Wednesday, May 14, 2025
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Full Send

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BY HARRY WEEKES

It is a midmorning Sunday in April. From where I am sitting, a male harrier is making tight circles, riding hidden thermals up the canyon and over the house. Magpies are moving between the junipers, where they are building one of their fabulously chaotic stick nests, and the nearby hills. On those hills is a small herd of mule deer working north. Some kind of chipmunk frantically cruises the backyard, poking his or her head out of the stone wall before showing up atop the sage. All of this is against a backdrop of bird song—house finches, song sparrows, spotted towhees and robins. This is literally right NOW.

If I aggregate the last couple of days, I would add the increased visibility and movement of ground squirrels; accidentally following a red-tailed hawk as it cruised over Indian Creek Road to its nest in the blue spruce outside my neighbors’ house; the return of the kestrels to the nestbox at the end of the driveway; flushing gray partridges from the trees by the garage; evidence (during raking) that the voles had a pretty good year feasting on what is now the remnants of my lawn; the great and small flocks of juncos and white-crowned sparrows; moving elk; and reports from the field of bobcats, fox, and more ground squirrels.

As though to intentionally add to the now, the local red-tailed just decided to explore our little canyon, much to the chagrin of the harrier, who spent the last five minutes in swooping bombardment. The avian message was clear and received—“Occupied.”
And that’s just the animals (and only some of them).

Coming home, in the afternoon light, the catkins on our aspens literally glow with fuzz. It’s about to be “sticky season” for anyone living even close to a cottonwood tree, and from the first full dandelion flowers I have seen, to beautiful spring-green shoots coming up, well, folks, it’s about to go full send.

OK, to be fair and more accurate, it’s not “go full send” it’s just “full send.”
Our natural world is about to send it. Big time.

The Rubicon has been crossed. The boats and bridges have been burned. The hunkering down next to the pond in a driving snow and freezing temperatures and wondering if, perhaps, this year you came back just a little bit early, is over.

It is time to buzz, whistle, and sing. It is time to put on colors, shake off four months of subterranean napping, and unfurl the leaves. It is time to lose that mangy coat, give birth to the babies that have been gestating all winter, and start putting some plusses in the pounds column. Push the roots down, pop the flowers up, and pass the appetizer trays of grass stems and emerging insects.

In the Pond Skim of life, the tentative turns at the top are giving way to the tuck in the middle. If you’re going to make, it’s time to send it.
There is no better season to show that we are animals, too. Bikers, walkers, hikers, and runners emerge like the harvester ants, warmed by the sun and abuzz with activity. Lunch moves outside, and so do the toes—flipflops adding their snappy little punctuation, as if to say, “Yep, it’s spring.”

And this is what commitment looks like in the natural world. What commitment feels like. Thousands and thousands of organisms seemingly celebrating that this is a wonderful place to be, to live.

I couldn’t agree more.

Harry Weekes is the founder and head of school at The Sage School in Hailey. This is his 53rd year in the Wood River Valley, where he lives with Hilary and two mini-Dachshunds. The baby members of their flock have now become adults—Georgia and Simon are fledging in North Carolina, and Penelope is fledging in Vermont.

Red Rover Red Rover Rollover

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BY SUZANNE HAZLETT, MBA, CIMA®, CFP®

“Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” – Dalai Lama

Suzanne Hazlett, MBA, CIMA®, CFP®, founder of HAZLETT WEALTH MANAGEMENT, is a Certified Investment Management Analyst® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional.

According to Reuters, layoffs announced by U.S. employers jumped 245 percent in February, with federal government job cuts leading the surge. Government agencies accounted for the bulk of these layoffs, with 62,530 federal workers dismissed in the first two months of 2025. That’s an increase of 41,311 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
For many Americans, employer-sponsored retirement plans represent the lion’s share of their savings strategy. But what happens when your employment ends?
You typically have four options for your account held in a former employer’s retirement plan:

  • Cash-out the account
  • Leave the money in the former employer’s plan if permitted
    Rollover the assets to a new employer’s plan if one is available
    Rollover the assets to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

Cashing out is called a distribution, and the plan administrator must withhold 20% of the distributed amount and send it to the IRS to be applied to the income tax. Also, if the distribution occurs before the plan’s retirement age, you will owe the IRS an additional 10% penalty for the early or premature distribution.

Leaving the money in your former employer’s plan may incur increased fees and expenses, limited services, and limited investment options. However, it would avoid tax implications and potentially protect the assets from creditors and legal judgments.

If allowed, rolling the assets to your new employer’s plan may also provide limited services but would also avoid tax implications and potentially protect the assets.

A rollover to an IRA opens the realm of investment possibilities. Fees and expenses would be specific to the custodian firm and investment product. Service options could be extensive. Protection from creditors and legal judgments would be state-specific.
Gathering all necessary information and reviewing the decision factors will help narrow the options that best serve your objectives.

Suzanne Hazlett, MBA, CIMA®, CFP®, is a Certified Investment Management Analyst® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional. Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Securities are offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss tax and legal matters with the appropriate professional. This information should not be construed as a recommendation. Investing involves risk, and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of the strategy selected. HAZLETT WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC is independent of Raymond James and is not a registered broker/dealer. 675 Sun Valley Road, Suite J1 + J2, Ketchum, Idaho, 83340 208.726.0605 HazlettWealthManagement.com

SONGS FOR THE SOUL

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BY JOELLEN COLLINS

Author and longtime Valley resident JoEllen Collins. Photo credit: JoEllen Collins

There are touching lyrics in “The Music Man,” by Meredith Willson, where Harold Hill, the protagonist, feels the true value of romance when he sings to the lovely librarian the song “Till I Met You.” A few days ago I heard it performed by a dynamic entertainer. Hill sings of “bells ringing” and “birds winging,” acknowledging that this love has given him an increased sense of the sweet details of nature and things around us we often ignore. He now fully notices these blessings he had missed “until there was you.” I have always been moved by this tender expression of love, but in a novel way my sense of pleasure was heightened by recent events.
My fellow residents and I listened to a favorite vocalist with a richly tender and yet full voice. We gathered late in the afternoon of Good Friday. Although I was missing my family and some of the Easter and Passover rituals I have known, I forgot that temporary loneliness in the stirring I felt when remembering that I had indeed been with someone who could feel that way from loving me. I might have suffered sadness at the loss of that love, but instead I felt a little smile at the memory of that relationship.
We all know that music opens intense emotions to remembrances sometimes bittersweet but certainly healthy. Oliver Sachs, my most admired medical hero, worked to see that music could be provided for often lonely and dependent victims of brain illnesses, in order to facilitate some pleasure from the sound and rhythms of music they had heard sung or simply loved before the disruption of brain challenges like dementia or Alzheimer’s. A documentary I just rewatched featured mostly speechless patients now moving to the beat in surprising ways and singing some of the lyrics. Some responded with a smile or a display of simple pleasure. After the lovely hour of music I enjoyed here, I turned around and saw a woman who had left us a few weeks ago. I was able to take her hand in mine and, with a true sense of joy, let her know how happy I was to have her back. Music helps community.
At least three times a week we are given these melodic treats of varying styles: some foot-tapping good country music, some old and beloved show tunes and even classical pieces, often with varied instruments. After one gig I caught myself on a walk with my doggie, singing to the woods, “It Had to be You.” I am fortunate that my fellow residents understand how important it is to sit together, sing along, grin or perhaps weep, but be able to feel and express our valid emotions. A fine gentleman near me said he wasn’t embarrassed to shed some tears.
I always hoped that when I grew old I could recall a life filled with positive events, good people, lots of love, and a sense of having lived fully, whatever events—good or bad—had occurred. From lullaby to lament, music takes me there.

The Selection Of Perfection

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By Dove

We are blessed to live in a place where nature is at its best. Easy access to nature is available and one can readily walk away from all the electronics and distractions. You can find a tree in the quiet and sit under it, receiving its energy and sharing yours. You can take a hike on the mountain across from your house and notice the beautiful spring flowers just peeking out from the earth. I marvel at the perfection that nature, source, can create, such as blossoms on flowers that have such perfect symmetry. I ask, where did such beauty come from in the wild? No one planted it there—it just appeared in all its perfection.
I decided to take a day to reflect on the things in my life I perceive as perfection. They do not have to be perfect in shape or color or placement, just perfect in their own beauty. They must take my breath away just as they are. Simple or not, complex or not, they just are, but they make me feel that everything is perfect at just this moment of time.
I have a sky chair I love to sit in with the sun shining on my face and bare feet. I adsorb the rays and feel peaceful. I watch the bunnies out searching for treats and observe all the amazing birds on their daily rounds. When I focus on the perfection of all that is, I come to a place of inner peace. The goal is to keep myself there all through the day. Nature can do that for you.
I guarantee the news, or your phone, will never bring that type of peace to your soul. I limit myself to the amount of energy from outside sources I embrace. I am trying to train myself to only interact with those things that lift my vibration and that is taking a lot of discipline and soul searching on my part. It is so easy to get distracted from what really matters.
Having to get new cellphones and computers last week caused a huge learning curve that I didn’t want to take and I found it very hard to keep my inner peace while doing so. However, all one has to do is go out in nature and absorb the energy coming from the earth and all the challenges of the electronics fade in comparison to the perfection from nature.
Make a list of the things in your life that feel like perfection that you wouldn’t change a thing. Let that be your focus and create inner peace to dwell upon. It feeds your soul. If you are looking for the perfection of life, it will find you and you can tell what that is because it always fills your heart with love. Blessings, Dove

Maybelline And Scoot

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Bryce Angell – The outdoors has always been a large part of my life. My father was an outfitter and guide for 35 years and I was there to shoe and care for the horses and help him do the cooking. We took many great trips into the Yellowstone area. Even now that I’m older, we still ride into the Tetons, Yellowstone and surrounding areas. My poems are mostly of personal experience. I am now retired and enjoying life to the fullest. I plan to do more riding and writing.

Maybelline was a pretty blonde with four white stocking feet. And Scoot, an older gelding whose good sense was hard to beat.
Well, Maybelline and Scoot were down in Goblin Valley way. The trail was long and winding. They’d be gone most of the day.
Maybelline said, “Scoot, I’d like to make a small request. I see it’s almost lunchtime and these cowboys need a rest.”
Then Scoot replied, “I guess you’re right. These cowboys like to eat. We’ll stop here for an hour; get them off the saddle’s seat.”
Two cowboys stepped on down and moseyed over to the rocks. They pulled out fish and crackers from an overstuffed lunch box.
Then Maybelline said, “Scoot, do cowboys always eat canned fish? It’s all I’ve ever seen ‘em eat. Must be their favorite dish.”
Well, Scoot said, “Maybelline, a cowboy is a different lot. There’s no predicting what they’ll eat. Their stomachs must be shot.”
“And cowboys must be bashful, quite unlike both you and me. Each time that Mother Nature calls they go behind a tree.”
Then Maybelline said, “Scoot, you’re right. Sometimes they’re quite absurd. But my rider tells a story better’n any song I’ve heard.”
Scoot then smiled. “Well, Maybelline, does he stretch it just a bit? I heard my rider say to him, ‘I think you’re full of @#&*’!”
Both horses gave a belly laugh. The riders looked their way. Each rider shrugged his shoulders, said, “That was a funny neigh.”
Then Maybelline said, “Scoot, those cowboys really have no clue. ‘Cuz if they knew what we’d just said for sure we’d both be glue.”
Scoot said, “If it weren’t for us those cowboys would be lost. The best thing they’ve seen happen is when our paths were crossed.”
Maybelline said, “Scoot, those cowboys move just like a snail. Let’s get ‘em in the saddle ‘cuz it’s time to hit the trail.”
Then Scoot said, “Maybelline, I’ve sure enjoyed our ride today. We’ll get these cowboys back to camp. That’s where they keep the hay!”

– Bryce Angell

Should I Buy a Home Now or Wait?

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BY ANNA & MICHELLE

At some point, you’ve probably heard the saying: “Yesterday was the best time to buy a home, but the next best time is today.”
That’s because homeownership is about the long game – and home prices typically rise over time. So, while you may be holding out for prices to fall or rates to improve, you should know that trying to time the market rarely works.

Here’s what most buyers don’t always think about: the longer you wait, the more buying could cost you. And you deserve to understand why.
Forecasts Say Prices Will Keep Climbing

Each quarter, over 100 housing market experts weigh in for the Home Price Expectations Survey from Fannie Mae, and they consistently agree on one thing: nationally, home prices are expected to rise through at least 2029.

Yes, the sharp price increases are behind us, but experts project a steady, healthy, and sustainable increase of 3-4% per year going forward. And while this will vary by local market from year to year, the good news is, this is a much more normal pace – a welcome sign for the housing market and hopeful buyers (see graph below):

And even in markets experiencing more modest price growth or slight short-term declines, the long game of homeownership wins over time.

So, here’s what to keep in mind:
Next year’s home prices will be higher than this year’s. The longer you wait, the more the purchase price will go up.
Waiting for the perfect mortgage rate or a price drop may backfire. Even if rates dip slightly, projected home price growth could still make waiting more expensive overall.
Buying now means building equity sooner. When you play the long game of homeownership, your equity rewards you over time.

What You’ll Miss Out On

Let’s put real numbers into this equation, because it adds up quickly. Based on those expert projections, if you bought a condo at $400,000 in 2025, it could gain nearly $80,000 in value by 2030 (see graph below):


That’s a serious boost to your future wealth – and why your friends and family who already bought a home are so glad they did. Time in the market matters.
So, the question isn’t: should I wait? It’s really: can I afford to buy now? Because if you can stretch a little or you’re willing to buy something a bit smaller just to get your foot in the door, this is why it’ll be worth it.

Yes, today’s housing market has challenges, but there are ways to make it work, like exploring different neighborhoods, asking your lender about alternative financing, or tapping into down payment assistance programs.

The key is making a move when it makes sense for you, rather than waiting for a perfect scenario that may never arrive.

Time in the Market Beats Timing the Market.
If you’re debating whether to buy now or wait, remember this: real estate rewards those who get in the market, not those who try to time it perfectly.

Want to take a look at what’s happening with prices in our local area? Whether you’re ready to buy now or just exploring your options, having a plan in place can set you up for long-term success.

Fishing Report

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picabo angler
Hwy 20 in Picabo info@picaboangler.com (208)788.3536 www.picaboangler.com

The lower Lost River through Mackay continues to fish very well, but it’s a good idea to check river flows prior to making the trip. As of this writing, flows below the dam are hovering at 93 CFS. Once flows creep up towards 250–300 CFS, wading (and river access) becomes much more challenging. Nymphing is quite productive now, with standard patterns such as small Copper Johns, Rainbow Warriors, Brassies, Zebra Midges, Perdigons, and Pheasant Tails taking plenty of fish. Sizes 16–22 are most effective. Most afternoons see good Blue-Winged Olive activity, so anglers should be prepared with their favorite patterns (again, sizes 16–22).

Steelhead season on the Salmon River closes at the end of April, and anglers are reporting success on select days. Look for mild, overcast days, and be mindful of spawning fish and spawning redds. It’s more effective to fish egg-sucking leeches, stonefly nymphs, and black or purple woolly buggers through runs and pools.

Silver Creek downstream of the Highway 20 bridge continues to fish extremely well, with excellent streamer, BWO, and midge activity on the Creek. Remember that north of the Highway 20 bridge Silver Creek remains closed, but the downstream section is now open year-round.

Magic Reservoir, Little Wood Reservoir, Mackay Reservoir, Anderson Ranch Reservoir, and Carey Lake are all fishing well. Don’t forget your leech patterns for any of these fisheries.
Picabo Angler will host our annual Opening Weekend Party on Friday, May 23rd at 5 p.m., on the airstrip behind the shop. We’ll have live music, food, drinks, raffles, and booths from all our gear vendors. Don’t miss it!

Happy fishing, everyone!

HispaniChef SucceStory

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BY Jorge de la Torre

OUR VOICE COUNTS
As I went through my experiences in restaurants in Colorado, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Hawaii, there was always one great constant: Latinos working in the kitchen! Not only were they just working, but they were also often the backbone and best workers that I had the pleasure of working alongside with. I then went to be the dean at Johnson & Wales University (the first Hispanic dean in their 50 years!) and was able to mentor and teach thousands of students from all parts of the world.
The issue, though, was that the expense of the university was very limiting to many people and even though we excelled at having first-generation Latino university students, it was still a small number compared to the Latinos who were in the kitchens.
After leaving Johnson & Wales, I worked at Kitchen Network, which was a nonprofit to help refugees and immigrants start their food businesses. This is where I realized that no matter where you are from or what your language barrier might be, the kitchen is the easiest barrier of entry to a job that can have a future in the United States.
The majority of my clients were from Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras, and they all brought their fantastic skills of cooking, and what they needed was enough help to wade through the bureaucracy of starting a business. It was so rewarding because they were as hard working as I remember from my restaurant days and were a joy to help.
Moving to Sun Valley was of interest to me because I saw from my university and nonprofit experience that our apprenticeship program was the best mix of teaching and actual experience for the many Latinos that are in the area. Our program’s focus and curriculum sets our students on the path to starting a career in the culinary field no matter how long you have been in this country or your English proficiency. Fortunately, I am a gringo of two Bolivian parents who spoke to me in Spanish and my fluency has made it more comfortable for the Latino students that we have now from Mexico and Peru. Being successful in a culinary career does not hinge solely on being able to speak English and we at SVCI [Sun Valley Culinary Institute] do all possible so that we can work with students to be able to move forward.

NUESTRA VOZ CUENTA
Durante mi experiencia en restaurantes en Colorado, Nueva York, Filadelfia, San Francisco y Hawái, siempre hubo una gran constante: ¡los latinos trabajando en la cocina! No solo trabajaban, sino que a menudo eran la columna vertebral y los mejores trabajadores con los que tuve el placer de trabajar. Luego fui decano de la Universidad Johnson & Wales (¡el primer decano hispano en sus 50 años!) y pude ser mentor y enseñar a miles de estudiantes de todo el mundo.
El problema, sin embargo, era que el costo de la universidad era muy limitado para mucha gente y, aunque nos destacamos por tener estudiantes universitarios latinos de primera generación, seguía siendo un número pequeño en comparación con los latinos que estaban en las cocinas.
Después de dejar Johnson & Wales, trabajé en Kitchen Network, una organización sin fines de lucro que ayudaba a refugiados e inmigrantes a emprender sus propios negocios de comida. Aquí fue donde me di cuenta de que, sin importar de dónde seas o cuál sea tu barrera lingüística, la cocina es la vía más sencilla para acceder a un trabajo con futuro en Estados Unidos.
La mayoría de mis clientes eran de México, El Salvador y Honduras, y todos aportaban sus fantásticas habilidades culinarias. Lo que necesitaban era la ayuda suficiente para sortear la burocracia de emprender un negocio. Fue muy gratificante porque eran tan trabajadores como recuerdo de mi época en el sector restaurantero y era un placer ayudarlos.
Mudarme a Sun Valley me interesó porque, gracias a mi experiencia universitaria y en organizaciones sin fines de lucro, vi que nuestro programa de aprendizaje era la mejor combinación de enseñanza y experiencia práctica para los muchos latinos de la zona. El enfoque y el plan de estudios de nuestro programa encaminan a nuestros estudiantes hacia una carrera en el sector culinario, sin importar cuánto tiempo lleven en este país o su dominio del inglés. Afortunadamente, soy gringo de padres bolivianos que me hablaban español, y mi fluidez ha hecho que sea más cómodo para los estudiantes latinos que tenemos ahora, provenientes de México y Perú. Tener éxito en una carrera culinaria no depende únicamente de saber hablar inglés y en SVCI [Sun Valley Culinary Institute] hacemos todo lo posible para poder trabajar con los estudiantes para que puedan avanzar.

Baldy ends season with celebration

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River Run Day Lodge will host multiple season end celebrations. Photo Credit: Carol Waller

Sun Valley Closes Its 89th Season With Music, Spring Skiing

BY Mark Dee

Skier on top of Baldy. Photo Credit: Carol Waller

Sun Valley’s spring saw our home hill host the world’s best. Now, it’s ending the season with a weekend for the rest.
The resort wraps its 89th season with the Baldy Bash—complete with music, festivities, and, of course, spring skiing—at the Warm Springs base area on Saturday, April 19. Then, come back decked out in whatever costume you choose on Easter Sunday, April 20, for a proper closing day on Bald Mountain.
At press time, River Run was slated to close on Sunday, April 13, leaving the north-facing Warm Springs the only way up. Terrain will stay open as conditions permit, Jess Fiaschetti, a spokeswoman for Sun Valley Resort, told Wood River Weekly.
What is set are the bands for Saturday afternoon. Sun Valley-based Moonshine Schubert opens the après from 2–3:30 p.m. with his mellow take on beachy, reggae-inflecting alt-rock. From 4–5:50 p.m., the groove-heavy electric trio Cycles closes the show outside the Warm Springs Lodge with a free, jam-influenced style honed by more than 350 shows on the road.
“Drawing influence from artists such as Rage Against the Machine, J. Dilla, Primus, Weather Report, and many more, Cycles fuse an eclectic blend of genres to produce an original sound that has become harder and harder to find,” the resort says of its headlining act.
The show is free, no tickets required. Parking is limited, though, so consider taking Mountain Rides down to the Picabo Street stop.
While Sun Valley plans the party Saturday, it’s up to skiers and riders to carry Sunday—unofficially Gaper Day—with onesies, costumes, and an appreciation of every last turn before the lifts stop spinning.
For Sun Valley Resort, this weekend hails a winter that saw Bald Mountain return to the world stage, hosting the World Cup Finals—and thousands of rabid ski racing fans—from March 20-27. Those races marked the culmination of years of work to develop, construct and maintain elite racecourses down the Warm Springs face of Baldy.
“It’s spring, and spring at a ski resort is a combination of celebration and fatigue,” said Pete Sonntag, chief operating officer of the Sun Valley Company. “There is a tremendous sense of pride in what we pulled off with World Cup Finals, and also a commitment to make all our traditional events as good as they’ve ever been.
“We’re in this business because we love it and the final days should be a blast. We will recuperate when the season is over and then jump into summer and begin planning for next winter.”
For Sonntag, the season was a “great success,” with a run of key storm cycles lining up with big skier weeks. As of April 10, Sun Valley logged 180 inches of snowfall for the 2024-25 season, slightly below its 220-inch average, according to Visit Sun Valley, the regional marketing alliance. But, Sun Valley is holding strong with a 98-inch base, the resort says, well ahead of the same time last season, according to the ski weather tracking site OpenSnow.
With conditions lining up, Sonntag hopes the Baldy Bash offers locals a chance to celebrate their home hill.
“Obviously, the World Cup Finals were the big story and I’m very proud of how our team and the community rose to the occasion,” he said. “The course prep was not without its impacts and we learned so much from our first experience with it. I have to say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed seeing people lapping the course since we’ve opened it back up after the races. It is amazing spring skiing!”
Looking ahead
For the first time in two years, the lifts that closed on Baldy will be in line to open unchanged for the next. After overhauling the Warm Springs lift system in the summer of 2023 and Seattle Ridge in 2024, the resort plans to stand pat on infrastructure this summer, though there are “tentative plans” to proceed with plans to replace the Christmas lift over the summer of 2026, Fiaschetti said.
The big change next year won’t happen on the lift, but in the lift line. Sun Valley plans to move its passes to radio-frequency identification, or RFID, next season. RFID passes replace traditional ticket scanning, where skiers present a barcode to staff, with a tiny transponder that opens a gate at the bottom of each lift. That means skiers won’t have to present their pass to scanners during the 2025-26 season—and that resort employees need to install gates at every lift.
“We know this is something our guests have been wanting and we’re excited to be able to bring it to Sun Valley,” Sonntag said. “As for future lift projects, stay tuned!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Positivity + Prowess = Victory

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Bellevue Timmy Bear Bots Team members: Bella Brower, Gael Salinas, Willow Fenley, Landon Jacobs, Revlis Molyneux, Isaiah Torres, Harper Wemhaner, Peyton Robinson, coach Krista Jones. Photo credit: Diana Cibran

Funds still needed to get teams to Texas

BY Jennifer Liebrum

The Wood River Middle School Intergalactic team members: Jake Blacker, Jesse Green, Hiram Johnson, JasperPotts. Photo credit: Jeremy Silvis

The Blaine County Bots, Idaho’s first K-12 robotics program has represented the state at national finals competitions numerous times over the last 20 years. This year, for the first time ever, elementary students will represent the Blaine County School District too.
At the Idaho State VEX IQ Robotics Championship, tech teacher Krista Jones’ Bellevue Elementary team won the Elementary Excellence Award, and tech teacher Jeremy Silvis’ Wood River Middle School won the Middle School Excellence Award. Both of these teams will be traveling to Dallas, Texas for the World Robotics International Tournament in May where they will compete separately.
Each team had to create, calculate, diagram, design and build a working robot. The categories the teams were judged on included their teamwork, robot matches against other teams, code programming ability and driving skills.
“The whole team is new to competitive robotics, but they really put their hearts into it,” said Jones, Bellevue Elementary’s coach. “These are amazing kids and their learning, growth and personal drive is impressive. They kept telling me that ‘we’re going to WORLDS! Even when they just barely started in the fall. It makes me so happy that they made it happen!
“The kids have worked incredibly hard all year learning all of the engineering, science, math and coding that it takes to build a working robot, and just as important, the care it takes to grow a working team.”
“I’m grateful for this team and my coach, Ms. J,” shared Bellevue Bear Bella Scout Bower. “My job is programming and that is what I work on all the time. How to drive a robot, how to build some of the robot, how to take notes, photography. I have learned how to build a relationship with my team forever.”
Teammate Harper Wemhaner agreed.
“I have learned so much during Vex IQ to me it’s not just about winning, it’s about having the experience of doing it. My team is the best and my coach Ms. J has done so much.”
Bot Isaiah Torres said he learned perseverance from working with Jones.
“We made many mistakes, but that’s okay because it helped us do better and helped us go to worlds,” he said. “We had some bad times and some good times, but the best times were to hang out.”
Brower’s mom, Tara Bell, added, “I’m incredibly proud of Mrs. J for all of her hard work and dedication, and for giving the kids confidence to dream big and work hard. The kids have worked so hard and they are traveling together as a team. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Jones, a legend in the district for innovative programming for nearly four decades, is retiring this year after 36 years.
“It will be such a wonderful experience for them to not only test themselves against international teams, but to meet and collaborate with other kids from all around the world,” Jones said. “I’m extra super excited that I can share this excitement with them! It’s a fabulous way to end a fun and rewarding career.
Anyone interested in donating to either team can email kjones@blaineschools.org or jsilvis@blaineschools.org to learn more.

 

 

 

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