Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter announced the appointment today of Ryan Henson and Stephen Donahue to fill two vacancies on his hometown Star Fire District Commission. Those two appointees will in turn fill a third vacancy left by the recent resignations of all three previous commissioners.
Gunnar Howarth, John Miller and Jeff Sedivec resigned March 8 after disclosure of what they described as "budgeting errors, overspending, lack of oversight, revenue reductions, and failure to comply with adopted policy."
Ryan Henson is an attorney and business owner who has lived in Star since 2005.
Stephen Donahue is a United Airlines pilot and deputy chief of Caldwell Fire & Rescue. He previously worked as a firefighter in New York and Colorado and was deputy chief of the Star Fire Department from 1999 to 2009.
The Governor was required to fill two of the Star Fire District Commission's three vacancies under Idaho law. The Eagle Fire Protection District has been providing provisional fire services in Star during the interim.