Grand marshal of the  Wagon Days Big Hitch Parade this year will be Bob Rosso, whose Elephant's Perch sports store is located in the building that once was the home of Horace Lewis. Lewis was the original owner of the historic ore wagons, pulled by a 20-mule team, that conclude the parade each Labor Day weekend.

Rosso's story is a familiar one in Ketchum. "I had a friend who had spent a winter here and told me amazing stories about the incredible snow and blue skies. It sounded perfect," he said.

Even though he was a novice skier at the time, Rosso decided to come for the winter of 1972. He founded the Elephant's Perch in 1976, the year that it did not snow! The Wagon Days route goes past the building, and the parade was so small in the early years that the store sponsored a bicycle race around the block during a break.

Rosso and his wife, Kate, have been married since 1977 and have worked together in The Perch and on countless community events.

He was one of the founders of the Blaine County Recreation District and served over 20 years on the board of directors, the Boulder Mountain Tour from the very beginning, Sun Valley Mountain Guides in the 1970s, Ski Education Foundation Cross Country Ski Team with Rob Kiesel, and the free annual Adams Gulch Fun Run. He started the Backcountry Run for over 35 years now and has been involved every since!

He has also been on the Galena Advisory Committee for the historic cross-country ski lodge and trails north of town and the boards of the Wood River Community YMCA, Sun Valley Junior Hockey and the Community School.

Rosso has long been familiar with resort communities, and his grandparents owned a resort on Lake Tahoe at Meeks Bay for many years, starting in the 1930s.

"I'm always a proponent of special events, whether arts or sports or Wagon Days," he said. "Events are what make a resort community strong, Wagon Days is one of the best, and I am flattered to be honored."

"Bob Rosso is someone who gives back to his community," Mayor Nina Jonas said. "He has been a dedicated and tireless volunteer for the many causes he champions. I am happy we can honor him in this way."

Ketchum's Wagon Days celebration takes place every Labor Day weekend. A highlight is the Big Hitch Parade, which goes down Sun Valley Road past the Elephant's Perch to Main Street and is one of the largest parades in the Pacific Northwest without motorized vehicles.

Should drivers be allowed to use hand-held cell phones in Ketchum? 

Texting while driving is illegal in Idaho, but no laws are in place concerning talking on hand-held cell phones. We would like to hear from citizens as the city looks at formulating a policy on the use of hand-held cell phones while driving.

Idaho is the 37th state to outlaw text messaging while driving. The fine is $85. The "inattentive driving" law, rarely used for cell phones or texting, allows a fine up to $300 with the possibility of jail time.

The Idaho Transportation Department reported that electronic devices caused 27 percent of the state's distracted driving accidents in 2014. The Idaho text-messaging law calls for primary enforcement - meaning police need no other reason to stop and cite violators - but offenses are not moving violations. There are no points against the license.

In California, an estimated one in four car crashes involve cell phone use. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 were injured in crashes caused by distracted driving, which typically means using a cell phone. California's fine for texting or talking on a cell phone is $161.

After California banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, overall traffic deaths dropped 22 percent, deaths blamed on drivers using hand-held cell phones dropped 47 percent, and deaths among drivers using hands-free phones dropped at a comparable rate. There was a similar drop in the number of injuries.  

Here are some additional statistics from studies conducted by various organizations across the country:

• Texting is dangerous. The average time to read or type a text is 4.6 seconds. Just 3 seconds of texting while driving at 65 mph is equal to driving 100 yards, or the length of a football field, blindfolded.
• 20 percent of 18- to 20-year-old Idaho drivers think that texting makes no difference to their driving and 68 percent of those drivers are willing to answer incoming phone calls.The tasks associated with the use of hand-held phones, such as reaching for a phone and dialing, increase the risk of getting into a crash by three times.
• 43 percent of 25- to 39-year-old Idaho drivers use their phone regularly while driving

Many employers, including the city of Ketchum, are bringing about change by prohibiting employees from using cell phones while driving during work.  

How do you think Ketchum should address the situation? Please send your opinions to [email protected].

That's the idea behind Sun Valley Story Tours that began three years ago to show visitors the area and its history. Former Ketchum City Administrator Jim Jaquet, now retired and the unofficial chief tour guide, explained with a smile that he was looking for something to do with his extra hours. The town is the beneficiary. Jaquet is also a local Hemingway expert, telling anecdotal stories about the area and its famous residents in his unscripted tour.

The one-hour story tours take place aboard Mountain Rides buses leaving the Visitor Center at Sun Valley Road and East Avenue every Friday at 10:15 a.m. On the busiest Fridays, there are enough people to fill two buses. Reservations are not required, but you can sign up as far ahead as you like at the Visitor Center.

The tour goes along Main Street, past the Mercantile Building, built in 1887. It started out as the home of a general store serving miners and shepherds and subsequently has housed a bank, a clothing shop, a coffee shop and a restaurant. The route continues past the Ketchum Cemetery, where Ernest Hemingway is buried. It goes out Warm Springs Road past burned trees remaining from the 2007 Castle Rock Fire, to the origination point of a pipeline that once brought warm water from Guyer Hot Springs to a swimming pool at a downtown hotel.  The final course goes by the Warm Springs Lodge at the base of Bald Mountain, back to downtown Ketchum and on to Sun Valley, America's first destination ski resort.

Following the bus tour, visitors may follow the guide to the city-owned Ore Wagon Museum, located at Fifth Street and East Avenue and open for about a half hour after each tour. The museum houses the six original Lewis Fast Freight three-ton ore wagons used in the 1880s to haul ore from back country galena mines to the former Philadelphia Smelter on Warm Springs Road.  

The tours operate every Friday through Sept. 4.