The first-come, first-served open opportunity to meet with the Governor, selected members of his Cabinet and other senior state officials is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Oakley Fire Department, located at 315 E. Main Street in Oakley.  The Governor also will join Mayor Georgia Dimick, other state and local leaders, and community members for lunch at noon at the same location.  The public also is welcome to attend the lunch.

Officials joining Governor Otter at Capital for a Day will include Lieutenant Governor Brad Little, Fish and Game Commission Chairman Wayne Wright; Jim Unsworth, deputy director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG); Jerome Hansen, IDFG regional supervisor; Paul Kjellander, administrator of the Governor’s Office of Energy Resources; Gary Spackman, interim director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources; Celia Gould, director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture; Roger Madsen, director of the Idaho Department of Labor; Mike Rush, executive director of the State Board of Education; Colonel Jerry Russell, director of the Idaho State Police; Kim Toryanski, administrator of the Commission on Aging; Royce Chigbrow, chairman of the Idaho State Tax Commission; Brian Ness, director of the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD); Devin Rigby, ITD district engineer; Bibiana Nertney, administrator of the marketing, communication, and research division at the Idaho Department of Commerce; Bill Allred, regional administrator for the Department of Environmental Quality; Tim Duffner, area supervisor for the Idaho Department of Lands; a representative of the State Department of Education; and Dustin Miller with the Governor’s Office of Species Conservation.

“Cassia County has a great tradition of sending highly effective public servants to represent their interests in Boise. But there’s nothing quite the same as having your State government right there in front of you, discussing issues face to face with the men and women who implement the laws and rules set by our citizen Legislature,” Governor Otter said. “My Cabinet members are eager to join me at these Capital for Day events. It enables them to stay in touch with how their work is impacting the people we serve and learn how we can do our jobs better.”

Mayor:

Terry Greenman 908 votes

Jon Anderson 449 votes

City Council:

Casey Andersen 997 Votes

Steven McGill 677 votes

Gordon Hansen 602 votes

Dennis Dexter 535 votes

Donald Dean 475 votes

Randy Golay 438 votes

Number of voters… 1366

New Registered Voters… 72

Absentee… 56

We hope that Burley Citizens will take the opportunity to read, or watch, these fine gentleman represent themselves with the hope that more people will vote, and that more will be informed about politicians and what happens in our great city. Below are links to all of the election information.

Letters from candidates running for city council

Letters from candidates running for mayor

Meet the Mayoral Candidates Video

Meet the City Council Candidates Video -Oct 27th 2009

Meet the City Council Candidates Video Part 1 – Oct 15th 2009

Meet The City Council Candidates Video Part 2 – Ooct 15th 2009

Inform yourself and don’t forget to vote on November 3rd, 2009 at the City Council Chamber in the City Hill Building from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you are not registered to vote, simply bring and I.D. and proof of insurance.

I do feel that it is every citizens responsibility to become informed before you vote, and watching this forum will let you know a lot about what each of the candidates stands for. The video quality is not good, but the sound is clear and our video quality will improve for the Mayors forum. I encourage more people to attend the rest of the forum. After all, these are the people who will be spending your local tax money and determining the future for our community.

By Mike Ramsey

By Mike Ramsey

Introduction to the Forum

Introduction of Mr. Anderson and Mr. Dean

Introduction of Mr. Dexter and Mr. Golay

Introduction of Mr. Hansen and Mr. McGill

The idea was brought to us by DPV Solutions, Inc.  The principals of this consulting firm are former Senator Larry Craig and Paul Venosdel of New West Strategies.  Paul has just finished the process of locating and building a federal prison in California.  They are promoting the GREEN PRISON concept.  The location would be in the vicinity of the Geothermal site south of Malta.  The green electricity and the sharing of the hot water source for heating makes the prison site attractive.

The contract with New West Strategies, LLC and/or DPV Solutions,LLC would cost the area $5,000 per month, plus expenses not to exceed $500 per month unless prior approval is granted.  The process is a long one but the contract can be cancelled by either party with 30 days notice.

The facility would provide 350 good paying jobs with good benefits.   It would be non seasonal and recession proof.  Currently the Federal Bureau of Prisons does not operate a prison in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Montana, or eastern Oregon and Washington.  The 1,152 bed facility would be medium security with the medium income of those working at the prison being between  $47,000 and $58,000.  A key component to employment with the Federal Bureau of Prisons is the creditworthiness and educational degree requirements of applicants.  Two or four year degrees from ISU or CSI in fields such as Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice would be examples of the degrees needed.

At present we are moving forward.  We know there are others working for the project also.  As we move forward we will try to keep you informed.

Commissioner   Clay Handy

Burley Public Library will be providing three opportunities for residents to meet the candidates for city council and mayor. There are six candidates for city council: Casey Andersen, Don Dean, Dennis Dexter, Randy Golay, Gordy Hansen and Steve McGill.

Jon Anderson and Terry Greenman are mayoral candidates. City council forums will be held Thursday, October 15^th and Tuesday, October 27^th, both at 7:00 PM. The mayoral forum is set for Thursday, October 22^nd.

Valerie Bame, who handles programming for the library, said that she decided to do the program after a patron suggested the idea. “This type of program fits well with what we offer at the library, which is to provide information and education to the public. When the idea was presented, we were excited to give this opportunity to the community.”

Following a format from the Idaho League of Women Voters, candidates will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and answer questions. Written questions will come from the audience and will be posed to the candidates by a moderator. Dr. Russell Tremayne, an Associate Professor of History at the College of Southern Idaho, will moderate the October 15^th and 22^nd forums. Cassia County Magistrate Judge Rick Bollar, will moderate October 27^th. With a set time limit for the answers, each candidate will have an equal opportunity to address every question.

Dr. Tremayne stated, “I expect to lead a lively discussion that examines the issues of Burley. It is the duty of a citizen to be informed and this is an opportunity to get informed.”

All the candidates have responded that they will be able to attend the forums. “We really appreciate the candidate’s willingness to come to the library and allow the public this chance to meet them,” Bame said.

Burley Public Library is located at 1300 Miller Ave. Questions can be directed to Valerie Bame at the library at 878-7708.