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MagicValley.com

Good Morning

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A chilly day with variablycloudy skies. Details: CC8

November 12, 2006

$1.50

Yesterday’s Maximum 93%Yesterday’s Minimum 22%Today’s Maximum 59%Today’s Minimum 32%

6 pm barometerYesterday 29.93 in.

SEE MAGIC VALLEY, B1

S U N D A Y

Business and Service directory .D17Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D5-20Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D14Dear Abby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E5Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E3Magic Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B1Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C3-4Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2-4Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A14-15Stork Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E3Su|do|ku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D9Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .G1-4

Index

SO MUCH MORETHAN SWINGS

Twin Falls family builds

palatial play set.SEE FAMILY LIFE, E1 SEE MONEY, A9

SEE SPORTS, C1

Holy Land losing its

ChristiansPockets of Christianity dwindling

throughout the Muslim world

By Brian Murphy Associated Press writer

BETHLEHEM, West Bank— The death threat came onsimple white fliers blowingdown the streets at dawn. Agroup calling itself “Friendsof Muhammad’’ accused alocal Palestinian Christianof selling mobile phonescarrying offensive sketchesof the Muslim prophet.

The message went on tocurse all Arab Christians andPope Benedict XVI, stillstruggling to calm Muslimoutrage from his remarks onIslam.

While neighbors defend-ed the merchant — sayingthe charges in the flier werebogus — the frightenedphone dealer went into hid-ing, feeling less than satis-fied with authorities’ con-clusion that the Oct. 19 notewas probably a harmless rant.

Now the dealer is thinking of going abroad.Call it part of a modern exodus, the steady

flight of the tiny Palestinian Christian minor-ity that could lead, some predict, to the faithbeing virtually extinct in its birthplace withinseveral generations — a trend mirrored inmany dwindling pockets of Christianityacross the Islamic world.

Twin FallsBy Jared S. HopkinsTimes-News writer

Twin Falls is getting bigger — much,much bigger. Last year, the population

in Twin Falls grew 4.2 percent.Single-family homes are

sprouting up acrossthe city, but it is

n o r t h w e s tTwin Falls

— the area along Pole Line Road —that perhaps best illustrates the chang-ing environment. With plans alreadyset in motion for a new high school, anew hospital and a shopping centerthat will include Wal-Mart, the land-scape is changing rapidly.

The accompanying map details eachnew development and what stage it isin, as explained by both city staffand private developers.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

1. St. Luke’s Magic Valley Regional Medical Center and

North Point Park (planned unit development)

40 acres and 15.4 acres, respectively.

Currently waiting to be annexed. Thehospital, which is being designed byHummel Architects, and North Point Park,which is represented by Gerald Martens ofEHM Engineering, are being consideredjointly because North Point Park will housemedical businesses. The city’s Planning &Zoning Commission withheld the annexa-tion in September because of traffic con-cerns. The earliest the issue can be heardagain is Dec. 12 because public notices tonearby property owners have not beenmailed, according to the city.

2. North Haven80 acres

Has been annexed and currently needsto be recorded (see explanation below)with the county. The applicant, Martens ofEHM Engineering, has one year to recordthe plat, which received final approval fromthe Twin Falls City Council in September.The property is expected to be recorded bythe end of the calendar year. Wal-Mart willbe one of the tenants, but the corporationcannot officially be part of the city until theland is recorded. Once it is recorded, con-struction can begin.

“As far as the city goes, Wal-Mart is notinvolved yet,” the city CommunityDevelopment Director Mitch Humble said.

3. New high school 80 acres

Currently needs to be annexed. An annexationrequest was submitted Nov. 2, and HummelArchitects — the same firm designing the hospital— is scheduled to make a presentation Nov. 28 tothe Planning and Zoning Commission. A portion ofthe plot is expected to be sold. Once annexed, theplat must be recorded. The Twin Falls SchoolDistrict hopes construction will begin next summer,Humble said.

A road, tentatively named Wendell Road, willdivide North Haven and North Point Park but itsexact alignment is the main reason for the delay.

4. West Park Commercial90 acres

Ready for construction and currentlybeing sold off privately. Martens of EHMEngineering said two-thirds of the plot hasbeen sold. Its final plat was approved bythe Twin Falls City Council in September2005 and was recorded by Twin FallsCounty in May. According to the city, anAmeriTel Inn will be built. Canyon CrestSteaks and Seafood will be built on CanyonCrest Road north of Montana Steak House.Its owner, Dan Willie, owner of the Oasisconvenience stores, said he expects to opennext September. There are also plans foroffice buildings and high-rise condominiumbuildings, but dates could not be confirmed.

6. Cheney RoadHumble said this road will eventually

expand east through Washington StreetNorth and there are “some talks” of theintersection having a traffic light andCheney Road curving toward NorthCollege Road. This will close the east side ofNorth College Road.

“I think Cheney will continue east ofWashington someday, but exact alignmentis far from being finalized,” Humble said.

POLE LINE ROAD

SNAKE RIVER CANYON

NORTH COLLEGE ROAD

FILER AVENUE

CHENEY DRIVE

WAS

HING

TON

GRAN

DVIE

W

LOCU

ST

5. Canyon Trails PUD54 acres.

Currently can be sold off. The appli-cant, engineer Gary Nelson of Twin Falls,received final approval from the Twin FallsCity Council in January and had the platrecorded with the county in September.No businesses are scheduled to open soonbecause no special-use permits have beensubmitted for approval, the city said.Nelson said he is in talks with prospectivebusinesses.

Recording land with TwinFalls County: Before a platis recorded, there must bea plan to perform the typi-cal city requests, such asplans for building roadsand accessing utilities.One option is for thedeveloper to simply buildthem, but the commonpractice in Twin Falls issomething like a financialguarantee, in which thedeveloper receives a bondthat acts as a promise.

“It’s just a matter of whena developer gets hismoney, really,” Humblesaid.

AAPP pphhoottoo

An Arab Catholic alter boy stands Oct. 22 during theSunday Mass at the Deir Al Latin Church in the villageof Beit Sahour, near the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

“Most of the Christians here are eitherin the process of leaving, planning to

leave or thinking of leaving.’’ — Sami Awad, executive director of a

Bethlehem-based peace group

Modernexodus

Dire predictionsabound. TheFranciscanFoundation forthe Holy Landsaid Christianscould become“extinct’’ in theregion within60 years.

Please see EXODUS, Page A3

Idaho elk stingleads to arrestsThe Associated Press

AVERY — Five huntersface thousands of dollars incivil fines and the loss oftheir hunting privileges afterbeing nabbed for theiralleged role in an illegal elk-killing operation in northernIdaho’s St. Joe River back-country.

Dubbed “OperationSnowball,’’ eight undercoverIdaho Department of Fishand Game wardens back-packed into the Snow PeakWildlife Management areasoutheast of Avery. Someposed as hunters to dis-cretely observe three WestVirginia residents and two

others from Idaho who havefor years been suspected ofkilling more elk than they’reallowed by law.

Arrested were WestVirginia residents Richard L.Eddy, John D. Mathews andC.W. Mathews, as well asAvery residents Buckner A.Moore and Michelle M.Castner. The five werecharged in 1st District Courtin Shoshone County with acombined 14 violations,including shooting from a public road, hunting elk without a tag and hunt-ing elk outside of the season.

Please see ELK, Page A3

Greg Rogers, businessadvocate, dies at 47By Chris SteinbachTimes-News writer

TWIN FALLS — Friendsremembered Greg RogersSaturday for his “enormoustalent.”

Rogers, regional economistfor Idaho Commerce andLabor, died Friday at his homein Hazelton. He was 47.

“No matter what you askedof him, he was always there.He was a real cheerleader for

our region,” said Jan Rogers,executive director of theSouthern Idaho EconomicDevelopment Organization.

“He was at the first meetingwith every company we’vebrought in,” she said. Theywere not related, but oftenworked together to recruitmany companies to the MagicValley.

As president and chief

“No matter what you asked of him, he was always there. He was a real

cheerleader for our region.”— Jan Rogers, executive director of the Southern

Idaho Economic Development Organization

Please see ROGERS, Page A3

BOING!BOING! Learn to avoid scams

MANUFACTURINGA special report.

T H E M A G I C O FT H E V A L L E Y

For stories coming upthis week in the Times-

News see page A2.

TOURING PERU

SEE TRAVEL, G1

CSI drops a thriller