,000 for 30 years.

Jolene Hill, a product development operations manager, and Dauphne Lords, Idaho Falls store manager, each received $25,000 checks from Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot at the event.

Fourteen employees walked away with $20,000 net checks, and 16 employees picked up $15,000 checks. Melaleuca also presented$10,000 checks to 72 employees and $5,000 checks to 46 employees.

"This check is a 'thank you' bonus for your hard work," VanderSloot told recipients. Before the meeting, VanderSloot encouraged employees receiving bonuses to think about planning for retirement. The company has created a program for a 30-year employee to have more than $1 million in the bank when they retire. All they need to do is invest the longevity bonuses, participate in the company's 401(k) matching program and achieve a modest rate of return.

"I've always put money aside, even when I didn't have much to put away," Hill said. "In a couple of years I hope to retire, and these longevity bonuses will give me freedom to do so."

Melaleuca pays its employees many types of incentives based on performance and productivity. In addition to the company's loyalty and long-term contribution bonus, Melaleuca offers many benefits that can be found on the Melaleuca jobs Web site.

INL announces Grossenbacher leaving

John Grossenbacher

The Idaho National Laboratory announced today that John Grossenbacher, director of Battelle Energy Alliance, will be leaving and that a new chief is being sought to take his place by Sept. 30, 2015.

Grossenbacher was named INL director in February 2005 after leading the effort to land BEA the contract to manage and operate the lab. “(His) unprecedented tenure as lab director in Idaho has had a tremendous impact on the success and growth of the laboratory, and we are grateful for the strong leadership and vision he provided to INL and Battelle,” said Ron Townsend, Battelle’s executive vice president of global laboratory operations. “Under John’s leadership, BEA saw its contract with DOE extended for another five years for its stewardship of INL, while the laboratory grew in programs, capabilities, the physical campus, budget, and staff.”

Townsend said Battelle will begin a national search for a successor immediately.

Grossenbacher earned a bachelor’s of science in chemistry from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University. He served 33 years in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of vice admiral. Before he was selected to lead Battelle in its bid for the INL contract, Grossenbacher led efforts to develop and build joint nuclear science and technology programs across Battelle-managed laboratories and partner organizations.

As INL Director, Grossenbacher led the consolidation of Argonne National Laboratory-West and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory to form INL. During his nearly 10-year tenure, INL’s budget grew from $540 million to more than $830 million, earned 18 R&D 100 awards, and built or acquired 16 new facilities to expand the research capabilities of the laboratory. INL also attracted world-renowned scientific and technical leadership during his tenure.

Ammon, I.F., officials to discuss network, data sharing

Officials from Idaho Falls and Ammon have been summoned to meet at the Bonneville County Commission office Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. to talk about connecting their fiberoptic networks, but Idaho Falls Power Director Jackie Flowers said she has already offered her opinion that she thinks there are less expensive ways to share data.

“There’s a lot of data that moves in this world that’s not on the same piece of wire,” she said.

According to a story in Tuesday's Post Register, the meeting was called by Bonneville County Commission Chairman Roger Christensen. “You want the fastest, most reliable system you can put together, because otherwise you’re gambling with people’s lives," he told the newspaper.

But Flowers said she told county and Ammon officials in a memo last summer that she thought a virtual private network would be less expensive and just as effective. GIS address data, to aid ambulance workers and firefighters, could be updated and uploaded every night and would be available to all three parties.

“I’m a little mystified what this project is and what the need is,” she said, adding that she will be at the meeting Wednesday.

Since the mid-2000’s, Idaho Falls has had fiber strung to all compass points within city limits. Originally approved in 2002 to replace aging copper wire and allow Voice over Internet Protocol communications, the fiber connects city offices and facilities. Fiber strands are also available in pairs to businesses and Internet service providers at $1,340 per month, a cost laid out in the City Code.

At the moment, the city has 22 pairs leased to companies such as Melaleuca, Mountain View Hospital and Battelle Energy Alliance, and ISPs like Digis. Altogether, the leases net Idaho Falls Power roughly $500,000 a year. Flowers said they anticipate paying off ahead of schedule the $2.7 million loan the city took from its utility reserves to build the network.

“We’ve had a very successful run,” she said.

Because the city leases only dark fiber, it has avoided some of the legal problems cities like Chatanooga, Tenn., and Lafayette, La., have encountered competing with telecoms like Verizon and ATT. “It’s as basic an infrastructure as you can get. We would welcome Century Link or Cable One leasing pairs if it made sense for them,” she said.

Ammon’s fiber system is newer and a work in progress. In addition to linking all its offices and facilities the city is providing four 10-gigabyte connections to Bonneville Joint School District 93. Fiber is also being leased to cell phone service providers (linking their towers) and some private businesses, said Bruce Patterson who oversees the city’s broadband operations.

Patterson said Ammon, Idaho Falls and Bonneville County would benefit by having an integrated fiber system for sharing the information for which they’re all responsible. “If we could find a more efficient way to operate it would trick down to the public,” he said.