NorthwestJuly 14, 2003

It seems paradoxical that in a state where the general economy rivals that of many Third-World countries there remains one little island of opulence, like Windsor Palace in the midst of a trailer park.

A five-day annual conference hosted by powerful New York investment banker Herbert Allen concluded last week at Sun Valley,

featuring a showcase of who's who in the nation's entertainment, technology and investment elite.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the tiny Friedman Memorial Airport was among the nation's leaders in private jet traffic. On Thursday, 70 such conveyances sat on the tarmac.

The 500 or so guests included Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Michael Eisner, Viacom Inc. Chairman Sumner Redstone, Interactive Corp.'s Barry Diller and billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

The locals -- the ones who applied for jobs enough in advance to be cleared by extensive background checks -- were reportedly raking in more than $1,000 as babysitters, chauffeurs and activity planners.

But there was a cost -- zipped lips.

"We have a community culture here of not talking about the celebrities and stars who come here," said Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau. "We have no maps to movie stars' homes. We respect the right to privacy, and that is one reason why Allen & Co. continues to come to Sun Valley every year."

Ordinary Idahoans, that is those of us who live in counties where 15 percent or more of our neighbors can't find jobs and where schools are cutting back on frills like textbooks, have long had a tenuous relationship with Sun Valley.

Sun Valley is a microcosm environment that seems to bear little resemblance to life in the rest of the state.

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Per capita income in Sun Valley is an irregular blip on the nearly flat heart monitor elsewhere. And while movie stars, politicians and industry giants abound there, the woman who won $150 in last week's Powerball drawing is the local celebrity in our town.

But when you strip away the money, the stars, the fancy restaurants and the expensive homes, Sun Valley is still just a dinky old town in Idaho, not much different from other dinky towns, like Grangeville.

Rich people flock to Sun Valley for things like mountain resorts, whitewater rafting, golf courses, a movie and opera house, ski hills, tennis courts and a gun club.

I could go right down that list and say, "Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep." Grangeville and surrounding Idaho County have got all of those things, too.

Just last week my son and daughter and I stumbled across a secluded mountain resort in the Idaho County backcountry where the caretaker met us with a shotgun and a Rottweiler named Bob. OK, so he was a little overcautious, but as he explained, "I thought you mighta been some of them damned Earth First!ers." He turned out to be a nice guy and offered to let us pitch our sleeping bags on his front porch.

Weekend entertainment here can include a bluegrass concert at the Kooskia Old Opera House, a pancake feed at the Grangeville Gun Club or a float down the Salmon River in inner tubes.

We don't have too many resident movie stars, but there is a guy in town who used to play guitar with Ernest Tubb.

So when it comes right down to it, there's not much difference between Sun Valley and Grangeville.

It's all a matter of perception.

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Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com

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