Enterprise The Idaho
Caribou County
Caribou County's Newspaper Since 2024
Caribou County, Idaho
April 30, 2026 | Vol. 3 No. 18
$1.50
NEWS IN BRIEF Thwarted attack at WHCA Dinner
The CMC Health Fair was a busy event, with providers and vendors talking to the community about a range of health topics.
CMC Health Fair brings providers and patients together Over the weekend, the County Event Center in Grace was the site of Caribou Medical Center’s annual Health Fair. The Health Fair, which dates back at least as far as the Caribou Memorial Hospital days, is a designed to allow residents of the county and surrounding areas a chance to meet with providers from the hospital, obtain discounted lab services, and see the range of health care services offered by CMC. In addition, a number of local vendors and service providers were also on hand. HR Assistant Hallie Monk was on site at 5:00 a.m. to start setting up, and noted that by the time they opened at 7:00 “there was a line clear to the door for labs!” Michelle Argyle, patient navigator, was one of the first people visitors met when entering the Health Fair. Argyle is a “patient navigator,” which is a position created to help guide patients through the health care process and coordinate between the potentially many providers that may be involved in a course of treatment. She started with CMC as a floor nurse, and then moved into case management. “I work in case management in navigation. When a primary care provider sends a referral out to a specialist, then that order comes to us and we call
everyone and help them get scheduled and follow along to make sure they get what they need. We answer questions, almost like their own personal nurse. We can help them with almost anything in the hospital, and if we can’t we know who can, and we point them in the right direction. We make sure things aren’t falling through the cracks, essentially.” The three navigators each work with the primary care provider and all of their patients. “That way, we are focused on that one doctor, and everybody they see,” Argyle said. The Fair included services that most people are likely familiar with, or at least aware of, as well as a few that may be less obvious. Shawna Morgan and Tiffany Taylor, for instance, are “swing bed coordinators.” I am not ashamed to admit that I assumed this referred to some sort of amazing therapeutic bed that doubled as a recreation device, but it does not. A “swing bed” is a bed which is set aside to serve the needs of patients in a variety of situations. County hospitals are allowed a handful of beds each that they can designate as “swing beds” for the purposes of insurance billing. “Usually it lasts from five to seven days. It’s for strengthening, physical therapy, occu-
pational therapy, IV antibiotics, more time to get stronger after surgery or need wound care,” Morgan said. The bed is considered an in-patient bed with skilled nursing. “We offer it in the hospital so they can stay there instead of somewhere else.” “This kind of event is important to do locally, to make sure people know what is available right here in the area,” CMC CEO Kent Loosle said, by way of reiterating the point. “It’s great to do it here in the community we serve.” The Event Center made for a particularly good place to emphasize the local nature of CMC services, considering the upcoming Open House for the Grace Clinic, which is scheduled for July 13. “We’re waiting until after the Fourth of July, but not too long after…” Loosle laughed. Lab services were the focus of attention for many of the attendees at the Fair, and a range of panels were offered for discounted prices during the Fair. Those prices will extend through May and can be obtained on site at the Hospital. Comprehensive Health Profiles are $35, and include a range of health information that can be used to assess various health risks and provide HEALTH FAIR On Page 2
Spring Cleaning on the Trails During a busy weekend, the nonprofit GOAL (Get Outside And Live) sponsored a Trail cleanup day at the Kelly Park trails that brought out a number of people to help get the trails in shape for spring. It was Celebrate Trails Day, as it so happens, and there are plenty of reasons to do so in Caribou County, which has a trail network that many places would be jealous of to go along with its wildland, wetland, and water system ecology. The Kelly Park trails had been marked for cutting and removal last week in order to coincide with the planned “Cardinal Cleanup” day. The planned day was extremely cold and windy and the event was rescheduled to May 7 from 2:00 to 4:00. The public is invited to join local students as they clean up the local parks and city on that day. GOAL board members Chris Gonzalez, Sally Jensen, and Misti Newby met at Kelly Park to direct cleanup activities, along with Dr. Greg Jensen, Crystal Alonzo, and a number of young helpers. Since its inception in Caribou County, GOAL has worked to promote exactly what its name suggests—getting Outside and Living life to the fullest. The areas around Caribou County are replete with places to go and things to do for the recreation oriented, and GOAL has tried to encourage people to seek them out. Over the summer, GOAL sponsored an event which encouraged people to look for plaques that had been located in accessible but wild areas of Grace, Bancroft and Soda Springs and post their pictures on the GOAL
Crystal Alonzo and Misti Newby report back after cleaning trails at Kelly Park Saturday.
Facebook page. In the immediate future, GOAL will be hosting a “Soda Springs Bicycle Tour.” The tour will start at Octagon Springs at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 9. This will be in addition to the monthly bike challenges you can find TRAILS On Page 10
IN THIS EDITION New SSSD Superintendent..................Pg. 2 County Commission.............................Pg. 4 Puzzles.................................................Pg. 5
Looking Back.......................................Pg. 7 Obituaries............................................Pg. 9 Sports......................................... Pgs. 11-12
The annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. was the site of an attempted security breach. The event was attended by President Donald Trump, senior government officials, journalists, and other public figures. According to authorities, a 31-year-old suspect from California approached a security checkpoint near the ballroom while armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun and handgun. Officials have identified the alleged perpetrator as Cole Thomas Allen. He reportedly forced his way past initial screening and discharged his weapon before being subdued by law enforcement. At least one federal agent was struck by gunfire but was protected by body armor and is expected to recover. No fatalities were reported. The suspect was taken into custody at the scene and later hospitalized for minor injuries. President Trump and other attendees were evacuated as a precaution, and the event was ultimately canceled. Investigators are examining the suspect’s motives, though the full details remain under investigation. The incident has prompted renewed discussion about political violence and security at high-profile public events in the United States. Allen was charged with a number of crimes on Monday.
Missing man’s body discovered near Willow Flat
Authorities in Preston, Idaho reported that a 40-year-old man from Utah who had been missing was found deceased in a mountainous area near Willow Flat. According to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the man was reported missing on Saturday by his family after he allegedly made comments indicating possible self-harm. Later that day, the family located his vehicle in Franklin County, prompting a search effort involving deputies and search and rescue teams. The search continued until Saturday evening and resumed Sunday morning. The man’s body was discovered around midday on Sunday. Officials stated that no foul play is suspected. The man’s identity has not been publicly released, and his body was transferred to the county coroner later that day.
“Geofencing” before Supreme Court
A case before the U.S. Supreme Court examines the use of “geofence warrants” and access to location data from Google in a 2019 bank robbery investigation in Virginia. Police initially could not identify a suspect but later obtained aggregated cellphone location data showing devices near the crime scene. This led to an arrest and conviction after evidence and a confession were obtained, and Okello Chatrie was sentenced to over 11 years in prison. The appeal argues that geofence warrants violate Fourth Amendment protections, relying in part on the precedent set in Carpenter v. United States (2018), which required warrants for certain cellphone location records. The government contends users voluntarily share location data with tech companies. Lower courts upheld the warrant, but the case highlights broader debates over privacy, digital surveillance, and law enforcement access to large-scale location databases. Legal experts note the outcome could affect how courts treat digital data from phones and other connected devices.