Owyhee Avalanche

01/13/2026

HHS girls' JV season cancelled
Citing injuries and "other unforeseen circumstances," Homedale High School athletic director Casey Grove announced Tuesday that the remainder of the girls' basketball junior varsity season has been cancelled.
Tonight's home varsity game against 4A Snake River Valley conference rival Fruitland will tip off at 7 p.m.
The conference game against Cole Valley Christian in Meridian on Friday will start at 6 p.m.
The Trojans' Senior Night game on Saturday, Jan. 24 against Payette will tip off at 7 p.m. Recognition of the teams' upperclassmen will be held at 6:30 p.m.

01/12/2026

Injuries hit Homedale girls' basketball
A wave of injuries have caused an alteration in the Homedale High School girls' basketball schedule.
Athletic director Casey Grove announced Tuesday's 4A Snake River Valley conference JV game against Fruitland has been cancelled.
The varsity game will start at 7 p.m., inside the HHS gymnasium.
The Trojans have cancelled their past two JV games, including Saturday's home contest against McCall-Donnelly.
According to the weekly schedule Grove issues, the Trojans are still planning to play a JV game at 6 p.m., on Friday in Meridian against Cole Valley Christian.

01/10/2026

Update from Homedale Police on Saturday incident at Albertsons:

01/07/2026

HHS wrestlers to compete in front of student body
A new Man vs. Beast traveling trophy will be up for grabs Wednesday, Jan. 14 when rival high school wrestlers from Homedale and Fruitland lock up in an inaugural matinee inside the Homedale High School gymnasium in front of the school's student population.
Learn more at www.owyheeavalanche.com and in the Jan. 14 edition of The Owyhee Avalanche.

01/07/2026

What to look for in this week's edition of The Owyhee Avalanche:
• County takes another shot at stemming fair lot flooding

• Same irrigation directors set to start one-year terms

• Murphy's unique status as census-designated area frustrates efforts to get water system funding

• Two HHS wrestlers claim Rollie Lane Invitational medals

01/07/2026

Death notices and/or obituaries found at www.owyheeavalanche.com and in this week's The Owyhee Avalanche:

Eugene "Gene" Ciricao Bates
Ontario, Ore.
Lived in Homedale until third grade

Richard Philip Boulter
a k a "Rick," "Ricardo," and "Flip"
Marsing

Christina Marie "Tina" Huttash
Nampa
Owyhee County ties

Dennis William Kelley
Greenleaf
Horse trader with Owyhee County ranchers, Simplot feedlot in Grand View

Joan Carol Klein
Nampa
Grew up in Homedale

Marilyn Sue McGuire
Greenleaf

Blaine Guy Murdock "Guy"
Parma
Homedale care center resident

Michael R. Pearson
Homedale
Former standout HHS athlete

01/06/2026

CORRECTION: Commissioners to discuss land sale
A special Board of Owyhee County Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m., on Thursday outside Marsing.
According to the agenda, Dist. 1 Commissioner Walt Holton (R-Marsing) and Dist. 2 Commissioner Kelly Aberasturi (R-Homedale) will meet at the Van Es Dairy, 8222 Desert Dr., in the Marsing area, to perform a site visit of the county's Elephant Butte property.
According to County Clerk Angie Barkell, the meeting with local dairyman Dale Van Es is to analyze the man's desire to purchase another part of the county's 1,200-acre property at Elephant Butte. Van Es purchased another piece of the parcel earlier.
An earlier Avalanche post had an incorrect date for the special meeting and conflated the site visit with the commissioners' Dec. 22 discussion about possible relocation of the county fairgrounds from Homedale to Elephant Butte.
Barkell said the relocation idea isn't a new concept.
More on the fairgrounds relocation discussion is the topic of an article in this week's Avalanche.

01/06/2026

About the Dec. 31 The Owyhee Avalanche front page
Homedale Police and Owyhee County Sheriff's personnel took county children to a Walmart in Nampa for the annual Shop With a Cop before Christmas.
In the main front page photo for the Dec. 31 edition of The Owyhee Avalanche, HPD officers Kevin Bean and Liset Llamas were identified; however, as Sheriff Larry Kendrick pointed out after publication, there are two OCSO deputies in the photo, too.
Brant Monahan, OCSO's school resource officer based in Grand View, and dispatcher Inez Larrusea are pictured.
Monahan and Larrusea joined Kendrick, another dispatcher and Dist. 8 state Sen. Christy Zito (R-Hammett) to lead other Owyhee County children during the Dec. 13 event.

01/06/2026

Officials are warning folks that scammers may be impersonating Owyhee County personnel, adding that no county employee will ever contact a person to collect outstanding fees.

*****FRAUD ALERT*****

We have been notified that scammers are gleaning information from our website and using it in an attempt to scam residents for fees associated with their business dealings with the County.

WE DO NOT request fees by email for payment by wire transfer. NOT NOW and NOT EVER!!!

If you receive any email requesting payment, please verify with the County department where you are doing business by calling the department directly. Please flag the email as fraud with your email provider.

SPOT THE RED FLAGS

1. False Urgency: Scammers use threatening language (e.g., "account suspended," "act now") to make you panic and bypass critical thinking.

2. Suspicious Sender Address: Hover over the sender's name to see the actual email address. Look for subtle misspellings (e.g., micros0ft.com instead of microsoft.com) or generic domains like .com for official business.

3. Vague Greetings: Legitimate companies typically address you by name. Be wary of generic openings like "Dear Valued Customer".
Unusual Requests: Be skeptical of requests for sensitive data, such as passwords, Social Security numbers, or payments via non-standard methods like gift cards.

4. AI-Enhanced Quality: While poor grammar used to be a hallmark, AI now allows scammers to create perfectly written, professional-looking emails. Rely on other signs like the sender's domain and link destinations.

5. Avoid Attachments: Never open unexpected files, especially .exe, .zip, or .scr types, which often carry malware.

6. Independently Verify: If an email seems important but suspicious, do not reply or use the contact info in the email. Instead, contact the organization directly using a verified phone number or website you found yourself.

7. Disable Auto-Load Images: Scammers use hidden pixels in images to track when you open an email, confirming your address is active. Disable this feature in your email setting