Business, Idaho jobless rate drops for first time in four years on Religion 3 SATURDAY May 21, 2011 TIMES-NEWS 75 CENTS Jerome girls take 4A track title, Sports 1 STATE CHAMPS Magicvalley.com M ORE THAN A DROP Dept. of IN THE BUCKET Xavier Correction likely to run own to close T.F. finances work center Charter management company Paragon to Cut could save $900K a year, close shop in Idaho stave off employee furloughs By Amy Huddleston By Nick Coltrain Times-News writer Times-News writer After a tumultuous relation- ship over the last three months, The Idaho Department of Correction will Xavier Charter School and pri- close its Twin Falls Work Center Aug. 1 — ship- vate school management compa- ping its 78 prisoners to other facilities in the ny Paragon Schools are not only state, offering new positions to its 13 employees ending their relationship, but and hopefully saving more than $900,000 in Paragon is also shutting down the process,officials said. shop in Idaho. IDOC Director Brent Reinke said his depart- Paragon CEO Brandon Fair- ment hopes to turn those savings into fewer banks said Friday his company has furloughs for his employees. They won’t know taken steps to wrap up its agree- until the fall how much money is saved by clos- ments in Idaho in preparation to ing the center, he said, or what that extra cash leave the state, mostly due to its means for furloughs. The Twin Falls Work Cen- involvement with Xavier. ter has been in operation since July 1992. He said any efforts to clear the Reinke said the department doesn’t have as company’s name and “clean up” much of a need for the work center because its reputation were too great a judges are using other options for low-risk of- task. fenders, such as making the parole system more “The damage had already been efficient and making more use of retained-ju- done,” Fairbanks said about ap- risdiction sentencing programs. The latter al- proaching Xavier board members lows judges to place some offenders into drug about exiting its $200,000 annual and alcohol treatment programs instead of put- contract to manage the Twin Falls ting them in prison. charter school’s finances and oth- “There are several key changes and tweaks in er operations.“I told them, maybe the system that are leading to the different kind it’s time to end our agreement. It of offenders,”Reinke said. doesn’t have to be negative, but Those changes pull directly from the former Photos by ASHLEY SMITH/Times-News it’s in the best interest of the work center candidate pool, Reinke said. Canyon Ridge High School junior Lauren Shotwell carries a pig named Steve during a Friday pig- school and us.” wrestling event at the Twin Falls school. The event helped raise money for Relay for Life, and 16 stu- On Thursday, Xavier trustees CLOSURE See , Main 2 dents participated. approved terminating the school’s association with Paragon by a 2-1 vote. Paragon’s services will end on July 1, although Board Canyon Ridge students raise Chairwoman Teresa Berry said she wasn’t sure how the school May to serve will handle its finances in the fu- ture. Relay for Life funds with “We’ve just started looking at it and will probably go in-house,” 10 years for Berry said, adding that she didn’t know how many positions would first pig wrestling event be created for the job, since the Buhl shooting board is still working out the school’s budget for the coming By Bradley Guire By Amy Huddleston courts, a large crowd gathered around a year. Times-News writer small wire pen filled with mud. Xavier’s financial year ends on Times-News writer Four students from each grade were June 30, and electronic media of What started out as a pig-wrestling chosen by the student council to tackle a all records maintained by Paragon Terrified and horrified. contest soon morphed into a mud piglet donated by Requa Farms and place are to be delivered to the school by James Lambert used those words to describe wrestling free-for-all at Canyon Ridge it bottom down into a barrel. July 15. the day Markcus May aimed a gun at his chest High School as students enjoyed a little Jake Groesbeck, 15, said his freshman and fired. midday downtime on Friday. team wrestled the pig into the bucket in See PARAGON, Main 2 Because of the miracle of a misfire,or that May Students streamed out of the Twin Falls 46 seconds, but it wasn’t good enough to forgot to chamber a round in the high school to the grassy hill by the tennis bring home the bacon. The team of sen- 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, courts, where a few Twin Falls vendors iors in bright pink shirts claimed the Lambert lived to tell a Twin Falls had set up shop to sell food during stu- court on Friday about May 20, COMING SUNDAY dents’ lunch break. On the far side of the See FUNDRAISER, Main 2 2010 — the day he hid behind a friend’s car while at a Buhl resi- dence to avoid his girlfriend’s MORE ONLINE INSIDE See photos from the Relay for National Guard bullet-spraying, obsessed ex- SEE more photos from the pig wrestling. Life event in Filer. Main 2 boyfriend. May Since he shot Lambert in the soldiers on leave leg and not the chest, May will spend a minimum of 10 years in prison with the surprise kids possibility of another 20 for felony aggravated Blaze Requa battery, rather than a potential murder convic- In their “Faces of the 116th” se- watches ries, writer Melissa Davlin and tion and life behind bars. classmates May, 26, had nothing to say at his sentencing, photographer Ashley Smith fol- and Judge G.Richard Bevan called him on it. wrestle in lowed four members of the Idaho “My feeling is that you’ve had almost a year the mud Army National Guard's 116th now to contemplate your conduct,”Bevan said. Friday at during deployment to Iraq, and “There has yet to be truly any acknowledgment Canyon took readers inside the lives of those guardsmen's families. On before this court to them or to the citizens of the Ridge High state of Idaho that you’re taking responsibility Sunday, Davlin and Times-News School in photographers will revisit several for this conduct, which was in all intents and Twin Falls. purposes an attempted murder upon the life of of the families as soldiers on leave James Lambert.” try to make the most of the short time they have with their loved See SHOOTING, Main 2 ones. Read the story in People Bridge ..............Classifieds 9 Crossword ......Classifieds 11 Obituaries..................Main 9 Partly cloudy Comics ............Classifieds 3 Dear Abby........Classifieds 2 Opinion ................Main 10-11 71 / 49 Commodities........Religion 4 Jumble ............Classifieds 2 Sudoku ..........Classifieds 10 Business 4 Main 2 Saturday, May 21. 2011 MORNING MIX TN Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho IF YOU DO ONE THING TODAY Try your hand at a kayak or canoe free of charge at the Riverat Charge against anti-wolf activist dropped Demo Day, sponsored by Riverat and the city of Twin Falls Parks Times-News website SaveElk.com. poaching in northern Blaine months in jail and a three- and Recreation Department. More than 30 boats available, with He still faces three related County on Oct. 3, 2009, year loss of hunting and fish- reps available to answer questions. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at A Twin Falls anti-wolf ac- misdemeanor charges, to three days after the close of ing privileges in Idaho for Dierkes Lake. tivist no longer faces a felony which he could plead guilty the bow hunting season. The each misdemeanor charge: charge for his alleged 2009 to as part of the plea agree- Idaho Department of Fish hunting without an appropri- poaching of a trophy bull elk ment that dismissed the and Game started an inves- ate tag, hunting without an in Blaine County. felony charge, according to tigation after Mayer posted archery permit, and unlawful ITD slows traffic north On May 2, the state the Idaho Mountain Express photos of the elk on some taking of game animals. dropped a charge of killing, in Hailey. Mayer is sched- websites. The maximum penalty he possessing or wasting an ani- uled to be sentenced in The felony charge Mayer faced for the felony charge of bridge to allow turns mal worth $1,000 or more Blaine County 5th District faced was originally dropped was five years in prison, a against Tony Mayer, a 59- Magistrate Court at 1:30 in October 2010, but re-filed $50,000 fine, and loss of Times-News around construction at the year-old Twin Falls resident p.m.June 3. by prosecutors five days later. hunting and fishing privi- junction of U.S. 93 and I- and founder of the anti-wolf Mayer was accused of elk Mayer faces up to six leges for three years. The Idaho Transporta- 84. The pace cars will be tion Department has start- used from about 4-6 p.m. ed using pace cars to slow on weekdays, slowing traf- down southbound traffic fic to about 35 mph. Each along a stretch of U.S. gap should provide space State firms up wolf-management framework Highway 93, the agency for up to 20 vehicles to Times-News The instructions are largely in line Department staff will draw up a plan announced Friday.