Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two set to appear in Sunday’s Tribune.

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McCALL — An ordinance aimed at preventing propane explosions like one that killed a McCall man and critically injured his granddaughter in March will be heard by Valley County commissioners on Monday.

A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at 2 p.m. in the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade.

The ordinance would require all propane systems in Valley County to be built with protective equipment that helps prevent leaks stemming from falling snow cracking outdoor propane pipes.

“The intent of the whole thing is to just build propane systems that are safe and maintenance-free for secondary homeowners and the like,” McCall Fire & EMS Chief Garrett de Jong said.

The ordinance, which was drafted by the McCall, Donnelly and Cascade fire districts and propane providers, is also expected to go before city councils in McCall, Donnelly and Cascade this fall, de Jong said.

The current draft would require second-stage regulators to be placed on the gable end of roofs or a location approved by the local fire districts. Second-stage regulators are installed along the edge of homes and manage propane flows to appliances. The placement would help reduce the risk of snow shedding from roofs and damaging the regulators, de Jong said.

Snow shields would also be required over all regulators and piping to protect them from breaks caused by snow sliding or being shoveled off roofs and the pressure of built-up snow on the ground.

De Jong said he feels a responsibility to put a stop to propane leaks caused by snowfall for the safety of not just homeowners, but the community and first responders.

“If your house explodes because of propane, it’s not only your problem, it’s your neighbor’s problem, it’s a neighborhood problem and a community problem,” he said.

Last spring, snow slid off the roof of a home at 910 Fairway Drive in McCall and cracked propane lines along the edge of the home, according to the Idaho State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Leaking propane gas pooled in the crawl space, seeped up into the home through floorboards and was ignited by a furnace March 17, the fire marshal’s office said.

Jonathan “Rob” Field, 69, died in the blast, and Isabella “Bella” Field, 15, was critically injured.

The force of the blast threw debris more than 100 yards from the house, damaged nearby homes and sent up a smoke plume that could be seen throughout the city.

“I think we owe it to Mr. Field that passed away and his granddaughter to make it so it doesn’t happen again,” de Jong said.

— Drew Dodson, Star-News (McCall), Thursday

Chamber plans to build new park stage

KAMIAH — After consulting some local experts, the Kamiah Chamber of Commerce plans to remove the current dilapidated stage at Riverfront Park and replace it with a low maintenance design sometime next year.

“The chamber has been looking at the project for a while because the back poles were rotting out,” said Robert Simmons, former Chamber president and current member of the board of directors.

One of the problems with the construction of the stage was the use of red fir instead of cedar. Red fir tends to split and decompose quicker.

The chamber considered cutting the rotted ends of support beams and moving them in as an option to keep the structure viable. That option would have required independently bracing each pole. It was then discovered that the poles running up to the top of the stage were rotted out as well.

“The chamber has paid for it being resealed but the only problem is with it being red fir, when it cracks then it starts to rot out,” said Simmons. “It was pretty self-evident when you walked on the stage and you’ve seen the rotting pieces.”

Simmons said the structure is not hazardous at this time, but it will need to be taken down before winter.

“We know it has to come down, but we want something back up,” Simmons said.

The chamber has named this undertaking the Kamiah Riverfront Park Stage Revitalization Project.

— Ben Jorgensen, Clearwater Progress (Kamiah), Thursday