Idaho Briefs May 30, 2010

County questions tribal traffic tickets

POCATELLO - Power County officials in eastern Idaho and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are sparring over whether tribal officers can issue speeding tickets to nonmembers on U.S. Highway 30.

County commissioners issued a statement Friday saying tribal officers have no jurisdiction over nonmembers using the highway even within the reservation.

Tribal Chairman Alonzo Coby responded the same day with a statement saying Power County commissioners are wrong and that under federal law the tribes can issue speeding tickets as civil infractions and as a matter of public safety.

Power County Sheriff Jim Jeffries said that as many as a dozen tickets have been issued on Highway 30 where it parallels Interstate 86.

Coin flip needed to decide election

TWIN FALLS - A coin flip has decided the winner of the Republican primary for Buhl's seventh precinct committeeman.

Incumbent Neola Weaver prevailed Friday in the toss against challenger Miles Cunningham. Both received 84 votes in the election.

The Times-News reported that Cunningham deferred the call to Weaver's friend, Mya Goodman, standing in for Weaver. Goodman chose heads in the contest during the Twin Falls County Commission meeting.

Idaho state law mandates a coin toss if there is a tie election.

Work begins on Caldwell VA clinic

CALDWELL - Construction crews are working to build a new outpatient clinic for veterans in Caldwell.

Officials with the Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center held a groundbreaking Thursday for the Caldwell Community Based Outpatient Clinic. The planned 10,000-square-foot building will replace a smaller clinic nearby.

The Caldwell clinic has served about 1,500 patients per year since opening in 2007. The new facility is expected to serve about 6,000 patients per year.

- The Associated Press