The Idaho Statesman from Boise, Idaho • 1

LIFE HOLIDAY PLUS Gift ideas scene ENTERTAINMENT December's movies for beer two Scrooges new lovers IDAHO'S CAPITAL NEWSPAPER ESTABLISHED IN 1864 The Idaho Statesman FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2005 ADA, CANYON, IDAHO EDITION BREAKING NEWS AT IDAHOSTATESMAN.COM 50 CENTS a all de Photos by Joe Jaszewski The Idaho Statesman Students from East Junior High, Koelsch Elementary and St. Joseph's Catholic Grade School cheer as the Idaho contingent is introduced during a conference call between schools from nine states that raised money and items for students at schools affected by Hurricane Katrina. Idaho students celebrate role in helping young hurricane victims Kids nationwide cheer during conference call By Anna Webb The Idaho Statesman Choruses of kids' cheers from across the country filled the library at Koelsch Elementary on Thursday. Now, a couple things are clear. First, kids in Delaware are good screamers.

Second, lots of American kids and teachers, including Idahoans, have been working hard in creative ways to help out the young survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Students have been holding bake sales and walk-athons. They've been gathering change in milk cartons. Teachers and principals have been subjecting themselves to carnival dunk tanks, One principal in Virginia dyed her hair fire-engine red to help raise dollars. A school group in California opened a KoolAid stand and raised $3,000.

A national conference call Thursday linked students from Louisiana, California, Iowa, New Jersey and other states with young Boiseans who contributed through their own "Backpacks from Boise" effort. That project sent 600 backpacks filled in Boise students sent 600 backpacks, among other supplies and money, to students in the Gulf of Mexico region who were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. with goodies, including stuffed animals, school supplies and letters to kids lost their homes and schools. The project was the brainchild of Koelsch Elementary fifth-grade teacher Sue Austin. The first 300 backpacks went to McComb, Miss.

Not only did McComb send a plaque to Koelsch See Students on page 5 At IdahoStatesman.com Link to RandomKid to out about more ways to involved with ongoing relief efforts. LOCAL NEWS Winter weather blamed for crashes, slide-offs throughout Treasure Valley Law enforcement agencies throughout the Valley reported spikes in slide-offs and crashes due to snowy conditions Thursday morning, though no serious injuries were reported. More snow is in the forecast for today, and drivers need to slow down. Local 1 Company suing over contract it lost to manage Idaho highway project The company that lost out on a contract worth at least $15 million to manage Idaho's largest highway project has sued, alleging that Idaho Transportation Department board members broke state and federal laws by using the bid winners' local ties to justify giving them the contract. Local 1 Judge: Prosecutor not immune to suits A federal judge in Boise ruled that Canyon County and Prosecutor Dave Young are not immune from a civil lawsuit in the death of Angie Leon, according to a memorandum.

Local 1 9 sections 98 pages Copyright 2005 40901 00901 1 A Knight 0 State to unveil landscaping options for a the Wye TO DOWNTOWN PRAIRIE OPTION on the Flying Wye Interchange. critique. Both plans High Desert an The Flying Wye is the state's busiest Prairie call for low-water and low-main- TO intersection the Interstate 84 and 184 tenance plants and no turf. AIRPORT interchange that connects the freeway Both options call for native plants. The with the Boise I-184 Connector to Down- Prairie plan would feature fields native town.

The state spent five and a half years grasses and wildflowers; the High Desert See the plans and $86 million rebuilding the confusing motif incorporates boulders and larger- ITD is unveiling the and congested interchange, and completed scale plantings of shrubs and trees. landscape options from that work in June 2004. The designs also incorporate existing 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Westpark Towne Plaza, The sometimes-bitter discussion over ponds that would function as stormwa- 303 N. Milwaukee, in the old Dollar Tree store.

how to landscape around the interchange ter-retention areas. For information: Visit www.itd.idaho.org or call dates to the days of the Flying Wye's Gwen Smith at 334-4444. See Wye on page 5 makeover. When then- Brent Coles proposed $11.4 million in landscaping for Learn more inside Main 5 the Boise gateway in 2001, other local of- At IdahoStatesman.com ficials objected to spending so much mon- Find out more about the Flying Wye and A disagreement over a plan to landscape the Wye Interchange in 2001 sparked a dispute between ey on acres of turf, 1,000 trees and 48,000 other state highway projects. Boise and other local entities.

Features fields of native dryland grasses and wildflowers with clump plantings of sagebrush and rabbitbrush. TO MERIDIAN OTHER POSSIBLE FEATURES Plan may incorporate murals or HIGH DESERT OPTION artwork on walls, underpasses and guardrails. Landscaping features large boulders; sagebrush, WHY THE WYE? The Y-shaped rabbitbrush and bitterbrush; interchange picked up the and mountain mahoganies nickname "The Flying Wye" and Western junipers. from locals who preferred it to the official name Maple Grove Interchange. Designs use WHY WAS THE WYE REBUILT? When built in 1969, the road native plants that was designed to carry 33,000 cars a day.

By 1999, when the need little maintenance interchange was rebuilt, it was carrying 100,000 cars daily. By Cynthia Sewell shrubs instead of area road The Idaho Statesman improvements. Sources: Idaho Transportation On Saturday, the Idaho Trans- Department, Statesman The state is ready to show the public portation Department unveils two land- research how it wants to put the finishing touches scape themes for the public to review and Idaho housing prices rise at a torrid pace High home costs good for sellers, not for buyers By Joe Estrella The Idaho Statesman Idaho's housing appreciation rate outpaced the national average in the third quarter of 2005, making it harder to buy a home and in- NEW WEATHER MAP ON BACK OF SPORTS You'll find: Expanded regional and national maps 14-day temperature trend for Boise creasing the property homeowners. tax burexisting Idaho housing prices were up 15.01 percent year-overyear, according to an Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight report issued Thursday. That was well ahead of the 12.02 percent average national rate, which declined by 2 percentage points from the third quarter of last year.

Reaction to the Idaho figures was split, with federal NATIONAL Craig kills Sen. Larry Pa Passage Center, fish in the not count fish Allies mull Bulgaria and Iraq, are dozen others ductions, mount to bring Globe marks Schoolchildren sex, and village shame about was marked Storm Residents trina will have Dec. 15. Some for years. Some PAPER? CLASSIFIEDS Start on 141st year, 130th issue MISSED YOUR PAPER? The Idaho Statesman Call 377-6370 newspaper WORLD NEWS INSIDE TODAY officials i insisting it was good news for homeowners, while Treasure Valley experts worried that it signals tough times ahead for area consumers.

"This just means more people are going to have a hard time buying a home, because wages in this valley have not gone up 15 percent, said Don Hubble, owner of Hubble Homes, one of the busiest home builders in the Rates of increase in U.S. home prices in the third quar- cording to the federal study. ter "were extremely strong, The Treasure Valley finished although some deceleration in 74th place on OFHEO's can be seen in a number of list of U.S. metropolitan real the faster-appreciating mar- estate markets, up from 117th kets," said OFHEO's chief place in the second quarter. economist, Patrick Lawler, Coeur d'Alene finished in adding that "price momen- seventh place, with a yeartum in the Pacific New over-year housing appreciEngland states, in particular, ation rate of 29.88 percent.

has pulled back." For the third quarter alone, In the Boise metro area, See Housing on page 5 home values in the third quarter were up 14.29 per- THE TOP 12 housing markets cent year-over-year, ac- in the United States, Main 5 student funds for counting salmon NATURAL WONDER: Plant an evergreen bush. Birds will thank you in the winter. Idaho Outdoors, Local 8 Craig, R-Idaho, has eliminated the Fish an agency that counts endangered TIPS FOR CLEANING YOUR HOUSE for the holidays Columbia River, because some say it did and for removing melted candle wax from your in a way that suited Craig. Main 4 table. Homes Life 1 future of forces in Iraq Ukraine, two of America's allies in IDAHO withdrawing forces this month, and a half- PEOPLE are debating possible pullouts or reincreasing pressure on Washington as calls ONE SWEET home U.S.

troops. Main 6 Bullrider Zeb Lanham World AIDS Day of Sweet is the only Treasure Valley area in Senegal pledged to abstain from cowboy at this year's women in India cast off a veil of National Finals Rodeo, which starts its 10-day their HIV status as World AIDS Day run tonight in Las Vegas, Sports 1 Thursday around the globe. Main 10 victims have to pay mortgages TOMORROW who lived in the path of Hurricane Kato make mortgage payments again CHRISTMAS BOOKS FOR KIDS: Local reading exhomeowners will have to pay off debt perts give their picks for books that will make good will face bankruptcy. Main 3 Christmas gifts for kids and teens. In Local LEGALS WEATHER Rain? Snow? Maybe Business 4 Classifieds in Business HIGH 36 LOW 27 Sports 6 Valley Treasure 27 Restaurant for $25- Join Today! Dining Chub Call 377-6370 or go to IdahoStatesman.com/diningclub The Perfect Gift! State RIDDER) INFORMATION FOR.