Some ground rules for upcoming Kuna city elections

Since we are in the throes of a contested city election, I thought I’d go over some of the ground rules we have here at the Kuna Melba News.
The first one is our deadline for editorial items. These include letters to the editor, guest editorials, meeting announcements, etc. The deadline is noon on Mondays. That has been the deadline for the past five years, and we publish our deadlines every week on this page, to the left. The reason for this deadline is in order for us to get the paper out on time each week.
Every Monday starting at noon, I “lay out” the newspaper. That means I put all my stories on the pages, put all the headlines on, all the photos, all the letters, columns, etc. By the time I leave the office Monday night, every square inch of the paper is pretty much filled, with the exception of stories that I might be covering on Tuesday, such as City Council or school board. In those cases, I leave an empty space in the pages, which I plan on filling later Tuesday. But receiving anything unexpected after deadline means that I have to go back and take something out or completely rearrange sometimes several pages. So, that’s why we have a noon Monday deadline, and I try hard not to make exceptions.
The next rule we keep is not making an endorsement. As I’ve explained before, I try to remain as objective as possible because I am not just the editorial page editor, but I’m also the reporter covering city issues. Our readers need to know that when I report a story, it is completely objective and not biased based on whom I like or don’t like.
That doesn’t mean you, the reader, have to be objective, though. You can have an opinion on whom you like or don’t like. And you can voice that opinion in the Kuna Melba News. So, please, feel free to write a letter to the editor in favor of one candidate or the other. And please also tell us why.

Kuna boys soccer team tough enough to wear pink

The Kuna boys varsity soccer team’s Senior Night will be a home game at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29, against Nampa. The team decided to raise money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. In honor of the event, the boys will be wearing pink jerseys that night, and gate proceeds will go toward breast cancer research. The public is invited to attend, enjoy a good soccer game and help a worthy cause. “Every day, you hear about breast cancer,” said Kuna co-captain Riley Albers, who helped come up with the idea for the Pink Senior Night. “It’s a really big deal, and we want to bring awareness to it in any way we can.”

Head out to the Kuna FFA Auction tonight

The Kuna FFA Scholarship Auction is this tonight. The events start at 6 p.m. with a delicious pulled pork dinner. The silent auction will begin at 6:30, and the live auction at 7. The purpose of this event is to raise money that will be awarded in the coming year. Funds will be given to graduating seniors who apply for chapter scholarships at the end of the year, as well as members attending the Washington Leadership Conference next summer, which is held in the nation’s capital. This conference gives members a chance to develop leadership skills that they can apply to their FFA chapter. Money is also used for creed speaking awards and travel costs for State Leadership conference in Twin Falls and State CDE’s in Moscow.

Should Kuna Boys & Girls Club pursue one of the Kuna school buildings?

Indian Creek Elementary School or Ross Elementary School would be a good location for the Kuna Boys & Girls Club, Kuna school board chairman Jim Ford said last week at the Kuna Chamber of Commerce meeting.
The Kuna school district is putting forth several revenue-generating and cost-cutting ideas in light of projected budget cuts. The district is floating the idea of selling or renting out several school facilities, including Indian Creek and Ross, the Old Fourth Street Gym and Initial Point High School.
Meanwhile, a local steering committee has been working to build a permanent Boys & Girls Club in Kuna, as part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County. For the past three summers, hundreds of Kuna children have attended a temporary summer program located in Reed Elementary.
The local committee has secured donated land north of Boise Street and west of Linder Road, but the proposal has run into roadblocks in the approval process.
The Kuna Steering Committee has not been approached by the School District about the possibility of a lease or purchase of any of its buildings, according to committee member Janis Dotson.

Kuna Lube ’N’ Go Classic Car Show will be Oct. 1

The 2nd Annual Kuna Lube ’N Go Classic Car Show will be on Saturday, Oct 1, starting at 3 p.m. in the Kuna Lube ’N Go parking lot, 564 E. Avalon St. Come on down and enjoy an afternoon of classic cars and trucks. For information and registration of your classic vehicle, call Travis at 922-9600.

Kuna Grange bake sale is at the Kuna Farmers Market tomorrow

The Kuna Grange will have a Baked Food Sale at Kuna Farmers Market on Saturday, Oct. 1. The market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at the Col. Bernard Fisher Veterans Memorial Park.

Kuna state championship football team to have reunion

The 1991 Kuna High state championship football team will have a 20-year reunion at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14, at the Kuna High School football field. Meet at the football field for an event recognition, then stick around to watch the current Kuna High school football team play at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Shawn Samson, 830-1959.

Kuna school district begins public outreach program

The Kuna school district has begun its public outreach campaign to alert the community of what it sees as an impending financial crisis.
Kuna school board chairman Jim Ford spoke before the Kuna Chamber of Commerce on Thursday about the district’s financial outlook.
“We’re not talking about all the little stuff. We’re talking a million dollars here, a million dollars there,” Ford said. “We already did all the little stuff.”
Ford painted a broad picture of the current school district situation. He highlighted the positives that the district has achieved: 91.4 percent of Kuna students reading at or above grade level, 93 competitive courses offered.
But he was there to talk about less savory topics: six of the 10 teachers who left the Kuna school district this year went to the Boise school district to earn $6,000 more per year, class sizes have gone up this year to as many as 44 students per class at the high school, including one class in which his own granddaughter sits on the floor. In addition, the state is proposing to cut the per-pupil funding formula next year the equivalent of another 20 teachers.
And the projections over the next five years show continued decreases in funding, Ford said.
The school district already has cut administrators, teachers and other employees across the board and cut pay by furloughing employees across the board. The district is spending a $600,000 federal grant to change out more efficient lights that will save money, and has cut back on fertilizer on lawns, cut office and school supplies, shut down individual classroom refrigerators and is considering where to cut back on lawn watering.
The district also has eliminated half-day kindergarten, imposed a student parking fee at the high school as well as activity participation fees at the middle and high schools.
Ford said that it has gotten to the point now that the district must make big changes, wholesale changes, in order to make ends meet, keep teachers, pay them more, buy new textbooks and replace old and deteriorating equipment. Some of the options that the district is seeking feedback on include:
• going to a year-round school system. Ford said this would allow the district to pay teachers more for working 12 months a year and cut back on the number of teachers who would be able to teach more students.
• selling, renting or leasing out Indian Creek Elementary, Ross Elementary, the Old Fourth Street Gym or Initial Point High School. Ford said that one of the buildings, possibly Indian Creek Elementary, would make a wonderful Boys & Girls Club, for example. One of the buildings could be sold to Falcon Ridge Charter School for use as their permanent building, he said.

First-place plaque arrives in the mail

Our first-place NNA award arrived in the mail this week. We received this award for our story on whether the kindergarten schedule in Kuna is working. This is a national award from the National Newspaper Association. We have now earned four national first-place awards and four statewide first-place awards.

Leffler withdraws from Kuna mayor's race

Shirley Leffler has withdrawn from the race for Kuna mayor, just a few days after filing her declaration of candidacy.
Leffler, the owner of Cowgirls, filed her paperwork on Friday, Sept. 9, just under the deadline, and announced that she had withdrawn on Wednesday, Sept. 14.
At the time, she and incumbent Mayor Scott Dowdy were battling for first place in a Kuna Melba News poll.
By Thursday morning, Dowdy and Leffler had received 181 votes each.
“I am very proud of the people's turn out to show they wanted change,” Leffler wrote in an email to the Kuna Melba News on Wednesday.
Leffler did not give a reason for withdrawing but it apparently had to do with the location of her primary residence. Candidates for city office are required to have lived within city limits for at least 30 days prior to declaring for candidacy.
On her declaration of candidacy, Leffler listed her address as 2371 N. Alcorn Place, in the Chapparosa subdivision within city limits. But a white pages listing gives 5125 Roy Drive, off McDermott Road in Nampa, as her home address, and in other business filings, Leffler has listed 5125 Roy Drive as her residence.
When asked by the Kuna Melba News on Tuesday if 2371 N. Alcorn Place were her primary residence, Leffler answered yes and she said that she had lived there for the past two years.
Deputy city clerk Chris Engels said that the city was investigating whether one of the candidates had a primary residence within the city limits. She declined to say which candidate.
Leffler’s decision to withdraw leaves three candidates for mayor.