Horse racing at Sandy Downs set to start Saturday

Sandy Downs, the home track of IdaRacing, is set to open its season Saturday with a Belmont Block Party, where racing fans can bet on the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes, the coveted third leg of the Triple Crown. The gates open at 11 a.m. with live racing beginning at noon.

Thirteen races are scheduled for the opener, the Idaho Quarter Horse Racing Association’s Premiere Bitterroot Futurity Trials, with an estimated 130 two-year-old quarter horses hauling in from all across the Intermountain West to Idaho Falls for a chance to place in the top ten for the finals of an estimated $150,000 in purse money June 25 at Sandy Downs.

Due to the number of horses being brought in, horsemen are encouraged to book rooms early. Quinta Inns & Suites is a sponsor of IdaRacing and is offering discounted rooms (subject to availability) with the promo code IDARS1. Horse people are also reminded that the nomination and first payment deadline for the Hawthorne/Idaho Cup Futurity is June 15. Horsemen, track officials and staff are being asked to get licensed early on Friday, June 10 the by the Idaho State Racing Commission beginning at 2 p.m. at Sandy Downs, near the grandstands.

Entries will take place Tuesday, beginning at 7 a.m. with the draw happening around 1 p.m. under the grandstands.

Saturday’s event will feature the popular Indian Relay Racing, live music and fun for the whole family with the Colt Whitmore Show in between races. There are fun bounces and water works for the kids, many giveaways, free betting vouchers; free kids dogs (while supplies last) as well as good eats and ice cold beverages at this daylong trackside party.

Fans are reminded to come early and bet early to avoid being shut out at the windows. Post times listed are when the horses actually leave the starting gate beginning with the first race.

The 2016 live racing schedule at Sandy Downs will be as follows:

June 11, noon
June 25, 5 p.m.
Aug. 27 5 p.m.
Aug. 28 1 p.m.
Sept. 11 1 p.m.

Corporate sponsors this year include Sand Hill Media, Bingham Memorial Hospital, Hawthorne Animal Hospital, TEC Distributing & Coors Light, The Dakri Bernard Realty Group, LaQunita Inns & Suites and IdaBet.com! You can find a complete listing of all sponsors at IdaRacing.com.

Sandy Downs is located on East 65th (St. Clair Road) south of Idaho Falls. For further information visit IdaRacing.com or call 208-745- 8433. If you can’t make it to the track, watch the races from the comfort of your own home and wager online with Idabet.com or by phone toll-free at 877-782- 9994. Fans can open an account by logging onto Idabet.com or calling the Phone bet number. The service is available in all states where online betting is permitted. Idabet.com is licensed in Idaho, regulated by the Idaho State Racing Commission and the Oregon Racing Commission and is a service of eBet Technologies and owned by Idaho-based Intermountain Racing & Entertainment.

DOE names INL's Stacey Francis Small Business Program Manager of the Year

Stacey Francis

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Stacey Francis as the 2015 Facility Management Contractor Small Business Program Manager of the Year.

As Idaho National Laboratory’s Small Business Program manager, Francis has significantly grown the small business portion of INL’s contract portfolio. In Fiscal Year 2015, the program exceeded all six socioeconomic goals for the second time since Francis has been in charge of it, a press release said. Her efforts resulted in exceeding the small disadvantaged business goal by 40 percent and the woman-owned goal by more than 200 percent.

“These accomplishments help ensure the lab and government have access to the best competitive rates while supporting a sufficient small business base to ensure quality delivery of services and products,” said Rick Provencher, DOE-Idaho Operations Office manager.

“She is a great coach, and a great cheerleader for the entire small business team,” said Don Stevens, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Support manager.

Within INL, Francis initiated the Procurement Primer, a presentation that provides training to INL employees interested in the procurement process. She also worked with Information Management to maximize the use of small businesses for a variety of staff augmentation needs.

As part of the INL outreach program, she renewed a local Small Business Workshop to help small business owners understand how to market their businesses to the government and government contractors. More than 30 small business owners attended, half of them newcomers to the government small business market.

Francis was recognized for her dedicated support to INL’s Small Business Program at the U.S. Department of Energy’s 15th Annual DOE Small Business Forum & Expo on May 24 in Atlanta, Ga.

Black Bear Diner coming to old Rusio's space

The Black Bear Diner in Chubbuck, which opened earlier this year.

Black Bear Diner, a Redding, Calif.-based chain, will be moving into 1610 E. 17th Street, in the Hall Park Shopping Center, according to Shane Murphy of Venture One Properties.

There is no firm date for an opening, as there will be remodeling involved. The space was occupied by Rusio’s, which closed in 2015.

The first Black Bear Diner dates back to 1994 in Mount Shasta, Calif., founded by Bob and Laurie Manley with help from Bruce Dean.  The franchise has grown to 76 locations in eight western states, including two in Idaho, in Boise and Chubbuck. Black Bear Diner was recognized in 2015 by Franchise Times as one of the smartest growing brands.

Black Bear features a rustic motif with "over-the-top bear paraphernalia". Every restaurant is decorated with a 12-foot-tall black bear carving by artist Ray Schulz. Additional murals and artwork are created for each restaurant by Steve and Gary Fitzgerald and Colleen Mitchell-Veyna.

The menu format mimics an old newspaper titled, “The Black Bear Gazette,” with articles on the front page. It offers family meals such as breakfast, burgers, salads, and shakes. Pies, bread and cobblers are prepared on site.

For a full menu and additional information, visit blackbeardiner.com.

Discount Tire coming to Ammon

I’ve been getting asked a lot about what’s happening on the northeast corner of Hitt Road and 17th Street, where Soapy’s car wash used to be. Checking in with Gay Leming at the Ammon Building Department, here’s the scoop.

Discount Tire will be building on the site. The buildings where Big Dog and Billman’s were are going to be town down, and Big Dog will be be moving onto the old Billman’s lot.

I suppose you were all hoping for something a lot more exciting, but that’s it right now. Looks like a Vietnamese restaurant is going in where Togo’s used to be, and Aspen Dental is opening next door to Panera Bread. We will be reporting on it all as details emerge.

Idaho Falls council hears Internet expansion options

The city of Idaho Falls is inviting the public to get involved in a conversation this fall about high-speed Internet service to homes.

At a work session Monday afternoon, Mayor Rebecca Casper and the City Council heard about a study done by Finley Engineering Co. and CCG Consulting.

Using Idaho Falls Power’s rights of way, the city began laying a fiber ring in the early 2000’s in order to improve communication between its power plants, offices and recreational facilities. The second advantage was the economic incentive of being able to offer “dark fiber” to business customers.

“Recognizing that home broadband use is experiencing exponential growth – doubling every three years – it was appropriate for us to identify the types of options that exist for promoting high speed broadband connectivity to homes as we contemplate the future of our existing network,” says Idaho Falls Power General Manager Jackie Flowers.

Idaho Falls Power issued a request for qualifications in 2015 to evaluate expansion options for the city’s existing dark fiber network and to identify potential alternatives associated with expanding high speed broadband connectivity to the home. With a winning bid of $56,904, Finley Engineering was hired in August to study the city’s Internet business model and present alternatives.

The feasibility study outlined Monday afternoon at a work session not only looked at the cost of building fiber everywhere in the city. It evaluated the cost of electronics and other assets needed to build and operate a fiber network and what level of penetration rate would be needed to make each option economically viable.

Here are the options:

• Idaho Falls operating as an Internet service provider based on various public finance options. 29 percent penetration rate required.
• Idaho Falls partnering with either an existing or new Internet service provider. 40 percent penetration rate required, and privately financed network expansion.
• Public-private partnership with either an existing or new Internet service provider. 40 percent penetration rate required, and a combination of publicly and privately financed network expansion.
• Internet service provider “cherry picking” areas of town most likely able to afford connectivity (also known as the “Google model”). 35 percent penetration rate required, and a privately financed network expansion.
• Open access network, building off the existing business model where end use customer chooses from multiple providers. Publicly financed network expansion with no break even potential.

A series of public information sessions are planned this fall to present the detailed findings of the consultant’s report.

“If, after reviewing the report, the citizens of Idaho Falls want us to move forward, we will consider next steps. We are excited to engage the public in this conversation,” Flowers said.