Enterprise The Idaho
Caribou County's Newspaper Since 2024
Caribou County, Idaho
March 14, 2024 | Vol. 1 No. 6
Shakespeare Comes to Bancroft As the result of a grant from the Bistline Foundation and Idaho Community Foundation, North Gem was visited by the Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s Touring “Shakespearience” troupe, who presented a performance of “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and led students through a number of workshops on various aspects of professional acting. High School students first attended the performance itself, after which the students participating in the school’s upcoming production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” remained for the workshop sessions. The “Shakespearience” Touring group is devoted to providing educational and cultural opportunities to communities throughout Idaho, with an emphasis on attempting to reach smaller and rural communities who otherwise may not have as much access to fine arts instruction. The Idaho Shakespeare Festival is one of 40 professional theater companies across the nation selected to perform a Shakespeare play with a professional team of actors for middle- and high-schools and conduct related educational activities for students by The National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest presents Shakespeare in American Communities. The ISF has been in existence since 1977, when it began as a much smaller affair as an outdoor Shakespeare event in Boise. Since then, the ISF has expanded to include its touring troop, teaching and residency programs, and outreach of the type that made its way to Bancroft last week. The performance itself was an adapted version of the well-known Shakespeare play, which cut out a number of the subplots and incidental scenes in the interests of time and clarity. A standard production of the full text can take around
NEWS IN BRIEF President delivers State of the Union
The Idaho Shakespeare Festival's "Shakespearience" visited North Gem school in Bancroft last week to put on a performance for the high school and teach a series of workshops to the cast of the upcoming "Arsenic and Old Lace."
3 hours, but the compressed version lasted around an hour. With a limited cast, the troupe rotated through the various parts, using minimal but distinct costuming to identify their various roles. The overall theme for the production was “The Wedding Party,” and the costumes followed that design aesthetic. The stage elements are designed to be as modular as possible, and the small team of six actors who visited North Gem stated that the school’s facility were much easier than some they had visited in their travels. The touring company essentially spends a semester with the ISF in the program, and visits schools and other organizations that book them during that time. This particular cast, composed of actors with a range of backgrounds and experiences all across the country, has visited many locations through-
out the state, including Fruitland, which they universally described as the hardest stage to deal with. A Bistline grant for $1,595 was used to bring the performance and class to North Gem, where “This tremendous opportunity means that our rural students can get an opportunity they might not have had otherwise, to have these experiences and expand their knowledge and exposure to a variety of Art and how it manifests itself in the Theatre setting. The exposure to a Shakespeare theme has tremendous benefits for the students and enhances their art culture as well as expanding on their experiences in Literature,” according to North Gem Education Foundation Treasurer Rhonda Banks. North Gem drama teacher Candace Rindlisbaker and assistant Raquel Reed were also on hand during the SHAKESPEARE On Page 9
New Equipment and public information resources at City Council
The number of people attending City Council meetings in Soda Springs has been increasing regularly so far in 2024, and a range of new equipment and information resources is hoped to help continue that trend moving forward. The city recently acquired a range of telecommunications equipment, paid for out of the General Fund, and gave it a test run at the most recent meeting on March 6. Some of the improvements are designed to make the council’s work more efficient, some to provide those in attendance access to more of the information under discussion, and some to allow for those who are not able to attend the meetings to have access to the proceedings. According to City Clerk Hannah Beer, “new tablets were purchased so that paper can be conserved, and a large TV monitor was installed in the Council room to ensure transparency with the public.” In addition to conserving paper, the tablets are useful during meetings as the members of the council can use them to quickly and easily display documents in their possession for everyone to see. Oftentimes, there is information which one of the members has been sent that has to be printed for distribution or explained in order to provide its context for the other members and
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A view of the council and its new technology from the audience perspective. New tablets, a large installed monitor, and an “OWL” camera have been put in place to increase transparency at city meetings.
audience. This material can now quickly be made public. Through teleconference protocols, information of that sort can also be screenshared to the video recording. The functions of the TV (which was in its early troubleshooting phase during its first outing) will be several fold. It can be used to allow for those joining the meeting as speakers to be displayed more conveniently for those in attendance through Zoom, Google Meets, or similar platforms. More important, it will allow members of the City Council to display contents they are discussing in a digital form during the meeting
sessions. For example, maps of locations in question for Planning and Zoning discussions, grant areas, and other issues can be made visible to everyone without the need for printing physical copies to be passed around. Documents such as letters, statements, MOUs, contracts, and others will be able to be displayed so that discussions about them will involve the full context they require to be understood fully. The TV will also allow for video to be streamed, and websites to be examined during the meetings. NEW EQUIPMENT On Page 2
INSIDE Obituaries .................................................. Pg. 3-4 News of Record.............................................Pg. 5 Puzzles...........................................................Pg. 6
Looking Back................................................Pg. 7 Legislative Updates...............................Pg. 10 Sports......................................................... Pg. 12
The annual State of the Union address was delivered by President Biden last week, and was accompanied by the usual rounds of commentary and response. Overall, the speech was received well by members of the president’s party and less well by members of the opposition, as is almost always the case. A survey of the national press shows that the main takeaways were that Biden looked energetic and forceful, that the speech was more political than is often the case, and that the response from Alabama Senator Katie Britt was…odd. There were no major policy announcements or program rollouts during the speech, which are often eschewed during election years.
Alarming report on AI potential released
(CNN) A new report commissioned by the US State Department paints an alarming picture of the “catastrophic” national security risks posed by rapidly evolving artificial intelligence, warning that time is running out for the federal government to avert disaster. The findings were based on interviews with more than 200 people over more than a year – including top executives from leading AI companies, cybersecurity researchers, weapons of mass destruction experts and national security officials inside the government. The report concludes that advanced AI could, “pose an extinction-level threat to the human species.”
Forensic Scientist in CO manipulated data over decades
Yvonne Woods, a now-former forensic scientist with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, was found to have manipulated DNA evidence in over 600 cases in the state since at least 2008. Woods’ work itself stretches back to 1994, and cases from 94-2007 are being examined next for irregularities. Woods is primarily being accused of submitting incomplete evidence, or covering up for improperly submitted evidence. At present, the cases are being viewed as the results of negligence or incompetence, rather than maliciousness. Woods retired in November. Because the cases involved potential false convictions, there is a chance a long list of cases may be up for appeal or vacation.
Deputy Attorney General added to Daybell prosecution
A request was made by Fremont County prosecutors in the case against Chad Daybell for additional assistance. The State of Idaho Attorney General’s Office has agreed to appoint Deputy Attorney General Ingrid Batey to the team. The case has received an enormous amount of national attention, and has been in progress for over three years. Special Prosecutor Rachel Smith recently stepped down for the case, for unspecified reasons, creating an immediate need for further prosecutorial assistance and expertise. Batey is also involved with the prosecution of Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of murdering four students at the University of Idaho in 2022. Jury selection is set to begin on April 1.