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BOISE — President Bush will make his first trip to Idaho next week, spending Monday evening and Tuesday vacationing in the lake and resort region near Donnelly and then speaking about the war against terrorism at the agricultural community of Nampa on Wednesday.

The president will fly to Boise on Air Force One Monday evening after attending a Veterans of Foreign Wars conference in Salt Lake City, according to a White House spokeswoman.

Hangar space has been reserved for Marine One, the presidential helicopter, at the McCall Airport in Valley County, about 100 miles north of Idaho’s capital city on the two-lane State Highway 55. From there, it’s just 10 miles to Donnelly, where the new Tamarack Resort ski and golf club opened last December.

“He will remain overnight in Donnelly,” said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, during a press briefing in Crawford, Texas, where President Bush is vacationing at his ranch.

“Tuesday, there are no public events, still he will be in Donnelly, Idaho,” Perino said. “And Wednesday, August 24th, the president will make remarks on the war on terror, and that’s in Nampa.”

The Idaho Center in Nampa, a performing-arts and sports arena that can hold 12,600 spectators, has been reserved for a potential appearance by the president at a rally with military personnel and their families.

White House aides declined to confirm where Bush would be staying in Donnelly, or whether the Nampa event would take place at the Idaho Center.

Bush plans to return to Texas after Wednesday’s terrorism address, Perino said.

His visit follows a stopover in Boise by Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday evening to help raise money for the 2008 re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. Cheney’s trip was part of a swing through Western states, including Montana, where he stumped for conservative lawmakers.

In the Nov. 2, 2004 election, Bush won 68 percent of the Idaho vote, along with 43 out of 44 counties.

“Our state has been a bastion of support for the president,” said Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, R-Idaho, in a prepared statement. “Idahoans have stood at his side in his support of our troops and his work to help the national economy recover.”

This would be the first presidential visit to Idaho since Bill Clinton came to McCall during 2000, when large fires burned more than 250,000 acres in the region.

$876,000 Federal Grant awarded to improve the security of the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport. The grant, intended for a new generator, fencing, and a card-key access entry system, will be used in conjunction with about $46,000 of additional support from the City of Lewiston and Nez Perce County.

As part of a master plan, “This project has been a long time coming,” according to Robin Turner, airport manager. The system security upgrades were designed to bring the Lewiston airport into compliance with federal standards created after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.

Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport

The Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport is the main airport serving the Lewis-Clark Valley and North Central Idaho. In addition to cargo lines and private planes, the airport is served by both Horizon Air and Skywest Airlines.

Offering direct flights to and from Boise, Seattle, and Salt Lake City, Lewiston remains well connected to the world.

Horizon Air is sister company with Alaska Ailines and partner with Northwest Airlines. Code sharing is possible with Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and Canadian Airlines. SkyWest Airlines is a sister company of Delta Airlines.

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Since the 1950’s, the affluent have poured money into Idaho because of the grandeur of its outdoor beauty and recreation. Idaho has attracted celebrities such as Bing Crosby, Patty Duke, Brooke Shields, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Herbert Allen (Allen & Company, Inc.), investment banker and Idaho property owner, attracts tech and media moguls such as Bill Gates (Microsoft), Michael Eisner (Walt Disney Company), Warren Buffett, and Michael Dell (Dell Computers).

Idaho is the place to invest.

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Need for dormitory space spurs talk of public-private project By JOEL MILLS, Tribune With 23 percent enrollment growth in the last four years at Lewis-Clark State College, President Dene Thomas says the Lewiston campus has simply run out of room. So it’s time for a new residence hall on campus, she says. “Nontraditional students have more of a presence,” Thomas says of LCSC’s reputation as a commuter campus. “But as we’ve been known as the No. 1 bachelor’s degree-offering public college in the West, more students want to come to a college that’s doing well.” LCSC was awarded the rank by U.S. News and World Report magazine earlier this year. LCSC is listed in the third tier of schools in the West. That tier has seven public schools, and LCSC tied for first place. Thomas says the proposal for a 100- to 120-bed hall was well-received by the State Board of Education at its December meeting. The board requested a needs analysis, which Thomas will present at the board’s January meeting in Boise. If approved, a request for proposals will go out. The plan Thomas and financial Vice President Ron Smith have devised relies on a developer to finance and build the new hall and lease it to LCSC. Several locations would be suitable for the new hall, Smith says, including a half-block of land recently purchased on the southeastern edge of campus at 11th Avenue and Seventh Street. LCSC purchased the property with $284,000 carried forward from previous years. A parking lot and an old church used for music courses occupies the land now. Smith says the land was purchased with an eye toward expansion, but not specifically a residence hall. Land just north of Talkington Hall is an option, as are other privately owned locations within a 10-minute walk of campus. The Lewiston City Council could add dormitories to the list of uses allowed in medium- and high-density residential zones at its Monday meeting, removing the need for public hearings. The city’s planning and zoning commission has recommended against that, however, because of concerns about changing the character of neighborhoods. The commission also has recommended against a measure that would create a new public facilities zone, which could be applied anywhere in the city to ease expansion of schools, hospitals and other public entities. Some commissioners said the zone would eliminate opportunities for public input. If zoning hurdles are cleared and a developer is secured, the hall could start housing freshmen as soon as fall semester next year or 2006, Thomas says. New living space is critical to LCSC’s continuing efforts to boost enrollment, especially among new high school graduates, Thomas says. “Eighteen-year-old freshmen want to live in a residence hall. Their parents want them to live in a residence hall. This (housing shortage) makes it hard to recruit a freshman from, say, southwest Idaho.” Smith says the waiting list for Clark Hall, a 78-bed dormitory building built in the 1960s, is about 70 people long. Talkington Hall, built in the 1930s, houses 92 students and upperclassmen-oriented Parrish House houses 29. Those buildings are in need of renovation, Smith says. But that can’t be done until there is a new building to house the displaced students, he adds. The need for more living space will become more pressing at the end of the academic year. LCSC students living in 48 rooms at the Red Lion Hotel have to move out because of remodeling planned there. Thomas and Smith say they have been in contact with several developers who have expressed interest in a public-private partnership with LCSC. One developer already is planning several off-campus apartments on his own, Thomas says. Smith says once the new residence hall is completed, LCSC would like to enter into a 20- to 25-year lease with the developer, with an option to buy the hall at the end of that period. He adds the public-private partnership approach was chosen because securing state financing, which was used along with private donations and student fees for the nearly complete LCSC Activity Center, would take too long. Building costs continue to rise, adding to the urgency, he says. Smith estimates the cost of a new hall at $3.5 million to $3.8 million. LCSC students pay $1,600 to $2,200 per year to live in the residence halls. Rates at the new hall would be closer to $3,000, Smith says. Thomas says while the housing shortage is a problem, “it’s a wonderful problem to have. “Think back a to a few years ago when we couldn’t even fill (the residence halls) up.”

With retirees fueling a new Western migration, city and state officials roll out the welcome wagons, and brace to meet different needs

PAHRUMP, Nev. — When Steve Marsh first drove into this dusty town in the shadow of glitzy Las Vegas, he took one look at the gravel roads and sagebrush flats and grunted: “This is in the middle of nowhere.”

Pahrump may not look like much. But it boasts miles of clean, open space and is surrounded by desert mountains. The weather is mild, the housing cheap and national parks are nearby.

It was enough for Marsh and his wife, Donna, to move here to retire.

“We love it,” Marsh says, relaxing after a round of golf at his Desert Greens retirement community. “We’re happy as pigs in slop.”

Retirees eager to escape cold winters or congested freeways have been flocking to Western cities like Pahrump. The future will bring more of the same: The Census Bureau says the population of those 65 and older will increase more rapidly in the West than in any other area of the country.

While retirees settle in, states are figuring out how to keep up with an aging population. Will there be enough doctors and nurses? Hospitals and nursing homes? Will housing be affordable?

“This affects all of us,” says Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne. “It’s life, and it’s time that we step up, recognize it, identify the challenges and find solutions.”

Nevada leads the country in the senior population boom. From 1990 to 2003, the state’s 65 and older population almost doubled, according to census numbers.

Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, Utah, Colorado and Idaho were among the top 10 states for growth in the senior population.

And it’s not just the Sunbelt. Lured by the nostalgia of rural towns and outdoor recreation, retirees have turned Western towns into retirement hot spots. Florida and California have long been Meccas. But today, Bend, Ore., St. George, Utah, Sheridan, Wyo., and Silver City, N.M., are hip places to be.

Laura Ridley and her husband, a retired real estate developer, traded Georgia for Cody, Wyo., four years ago. She speaks about the West in postcard-perfect words.

“We can be in the park (Yellowstone) in an hour,” she says. “The animals, oh my goodness, to see them just like it’s supposed to be. The climate is just fantastic. When it snows, it’s like confectioner’s sugar.”

Retirees who migrate are the “healthiest, wealthiest and best-educated of all retirees,” says Mark Fagan, a sociologist at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. They take college classes and travel. Few pass time in rocking chairs on the front porch.

“Before, when you thought of a retirement home, you’d think of bingo and all that,” says Wynne Angell, a retirement housing consultant. “Now … you don’t even want to advertise that. Bingo — that just creates the impression of people that are real frail.”

Many people are retiring younger, with more money and more plans. Newly retiring baby boomers don’t see themselves as old, says Joanne Bowlby of ARPP Wyoming.

“Here we see them active: mountain biking, hiking, skiing. The independent mindset fits them.”

Hunting and fish are among the draws to Townsend, Mont., a town of about 1,900 near the state capital of Helena.

Weather, water and mountains are main draws to Sequim, Wash., a town of about 4,200 on the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula. The town’s average age is 58, says Pat McCauley, Sequim marketing director.

“I actively market to kayakers and bikers and outdoor adventure people, and they move here with their kayaks and bikes when they retire.”

But as retirees age and join the baby boomers already in the West, their housing and medical needs will change. They may need help with everyday activities or move into an assisted living home.

Through 2025, the Census Bureau projects the West will continue to dominate the country in the growth of the senior population. Utah will lead, followed by Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Alaska and Colorado. The senior population in those states is expected to at least double.

States are taking stock of their resources for older residents, examining health care and housing options, forming committees to study needs of an aging population and trying to plan for an unprecedented population increase.

Kempthorne feels so strongly about preparing for older residents he made long-term care his initiative as chairman of the National Governors Association this past year. His father cares for his mother, a stroke victim, in the couple’s home.

That’s a trend states are looking at. While not abandoning institutional care, states are increasing aid and resources for home care, hoping to move away from nursing homes and use relatives or friends as caregivers. Home care is usually cheaper and it’s what people prefer, says Donna Folkemer, health program director for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Meanwhile, states are looking at the availability of health care and the shortage of doctors and nurses.

“There’s a tug and pull here,” says Dr. Joanne Schwartzberg, director of aging and community health for the American Medical Association. “You have the age wave coming, and we just don’t have the work force.”

Telemedicine — doctors practicing from afar by voice, data and video hookup — may see greater use in remote communities in the West.

“We’ve got that kind of information going on cross-continent,” says Pam McBride, grants coordinator for the hospitals in Orofino and Cottonwood in north central Idaho.

CAT scans are sent from Clearwater Valley Hospital in Orofino to radiologists in Australia to be read, says McBride, adding that older people make up 16 percent of the population in in Clearwater County. The national average is 12.5 percent.

Kempthorne says a new hospital in Salmon will use telemedicine extensively.

When retirees began discovering Sheridan, Wyo., population 16,000, Mayor Jim Wilson asked them to help make Sheridan, with its main street parades and small-town charm, more attractive to an older population.

The new residents now serve on volunteer boards and have helped the town develop hiking and bicycle trails.

Sheridan is expanding its hospital, making sure its older buildings are handicapped accessible and working to keep housing affordable in a town where new residents have driven up home prices.

That’s a big problem in retirement spots. New, wealthier residents can afford to pay more for homes, but that raises property taxes for longtime residents.

The West accounted for 19 of the top 25 counties in the country for the most expensive homes owned by people ages 55 to 74, according to estimates from the National Association of Home Builders based on census numbers.

Pitkin County, Colo., home to Aspen, led the country with an average home price of $946,036.

But preparing for an older population is more than just making sure health care is adequate and housing is affordable.

States also will need more transportation options. Using school buses to transport seniors while students are in school is one idea, Kempthorne says.

It’s also about quality of life and making sure jobs are available for the many retirees who plan to continue working.

States will need to attract companies that want to hire older workers and businesses will have to accommodate job-sharing and employees who want to work from home, says Clare Hushbeck, an economist with AARP.

“It does require big vision,” she says. “It’s not an easy thing to wrap your mind around, but it’s coming.”

The Idaho governor hopes his yearlong work on long-term care paid off and his fellow governors will include the issue in their state-of-the-state addresses next year.

“You don’t have to look very far down the road with regard to your budgets,” Kempthorne says. “You’re going to be impacted one way or another. You better get ahead of the curve.”