Dear Kuna: Fill out your 2010 Census form when it comes in the mail

Your local Kuna Complete Count Census Committee is wrapping up nearly a year of work on making sure every person living in Kuna gets counted during the upcoming 2010 Census.
Joe Luppens is the head of that committee, and he has done an incredible job of organizing, visiting with local businesses, filling out forms, applying for grant money, ordering T-shirts, the list goes on and on of the work Joe has done over the past year.
As a member of the committee, I want to thank Joe for his hard work. Having done some of the smaller, mundane tasks on the committee, I can personally attest to the amount of time and effort it requires.
Do yourself a favor, do your country a favor, and for gosh sakes, do Joe Luppens a favor and fill out you Census form when it comes in the mail.

Kuna's LID owners must have thought dreams had come true

When Kuna local improvement district landowners opened up the Idaho Statesman yesterday, they must have thought their wishes had finally come true. The headline read, "Kuna may finally dissolve LID." Whoever wrote the headline mistakenly thought that Kuna was going to "dissolve" the LID, rather than "close" the LID. "Closing" the LID means that the city would be bringing to a close the interim financing that built the new wastewater treatment plant and assess the landowners for what they owe. "Dissolving" the LID would mean scrapping the LID, something I'm sure the LID owners would love to see. Funny, though, I didn't see a correction in the Statesman today, and in fact the dissolve headline is still on their web site. Maybe they know something the rest of us don't. Maybe dreams do come true...

We shouldn't cheap out on the Kuna performing arts auditorium

Let’s not cheap out on our new performing arts auditorium at Kuna High School.
Kuna school board members are currently considering how much to charge groups for the use of the facility, which will have its first open house to the public on Feb. 22 and its first performance on Feb. 25 and 26.
A committee of volunteers and district employees has been discussing the details of the facility, including how much to charge people to use the facility. One of the questions yet to be answered includes whether to encourage a lot of use by making the fees inexpensive or discourage use by making the fees expensive. I hope the district sets the fee toward the top of the scale, not necessarily to discourage use but to make sure we aren’t overburdening the facility and to make sure we, the taxpayers, don’t end up subsidizing its use.

'Support' has its place when it comes to Kuna businesses

When Nicola and I purchased the Kuna Melba News in 2006, I bristled at the notion of “support.” Too many times, we came across the notion that someone was advertising in the newspaper because they “want to support the local paper,” not that they believed our product would help their business.
The message that we tried to spread, and continue to spread, is that we offer a service to businesses to help them grow their business by putting their name, their specials, their message into the homes of our readers, which we consider to be the best customers in Kuna. Not because they support us.
But in the ensuing three years, I’ve become more comfortable with the notion of support and feel that it does have a place not just in our business, but in all of our local businesses.
I’m not suggesting you have to eat out every week or go broke shopping at every store in Kuna. But just think of Kuna first, before you head out of town with your dollars.

CBS News gives "the media" a bad name in coverage of the Haiti story

As a newspaper person, I tend to disavow any association with "TV people," and for good reason. When people slam "the media" I often like to think they're usually talking about TV. Here's a good example, right here in Kuna. CBS News has a reporter following a local woman who has a connection to the Haiti kidnapping charges. Following is probably a nice word. Tailing or stalking seem more appropriate words. The ironic thing, though, is that they've blown any chance of getting an interview with her now.

Streak of attending consecutive Kuna City Council meetings comes to an end

All good things must come to an end. On Tuesday night, I missed the Kuna City Council meeting. This was the first Kuna City Council meeting I've missed since Oct. 3, 2006. The longer my streak lasted, the harder it was to miss a meeting. But this Tuesday, I was just overwhelmed. In addition to just trying to get a newspaper out, I had an interview with Mel and Brenda Coulter, the Kuna parents of Charisa Coulter, who's in a Haiti jail on child trafficking charges. Before heading over there, though, I got word there was a double-fatal house fire in Melba, which I drove down to and covered for this week's issue. So by 5 p.m., I still had to finish the paper, edit photos from the Melba fire and write two stories. Needless to say, I was not going to City Council that night. I felt a twinge of something around 7:30 p.m., knowing council members were meeting without me. I guess I'll just start over again and see if I can break my first record.

Another new feature in the Kuna Melba News: Kuna business of the month

This week, we’re launching yet another new feature in the Kuna Melba News. It’s called “Business of the Month,” written by Kuna resident Corinna Stiles.
A couple of months ago, the Kuna Melba News ran an online poll asking readers how much of their holiday shopping they were planning on doing in Kuna. The number one response was, “None. There’s nothing good to buy in Kuna.”
Of course, the result was disheartening, as I’m sure it was for many of our local business owners who are doing their best to run a good business with excellent products and excellent service. It was also disheartening as the owner of the local newspaper, as we’re the ones trying our best to get the word out to our local residents. Some days it feels like beating your head against a brick wall.
It got me to thinking, though, that we simply need to do a better job of informing our residents of what we have to offer right here in Kuna. Why drive 20 minutes to a chain steakhouse when we have Peregrine Steakhouse right here in Kuna? Why drive up the road to Home Depot or Lowe’s when you can get everything you need at either True Value or Kuna Lumber right here in Kuna — and get way better service? Why go to Wal-Mart to get a birthday present when The Wild Ivy has some great kids gifts right here in Kuna? The list of amenities in Kuna goes on and on, it’s just that so many people are unaware that they really can get just about everything here in Kuna. And not just retail, but services, as well. Financial advisors, dentists, orthodontist, insurance, copying and printing, computer repair, etc.
In February, we are asking every single person reading this column, reading the story or seeing the house ad to go to the Peregrine Steakhouse just once. Go for lunch. Go for dinner. Go for the Sunday brunch. If you were planning on going to Outback Steakhouse or Red Robin or some other chain restaurant up in Meridian this month, change your plans and go to Peregrine instead.
You’ll be doing yourself a favor and you’ll also be boosting the local economy at the same time.