Four Sun Valley Community School Students Earn Accolades
Sun Valley Community School announced that four Upper School students recently earned accolades.
Sophomore Ethan Hunt and freshman Emma Desserault recently performed at the Jerry Herman Broadway Legacy Concert at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum, alongside Broadway actors.
This performance earned them each a scholarship from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Both students are members of the school’s Creative Arts Academy.
On Jan. 28, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo announced the nominations to U.S. Military Academies for the 2019-20 school year.
Senior Joe Hall secured a nomination for the U.S. Naval Academy and senior Hunter Diehl secured a nomination for the U.S. Air Force Academy. Their applications are now receiving consideration by these U.S. academies, where final decisions will be made.
“I am very proud of all four students,” said Head of School Ben Pettit. “The scholarships and the Congressional nominations are the result of hard work and dedication during their time here Sun Valley Community School. I wish them the best of luck and cannot wait to see the great things they will accomplish.”
Volunteers From All Corners Of Idaho Cram Capitol On Medicaid Expansion Day
More than 100 Reclaim Idaho volunteers from towns and cities all across Idaho landed at the State Capitol on Monday, Feb. 4, to meet with state legislators and call on them to fund the Medicaid Expansion law without changes, according to a press release from Reclaim Idaho.
Organizers booked meetings with 42 state legislators representing more than two dozen of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. Among the half-dozen speakers at a noontime gathering on the Capitol steps was Twin Falls businesswoman Liyah Babayan and District 26 State Representative Muffy Davis of Ketchum.
“As a legislator in a state that passed Medicaid Expansion with nearly two-thirds of the vote, my job is pretty clear,” said Davis. “The people of Idaho want a clean Medicaid Expansion program without conditions, restrictions or anything else that will put up barriers to coverage. I know a mandate when I see one. That’s why my number one goal for this session is to ensure Medicaid Expansion is funded and implemented in Idaho the way the voters wanted it.”
The Medicaid Expansion “mandate” came in November when Idaho voters passed Proposition 2 with 61 percent of the statewide vote.
Four Community School Student-Athletes Compete In Junior World Cross-Country Championships In Lahti, Finland
Sun Valley Community School announced in a recent press release that junior and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation athlete Johnny Hagenbuch took gold as part of the U.S. Men’s Junior Worlds Team in the U20 men’s 4×5-kilometer relay in the final event of the FIS Junior World Cross-Country Championships in Lathi, Finland.
This is the best ever Junior World Championship result of a U.S. Men’s Team, surpassing the silver medal won in Goms, Switzerland, in 2018.
Joining Hagenbuch in Finland were fellow student-athletes Sydney Palmer-Leger, Sophia Mazzoni, and Bentley Walker-Broose. Walker-Broose is Australian, so his qualifications were based on Australian criteria.
Palmer-Leger was part of the U.S. U20 women’s 4×3-kilometer relay that placed fourth out of 14 teams, 40.5 seconds behind the winning Norway team. She also placed 20th for 5K Skate and 25th for Classic Sprint overall. Mazzoni finished 49th overall in the Classic Sprint and 10th for U18 girls, and in the 15k Classic she finished 48th overall and 10th for U18 girls.
2019 marks Hagenbuch’s and Palmer-Leger’s second appearance in Finland. In 2018, the two traveled to Vuokatti, Finland, to compete as part of the 12-member Team U.S.A. at the U18 Nordic Nations Championship. Both competed in three events and skied away with outstanding results. Hagenbuch is also the 2017 U.S. Junior National U16 Cross-Country 5K Classic Champion and the U.S. Junior National U16 Cross-Country Relay Team Champion.
National Geographic WILD And Sun Valley Film Festival Launch Sixth Annual WILD To Inspire Short Film Contest
National Geographic WILD, the network synonymous with exploration of the world’s wildest places and animals, and the Sun Valley Film Festival, presented by Ford, announced in a recent press release the sixth annual WILD to Inspire contest, an open call for short films by U.S. filmmakers.
The top finalists will screen their films at the Sun Valley Film Festival, where one lucky grand prize winner will be chosen to receive $1,000 and a National Geographic Expedition to explore wildlife and wild places up close alongside Nat Geo Explorers.
U.S. residents are invited to submit a short film of three minutes or less using the platform Submittable.
Films should feature an everyday explorer and/or inspire others to become everyday explorers. The top finalists, announced in early March, will receive an invitation to attend the Sun Valley Film Festival in Sun Valley, Idaho, March 13-17, to screen their films for festival attendees, a panel of judges and Nat Geo WILD executives. The winner will be announced at the festival’s closing ceremony and will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and a National Geographic Expedition.
The submission period is open now through March 1. The contest is open to U.S. residents, and all entries must be under three minutes (multiple entries are allowed). To view all WILD to Inspire contest rules, regulations and prizing, visit wildtoinspire.submittable.com.
Stanley Ranger Station Closed For Renovation
The U.S. Forest Service announced in a press release that the Stanley Ranger Station is currently closed to the public.
The ranger station is undergoing much needed repairs to the office. The parking lot is being plowed and portable toilets are being serviced.
Employees are working remotely from other offices on the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and the public is encouraged to contact the Sawtooth NRA headquarters office at (208) 727-5000.
It is expected that the office will re-open in late February.
NAMI-WRV Announces Additions To Program Staff
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of the Wood River Valley (NAMI-WRV) announced in a recent press release the appointment of new staff.
Justin Rujawitz is the acting state preventative medicine officer for the Idaho Army National Guard Medical Detachment Unit, working to ensure those serving get both their physical and mental needs met.
Rujawitz further supports those in the military through his role with Higher Ground Sun Valley as a military program specialist, serving veterans with an array of traumas through recreational therapy. Rujawitz joins NAMI-WRV as activities coordinator, where he will work closely with youth, peer-to-peer support groups, and The Bluebirds to coordinate after-school activities in the community.
Brittany Shipley also joins NAMI-WRV as program coordinator, and will be working to design, coordinate and implement a variety of programs with an emphasis on NAMI-WRV’s teens in The Bluebirds group.
Shipley is a social work student with Boise State University with an emphasis on advocacy and policy work. As a graduate from Partners in Policymaking and years of experience working with individuals with both developmental disabilities and mental health conditions, she is well versed in the realm of navigating services, parent advocacy, policy implementation, and has taught several classes to help support and educate others on topics such as accessing Medicaid-based services.
ITD Expands Outreach With First-Ever Podcast
Utilizing a new and more modern communication tool to expand outreach to the driving public prior to major commute impacts on Interstate 84, Idaho Transportation Department’s GARVEE and Communication offices recently collaborated to launch an ITD podcast according to a recent press release. The intent of this innovation is to reach a different audience than television, radio, or other traditional media.
The initial focus of the podcast is on widening I-84 in Canyon County. Future podcasts will address significant milestones and upcoming traffic switches as the work in the Nampa-to-Caldwell corridor kicks into high gear later this summer and for the next few construction seasons.
The I-84 corridor team brainstormed the podcast idea back in 2018 and began to work on the first few podcasts late last year. Communication manager Vince Trimboli emcees the podcast and brings on various guest experts to discuss specific topics.
You can listen to the first podcast on YouTube.
The podcast name “Drive Idaho” was chosen because it represents what the department does every day, and can be used statewide.
Dr. Natalia Kanem To Present Family Of Woman Film Festival’s POV Breakfast
The 12th annual Family of Woman Film Festival announced that Dr. Natalia Kanem, this year’s Bonni Curran Memorial Lecture keynote speaker, has agreed to also lead a discussion at a POV breakfast for Festival donors of $500 and above.
Dr. Kanem is the executive director of UNFPA, the United Nations agency for reproductive health and rights, and Under-Secretary of the United Nations.
Dr. Kanem’s keynote address, at 6 p.m. at The Community Library on Tuesday, Feb. 26, is free to the public and will be on the festival theme, “Women Still Waiting for Change.”
Her POV breakfast, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, will focus on UNFPA’s humanitarian relief in crisis situations; namely, UNFPA’s work training midwives in Yemen. A second POV breakfast will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28, with two speakers from Tostan, an organization working to empower communities in West Africa.
Information on attending these breakfasts can be found at familyofwomanfilmfestival.org.
