Younger Knievel’s jump over Snake delayed

TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A spokesman for Robbie Knievel says the daredevil’s proposal to jump the Snake River Canyon won’t happen over the July Fourth holiday, but it could happen in September if Twin Falls officials agree to help pay for things like security. Jeff Lowe made the comments Thursday, the same day The Times-News reported that city officials hadn’t heard from Knievel since May, when he proposed taking on the stunt his late father Evel Knievel failed to complete in 1974. “As we left it with Robbie when he was in town, and our communications after that, the ball was kind of in his court to come up with a plan,” said Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Shawn Barigar. “We weren’t brought a plan, we were brought an idea.” In a comment posted at the Times-News website, Lowe suggested that city officials could offer more financial support for the televised event, which would be an “economic boon” to Twin Falls. “Our problem is that certain officials in Twin Falls feel that cost of the entire event should fall on one man’s shoulders, Robbie Knievel,” a posting signed by Lowe said. It complained that officials want them to pay police overtime for both Twin Falls and Jerome, and property damage surety bonds. “Robbie wants nothing more than to jump the Snake River, but he can’t do it without a contribution from Twin Falls, to hire its own police and beef up its own infrastructure to handle the crowd,” Lowe wrote. Barigar said that when Knievel was in Twin Falls in May, area officials told them whoever was putting on the jump would have to incur the costs. “These are not outrageous concepts,” Barigar said. “They happen with everything from parades and community activities to the event that Robbie wants to put on.” Lowe also said they will need low-cost access to the jump site. The land on the rim of the Snake River Canyon is privately owned, but the city has been working to acquire it. Lowe said he’ll have a business plan to the chamber of commerce next week for a jump that would be held closer to the anniversary of Evel Knievel’s Sept. 8, 1974, attempt. Holding the event on a Sunday would make the date Sept. 11 — the 10th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.