You know, I’m not sure exactly what the teachers at the High School are doing, but they sure must be doing something RIGHT! Governor Brad Little’s office released a statement recently announcing the Governor’s Cup Scholarship recipients. This is a $5,000 per year scholarship for up to four years, for Idaho students to attend Idaho Colleges and Universities.
Well, not just one, but two, of the 21 scholarships granted in Idaho went to Weiser High School 2023 graduates Macy Maloney and Mattie Shirts. This means that out of all the high schools in Idaho, Weiser High School took home 10% of the awards. CONGRATUALATIONS! Macy and Mattie, and GREAT JOB! Weiser High School teachers and staff! Words aren’t enough.
Now moving on to matters pertaining to the City, the Association of Idaho Cities held their annual 3-day conference last week in Boise. This conference is an opportunity for Mayors, Council Members, and key City Employees to get together for educational sessions, comparing notes, and learning best practices. Speakers are brought in from around the country. The conference is well worth attending. The only downside was that it was in the middle of Fiddle Week. But the information gained was valuable enough to justify not being in town.
At this conference there is a myriad of concurrent sessions covering a myriad of topics. City Clerk Natasha McDaniel and Public Works Director Mike Campbell joined me for the longest day. We split up to take in as many of the sessions as possible that pertained to us. Hopefully, we are now a bit smarter to be able to serve you better.
One of the areas where I wish the City was able to serve you better is with mosquito control. They are terrible this year, probably because of the wet spring and stormy summer so far. The City has been spraying the parks as much as we are able. The best spray for mosquitos, Tempo, can only be sprayed as many as five times in a season. We are already approaching that limit and are not able to legally apply more at a faster rate. So, I’m afraid that we will each have to take our own measures with bug spray to keep the critters at bay.
The only alternative, which would be too late to address this year, would be to form a Mosquito Abatement District. If I understand correctly, Washington County included a proposal for a District at one point, but the public voted it down because it would increase taxes. I know that no one wants taxes increased, but I am also finding that bug spray is expensive – and a bit inconvenient every time I step outside. Just saying.
Also, with the 4th of July coming up fast, I wanted to talk a bit about fireworks, particularly the aerial variety. Idaho law is strange because it allows for the sale of all types of fireworks, but makes the more hazardous ones, such as the aerial variety illegal to shoot.
I probably get far more complaints about misused fireworks than any other subject. This year the Weiser Police Department will be stepping up the efforts to control fireworks that shoot upward. These are the ones most likely to land on someone’s roof or shrubs to cause a fire. And we have had a few fires to back up these concerns. So, if you choose to shoot fireworks into the air, the police will politely give you a warning the first time. The second time, the fireworks will be confiscated. The best thing is not to buy them in the first place. That being said, I hope you have a great 4th of July celebration!
Well, that’s it for this week! Weiser really is a great place to live, work, and play!

Can you believe it!? Fiddle Week is going to be here in just four days! I hope everyone is ready to give the Fiddle Community a nice big Weiser Welcome!
The Fiddle Festival is really an amazing event. Every year the top fiddlers gather in Weiser for the oldest event of its kind and this year is the 70th anniversary. Amazing! From what I understand the Weiser Fiddle Festival essentially wrote the book on how other fiddle festivals across the country hold their events.
And the Fiddle Festival is well known outside of fiddle circles as well. As I meet with people around the State and tell them where I’m from they almost always ask questions about the Festival. So, the Fiddle Festival is yet another great reason to be proud to live in Weiser.
That being said, as you go about your business this week, please go out of your way to be extra kind to people you may not recognize. We want people to feel comfortable coming back year after year. This is part of what has made the Fiddle Festival the oldest contest of its kind in the country. So, please keep it up!
The City crews are getting ready for the big week. If you have driven anywhere in town, you probably were stopped by cones and had change lanes as the crosswalks were being painted. You may have also noticed the many waste cans lining the streets next to City Park. All non-contest activities will be taking place in City Park this year to keep it centralized.
One of the changes to the park for the Festival was a joint project by the Fiddle Committee and the City employees to literally raise the roof on the band shell. This was done to improve the sound and functionality of the band shell. And it just looks better, too!
So, I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the music, the food, and the other great activities!
Moving on to City business, Wayne Wallace, the Electrical Department Director, is asking for your help. If there is a power outage in your area and you heard the direction or saw the event that caused the outage, please call the City at 208-414-1965. By receiving this information, it will help the electrical crew pinpoint the location of the outage. If several people call to say what direction they heard a noise come from, by knowing the caller’s location, the guys can triangulate the problem’s probable location and cut the repair time down considerably. Otherwise, the crew must search through what is often a whole section of town to locate the issue. So, if there is an outage and you saw or heard something, please let us know.
On weekends or evenings, there will be a call tree asking which department you are calling about, whether it is Electrical, Water, Wastewater, or Garbage. When making the selection, your call will be routed to the department employee on call. If you do not get an immediate response, please wait, and call back in a few minutes. The City’s system currently does not have the ability to provide us with Caller ID so calling back is essential. (Caller ID is on the short list of upgrades to bring the City into the 21st Century.)
Also, Bill Taylor from the Water Department would like to remind those who have sprinkler systems that we will be sending out final notices for backflow testing soon. If you receive one of these notices, you will have 10 days to have your system tested, documented, and the results to City Hall or to let us know that you have a test scheduled and who will be performing the test.
The purpose of the testing is to ensure that water that has entered your sprinkler system does not have the ability to then flow back into the City’s drinking water system. This test is required annually.
Any system that has not been tested or a test scheduled will have the water shut off to the residence until the testing takes place.
So, if you have not yet had your system checked this year, it would be best to do so as soon as possible. If you need a list of licensed providers, please call the City at 208-414-1965 and we will be glad to provide you with names and contact information.
Well, that’s it for this week. Hope you enjoy the Fiddle Festival. Weiser really is a great place to live, work, and play.

It’s nice to be back in Weiser. Cathy and I took the week off last week and went to Depoe Bay on the Oregon Coast. On the way over, we stopped at the Mary Hill Museum across the Columbia River from Biggs. If you have never been there before, there are quite a few different art collections there including a section of sculptures by Rodin. If you are familiar with the sculpture “The Thinker”, that is Rodin. There is also an amazing collection of Native American artwork. And if you are interested in chess, there is a great assortment of interesting and intricate chess pieces.
While in Depoe Bay, we went out for the first time on a charter boat. Since we were novices, we didn’t go very far out. Our boat went bottom fishing for rock fish and ling cod. We were pretty lucky with the rock fish, but the ling cod didn’t seem to be too interested in what we were offering. Either that or we didn’t know what we were doing. The only one who caught a ling cod was one of the deck crew. Anyway, we came home with plenty of fish and a few crabs for our efforts.
While we were away, the annual Fishing Pond Clean-up took place. Pat Malay, the Street Department Director (who also oversees the parks) wants to say a big “THANK YOU” to everyone who helped out this year. He was telling me that there were between 55 and 60 people who turned out to cut and pull weeds, trim trees, haul rocks, and whatever else needed to be done.
Some of the groups represented included the Indianhead Fly Fishing Club, Idaho Fish and Game, young people from Weiser’s own Arrow Heart Adventure Camp, City employees representing each department, as well as many individuals who are just interested in keeping the pond clean and manageable.
Lunch was provided with donations from Falls Brand for the hot dogs, Bi-Mart for the buns, Ridley’s for the chips, with water provided by the Weiser Elks. Over 120 dogs were donated and grilled and they were all gone when lunch was over. I think everyone worked up an appetite.
If you have never been to the pond, you should go down and take a look. This is not your typical pool of water, just sitting there collecting algae. The pond is a nice public space with a walking path around a contoured aerated pond and fed by a small manmade (Thanks Bill Taylor) creek. Included in the amenities is a wheelchair accessible fishing deck.
The pond is stocked with trout at least annually. It also provides good bass fishing. For the little ones who just want to catch a fish there are blue gills in the pond as well. If you are lucky and looking in the right place at the right time, you might even see a turtle or two.
The fishing pond is a real treasure. It would not exist if not for the Indianhead Fly Fishing Club. If you know one of the members, be sure to tell them Thank You! for the effort taken to make their vision a reality for Weiser!
Also, last week Pat’s crew filled in the sawdust in the City Park and Memorial Park playgrounds. You may wonder why the City uses sawdust around the play equipment. Well, for one thing, it works about as well as any material we have tried. For another thing, Wester Timber Products, Inc. here in Weiser donates all the sawdust for the City parks. So, we want to also say a big Thank You! to Western Timber for their kind generosity!
In other City news, the various departments are getting ready for Fiddle Week. You may see a lot of cones on the streets as crosswalks are painted. Trees and shrubs will be getting trimmed and other projects will be worked on to get ready for Weiser’s biggest week.
Also, the Street Department is continuing to grade alleys as they have a chance. If they have not come by your alley yet, please be patient as there is a lot going on at the moment.
Well, that’s it for this week. I hope you take the time to go look at the fishing pond. It looks great!

First of all, I want to Congratulate the Weiser High School Seniors who graduated this last Sunday! You have your entire lives ahead of you. I wish you all the best on path you forge through whatever life brings your way!
Our daughter and son-in-law celebrated their anniversary last week, so Cathy and I gave them the gift of time by watching the grandsons. We had all kinds of activities lined up, but they upended our plans as soon as they arrived. The number one thing they wanted to do was go to the Artful Bon to find a project to work on. The oldest one, chose a wooden outline of Idaho to paint. The younger one, picked out a wine box to turn into a treasure box.
Bonnie is so good with the kids. She lets them pick their project, the paint, teaches them how to use the brushes, and clean up afterwards. While the projects were drying, the boys had fun playing with Bonnie’s dog, Annie.
I think having the boys over is as much as an adventure for Cathy and me as it is for the boys. We are never quite sure what will be going on. And of course, we were exhausted.
The last couple of weeks, Ken Anderson from the Recreation Department and Dave Loos the Building Inspector have been getting the swimming pool ready for the season. I knew they had a couple of tiles and a light or two to replace, so I swung by to take a look.
The pool was drained down so there was only water in the deep end. Dave was in the middle of the pool placing tile. It turns out that there were more than a couple of tiles loose. There were several soft spots on the bottom of the pool that had to be fixed before the pool could be used. In fact, Ken had to drive to Meridian to get extra matching tile to finish the project.
Also, the water that was in the deep end, looked like something out of the “Swamp Thing” movie. I was afraid if I stuck my foot in it, I may not have a foot to pull back out.
Needless to say, I had concerns whether or not we were going to have the pool ready by the first part of June. However, Ken assured me we would be there. So, I asked Ken what all it took each year to provide this great summer activity. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
Here is a quick breakdown of our spring pool set-up duties. Clean and pull winter tarp and tarp water weights. Drain the pool and clean the pool bottom. Fix and repair any damage to the pool after a long winter. Add and assemble all pool hardware, such as lights, drains, etc. Begin filling the pool. Once the pool is filled, get the pump running and start filtering the pool water. Then add algaecide and water clarifier to make the water clear. (The algaecide and water clarifier takes out the gunk that made the water look swampy! The gunk then settles on the bottom.) Vacuum the pool. Vacuum the pool. Vacuum the pool. Vacuum the pool. You get the idea. Next add the multitude of chemicals to get pool water balanced. Turn on pool heaters and get water to the magic 82 degrees. Also on the list, is opening dressing rooms and making sure the showers, sinks, and toilets are all in good working order. Next, it’s back outside to clean the pool deck, put up the diving board, starting blocks, lifeguard chairs, and all signage.
Then comes finalizing hiring new guards in a process that actually started in about February. Next comes setting up dates and times for getting the lifeguards certified both with the knowledge to do the job as well as the physical ability to do so. SouthWest District Health then gets involved inspecting to ensure the pool meets specifications. All pool safety equipment is tested. The office is then stocked with information for the public, snacks, goggles, and first aid supplies.
Last but not least, the office, locker rooms, and outside the facility are cleaned. And finally, we are OPEN FOR BUSINESS! Simple as that!
Ken wants you to please remember that the lifeguards work hard to protect our loved ones. Many times, it is a thankless job, but an especially important one. When you have a chance, take a moment to thank a lifeguard. Also, if you see Ken, thank him, also! Have a GREAT AND SAFE SUMMER!
Well, that’s it for this week. Enjoy! What would summer be like for the kids without a pool?

I sincerely hope that all of you mothers had a great Mother’s Day last Sunday! Cathy and I went to dinner on Friday night and had a get-together with family, on Saturday.

On Sunday, we went for a drive to find a “road” we had not been on before. We found just such a road heading up Indianhead. We were able to get about halfway up the hill before coming to something of a fence and a no trespassing sign. It was just as well to stop there as it looked like the “road” deteriorate beyond the fence. We stopped for a few minutes to let the dog walk and to just take in the view. The Snake River spread out below us. With the spring greenery, gray clouded sky with blue patches peeking through, the view was spectacular.

You don’t have to go far from Weiser to enjoy the scenary!

On to City business, Natasha McDaniel the City Clerk would like to let you know about all of the payment options you have for paying your City utility bill.

The city is excited to share with the public all the convenient ways you have to pay your utility bills now. As always, we accept check, cash, money orders and debit/credit. You also have the option to go to cityofweiser.com and select paying online. When you select pay online it will take you to InvoiceCloud where you will enter your account number with no periods or spaces. Once you pull up your account you have a lot of options. You can register your account, view current and past invoices, set up automatic payments, schedule payments or just pay the current billing. Using InvoiceCloud also sets you up for multiple reminders. Whether you choose email reminders, text reminders or both you can now get up to 3 reminders that you have a bill due. From any of those reminders selecting pay now will take you directly to entering your debit/credit card or bank account to pay your bill. If at any point you find yourself needing assistance, please call the office and we will walk you through all the options available.