First Street Stinker station slated for demolition

Nobody is going to argue this Stinker Station at First Street and Holmes Avenue is a thing of beauty, but if you have a sentimental feeling for it -- say you bought a winning lottery ticket there or met the love of your life while buying a pack of smokes -- be prepared to say good-bye. According to documents at the city of Idaho Falls Building Department, the building and adjoining car wash are going to be torn down this spring and replaced by a new 2,832-square-foot convenience store. The gas pumps will remain where they are.

Grow Idaho Falls lists arguments for keeping airport tower staffed

Grow Idaho Falls, the city's economic development agency, is leading a write-in effort to keep the Idaho Falls Regional Airport control tower open.

Because of across-the-board budget cuts at the federal level, IFRA is one of nearly 200 airports that have been told they have until Wednesday to prove to the Federal Aviation Administration that closing the tower would not be in the national interest.

Grow  Idaho  Falls says Idaho Falls Regional fell just short of the FAA's cutoff in 2012, hosting 9,435 commercial aircraft operations. The FAA minimum was 10,000.

Idaho Falls Regional is currently served by Delta  Airlines, United Express, and Allegiant Air, with  non-­stop service to Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Oakland. Airport Manager Craig Davis said he has been assured by all the airlines that service will continue regardless of what happens with the tower.

Here is a rundown of Grow Idaho Falls' arguments for keeping the tower in operation:

• The  airport is the only CDC-approved pharmaceutical stockpile  drop-­off point for eastern  Idaho,  western  Wyoming and southern Montana. The airport is also directly in the service area for Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and the Trauma II Center, which serves a 250-­mile radius, and a population  of  about 400,000 people.
• Idaho National Laboratory is the Department of  Energy's lead  nuclear lab. With 77 percent of  INL  employees  living  in  Idaho  Falls,  this  is  closest air  travel  connection  to  the  rest  of the  United States.  Since  the  start  of  the  current  fiscal  year in October 2012,  Battele  Energy  Alliance/Idaho  National Laboratory  employees  have  flown  more than 2,000  trips. The INL is also the site of several Department of Homeland Security and  Cyber-­Security missions, with international importance and implications.
• The  airport  serves  as  diversionary  landing  strip  for  multiple  commercial  airlines,  corporate  business,  and  general  aviation  aircraft that divert due to weather conditions from surrounding airports, including Salt Lake City; Jackson, Wyo.; Boise; Billings, Mont.; and even Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
• Hill  and  Mountain  Home  Air  Force  Bases  utilize  the  airport  for  safety  training  operations.
• The city of Idaho Falls has maintained an aggressive capital improvement and maintenance schedule. At a length of 9,002 feet, IFRA has the longest runway in the multi-­state region. The airport has Full Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) capabilities for Index B operations with new ARFF trucks; there is a multi-­million dollar snow and ice control program, with a new fleet of vehicles. A new passenger terminal project is under construction.
• IFRA  is  located  in  the  geographic center of a relatively isolated multi-­state area with a 120-­minute passenger catchment area that is home  to  665,359  people. The  nearest comparable airport in Idaho is in Boise, a four-and-a-half-hour drive west.
• In  2012, IFRA processed more than 2 million pounds of air cargo through four companies: Federal Express, UPS, Western Air, and Empire  Airlines. In  addition,  many  banking  and  financial  documents utilize these services for specific business documents.

Anyone who wishes to comment can e-mail closurecomments@faa.gov.

Memo: Over 100 Employees to be Laid Off at INL

According to an internal memo obtained and reprinted by KPVI News 6, involuntary separations will begin today at the Idaho National Laboratory and affect 101 employees.

Here is the text of the memo, from Human Resources and Diversity Director Mark Holubar:

Today we will begin the involuntary separation program. The separations will begin today and will affect 101 employees. Managers will be contacting the impacted employees, and the termination process will be completed the same day individual employees are notified.

There were 114 employees who chose to voluntarily self-select to leave INL. This was a higher number than originally anticipated and it helped lessen the impact of this particular involuntary separation. In addition, since the beginning of the fiscal year nearly 60 employees have left the lab through normal attrition and those positions have not been back-filled. Between the voluntary separations, attrition and the involuntary separations, approximately 7 percent of the workforce has been reduced.

We will be watching the budget situation closely in the coming months and hope to have a clearer picture of any additional actions that will be necessary. As Laboratory Director John Grossenbacher said in the recent budget update, we anticipate additional workforce restructuring before the end of this fiscal year. We will update you in that regard on a regular basis. 

Actions such as these are not easy, but they are ultimately necessary. Please give your full support to those individuals who will be affected.

Mario Hernandez joins Bank of Idaho board of directors

Mario Hernandez

Mario Hernandez, owner and general manager of Teton Toyota and Teton Volkswagen in Idaho Falls, has been elected to the Bank of Idaho board of directors.

In a press release, board chairman and CEO Park Price said he expects the bank to benefit from Hernandez's expertise as the owner of a successful retail business, and from his involvement in the community.

Hernandez bought the Idaho Falls Toyota dealership in 2005 when it was located on East Anderson Street and supervised its move to Snake River Landing on Sunnyside Road in 2009. Construction of the Teton Volkswagen dealership next door will begin this spring.

A graduate of Pocatello High School and American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa., Hernandez and his wife, Glenda, are involved in many community organizations, including the Idaho Falls Arts Council, Idaho Falls Symphony, Snake River Animal Shelter, School Districts 91 and 93 and Holy Rosary School, Ducks Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. They have three children, Crystal, Anthony and Connor; and two dogs, Buddy (Teton Toyota's longtime mascot) and Bindi.

Bank of Idaho has branches in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, St. Anthony, Ashton and Island Park.

Former Texas Roadhouse employee files gender discrimination suit

A former employee of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Ammon has filed suit against the Kentucky-based chain in the U.S. District Court of Idaho, claiming he was discriminated against because of his gender.

Tim Fenton, who was employed as a trainer, bartender and server until October 2012, has claimed the restaurant's service manager, Scott Baird, told him the chain’s regional director “only wanted girls working in the bar.” The complaint, filed March 4, also alleges that Baird told women employees to wear tank tops and shorts to work and to “flirt with every guy that sits at the bar top.”

Fenton’s attorney, Sam Angell of Idaho Falls, said his client made a formal complaint to the chain’s human resources department but heard nothing back.

According to the Texas Roadhouse in Ammon, Baird is no longer employed at the restaurant. A spokesman at the chain's corporate headquarters in Louisville told the Idaho Business Review he hadn’t seen the lawsuit so he could not comment.

In order to pursue a job discrimination lawsuit in federal court, plaintiffs must first file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to Angell, the EEOC determined it would not be able to complete its investigation in the required 180 days so it issued a “Notice of Right to Sue.”

According to the complaint, Texas Roadhouse managers officially fired Fenton because he used a swear word.  But the document claims other employees used similar language and kept their jobs.

Inquiring minds want to know about the foundation that has been poured at 2680 North Holmes, across from Vicker's Westen Wear. It is the new location of The Gun Shop, which is currently just north (and on the right side of this photo).  Owner Casey Wheeler is planning to open an 8,000-square-foot store. According to the permit at the Idaho Falls Building Department Office, the valuation of the project has been estimated at $330,000.

Scientech plans move to Snake River Landing

Idaho Falls-based Scientech, a global provider of commercial nuclear power safety and risk analyses and instrumentation, plans to move to Snake River Landing.

Horrrocks Engineering of Boise filed site plans Thursday with the city of Idaho Falls showing the company plans two buildings on 10 acres at the corner of Bluff Street and Whitewater Drive. One building will be 39,500 square feet, the other will be 36,900 square feet, and the two will be joined by a breezeway. The land is near the offices of Potandon Produce and the future site of the Idaho Falls Event Center.

A site plan is the first step in any new development. People from different departments examine the plans to make sure the details are in compliance with the city's codes and regulations. Once the plan is approved, a developer goes before the city planning and zoning commission, which makes a recommendation to the City Council. Once the City Council approves the plat, a building permit is issued and construction can begin.

A business unit of Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Co., Scientech has operated for several years out of offices on South Woodruff Avenue. The company employs more than 150 people in Idaho Falls.