Regional news
Governor undergoes back surgery
Boise Gov. Dirk Kempthorne was resting comfortably Monday after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured disk in his lower back.
“He’ll resume work some time this week,” Kempthorne spokesman Mark Snyder said Monday.
The procedure, called a discectomy, involved the removal of a portion of the damaged disk.
Kempthorne injured his back several weeks ago when mountain biking. He endured acute back pain, and physicians treated him with cortisone shots and physical therapy while he attended to official duties on a reduced schedule.
“After the surgery we will continue physical therapy, which will be the key to the operation’s long-term success,” Kempthorne said in a statement.
Lt. Gov. James Risch served as acting governor while Kempthorne was under general anesthesia.
Students scouting for noxious weeds
Idaho Falls, Idaho Bingham County teenagers are targeting noxious weeds for destruction and the idea is spreading … like a weed.
Idaho has 36 varieties of noxious weeds. If they are not controlled, they can clog up waterways and choke out fields and grazing pastures.
Recent Snake River High School graduate Kelsey Bensen is one of 10 local teenagers who are hunting for troublesome plants such as leafy spurge, which sends roots 20 feet into the ground. A spotted knapweed plant can produce as many as 25,000 seeds.
The program that teaches technology and science has spread to nearby Teton County, where three students are mapping out weeds this summer.
“They really help us a lot,” said Ben Eborn, Teton County’s weed supervisor. “They’re kind of like the scouts in this war.”
The weeds threaten about 1.3 million acres in Bingham County. The students’ goal this year is to map out about 60,000 acres of weeds in Bingham County using global positioning devices.
The data is then transferred to a map with a grid. From there, county weed superintendent Paul Muirbrook knows where to treat weed patches. With only a couple of workers to manage the entire county, Muirbrook said the teens’ role in invaluable.
“It’s good for the students,” he said. “It’s good for the community.”
Restaurant on Newport Highway robbed
A man with a handgun robbed four men at the Burger King at 9252 N. Newport Highway at about 11:20 p.m. Sunday. The suspect, described as a white male in his early 20s, walked up to the four men and asked for a cigarette. He then drew a semiautomatic pistol and walked to a Burger King employee who had put the night deposit bag in his back pocket.
The suspect grabbed the bag and ran from the area, Spokane Police spokesman Dick Cottam said in a press release. Officers searched the area but couldn’t locate the suspect.
The suspect is about 6-foot-3, 210 pounds with sandy hair. He was wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved orange fleece shirt and a blue bandanna.
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.