Helicopter rescue
On Labor Day morning, Monday, Sept. 5, Avery Shawler, a conservation planner living in Ketchum, was injured while climbing alone on Devil’s Bedstead at 11,865 feet in the Pioneer Mountains. Shawler reportedly fell nearly 60 feet down the cliff face. She is a certified SOLO Wilderness First Responder.
Two Bear Air Rescue, from Whitefish, Mont., received the call around 4:20 p.m. on Monday. The team was already in Idaho, helping with a search for a missing ATV rider near Lemhi. A Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter flew to Shawler’s location, 60 miles away, and inserted a rescue specialist on the cliff via the hoist. Shawler was severely injured, and suffering from hypothermia. She was hoisted into the helicopter, taken to St. Luke’s Wood River in Ketchum at 4:59 p.m., and then flown to the Trauma Center at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.
Shawler, who is originally from Cashiers, N.C., posted a photo of herself on Instagram from the hospital, saying, “So lucky and thankful to be alive after a big fall off a cliff at the Devil’s Bedstead East in the Pioneer Mountains yesterday. Amazingly, was able to dial 911 from where I fell (even though I have AT&T), stayed warm with an emergency blanket, and stopped the bleeding in my biggest cuts. Hour and a half later, the rescue helicopter found me and plucked me off the mountain in what must been the craziest hammock ride of my life. Despite the huge fall, I escaped with just four lacerations that required stitches, a fractured radius, a fractured patella, three fractured ribs, a puncture wound where I bit through my lip/chin, and a shattered cheekbone. No serious head or internal injuries.”
Shawler had three different surgeries. On Tuesday, she was released from the hosipital.
“I just want people to know they should be prepared when they are in the back country,” she said.
Shawler, whose company is Shawler Conservation Planning, works with the Idaho Conservation League, The Nature Conservancy, Wood River Land Trust and Lemhi Regional Land Trust, and area ranchers. A video of the rescue is below.
Join 5K Fun Run for housing assistance program
The Sun Valley Board of Realtors Community Foundation will launch its new veterans housing assistance program, 5B Realtors for Veterans, with a 5k Fun Run beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 at Lions Park in Hailey. Grumpy’s will provide a post-race lunch and Sawtooth Brewery will provide free beer.
A first-of-its-kind program in the Wood River Valley, 5B Realtors for Veterans will give 100 percent of the proceeds raised from the 5K Fun Run to sustainable housing for local veterans and their families.
According to the most recent U.S. Census, there are approximately 1,500 Blaine County veterans and an alarming number of them and their families live below the poverty line. Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that roughly 1.4 million veterans are deemed “at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.”
For more information about 5B Realtors for Veterans, and to register, visit www.5BVeterans.org or call (208) 726-7764.
Denise Simone to trade one stage for another
After 25 years helping to lead Company of Fools, founding member and Core Company Artist Denise Simone will step down from her full-time staff position on Oct. 31. Simone will instead refocus her professional life away from day-to-day management in favor of more artistically focused projects, such as an acting gig with Boise Contemporary Arts next year
“I will still live in the Valley I love and will look forward to working with the Fools as an artist,” Simone said. “John Glenn, my dear friend and colleague of over 28 years, will continue to lead the Company forward with purpose, grace and theatrical programming that touches our hearts and minds.”
One of the founding members of Company of Fools in 1992, in Richmond, Virginia, Simone moved to Hailey with her family in 1996 and relocated the theatre company to Idaho. Under her leadership, COF has produced more than 150 plays. It was the first theatre in Idaho to be awarded Constituent Theatre status by the national Theatre Communications Group, and received the 2004 Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Over the years, Simone has touched the lives of countless Wood River Valley residents as an arts educator. Thousands of Blaine County schoolchildren have benefited from her instruction in COF’s Stages of Wonder theatre arts and creativity program. Many others have enjoyed her dynamic teaching style in the COF’s adult acting classes and workshops. Simone’s many contributions to the arts were recognized by the State of Idaho in 2014 when she was named recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
A national search for an associate artistic director is underway, and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Company of Fools hope to announce a new member by late October.
Ice Dance collaborates with Higher Ground Sun Valley
Ice Dance International is in residence in the Wood River Valley, creating its new show “ICE/DANCE 2016” to premiere at the Sun Valley Ice Skating Center on Sept. 22.
During the residency, twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Ice Dance will collaborate with Higher Ground Sun Valley on a skating program for kids with special needs in the Wood River Valley. Company members and volunteers, including summer show favorites Kim Navarro, Brent Bommentre and Erin Reed, will participate in this enriching program teaching kids to skate, celebrating the joy of flow and glide, while sharing their love of dance on ice. Higher Ground participants will also get free seating at the premiere show.
When in residence, IDI hopes to give back to the communities that open their arms to the company. From public school programs in Portsmouth, N.H., to this program with Higher Ground Sun Valley, the company will share the joy of skating as a lifelong activity for all.
For tickets visit www.sunvalley.com.
Crisis Hotline welcomes Mary Austin Crofts
Mary Austin Crofts has joined the nonprofit Crisis Hotline team to assist with a wide variety of projects, including raising awareness and support.
“We are excited to have Mary’s expertise,” Sher Foster, Crisis Hotline executive director, said. “We are committed to serving people in crisis, 24 hours a day. Over the years, we have helped thousands of people and saved countless lives,” Foster added.
Crofts has had a very successful career raising awareness and funding for community projects and events. She spent 20 years as director of the Blaine County Recreation District and for the past seven years has been executive director of the Trailing of the Sheep Cultural Heritage Center.
“There are many ways to make a difference in today’s world,” Austin Crofts said. “The Crisis Hotline is saving lives – one of the most important ways to make a difference. I have always admired the work of the Crisis Hotline. I especially admire the work they are doing with students and our young people. I don’t think many people realize how many local students experience depression and suicidal thoughts. I am excited to help.”
The Crisis Hotline was founded in 1987 by a passionate group of caring individuals who made a commitment to helping people in crisis. For information, call (208) 788-3596.
Friedman Memorial Airport Art Committee seeks works for exhibition
The Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) Art Committee seeks artists to submit two-dimensional works for exhibition in the airport’s public spaces. The SUN Art exhibition will feature as many as 30 pieces of artwork that will be displayed Nov. 10- May 18. An independent jury consisting of representatives of the airport, the Hailey, Ketchum and Bellevue arts commissions, area galleries and local arts advocates will select the work. The upcoming show will be the fourth SUN Art exhibit installed in Friedman Memorial Airport.
The project is open to artists 18 years or older residing in Blaine County as well as all artists who create work that is inspired by central Idaho. There is no fee to apply, nor will an honorarium be awarded. The deadline to submit applications is Friday, Oct. 14.
For a copy of the call and the application, visit www.iflysun.com, www.haileycityhall.org or www.ketchumidaho.org.