CUSTER COUNTY — Incumbent Rep. Megan Blanksma is running against Faye Thompson for the District 8 Idaho Representative Seat B.

District 8 encompasses Elmore, Valley, Boise, and custer Counties.

Click here to view Blanksma’s campaign website.

Click here to view Thompson’s campaign website.

EastIdahoNews.com sent the same eight questions to each county candidate. Their responses, listed below, were required to be 250 words or less. EastIdahoNews.com is publishing the answers in their entirety and without grammatical or style editing. Blanksma did not respond to the questionnaire.

The primary election is May 21.

1) Tell us about yourself — include information about your family, career, education, volunteer work and any prior experience in public office.

Thompson: Chair of Valley County Republican Central Committee. Husband is aValley County Commissioner. Life member NRA. Secretary/Treasurer Heartland Friends of NRA. Member Idaho 2nd Amendment Alliance. Some might mistake my ambition as misguided due to my inexperience. However, my opponent had her first election once, and her first day in office was inexperienced.

2) Why are you seeking political office? Briefly explain your political platform.

Thompson: To bring balanced representation to the district at a whole. We do not have that now. I am looking for less spending and less reliance on federal money. To defund programs within Health and Welfare that taxpayers should not have to be paying for.

3) What are the greatest challenges facing people and communities in your district? What is your plan to meet those challenges?

Thompson: Roads and housing have been a strong topic for several years now. The high cost of living and inflation with high interest rates makes it impossible for the average working family to afford a home of their own. This can only be met with volume of units and less taxes, fees, and regulations. This has to begin at the top. New administration that believes in less government regulation and self sufficiency. Idaho first, America first.

4) How will you best represent the views of your constituents – even those with differing political views? How will you communicate directly with constituents?

Thompson: Getting to know the different cultures in the district makes a big difference in being able to communicate and support the different views. Communication is paramount with constituents. Even if you can’t help, they deserve an answer.

5) What parts of the state budget could use more funding? Where are places in the budget that cuts could be made?

Thompson: H&W is the largest draw on our taxes. cutting programs that are unnecessary for the taxpayer to be responsible for and restricting who gets what and how much. Schools receive the next largest piece of the pie. We keep throwing money at schools and teacher’s unions without accountability. And as such, literacy etc has not improved.

6) Are you currently working on any legislation or have ideas for bills that you feel are vital to the future of Idaho? Please provide details.

Thompson: Nothing specific at this time but as I have stated above, Work must be done to tighten the belt of the state budgets and so bills will come.

7) Have you seen any mistakes made by the Idaho Legislature in recent years? How would you work to correct these errors?

Thompson: The Launch program has become nothing more than a drain on taxpayers that is most like Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness. The Needle Exchange project turned out to be an illegal paraphernalia and drug distribution project that has fortunately been repealed in this year’s session. This project was a bad bill from the beginning and should never have come to fruition

8) What is the most important issue facing Idahoans? What is a legislator’s role in meeting or addressing that issue?

Thompson: It is the Legislature’s job to make law, protect the health and safety of its citizens. We have become a border state. Buses are bringing illegals into our state and leaving empty. We must make Idaho uncomfortable for them to make it a destination. There are many that are here legally, but most are not. The crisis at the borders must be dealt with asap.

ATHOL — Wearing her Careywood Eager Beavers 4-H Club T-shirt and with a blue clipboard in hand, Timberlake High School freshman Lily Fry carefully observed the branch of a deciduous tree, taking note of its different characteristics.

“I think it’s going pretty good,” she said Thursday morning as she participated in the 41st annual Idaho State Forestry Contest at Farragut State Park.

“I’ve been participating since I was a rookie,” she said. “I just like seeing how many of the young people are interested in the forest and all that.”

Lily was among nearly 200 fifth-through-12th grade students from across the Gem State to compete in the contest, which tested the future foresters and someday silviculturists on their basic forestry and natural resources management knowhow.

Top individuals and teams had the chance to win up to $1,000 in individual scholarships, or $500 per team member, offered by the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources. The students must be enrolled full time in the College of Natural Resources for the upcoming fall 2024 semester to receive the scholarships.

The statewide competition is sponsored by the Idaho Department of Lands, the Bonner Soil and Water Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Activities during the competition engage students at stations such as log scaling, map reading, tree health, soil and water quality, timber cruising, and tree and plant identification.

It was the first time for North Idaho STEM Charter Academy freshman Caleb Geckle to compete in the contest. He said he enjoys being out in the woods and may someday go into forestry.

“I’m thinking about it,” he said, adding that he likes the identification part of the process.

Kaylee Owens, a senior at Highland High School in Craigmont, said the contest was a great learning experience for her.

“I’ve never done anything in forestry before, so it’s all kind of new, but it’s good at the same time and the people are really good at helping out and directing you,” she said.

Ava Goetz, a junior at Orofino High School, looked through a clinometer to measure the tall pines off of a main trail at the timber cruising area.

“This is really fun, and I do want to be a forester someday, so this is a really good opportunity to learn more,” she said.

Sandpoint High School junior Zane Walson wore cool shades to block the bright sun as he scaled a log to determine its volume.

“I’m doing my best,” he said.

Idaho Department of Lands private forestry supervisor Ken Homik served as one of the many coordinators of the forestry contest.

“It’s rewarding and gives me hope,” Homik said. “There’s a real need out there. We need smart kids that have interest in being outdoors. It makes me feel happy.”

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield made an appearance at the Idaho Forestry Contest to support the kids and highlight the importance of cultivating the next generation of Idaho’s forest caretakers.

“The Idaho State Forestry Contest is an absolutely incredible event for any kid, let alone kids who live around Idaho’s beautiful forests,” she told The Press in an email. “What an opportunity to get interested in every aspect of forestry. The event captures everything I love about experiential learning. It’s math, it’s science, it’s communication, it’s hands-on and it’s important education. In fact, it makes me want to get into the woods!”

    Ava Goetz, a junior from Orofino High School, peers up at the pines using a clinometer Thursday morning during the Idaho State Forestry Contest.
  

    Sandpoint High junior Zane Walson measures a log at the scaling station Thursday morning during the Idaho State Forestry Contest.
  

    Brougham Collins, a sixth grader from Forrest Bird Charter School, participates in the Idaho State Forestry Contest’s rookie silviculture station Thursday morning.
  

POCATELLO — Public health officials are announcing how a recently passed state bill could affect teenagers who seek medical care.

The legislation that’s prompted this is Idaho Senate Bill 1329, which was signed March 21 and makes it so that minors who go seeking nonemergent, life-threatening medical care will no longer be able to receive it without in-person parental consent.

Southeast Idaho Public Health put out a release on May 8, announcing that its policies would have to change, just like every health care provider, to meet the requirements of the legislation.

“We’re going to be pretty rigorous about how we evaluate parental permission because we don’t want to violate this new statute,” said District Director Maggie Mann.

Before this legislation, Idaho law allowed for a health care provider to provide care for patients over the age of 14 if they were assessed to have the maturity and cognitive ability to seek it on their own. This law overrides this, while also allowing a parent or guardian to access their dependent’s health records.

The public health district offers a variety of services a minor might need, such as counseling, reproductive health care, vaccines and more.

A provider perceived as to have failed to comply with this law could be subject to private lawsuits.

Mann expressed concern for how the new law would affect vaccination efforts.

The district has historically done vaccination clinics at high schools, and how they worked before was that a child would take a parental permission slip home and bring it back in order to be vaccinated. The district will continue to run the clinics, but parents will have to come to the school in person to give consent for their child to be vaccinated.

“Parents really rely on those because they work, and they can’t always take time away to get a kid into an appointment,” Mann said.

Mann specified that it was the norm for all health care providers in Idaho to provide care to teenagers 14 and older as long as they were deemed as capable.

The public health district also, “always strongly encouraged parental communication about health care seeking,” but said that there were some circumstances where kids don’t feel safe to talk to a parent or guardian about a need.

Mann said that when some teenagers make the choice to become sexually active, and they could choose to not seek contraception to avoid their parents finding out. This could bring about an unplanned pregnancy or an STD. They could also choose not to seek counseling even if they’re struggling.

“That’s probably our major area of concern, is kids for whom the dynamics of the relationship are such that it might place them in some kind of jeopardy to have a conversation about this,” Mann said.

Mann emphasized that situations where a minor came forward to seek services without their parent knowing was rare.

“In most households, those conversations are happening, which is great, but there are a handful of families for whom those conversations are either just super uncomfortable or could potentially place the person in some kind of harm,” Mann said.

Mann said that Southeast Idaho Public Health encourages minors to approach their parents or guardians with any health issues that they’re having.

“Sometimes we build up in our minds that a conversation is going to be a certain way, but we don’t really know,” Mann said. “So we just really encourage those kids to have those conversations with their parents.”

Eastern Idaho Public Health offered the same advice in a statement.

“Eastern Idaho Public Health has always encouraged parents talking with their children about their health, and will continue to promote education and further discussion in order to make positive and healthy choices throughout their lives,” said James Corbett, director at Eastern Idaho Public Health.

Children or teenagers in an unsafe situation can find help with the Rise Up Youth Crisis Center, at 1140 Science Center Drive in Idaho Falls, which can be reached by phone at (208) 826-0994.