EIRMC recognized for lactation care resources

The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners and International Lactation Consultant Association have recognized Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for excellence in lactation care.

EIRMC has received the IBCLC Care Award in recognition for staffing professionals who hold International Board Certified Lactation Consultant certification and providing a lactation program for breastfeeding families. In addition, the facility demonstrated that it has recently completed activities that help protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.

IBCLC consultants focus on preventive care, so they are available during pregnancy to assess and provide information on how to successfully initiate breastfeeding. They continue that assistance after the baby is born by helping families overcome breastfeeding challenges, providing accurate information, and continuing to support them as their baby grows. They assist families returning to work or school, help families in more unusual situations such as breastfeeding more than one baby or nursing a sick or premature infant, and help train nursing staff to manage basic breastfeeding care.

There are currently more than 28,000 such consultants in 105 countries. The program is independently accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.

In addition to finding IBCLC professionals at EIRMC, families can also find an IBCLC near them by visiting www.ilca.org. Follow the “Find a Lactation Consultant” link and search for an IBCLC by postal code, city and state, or country.  

For more information about the IBCLC Care Award program, contact IBLCE at award@iblce.org.

Deadline nearing for parade registration

The Idaho Falls Fourth of July Parade has been going strong since the mid-'70s. 

Here’s a reminder that if you’re planning to be part of the Idaho Falls Fourth of July parade, you’ve got until June 1 to register.

Organized and executed by the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce, the parade kicks off at 9 a.m. For as long as anyone can remember, more than 100 floats have participated in the parade.

The Fourth falls this year on a Tuesday. The theme for this year’s parade is “Guardians of Freedom.” It starts on Fourth Street and John Adams Parkway and ends at Tautphaus Park.

Volunteers are still needed to help guide and direct floats the morning of the parade. If you are interested in helping with the parade, please email: programs@idahofallschamber.com, or call (208) 523-1010 ext. 1004.

There is a $50 parade entry fee and an additional $50 if you want to distribute candy or flyers.
To download the entry form, follow this link: https://idahofallschamber.com/4th-of-july-parade-registration-form/

Pachanga's moving to A Street, across from Colonial Theater

It looks like Pachangas' move to 439 A Street is on, according to Randy Waters, managing director of SVN High Desert Commercial, who helped handle the real estate transaction.

Pachanga's owner Antonio Meza of Pachangas applied to the Idaho Falls Building Department on March 8 for a building permit to remodel the property, and a peek inside this week show extensive remodeling is indeed going on.

Originally on Capital Avenue across from the Bonneville County Courthouse, Pachangas has been at the corner of Park Avenue and B Street for several years. A great location, to be sure -- consider that Alive After 5 is right across the street from May to September -- but Meza said things were set in motion early this year when his landlord, Thomas Development, the owner of the Earl Building, told him they had a new tenant interested in their space.

He then learned that Jerry and Jeannie Frazzell were looking for a buyer for their property, which had been remodeled as Black Rock Fine Wines and Craft Beer in 2015. Black Rock's lease was up at the end of March, which put owner Chuck Chute in a scramble pattern, but by the end of March he had moved his operation to343 Park Avenue, next door to the Samoa Club.

As for the Park Avenue property, there is a Thonton Oliver Keller sign in the window. We'll be keeping an eye on what happens there as well as at Pachanga's new digs.

Deseret Book building new store on Pioneer Road

We got a question about the edifice going up just south of the Utah Avenue Wal-Mart, the type of question we’re always happy to oblige.

The building, at 750 Pioneer Road, will be the new home of Deseret Book, and it is going up in a hurry. The permit was applied for March 9 and issued April 11. Plans filed with the city of Idaho show a total square-footage of 105,443 and a valuation (based on that square footage) of $404,365.

Deseret Book has been located for years, at 950 Memorial Drive, near the newly-reopened Idaho Falls LDS Temple. There is also a store in the Ammon Town Center.

The Deseret Book company dates back to 1919, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corp., the holding company for business firms owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In addition to running a chain of stores in the western United States, Deseret Book publishes under four imprints with media ranging from works explaining LDS theology and doctrine, LDS-related fiction, electronic resources, and sound recordings such as Mormon Tabernacle Choir albums.

Downtown Development board names new executive director

Catherine Smith

Catherine Smith has been selected as executive director of the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation.

A fourth-generation Idahoan, Smith was previously eastern region director for the Idaho Community Foundation, where she helped families, businesses and community-minded establish charitable funds, and directed grants managed by the foundation. She has worked for Idaho Falls Arts Council and the Idaho Commission on the Arts as a regional public art advisor. She is an active member of the non-profit community, serves on a handful of local non-profit boards, and volunteers regularly for the Idaho Falls Zoo. She was named Distinguished Under 40 in 2013 and is a graduate of the Chamber Leadership Idaho Falls program.

Smith is coming to IFDDC just as two keystone projects downtown are about to get under way: the Oppenheimer Groups’ development of the Kelsch property at Memorial Drive and Broadway, where Savings Center used to be, and the rehabilitation of the Bonneville Hotel. Other downtown projects are in various stages of planning.

Smith is a graduate of the Art Institute of Portland, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. “I’m proud to be a part of this organization and am quite excited to work with the IFDDC board and downtown folks to continue to build for the future of downtown Idaho Falls,” she said.