Caribou County Caribou County, Idaho
September 19, 2024 | Vol. 1 No. 33
Center for Hope South keeps community strong
Melissa Gallegos has seen a lot of changes in the years she has spent at the Center for Hope South (formerly the Hope and Recovery Center). As the center’s often singular employee she puts in many days of long and busy hours at the location on Main Street, just across from the courthouse. The location is on point, as the center serves a number of clients in recovery programs as a result of court diversion programs or in order to avoid returning to court again. The name change does not reflect a change of philosophy or practice from Hope and Recovery. The rebranding is just a matter of paperwork issues and clarifying the distinctive identity of the Soda Springs location. In all other relevant ways, the Center For Hope South is the same entity that people may be familiar with on Main Street. The center provides resources for adults as well as kids through a number of means, and helps provide assistance with clothing, food security, support networking, and of course addiction recovery. Drug and alcohol use disorders are extremely common across the country, and lead to many negative outcomes, including health problems, legal issues, volatile family dynamics, and so on. When individuals and sometimes families decide to enter a recovery program, they should be congratulated for making the commitment, but also supported through the sometimes rocky process. The Center for Hope provides just that kind of support. The Center was recently given some funding from both the city and the county to offset operating costs, but the center itself functions in large part because of Gallegos and the heart and work she continually pours into it. “Center for Hope is a recovery resource center,” Gallegos explains. “So what I do is communicate with resource providers and build a knowledge of what is available in this community to help people who need it. I’m a recovery coach, so I can help people set goals, and motivate and encourage them to set goals and maintain a higher quality of life. I meet them where they’re at. If that’ something they want to do, they can come in and meet with me and we’ll work on that. I model positive relationships for them and help them know that they can figure this out. They can achieve their goals from where they are.” Some people are leery of counseling and support services, as they can view the providers as ‘outside forces’. In the case of Gallegos, she is able to speak to clients as a peer. In fact, its part of her certification. “One of the requirements for coaches is lived experience,” she says. “I am a recovering addict, going on thirteen years. I am a graduate of the drug court here. You have to have that kind of background to be able to understand and meet people’s needs in a recovery setting. You come into it non-judgmental because you understand how hard it can be to start out from the bottom and try to change your life and rebuild it. For the certification that I hold CPRC (Certified Peer Recovery Coach), you also have to have a mental health background to help people navigate through those kinds of challenges.”
NEWS IN BRIEF
Apparent assassination attempt on former President Trump at his Florida golf club
The Center for Hope South is open during construction. Recovery Coach Melissa Gallegos stands in front of the office.
“The ‘peer’ means we’re all on the same level. I understand where people are coming from.” The certification comes from IBADCC (Idaho Board of Alcohol Drug Counselor Certification) and is renewed every two years. Gallegos has been at the Center for the last five years. The location has moved around a bit, at one time sharing with Portneuf Family just down the street, then at another location next door briefly. It’s current location is larger, and allows for a variety of activities and accommodations. The Center sees around a hundred people over the month, composed of both youth and adults. “The adults are here mostly for the services we provide, but we wanted to make sure it’s a place where they could bring their kids,” Gallegos said. Many of the kids are involved in a youth group hosted by the Center. The Center holds a Family Night where parents can meet with Gallegos for recovery coach issues while activities are going on. “We like to provide a dinner and a game or something for the family,” Gallegos says. Recovery is a process, and Gallegos is on hand as a peer coach to help clients through it. “In a recovery coach session they sit down with me. If it’s the first time, I let them talk and just get a sense of where they’re at and I look for what their goals are while they’re talking, and hopefully by the end of it, we’re setting some of those goals. I try to break them down into very small achievable goals early on and then build from there. Usually it’s recovery related, one of the five basic needs. [Water, Food, Housing, Support System, and Healthy Relationships.],” she says. Referrals from Probation and Parole, Drug Court, local doctors, and community members are some of the ways CENTER FOR HOPE On Page 2
Tragedies shake community During recent weeks, two local lives have been lost as the result of accidents, and one local woman is still at the beginning of a potentially long recovery as a result. On September 7, Tracy Ray Josephson died in a farming accident in Bancroft. According to reports, Josephsen was fixing the disc machine behind a tractor when a hydraulic hose snapped with him beneath it. Josephson was later officially pronounced dead at Caribou Medical Center in Soda Springs. Josephson was a well-known and universally liked figure in the area. He leaves behind him his wife LaVonne, and their daughter Gracie. Farming accidents bring home the sometimes unacknowledged danger that comes along with a rural way of life. While there is always an awareness of the potential risks, tragedies like this one always come as a shock. Josephson worked for Caribou County, and his tragic passing rever-
berated through the halls of the county courthouse. Commissioners took time at the beginning of their meeting to memorialize Tracy, and during the meeting worked to ensure continuation of his family health insurance for the present. Josephson’s funeral was held on Saturday. His obituary is being reprinted in this edition of the paper. A second tragic accident occurred Wednesday last week at 10:00 a.m. near Thatcher, where an 82-year old male failed to yield the right of way to a motorcycle bearing a local couple. According to the Idaho State Police, a 1992 Chevy pickup truck driven by an 82-year-old male from Thatcher was travelling northbound on State Highway 34. 56-year-old Darrin Dockstader and his passenger, 46-year-old Tricia Lindsay Dockstader, both from Soda Springs, were travelling southbound on State High-
way 34 on a 2011 Harley Davidson. The Chevy pickup truck failed to yield the right of way to the motorcycle while making a left turn onto Thatcher Road. Darrin succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the crash. Tricia sustained critical injuries and was transported by air ambulance to Utah. The male driver of the Chevy pickup truck was wearing a seatbelt. According to posts from the family, Tricia has had a number of surgeries on her legs and hands, and is continuing to make good progress at recovery. According to cousin Hailey Dawn Dory, Tricia has asked everyone to “please continue to pray, send healing energy, and hold space for her!” The incident remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police, who were on the scene in force Wednesday, along with authorities from Franklin County.
IN THIS EDITION Meals on Wheels van donated..................Pg. 2 New Surgery Robot.....................................Pg. 3 Tom Phelps turns 100!................................Pg. 5
$1.50
Puzzles..........................................................Pg. 5 Obituaries......................................................Pg. 9 Sports....................................................Pg. 10-12
According to East Idaho News, the FBI is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” on former President Donald Trump. This occurred just nine weeks after Trump survived another attempt on his life. The U.S. Secret Service opened fire at a man who was pointing an AK-style rifle into the club while Trump was on the course. The person dropped the weapon and fled in a SUV to a nearby county and was later taken into custody. The man was later identified as Ryan Wesley Routh. In an email to supporters Trump said, “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!...Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” The golf course was partially shut down for Trump while he was playing. Agents were a few holes ahead of him when they spotted the person with the firearm. Secret Service agents and officers on golf carts and ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump. There is also usually an armored vehicle nearby incase of a threat. Trump was scheduled to continue his campaign trail on Tuesday starting in Flint, Michigan. Then onto Long Island, New York on Wednesday.
Man found dead in SUV in Pocatello
A local Pocatello man was found dead in the Portneuf Wellness Complex, according to the Bannock County Coroner’s Office. Saturday at 11:30 a.m., a call was received by the Pocatello Police Department that a man was passed out inside a SUV. The vehicle was found next to Jerome Street and Olympus Drive. Upon arrival, Police found the man unconscious and not breathing. It was determined that he had died by suicide. Torey Danner told East Idaho News, “Normally, we don’t report on suicides, but the fact is that it was in a public area. People were coming and going”. Due to the nature of the incident, the name will not be released to the public.
Man goes on Mule Deer killing spree in Cody, Wyoming
Twenty-year-old, Joshua Tamirat Wielhouwer, went on a mule deer killing spree and scattered the nine carcasses across Cody, Wyoming. Wielhouwer is facing 18 misdemeanor charges, which include nine counts of taking a game animal without a hunting license, and nine counts of wanton destruction of a big game animal, more charges may be added. Wielhouwer’s bond is set at $36,000 in cash. Wielhouwer’s defense attorney said, “It is my client’s intention to remain in the detention center until we have a better idea of these charges as well any potential new charges”. Court documents said a total of two bucks, six does, and a fawn were killed with broadhead hunting arrow wounds. Game wardens believe they caught Wielhouwer killing one of the deer on September 4th. This was before he “ran away and fled the state”. He later returned to Wyoming and turned himself in.