Gov. Butch Otter's not surprised to see Health & Welfare order Friday furloughs for hundreds of employees, his press secretary, Jon Hanian, told Eye on Boise. "We, I think, knew that there was going to be a mix of these type of measures, and obviously we're beginning to see that," Hanian said. "We're trying to get through this difficult time as best we can, while doing the least amount of damages to the services we have, and so I'm not surprised we're starting to see this." He added, "While it's bad here, it's nowhere near as bad as other states that are having to cut even deeper than we are."

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