The Times-News from Twin Falls, Idaho • 11

TF Wednesday, February 11, 2004 Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho B-3 Magic ValleyWest Gooding motorists may renew registration online Utah man receives life without parole membered her body and burned and buried the pieces. Nielsen claimed the girl died accidental- iy. The girl was missing for nearby a year before a small amount of her remains were unearthed in May 2001 at a coyote research facility in Millville. Nielsen had 4 i Idaho plates or any of the 33 specialty plates are renewable via the Web. Recreation vehicles, trailers and street-legal motorcycles will be eligible for online renewal in December.

Motorists pay the renewal fees using Visa, MasterCard or Discover through the state's secure payment portal. The disabled veteran plate is exempt from renewal fees and special charges. Since no tax dollars were used to develop and maintain the service, a $1 convenience fee and a nominal credit card surcharge paid by users cover the costs. For more information, call 934-5668. Fire academy runs this weekend in Paul PAUL The annual Southern Idaho Fire Academy runs this weekend in Paul, offering training to firefighters, emergency Magic Valley in brief medical personnel and police officers from around Idaho, Utah and Nevada.

The academy is sponsored by. the Southern Idaho Firefighter's, Association and the emergency services training division of the, Idaho Department of Vocational. Education. The school is held at West Minico Middle School. This year marks the 10th con-" secutive year the school has been held.

Organizers expect 420 participants between Friday and Sunday, Jerry Morton said. Thirteen class topics are planned, including extrication, flashover survival, basic firefight-ing skills, units on self-contained breathing apparatus, electrical safety and hazardous materials training. compiled from staff reports Murderer's parents say jury should have saved prayers for church LOGAN, Utah (AP) The parents of convicted murderer Cody Lynn Nielsen say they were upset jurors prayed during deliberations last month before convicting their son of killing 15-year-old Trisha Autry. "This case was about politics and religion all the way through," Nielsen's mother, Bonnie Nielsen said. "They should have done their praying in church.

This wasn't a church meeting." Last week, Nielsen trial juror Milton D. Scott said jurors voluntarily said three group prayers before finding Nielsen guilty of capital aggravated murder and sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A blessing was also given to one holdout juror who refused to go along with the 11 others in sentencing Nielsen to the death penalty. Nielsen's parents, Bonnie and Lynn Nielsen, and his sister, Mindy, told The Herald Journal they were glad he didn't receive the death penalty. His family made their comments after Monday's sentencing hearing where 1st.

District Court Judge Clint S. Judkins imposed the jury's verdict of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Bonnie Nielsen said her son's sentence was appropriate. i ft Cody Lynn Nielson worked at the facility as a maintenance man at the time of the slaying. The restitution includes the $25,000 Autry's family paid for a private investigator when she disappeared, $7,000 for the memorial service the Autry family had last fall and the $5,000 anticipated cost of a funeral.

Trisha Autry's remains, chiefly a jawbone and small charred bone fragments representing about 10 percent of her body weight, still are being held as evidence in anticipation of an appeal, Baird said. He said the county attorney's office and defense counsel have been trying to reach some kind of agreement to release the remains, but there's no decision yet. Baird said the restitution "likely will never be paid unless one of Nielsen's family members steps up. But it's important to have it there, at the very least as part of the record." Death notices Other City Council business included: Skate park money The city has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation for the proposed skate park. The park fund has $88,210 in cash and commitments.

Additional grants through the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreations will be sought to reach the goal of $140,000. Deed to state Council members gave the mayor authority to sign an agreement deeding property back to the state for a right-hand turn lane at the new Valley Country Store, east of Buhl on Highway 30. The state will be responsible for the maintenance of the lane. In writing Council members requested Gene Graham of Diamond Towing submit a written proposal to lease a portion of the city's impound yard located at the former National Guard Armory building'on Deep Creek Road. Graham wants secure storage for vehicles he tows in the Buhl area until they are claimed by the owner or towed to his Twin Falls facility.

Graham intends to have no more than five cars at the site at any one time. Councilman Regie Finney said he would prefer to see a proposal on a per-car basis versus a monthly rental agreement, to allow the city to keep track of how many cars are at the impound yard. Saturday, Feb. 14, 2004, at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, St.

Edward Chapel in Twin Falls with Fr. John Koelsch as celebrant. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park. Friends may call from 3 p.m. until the time of Rosary on Friday at Reynolds Funeral Chapel, Twin Falls.

Gilbert Humberger TWIN FALLS Gilbert Humberger, 60, of Twin Falls, died Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004, at his home. Arrangements will be made by White Mortuary, "Chapel by the Park." -Obituaries GOODING Gooding County motorists can now renew their vehicle registrations online at http:dmvonline.idaho.gov, Gooding County Assessor Patty Bauscher said Tuesday. Gooding County is the second county in Idaho to offer the innovative online service. "It is our goal to make it as easy as possible to renew vehicle registration," Bauscher said.

"We are excited to offer Gooding County residents this new option. Renewing vehicle registrations via the Web will be faster and more convenient for many people." To renew online, users must log in securely by entering their plate number and a four-digit PIN printed on the reminder postcard they receive from the Idaho Transportation Department Passenger cars and trucks registered in Gooding County with the standard red, white and blue Fees Continued from Bl Twin Falls County Commissioner Gary Grindstaff said Tuesday the commissioners will try to work out a deal with the cities. "We are going to re-look at the whole thing and get the cities involved well before budget time," he said. "We want to show them the actual costs, what we are trying to do and try to work it out with them." The estimated annual cost of operating the court system is $1.4 million. The court gets 10 percent of the dollars from paid fines.

"We're trying to be fair about it and they're saying they don't have to pay anything," Grindstaff said. "It's a good deal for the cities. They use our whole system and don't pay anything. "Buhl was willing to pay. Their proposal was acceptable.

We will work with them. Filer has also said they would pay." Gietzen hopes negotiations will mean representatives from all the cities meeting at the same time with the commissioners. "I think it's important that everyone is treated the same," she said. "I think a meeting with all the cities would be better than separate meetings with each city." Buhl is being asked to pay 5 Pit Continued from Bl plastic bags that contain waste still are in good shape, Trever said. Still, not all of the waste in the pit is contained in bags.

Mark Clough, who works for the state oversight program on the Pit 9 project, said that materials unearthed have contained radioactive materials. There haven't been any incidents of worker contamination, and none are expected, he said. INEEL contractor Bechtel BWXT Idaho built a "glovebox excavator," an enclosed structure to protect against radiation exposure. A backhoe arm, operated by a worker sitting outside the enclosure, digs up the waste and moves it to a sorting area. Shielded workers wearing protective gloves sort through it.

The excavator is enclosed in a tent-like structure to protect workers from the elements. It is doubtful that the excavator can be moved to other areas of the pit, Francis said. The $80 million test retrieval project engineered by Bechtel Crossroads Continued from Bl Crossroads was a cattle ranch," Crouch said. "We felt Crossroads Point conveyed the idea of land development better." The workshop also was held to help Crossroads identify problems it will need to solve in order to receive the various required permits from the county before construction of the subdivision can proceed, said Art Brown, Jerome County's planning and zoning administrator. Scott Bybee, an engineer with the city of Jerome, said the city planned to extend water and sewer service along the interstate to Crossroads.

The city hopes the site will be built to city standards since the Veterans Continued from Bl eran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. "They had no one to talk to. They didn't get any respect at alL" Maintaining the building would be a joint effort between the veterans and the county. LOGAN, Utah (AP) Cody Lynn Nielsen has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the abduction, sexual abuse and murder of a 15-year-old Hyrumgirl. The sentence was handed down on Monday by 1st District Judge Clint Judkins but had been determined by the same jury that convicted Nielsen last month in the slaying and dismemberment of Trisha Autry.

Judkins also imposed consecutive sentences of one to IS years for kidnapping and two terms of up to five years for desecration of a body and ordered Nielsen to pay $11,000 in fines and $42,000 in restitution to Autry's family. Prosecutors had vowed to ask for the consecutive sentences even if the jury opted to execute Nielsen. "It goes to how high and to what esteem we hold human life," Deputy Cache County Attorney Tony Baird said after Monday's hearing where he requested the consecutive sentences. "The practicality isn't there, but symbolically it's a statement," he said. "You commit this type of act against humanity, the message is you'll suffer the maximum penalty." Nielsen, 31, already was serving a pfison sentence for theft and unlavful sexual activity with a miner.

Autry disappeared on June 24, 2000. Prosecutors said he kidnapped her and sexually abused her, beat her to death, dis- Darrell W. Parker Darrell W. Parker, 87, of Castleford, died Feb. 8, 2004, in Twin Falls.

A funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004, at Farmer Funeral Chapel 130 N. Ninth in Buhl. R.

Douglas Neville TWIN FALLS R. Douglas Nevflle, 79, of Twin Falls, died Sunday, Feb. 8, 2004, at Mission Hospital in Mission Vie jo, Calif. Aprayer Vigil with Rosary will be dt 7 p.m. Friday, Feb.

13, 2004, at Reynolds Funeral Chapel with Fr. JJohn Koelsch reciting. A Funeral Mass will be held at noon A grand lady, loving and car-jng mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend left us on Feb. 6, 2004. Edna McGown was born on Hav.

22, 1906, in Stanley, Idaho, to Ellen Martin and Leslie JSTiece. She had many fond mem-pries of life in the Stanley Basin and Sawtooth Valley. On Nov. 27, 51924, she married A.W. "Tuff" McGown of Challis and together they hiked the mountains always prospecting for "their" gold mine in the sky.

Custer became their home in summer and Challis in the winter. In 1961 Edna and Tuff established the Custer Museum in memory pf their son, Art. The museum was later sold to the U.S. Forest Service and it continues to operate bringing pleasure to many people each summer. Edna turned the first shovel of jtirt to begin construction of the hallis Interpretative Center.

'She co-authored two books of Richard O. "Dick" Garvin, 81, of Burley, died Friday, Feb. 6, 2004. He was born April 10, 1922, at Lewisville, Idaho, the son of Afton 6. and Etta Hansen Garvin.

He attended Pocatello High School, lettering two years in track and graduating in 1940. He continued his education in four universities, Emory University in Atlanta, Duke University in Durham, N. the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N. and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, graduating with a bachelor's of arts degree in industrial relations in 1949. 1 He was a member of the track team at Duke University and the basketball team at the University of North Carolina.

North Carolina Won the Southern Conference Championship and was rated number eight in the nation. Dick was in the Marine Corps for 19 years, serving in World War II and the Korean Conflict, being honorably discharged in 1962, as a captain. While stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he played basketball for the base team that was rated number one in the nation east of the Mississippi. He also served for Edna Richard McGown Twin Falls the Salmon River and Yankee Fork country and authored an additional two books. In 1999 she received the "Esto Perpetua" award from the Idaho State Historical Society for her significant contributions to Idaho history.

Mrs. McGown was preceded in death by her husband, Tuff Eliza Cordelia Nye Shaw BURLEY Eliza Cordelia Nye Shaw, 98-year-old Burley resident, died Saturday, Feb. 7, 2004, at Parke View Care and Rehabilitation Center in Burley. A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb.

16, 2004, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Burley West Stake Center, 2420 Parke Burley, with Bishop Brian Barlow officiating. Burial will be in the Valley Vu Cemetery in Malta. Friends may call from 6- 8 p.m. on Sunday at the Payne Mortuary, 221 W. Main St.

in Burley and from a.m. before the funeral on Monday at the church. McGown; a son, Art McGown; a daughter, Adelaide Walters; and one brother, Rupert Niece. Edna is survived by her daughter, Edna Mae (George) Jukich, of Twin Falls; her granddaughter, Lori (John) Head and their two children, Lacey and Alex Head, all of Pocatello, Idaho; and many good friends. "Until we meet again, thanks Mom for all these years of love and caring.

We all love you Mom and will miss you so much." Service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16, 2004, at the American Legion Hall in Challis, Idaho, with Fred Coggburn officiating. Interment will follow in the Challis Cemetery. The family suggests memorials in Edna's name to the Challis Interpretative Center.

Contributions may be mailed to Reynolds Funeral Chapel, P.O. Box 1142, Twin Falls, Idaho, 83303; or left with funeral chapel staff at the service. Burley American Falls and Blackfoot, was president of the Exchange Club in Burley and was also a member of the Lion's Club in American Falls. He married Evelyn C. "Mickey" Baker in Pocatello, on Aug.

7, 1947. He had two daughters, Jona Lee and Carol Joy. Jona Lee (David) Winder lives in American Falls, Idaho, and Carol Joy (Don) Merz lives in Montpelier, Idaho. He also has four grandchildren, Matthew (Sheila) Anderson, of Greeley, Amanda K. (Ross) Freckleton, of Pocatello, Idaho; Adam (Sharon) Anderson, of American Falls; and Alicia Jean Merz, of Montpelier, three step-grandchildren, David, Cherie and Dana; and two great-grandchildren, Logan Freckleton and Ethan Anderson.

He was preceded in death by his parents and by his dear wife, Mickey, who died on March 10, 2003. A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004, at the Rasmussen Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St, Burley, with the Rev.

Herb C. Whitaker officiating. Friends may call from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. today at Rasmussen Funeral Home and on Thursday before the funeral percent of the total court costs under the new formula.

The county would pay 23 percent; the city of Twin Falls, 57 percent; Kimberly, 7 percent; and Filer, 5 percent. Buhl receives an average of $20,323 back from the county each year as the city's portion of fines levied against defendants. Even with the new $10,780 assessment, Buhl annually should net a little more than $9,000 from the costs about $80 million to retrieve waste from a fraction of Pit 9. That price tag makes it cost-prohibitive to apply the process to the entire landfill, Francis said. "This was just to demonstrate that the buried waste could be dug up," she said.

Once the test retrieval project is finished, INEEL will evaluate what to do with the entire Pit 9 and the rest of the landfill, she said. The glovebox excavator is a test project in a controlled environment so that officials can develop a large-scale operation, Trever said. "I think this is the beginning in terms of evaluating what the materials in the pits are going to look like, and will be useful when we plan future retrievals," she said. INEEL had to begin digging the waste by January to meet the terms of an agreement reached with the state in 2002 over missed project deadlines. The U.S.

Department of Energy at the time had been talking about somehow stabilizing the waste and leaving it in the ground. But residents of Crossroads Point will sign annexation agreements with the city. Planning and Zoning Commissioner Doug Suter reminded landscape architects of the need for space to put snow after it is removed from the roadways. Brown suggested Crossroads Point would also need storm drains and water runoff catch basins installed. Brown said developers might want to recycle the collected runoff water for landscaping irrigation.

"We live in a desert. Plants need to be desert friendly," Brown said. "Landscaping doesn't necessarily have to be green to look They asked commissioners if there was a way the county could help with utility costs. Commissioner Bill Brockman liked the veterans' plan, but said the county can't donate money it doesn't have. He said the countv could look courts.

But the city also pays the county prosecutor $12,000 annually to prosecute Buhl cases. "We have to have someone to prosecute our cases," Gietzen said Monday. "It just worked out cheaper to hire the county prosecutor to do that." Court costs and prosecutor fees will total $22,780, meaning the city will lose $2,457 annually for prosecuting of fenders. as part of the agreement, the department said it would postpone a decision on what to do with the rest of the landfill until it had evaluated Pit 9 results. The fate of the buried waste remains unclear.

The Energy Department is appealing a federal court decision won by the state that requires INEEL to dig up all of the plutoniumontaminated waste at the landfill. Digging up the buried waste is a rallying cry of many Idahoans who don't want the waste sitting atop the regional aquifer in an unlined landfill. The Pit 9 project was devised in the early 1990s and was plagued by repeated delays and missed deadlines. In addition to the $80 million excavator test project, taxpayers have spent more than $150 million on a decade of Pit 9-related activities and missed deadlines and delays under a previous contractor. Times-News writer Jennifer Sandmann can be reached at 733-0931, Ext.

237, 'or jsandmannmagicvalley.com. nice. Some rock outcroppings would blend with the area and look good." Devin Rigby, an engineer with the Idaho Transportation Department office in Shoshone, discussed the need to avoid visual restrictions and obstacles at the access roads along Highway 93. He suggested the logical place for a stop light would be at the entrance to Petro TJ and the main entrance to Crossroads Point He said a traffic study would have to be conducted before the subdivision entrances could be developed. Brown said when all the paperwork is completed and all the questions are answered he will be happy to issue the needed permits.

into what kind of grants might be available. "We can sure talk it over," Brockman said. Times-News writer Sandy Miller can be reached at 735-3264 orbye-mail at smUlermagicvaTley.com. 0. 'Dick' Garvin 1 4 eight years in the Idaho National Guard, retiring from the military with 27 years of active duty and reserve time.

He went to work for Idaho Bank and Trust in Pocatello in 1957, and retired after 27 years as a senior vice president While with LB. T. he worked in Burley, American Falls, Paul and Blackfoot He was in several organizations including past exalted ruler of the BP.OJE. 1384, past president of the Chamber of Commerce in American Falls, was a member of the Rotary Club in Burley,.