Is Castleford native Marty Becker the most popular veterinarian in America? ... If not, I'd sure like to know who is ...

Becker, 54, has been the veterinary contributor to ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" for more than a decade ... He's had his own PBS special, "The Pet Doctor with Marty Becker," appears on cable TV's Animal Planet, and is a frequent guest on national network and cable TV and radio shows ...

His newspaper column, "Pet Connection," is distributed internationally by the Universal Press Syndicate, and has been a contributing editor for Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy and has written for Reader's Digest ...

A resident of Bonners Ferry, Becker is an adjunct professor at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine - his alma mater - and at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine ...

Author of the fastest-selling pet book in history, "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul," Becker (with co-author Gina Spadafori) has written two other best-sellers: "Why Do Dogs Drink Out of the Toilet" and "Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?" Most recently, Becker and Spadafori recently released three books: "Why Do Horses Sleep Standing Up," "bowWOW" and "meowWOW" ...

A 1972 Castleford High graduate who had a veterinary practice in Twin Falls until the mid-1990s, Becker also been featured on NBC, CBS, CNN, PBS, BBC, "Unsolved Mysteries" and in USA Today, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Washington Post, Life, Newsweek, Forbes, Better Homes & Gardens, People, Parade, Prevention, Christian Science Monitor, Woman's Day, Woman's World, National Geographic Kids, National Geographic Traveler, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Redbook, Parents, Shape, Star, Men's Health, US Weekly, National Inquirer, Cooking Light, Bottom Line and Natural Health ...

He's been married to the same woman for 29 years and they live with their two children and dogs, horses and cats on a spread called the Almost Heaven Ranch ...

IT WAS A VOTE that would have warmed the heart of recently departed former Blaine County commissioner Rupert House, who was appalled at the touristization of his community ...

In an online poll, readers of the Ketchum-based Idaho Mountain Express overwhelmingly said the county should not change its name to Sun Valley County. Eighty-three percent voted no ...

Current County Commissioner Larry Schoen had requested the newspaper run the poll ...

"The rich heritage of this county was not founded on Sun Valley nor the resort business industry," Bellevue resident Cathy Zaccardi told the paper ... "We, Blaine County citizens, are subjected to enough criticism and are all lumped in with the rich and spoiled." ...

Steve Crump is the Times-News Opinion editor.

Do say so If it's odd, quirky, funny, sad or weird and it happens in south-central Idaho, I want to hear about it. Call me at 735-3223, or write scrump@magicvalley.com.