INL welcomes first Russell L. Heath Postdoctoral Associate

Dr. Cheng Sun

Idaho National Laboratory is welcoming Dr. Cheng Sun as its first honoree under the Russell L. Heath Distinguished Postdoctoral Associate Program.

“This is INL’s first distinguished postdoctoral appointment and we look forward to it being the first of many,” said Mark Peters, INL lab director.

Sun comes to INL from Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he has been a postdoctoral associate since May 2013. He holds a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Texas A&M University. His research areas include advanced structural materials, nanostructured materials, and mechanical property relationships of materials in extreme conditions such as high temperature and high flux.

"We are pleased and excited to announce and introduce our first Russell Heath Distinguished Postdoc to the INL," said Kelly Beierschmitt, deputy laboratory director for Science and Technology. "Dr. Sun's expertise and passion has distinguished him among his peers and we look forward to what he brings to our scientific community."

The Russell L. Heath postdoctoral appointment has been established to attract, recruit, develop and inspire early-career researchers who have the potential to develop into INL’s future scientific and technical leaders. It is named after Dr. Russell L. Heath, who came to the Atomic Energy Commission's National Reactor Testing Station in 1952, gained an international reputation as the "Father of Gamma Ray Spectrometry." The national laboratory now called INL was established as the AEC’s National Reactor Testing Station in 1949.

“We have high hopes for all of our postdoctoral appointments and believe we are going to see great things from our first distinguished postdoc, Dr. Sun,” Peters said. “This marks the beginning of a new adventure for INL, one we anticipate brings even greater attention to our reputation for outstanding science and innovation.”

Idaho National Laboratory is part of the Department of Energy’s complex of national laboratories. The laboratory performs work in each of the strategic goal areas of DOE – energy, national security, environment and science. INL is the nation’s leading center of nuclear energy research and development. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance.

For more information on Dr. Cheng Sun’s appointment as Russell L. Heath postdoctoral associate, see www.inl.gov. See more INL news at www.inl.gov. Follow @INL on Twitter or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IdahoNationalLaboratory.

New Fort Hall Casino groundbreaking set for Oct. 17

An artist's rendering of the new Fort Hall Casino, which will be attached to the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Events Center.

The Fort Hall Business Council has planned an official groundbreaking Oct. 17 on its $35 million expansion to the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel & Event Center.

The project, dubbed Casino Expansion Phase II, includes a 72,984-square-foot casino that will be directly attached to the existing event center.

Ormond Builders, Inc. of Idaho Falls, has been named the new contractor for the project, according to a press release. The contractor provided one of several bids submitted and reviewed by the Business Council and the Tribes’ project team, which includes the Tribes’ finance, planning, TERO/TOSHA, and gaming staff.

According to the release, the construction agreement includes a one-story new casino, an 8,084-square-foot bingo hall, and a pre-function corridor with connected storage.

The pre-function corridor and storage will be located along the north side of the existing Chiefs Events Center. It will complete functional requirements not started during construction of the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Events Center.

Groundbreaking for the new venue was originally set for early spring, but the project stalled when the original architect, Indian-owned, Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects of St. Louis, withdrew.
It is estimated the project will add about 90 jobs over a 16-month construction period.

Stan's Paint Clinic moves to new location

Hutch Gold, who owns Stan's Paint Clinic with his wife, Robin.

Stan’s Paint Clinic, a fixture on Northgate Mile next door to North Hi-way Cafe for 41 years, has moved to a new address in the Country Club Shopping Center, next door Radio Shack.

Owners Hutch and Robin Gold made the move in early September, and are hoping to have a grand opening sometime in early October. Their location, 1521 Northgate Mile, used to be Hollywood Video, and some of the old video store artwork was still on the walls when I poked my nose in Wednesday afternoon.

In making the move, they have doubled their floor space from 4,000 to about 8,000 square feet. They are very happy about the parking in front. Their old location was sold to Wes and Roxanne Smith, owners of the North Hi-way and also the Blue Wave on Rolland.

Stan’s Paint Clinic carries consumer, professional, industrial and automotive paints, as well as a full array of supplies. For more information, call 523-0031.

Kneaders in Ammon opening Friday morning

Staff at Kneaders were busy Wednesday getting the restaurant ready for its official opening Friday.

Kneaders in Ammon’s Sandcreek Commons shopping center has been serving customers in the the past few day through a soft opening and special events, but the actual opening is at 7 a.m. Friday. Free French toast — all you can eat — will be served to the first 100 customers (who will also receive t-shirts).

The restaurant is being managed by Bobbi Elliot, previously the food service manager at the Flying J Travel Stop near Interstate 15 Exit 113. The restaurant is 4,214 square feet, with a kitchen and serving area of 2,226 square feet and a seating area of 1,618 square feet. Occupancy for the entire restaurant is 143.

Kneaders dates back to 1997, when it was founded by Gary and Colleen Worthington. It specializes in European hearth breads made from scratch on site daily, as well as gourmet sandwiches, soups, salads, pastries and breakfast items. It also provides catering services for groups of all sizes, from birthday parties to weddings, and offers a variety of retail products including award-­winning gift baskets and holiday­-themed gifts.

So far, the company has more than 42 locations in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Idaho, where it opened its first store in Meridian. Like many chains, there is a mix of franchise operations and company­ owned stores. The Ammon restaurant is company owned.

Eric Isom, chief development officer of Ball Ventures, the co­-developer of Sand Creek
Commons, said that when courting tenants for their projects they have sought a lot of input from locals. Because so many people travel from eastern Idaho to Utah, there has been a lot of interest in Kneaders. “It’s been one of the most common requests in the last two or three years,” he said.

EIRMC launches canned food drive to mark 30th anniversary

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center is celebrating its 30-year anniversary this fall. The hospital opened its doors on Dec. 22, 1986.

One of the ways it plans to observe the occasion is with a canned food drive. The goal is to collect 30,000 cans to benefit 11 food banks in the region EIRMC serves. The hospital sees patients from all over eastern Idaho, from Driggs to Blackfoot, including Idaho Falls.

“We are thrilled and honored to participate in EIRMC’s celebration of three decades of caring for our community,” said Bud Langerak, executive director of the Community Food Basket in Idaho Falls. “The coinciding food drive will help several food pantries serve our friends and neighbors with food insecurity. I encourage our communities to support this great event with food donations at EIRMC and the free online donation process.”

Community members can help with the food drive in two ways. They can drop off cans of food in the EIRMC main lobby or cafeteria at any time. Or they can deliver canned foods to the participating food banks and tell them it is for the EIRMC food drive.

Second, community members can visit EIRMC30Years.com to “virtually donate” to the food drive. Visitors can submit their email each day and EIRMC will donate on their behalf.

The EIRMC30Years.com website includes a count of the total cans donated so far, which is updated weekly. On the website, visitors will also find historical photos, stories from longtime employees, EIRMC history, and other information about the 30 year anniversary.

The canned food drive is scheduled to run through the end of December.

Here is a complete list of food banks: Community Dinner Table (Blackfoot Community Pantry), Community Food Basket (Idaho Falls), Cornerstone Pentecostal Food Bank, Family Crisis Center (Rexburg), Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen, Jefferson County Food Bank, North Bingham County Community Food Bank, North Fremont Food Pantry, Salvation Army (Idaho Falls), St. Vincent de Paul, and Teton Valley Food Bank.