STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

District 26 legislators will entertain questions during two town hall meetings today in the Wood River Valley.

The first will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Ketchum’s Community Library. The second will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Town Center West building in Hailey.

The three will also hold court from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at The Manhattan Café in Shoshone. And they will meet with constituents at the Jerome Public Library from 12:30 to 2 p.m. that day.

On hand to discuss the current legislative session will be Rep. Jack Nelson and Rep. Ned Burns, along with Sen. Ron Taylor.

Among the things they could talk about is House bill 415, which would allow teachers and other school staff to carry guns in school—something the Idaho Association of School Resource Officers and the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association oppose.

Another bill up for debate is House bill 447, which would redirect $50 million in state funds to parents to pay for tuition at private and religious schools. House Bill 421 could make it illegal for same-sex couples to have children.

And the trio might be willing to address the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision on Friday to deny a petition seeking endangered species protection for gray wolves. The petition had been crafted because of aggressive wolf-killing laws in Idaho and Montana that allow hunters and trappers to kill an unlimited number of wolves.

Rep. Jack Nelson said he has introduced four preliminary bills for PERSI, the state retirement system. They will be introduced to the House Commerce and Business committee this week.