Looking back: Dog team race held, FBI arrests Leadore youth and flu keeps teachers and students home
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Feb. 7 to Feb. 13 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
ASHTON — A dog team race was going to run from Yellowstone to Ashton in February, The Rigby Star announced on Feb. 8, 1917.
The paper said the prize money was set at $200. Five dogs were the least that could be entered as a team and all must have been brought to the finish line. The driver could use skies or snowshoes. At the time the article was published, the snow was four feet deep on average.
“It is the intention to make the race an annual affair,” The Rigby Star noted. “Already many teams from the upper country have been entered and the event promises some excitement.”
1926-1950
RIGBY — A man plead guilty to the charge of resisting an officer, according to The Rigby Star.
The paper reported on Feb. 10, 1927, that Gerald McCullough was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail. The maximum sentence for the offense he was charged with was typically a $300 fine and six months in jail.
“Due to the fact that McCullough is a married man and has a wife and young child dependent upon him, Judge Larsen reduced his sentence to 90 days and did not assess him a cash fine,” The Rigby Star wrote.
F.A. McCall, prosecuting attorney, told the defendant that a repetition of the offense “would be fully prosecuted” and “without any hesitancy on the part of officers.”
1951-1975
LEADORE — The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested three Leadore youth in connection with the destruction of government property, The Salmon Recorder Herald said on Feb. 13, 1969.
The damage was done in the Smokey Bear campground near Leadore. Ronald Kent Owens and Janet Sharlene Fisher and an unnamed juvenile appeared before U.S. Commissioner Williams Black in Idaho Falls. Bonds of $500 were set, the paper mentioned.
“The FBI complaint charged the pair had toppled a signpost and tore down a registration booth,” the paper explained.
1976-2000
POCATELLO — The flu was rapidly spreading around eastern Idaho resulting in teachers and students staying home from school.
The Idaho State Journal wrote on Feb. 12, 1976, around 8% of the city’s teachers were away from work with flu-related symptoms. Forty-three substitute teachers were called to take over classes.
“In addition, 650 students were absent from classrooms today,” a school administration official said.
Despite the number of people who were sick, the flu wasn’t “overtaxing” the staff of local hospitals, the paper stated.
Bannock Memorial Hospital had “some flu admittances.” A spokesman told the paper in most of those cases the patients were admitted due to more serious complications.
The situation was similar at St. Anthony Community Hospital. The paper mentioned most of the people who came into the hospital for flu treatment were outpatients.
“Both spokesmen said that their staffs have been affected by the bug, but not to the extent where it has hindered hospital functions,” the article states.