Enterprise The Idaho
Oneida County's News Since 1879 Malad City, Idaho
June 26, 2025 |Vol. 145 No. 26
$1.50
NEWS IN BRIEF
US enters conflict between Iran and Israel
Grand Marshals — Dennis and Sherrie Evans
Volunteers of the Year — Doug and Dianne Adams
4th of July Dignitaries announced The year’s Fourth of July falls on Friday next week, and this year’s featured honorees have been announced! Eric (Rick) Madsen was named the Honored Veteran of the Year, and you can find his story on Page 2 of the paper. The Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented on July 3rd after the Kids’ Parade, and it will be presented to Doug and Dianne Adams. The Grand Marshals of this year’s parade are Dennis and Sherrie Evans. The Honored Pioneer for this year is Patsy Bybee. We were not able to arrange to speak with Patsy before press time, so she will be featured in next week’s paper, along with the parade map, schedule, and other relevant information. This week, we bring you Rick Madsen, Dianne and Doug Adams, and Sherrie and Dennis Evans. The events listed on the next page are more or less locked in, but next week’s paper comes out on July 3rd, and we will present the final, completed schedule at that time.
Grand Marshals—Sherrie and Dennis Evans
Dennis and Sherrie Evans are lifelong Maladites, who, in Dennis’s words “Have loved Malad as long as I can remember.” Both of the Evanses were born and raised in Oneida County, and other than time spent at college, have spent most of their lives in the Malad Valley. Their families have been in the valley for generations. Their daughters, Kami Willie and Tori Green live here in town, and work at Malad High School, where Dennis himself taught social studies, health, PE, and “a little bit of everything” for 38 years. Sherrie worked at Valley Oil fuel distribution for 18 years, and then ATC Communications for 11. Their other daughter, Mindy Barringer, currently lives with her own family in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Like most people whose families have a long legacy in Malad, Sherrie and Dennis say that “a lot has changed” in the time they’ve lived here. “A lot of new people,” Sherrie says. “It used to be we could memorize license plates on cars and know who they belonged to. Now we’re lucky if we can remember our own,” Dennis laughs. “You used to know everybody,” Sherrie agreed. “It’s just harder now because there are so many people you don’t know.” Dennis coached for most of the years he was at the High School, and was the “Voice of the Dragons” for
Malad sports prior to Jeff Richins. He was also involved with the Theatre Guild for many years, acting in the melodramas and the shootout that are a beloved tradition of the 4th of July festivities. “It was fun, and I think people enjoyed it,” he said. Dennis also developed the Visions program, where he took kids to Washington, D.C. and other spots to learn about history and civics. Sherrie was involved with the Junior Miss (now DYW program), and the Oneida Education Foundation, as well as many other groups around town throughout the years. Both of them have had a long line of church callings as well. Most of the extended family will be visiting this year for the Fourth, which is a day Dennis has a strong connection to. His father passed away near the holiday, and it always brings a sense of family home to him. The extended family has spent many of the last 50 years at Sherrie’s aunt Fay Cottle’s house, watching the parade and then having a barbecue. This year, of course, the family will get to watch them ride past! It will be a great topic of conversation when they head to Kami’s house later in the day. “I don’t know that the Fourth of July is not my favorite holiday,” Dennis says. “We do a lot with family, and we just love it. I think the parade brings the town together, and provides a common focal point for us. I look at myself as being very patriotic, and the parade gives us a very patriotic idea.” “A sense of pride in the community, I think,” Sherrie adds. “It’s neat to see people stand for the National anthem, and the flag when it comes by,” Dennis says. “We do have a lot to be grateful for, living here,” Sherrie says. “We do,” Dennis agrees. “The peace of this valley. And we’ve got some really good people in this town.” Volunteers of the Year— Dianne and Doug Adams
Dianne and Doug Adams were chosen by the City Council from a large group of nominees this year, all of whom were deserving of the Volunteer of the Year Award. Doug and Dianne have donated many items of their beautiful art to benefits in Malad. Among them are the Evening of the Arts for the Oneida County Hospital Foundation, the Firemen’s Ball, and other special benefits. Dianne has conducted painting classes. We have been told that Doug is known as the “Mayor”
of the Summit. According to County Commissioner Bill Lewis “Over the last four years Dianne and Doug Adams have created and donated Bells to honor Veterans in Malad City and Rigby cemeteries. They serve on the Oneida County Hospital Foundation and have each year made and donated a bell to be auctioned off to provide funds for hospital projects. They have gathered the Summit Community to pull noxious weeds and gather litter along the roads leading to the Malad Summit. Doug and Dianne have hosted socials in their beautiful yard to bring the Summit Community together.” Dianne graduated with an associates degree in Art from Ricks College (BYU Idaho). She was influenced by many great artists including Leon Parsons, Arlo Coles, and Matthew Geddes. Growing up in Moscow, Idaho, during the 1960s and 70s, Dianne’s childhood was deeply intertwined with the natural world. The rolling hills of the Palouse Empire and the serene waters of Lake Coeur D’Alene, where her family had a cabin, instilled in her a profound appreciation for the outdoors. This connection would become a recurring theme in her artistic journey. Doug Adams is an award-winning recycled sculptured bell artist. Growing up in Fielding, Utah, on a small Appaloosa horse ranch and farm, his childhood involved working in the fields, hauling hay, weeding sugar beets, and building fences, which instilled a strong work ethic in him. After graduating high school, Doug served in the Utah National Guard for five years training as a tank mechanic. Upon returning from his military service, Doug found employment constructing a large steel mill nearby. A year later, he began his 30-year career in the steel industry. Doug created his first bell using a recycled cylinder in the early 1980s. It wasn’t until he met his talented artist wife that they began creating one-of-a-kind sculptured bells with her help and inspiration. Doug continuously searches for reclaimed treasures, priding himself on the rarity of his finds, which include old tools, machinery, and car parts. He masterfully combines found objects, upcycled and reclaimed steel parts, and priceless antiques in his sculptures. In recent years, Doug began incorporating glass elements into his sculptures. These “stunning gemstone-looking additions” are created by Dianne from reclaimed slag glass from old window factories and up-cycled glass bottles. The two couples will be riding in next weeks parade.
INSIDE THE ENTERPRISE Schedule; Honored Vet.......................Pg. 2 Welsh Festival Schedule.....................Pg. 3 Puzzles................................................Pg. 6
Looking Back.......................................Pg. 7 Livestock Daycamp........................... Pg. 11 Rodeo Queens.................................. Pg. 12
It’s too early to say what the effect of U.S. bomb strikes on Iran will be, but the Trump administration announced over the weekend that it had conducted bomb strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran, after calling for a two week period to explore negotiations. The announcement was greeted with a mix of responses, with the Israeli government and some members of the president’s party celebrating the news, and other Republicans and most Democrats decrying the act as bypassing congress’ responsibility for authorizing military strikes on foreign soil. Iran’s Supreme Leader denounced both the U.S. and Israel and vowed to retaliate. Missiles were fired from Iran toward U.S. bases in Qatar and Iraq, which is still a developing situation as of press time. On Monday evening, defenses in the two countries stated that they had intercepted missiles, and no damage or injury had occurred. Russia’s Vladimir Putin has cautioned against strikes affecting the area, noting that there are millions of Russian speakers in Gaza and Israel. The Iranian attacks on U.S. bases signify a bilateral escalation of military action between the U.S. and Iran, though at press time a tentative cease fire had been announced between the parties involved.
Heatwave covers eastern half of US An extremely dangerous heat wave is underway for the eastern half of the United States as a potent heat dome reaches its peak, bringing the hottest temperatures of the year so far – the hottest in years for some cities – and putting tens of millions at risk. Over 250 daily temperature records could be broken during the peak of the heat on Monday and Tuesday, including both record highs and record warm lows. Temperatures in some locations from Philadelphia to Boston could be the hottest in any month in over a decade. Additional records could fall Wednesday and Thursday. Around 150 million people are under heat alerts Monday, according to the National Weather Service. In many areas, it will be 15 to 20 degrees above normal.
Burn Ban in Effect in Oneida County Effective Thursday June 26 th , 2025, at 12:01 AM., Oneida County has issued an open burn ban. You can still use your BBQ and have small backyard cooking fires in firepits 3 foot or less in diameter and 2 foot or less in height (IFC code 307.4 exception2).The specifics of the burn ban can be found inside the paper. Burn bans are in effect across the region, including Bannock County and Caribou County, which just experienced a massive residential burn that resulted from residential burns in high winds.