Gov. Butch Otter has announced that he'll hold his next "Capitol for a Day" event in Pine a week from Friday. That's the same tiny town where Otter has a cabin, and that faced evacuation this summer, along with nearby Featherville, due to the Trinity Ridge wildfire.

“Pine is the kind of place where people from the city go to get away from crowds and breathe fresh air," Otter said, "Now, wildfires have made it a lot busier and smokier than any of us would like this year. And for some of us, that’s more than an inconvenience, because Pine is home. I’m looking forward to hearing from my neighbors about the issues that matter most to them, and to letting them know their community and the independence it represents are important parts of the Idaho way of life.”

Otter will be at the Pine Senior Center on Oct. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., including a noon luncheon with local officials and residents; among those accompanying him will be the state's directors of Fish & Game, Parks & Recreation, Insurance, Homeland Security, and Species Conservation, along with Lt. Gov. Brad Little and officials from the departments of Agriculture, Health & Welfare and Transportation.

Otter's been holding the events monthly, and has already held 59, including at least one in each of Idaho's 44 counties; his goal is to get to every county twice before he completes his current term.  Many have been in similarly small towns around the state; last month, he was in Nordman, on Priest Lake.