New intersection at 25th and Hitt Road to be dedicated Monday

City officials from Ammon and Idaho Falls on Monday will be opening the upgraded intersection of 25th Street and Hitt Road, just south of Target.

The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. with remarks from Ammon Mayor Dana Kirkham, followed by comments from Ammon City Councilman Brad Christensen and Idaho Falls City Council President Mike Lehto. The cities will cut the ceremonial ribbon by making a symbolic left turn onto Hitt Road through the ribbon and then circling back around to the green space along the new corridor.

Work on the improvements began Oct. 5 with H-K Contractors developing an exit-only roadway behind Target and a new four-way traffic signal. According to a press release from the city of Idaho Falls, work was completed on schedule and under budget. The cost of the signal upgrade, right-of-way work and materials was $147,300, and was shared equally between Ammon and Idaho Falls. The work beyond the Hitt Road right-of-way that connects the Target parking lot to the new intersection has been paid by the city of Ammon with support from Woodbury Corp.

Making a left turn out of the Ammon Town Square parking lot has been a headache for years. Because of the short distance between the 17th Street and 25th Street signals, Idaho Transportation Department regulations precluded another signal being put in.

Council members and department directors from both cities began talking in April 2014 about coordinating efforts along the Hitt Road corridor. Subcommittees were formed to evaluate and explore options for improvements at key intersections and projects were ranked by priority. After the work at Sunnyside at Hitt appeared to be on track, attention shifted to the East 25th Street and Hitt Road intersection, with an eye toward relieving traffic congestion along that corridor before the 2015 holiday season started.

One person who was instrumental in getting the project on the rails was the late Idaho Falls Councilman Dee Whittier, who will have a tree planted in his memory at the site.

”He was a tremendous partner who had a passion for this and other traffic issues,” Christensen said.
Redesign of the intersection at 17th and Hitt remains a high priority for both cities, but they do not anticipate any work this budget year. Both cities continue to investigate redesign and funding options.

Ace Hardware slated for west side location

An Ace Hardware store is going in where Rite-Aid Drug used to be.

If you've been on the west side, you might notice work being done at the long-vacant space in Westfield Plaza that used to be occupied by Rite-Aid. According to plans at the city of Idaho Falls Building Department, Peterson Enterprises is developing the space into an Ace Hardware store.

The project, at 1747 West Broadway, involves 14,075 square feet of space, with a sales floor of 11,711 square feet. I am still trying to find out who the franchisee is, but have information that it is a different company from the one running the store in Ammon.

INL electric vehicle story gets posted on BuzzFeed

A screenshot of the BuzzFeed article, posted Tuesday.

Idaho National Laboratory has made it to BuzzFeed for the first time ever, with a list of the top eight things learned from a three year study of electric vehicles.

Here's the link: Eight Discoveries From the Largest Vehicle Charging Demonstration In The World.

If you don't think this is big, check out this link: By The Numbers: 14 Amazing Buzzfeed Statistics.

Basically, BuzzFeed has more than 200 million monthly unique visitors, half of them between 18 and 34 years old. Roughly 60 percent are reading on mobile devices.

Suppose 1 percent of BuzzFeed clicked on Tuesday's story about the INL. Doing the hypothetical math (my favorite kind), we divide 200 million by 30 (the days of the month), then divide that by 100 to get a rough total of 67,000 people. That's a lot of eyeballs of the little ol' INL.

MarCellar's celebrating 20 years in business

A nice row of reds at MarCellar's, on Park Avenue

MarCellar’s Vintage Wines and Brews is celebrating 20 years in business this month. In November 1995, Marcella Medor began offering wines and microbrews in a tiny space on Northgate Mile next door to the Hawg Smoke Café. The business quickly outgrew the space and moved to 431 Park Avenue, where it is today, microbrews and wines from all over the world.

To mark the anniversary, MarCellar’s will be having special events and offers. The main event will be Nov. 6, from 4 to 8 p.m, with a wine and beer tasting featuring representatives from Colter Creek, Huston and Cinder wineries. Wines from Split Rail, Camas, and Pend O’Reille wineries will also be served, as well as beers from Wildlife Brewing in Victor, Sockeye, Payette, Grand Teton and Edge breweries. Diablas Kitchen will be providing appetizers and there will be live music by Severed Ties starting at 6 p.m.  Proceeds from the tasting, raffle and silent auction will go to the Idaho Falls Exchange Club in support of Veterans Matter, a program supporting homeless veterans (www.veteransmatter.org).
 
Vince Bellon will be performing in the shop on Nov. 13, a great opportunity to listen to blues in a small venue.

For additional information, contact Marilynne at (208) 221-5142 or email marilynnem@gmail.com.

Advanced Test Reactor modifications receive recognition

For the second year in a row, Idaho National Laboratory has received recognition from industry peers for completion of a major engineering or construction modification.

The INL's Advanced Test Reactor dates back to the mid-1960s. Frequently upgraded, it remains the nation's leading nuclear energy research reactor.

The Advanced Test Reactor Transition to Commercial Power modification has been chosen by Engineering News-Record as the first-place winner in the energy-industrial category of its 2015 Best Projects competition. This includes new projects, or the renovations or modifications of existing facilities in the Mountain states.

The work demonstrated the successful collaboration of a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory with a manufacturer to design, fabricate, test and install a custom-built uninterruptible power supply that meets stringent U.S. nuclear safety and quality assurance requirements. This modification resulted in improved operational safety and reliability, significant carbon emission reductions, and major operating cost savings for the ATR, America’s leading nuclear energy research reactor.

In place of a system that required continuous operation of diesel generators, INL can expect an annual savings of $550,000 by using commercial electrical power and an energy-efficient, redundant battery system while the reactor is operating. Diesel generators are still in place and ready to operate as a backup source of power.

Ending continuous operation of the diesel generators significantly reduces the carbon footprint of INL. Eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of 225,000 gallons of diesel fuel provides a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 892 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. This corresponds to a 100 percent reduction of process-related stationary combustion emissions for the ATR area, and a 28 percent reduction of overall INL stationary combustion emissions.

A panel of eight judges, including architects, general contractors, consultants, academics and engineers, selected winners in the 2015 Intermountain Area Best Projects competition. The ATR modifications are profiled in the October issue of ENR Mountain States.

EIRMC starts advice line

Does your child have a simple case of the sniffles, or does she need to come to the emergency room right away? A lot of parents don’t know, and when it’s after hours or on the weekend, when the doctor’s office is closed, they might err on the side of caution.

To help with situations like this, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center has started its “Ask a Nurse” Advice Line. When parents just aren’t sure what to do, they now have access to a pediatric medical professional over the phone who can advise them on the best course of action for their sick child. Parents can call, describe their child’s symptoms, and receive sound medical advice.

This service is now live and available weekdays from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and 24 hours a day on weekends and holidays. Call (208) 497-6167 for fast, free advice.

Tai Pan Trading says it's coming to Idaho Falls

The Tai Pan Trading store in St. George, Utah.

Tai Pan Trading Co., a home decor store chain based in Salt Lake City, posted on Facebook Oct. 19 that it is coming to Idaho Falls. Read the announcement here.

Efforts to reach Jon Lee, the company’s chief information officer, have been unsuccessful. Local sources in commercial real estate confirm that the store is likely to come, that people from the company have scouted the area. But a final leasing deal hasn't been reached and no one wants to say anything definite until papers are signed.

According to the company's Web site, Tai Pan Trading started in 1979 as a wholesale floral supplier, in a small space with two cash registers and very few parking stalls. As the business expanded into home decor, the owners decided to open a showroom and offer merchandise directly to the public.

In 2005 Tai Pan opened its first retail store in Sandy, Utah. It now has five stores in Utah, one in California and one in Idaho, in Boise. The Boise store opened in September 2011 after the company leased 30,000 square feet where the Borders book store had been, in Milwaukee Marketplace, near Barnes & Noble and JoAnn Fabrics. The space had been vacant for five years.

One last thing: The arrow on the map on the Facebook link would indicate the store is going in at the corner of Park Avenue and Broadway. Krisi Staten, executive director of the Downtown Development Corp. said she would love to have Tai Pan Trading in the middle of town, but added that anytime someone gives an address no more definite than "Idaho Falls" that's where the arrow ends up landing.