Looking back: Man kicks boy in stomach and bus driver avoids ‘near tragic’ accident

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Feb. 27 to March 5 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

BLACKFOOT — A man was arrested for kicking a boy in the stomach while on the street, the Blackfoot Idaho Republican said on March 5, 1909.

The boy — a son of a widow named Mrs. Lee — was kicked by a man who went by the name Hass. He was then carried unconscious “from the place where he fell and Hass was taken to court.”

“Hass claimed the boy poked his wife with a stick when passing and that he kicked him on the spur of the moment, not intending to do him so much violence,” the local paper wrote. “Others deny this happened and say there was no excuse for such harsh treatment.”

1926-1950

RIGBY — A Rigby man told The Rigby Star a Hampshire lamb weighing 20 pounds was born at his ranch.

The paper reported in its March 5, 1931, newspaper, that Harry Groom said the lamb was “so large” they weighed the animal again the day after it was born to “make sure that no mistake was made in the weight.”

Groom added, “Several sheepmen who viewed the lamb stated it was the largest they had ever seen.”

Groom invited any “doubting Thomases” to go to his ranch and “view the big lamb.”

1951-1975

SODA SPRINGS — A “near tragic” accident was avoided thanks to a “quick-thinking” Soda Springs bus driver.

On March 2, 1967, The Caribou County Sun said bus driver Clem Walker was driving one of three buses loaded with students, teachers and band equipment home from a tournament in American Falls. The right front tire blew out on a steep embankment north of Lava Hot Springs.

“The bus veered off the shoulder of the highway but Mr. Walker was able to bring it back on the pavement,” the paper said. “Due to road conditions, Mr. Walker had slowed the bus to a speed of 35 miles per hour and this was a factor in preventing the bus from going over the embankment.”

The bus was carrying 37 students, four adults and the band instruments. Nobody was injured and there was no damage to the bus other than a “ruined tire and rim.”

Students were transferred to the other two buses and private cars. One of the dual rear tires was taken off and put on the front of the bus and the bus was driven home.

1976-2000

POCATELLO — Pocatello’s Public Library launched a local TV show, the Idaho State Journal announced on Feb. 28, 1977.

The “new community service” was direct cable casting of locally produced television programs. The paper said the show would be the first of a permanent Monday night series which could be seen on Public Access Cable Channel 12.

Programs that were to be shown were made by the library’s own staff and by individuals and groups from the community who had taken the library’s free training workshops on the use of portable TV equipment.

There were a handful of programs already made such as music concerts, public meetings and hearings, dance festivals, children’s story hours, health education, video art, political candidate forums and sports.

Programs started at 6:30 p.m. and ran for a minimum of two hours.

“As the production of local programming increases, Monday evening hours will be expanded,” the Journal explained. “The entire week’s programming will be repeated on other days of the week for those unable to tune in Monday night.”

Anybody who was interested in taking free training on how to use portable tv equipment to make their own programs was told to contact the library and ask for video services.