Topic: Family & Kids

Rob and Kris Cronin, of Camp Rainbow Gold, drop by the MorningNoon&Night show to discuss this amazing summer program that benefits kids with cancer.

Plum headed out to Dollar Mountain for the Kindercup race for kids aged 3 to 13. This piece features kids who participated this year, as well as parents who used to compete and now bring their own children to race.

It’s no surprise that Sun Valley breeds skiers, boarders, Nordic racers and so on. (Picabo Street is not the only locally bred ski goddess to reckon with.) What you may not know, however, is that to facilitate athletic development during the winters, the schools have come together to let kids do both: receive a first rate academic education and hit the slopes of Bald Mountain. Thanks to cooperation between the Blaine County schools, both private and public, and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), winter for students is almost as good as summer, if not better.

In the beginning, things weren’t so nice. For years, students were participating in ski teams and racing throughout he winter and as a result, they were missing weeks of school. John Cole, a former Wood River High School biology teacher, grew frustrated and decided to try to mend this issue. Cole approached the ski team and asked for SVSEF to sit down the schools to reach a compromise.

What resulted was a new program that would improve the communication between SVSEF and the high schools, primarily WRHS. The goal was to help skiers succeed in both the sport and in school. With the school day traditionally ending at 3 p.m., the idea of making it to the hill before the sun went down and the mountain closed was next to impossible. There was a need to change the schedule in order to accommodate skiers.

The result? The establishment of a relief period where students can lighten their load during winter and make up the classes over the summer or online. Rather than staying until the afternoon, these students leave school around noon and head to Bald Mountain. There, they hone their skills and work with local coaches.

While it sounds like hooky, it’s really not. SVSEF has put academic directors into place whose sole job is to monitor the students. The academic directors monitor work with the teachers. They fill out grade reports, they let teachers know when students will be absent for races, they work to make it work for the students. In addition, there is an academic center right at the base of Baldy with computers and tutors in order to keep students on track. Good academic standing is required for a student to participate. If the GPA falls, students must say goodbye to daily ski time and the ski team.

This year, the Community School took a similar route and created a skier track program. Students could apply to the program, which would allow them to skip the last two periods of an 8 period day, but, they are required to do their best and stay on top of their work. If they fall behind, then they must seek academic help with online courses and tutors or they will be kicked out of the program. This year, seven kids applied and all seven were accepted.

In addition to the skier tracking system, the Community School has its own winter schedule for all students. During the winter, school starts extra early (around 7:30 a.m.) and students are dismissed between 1:30 and 2 p.m. The idea is to help skiers who compete but also to accommodate a reality: students live in a ski town with a beautiful mountain; they might as well take advantage of it. Now, if only businesses would adopt a similar schedule.

To find out more, email Matt Leidecker, director of the SVSEF academic ski program to find out more.

Calling all filmmakers 18 and under! Introducing Plum Sun Valley’s first ever youth film competition. We want to see how YOU celebrate life in the Wood River Valley on film. Contest ends at 5 p.m. on March 28, 2008. For more information, please read instructions below.

Categories are:

• Best Film Overall
• Best Ski/Board Short
• Best Film about the Community

All films:

• Must celebrate our Wood River Valley community
• Must be 5 minutes or less in total length
• Must be delivered on DVD to the Plum office in Hailey by 5pm on March 28, 2008
• Must include names of all filmmakers, as well as participants in the film
• Filmmakers must be 18 years old or younger to participate

Awards:

• Winners will be announced and prizes awarded on March 28th, 2008 on the MorningNoon&Night Show
• Winning films will play on Plum in Sun Valley and on our website, sunvalley.plumtv.com!

 

Our Hailey office is located at 16 West Croy Street, Suite N. The film can be dropped off Monday-Saturday, from 9am-5pm. A release must be signed upon delivery. Call 208.788.4504 with questions. And, remember, you MUST have fun creating your film. GO FOR IT!

If you’ve ever been a newbie on Sun Valley’s slopes, chances are you’ve spent a day or two on Dollar Mountain. With a smooth vertical rise of just 628 ft. (191 m) compared to Baldy's 3,400 ft (1,036 m), Dollar can make the skiing easy for just about anyone, young or old.

If you’ve ever been a newbie on Sun Valley’s slopes, chances are you’ve spent a day or two on Dollar Mountain. With a smooth vertical rise of just 628 ft. (191 m) compared to Baldy's 3,400 ft (1,036 m), Dollar can make the skiing easy for just about anyone, young or old.

While more seasoned skiers and snowboarders rarely waste a minute on Dollar’s ten runs, there was a time when Dollar was the place to be. There was a time, before 1939, when there was no Bald Mountain. There was a time when Dollar was one of two mountains in the world to have a working ski lift. In fact, the first chairlifts in the world were built in Sun Valley. Jim Curran, a Union Pacific engineer, invented the lifts.

Strangely, his brilliant idea came from bananas, which had been moved to and from freight cars by Union Pacific for the United Fruit Company. He turned the banana cable system into ski lifts and by 1936 the first lifts were installed on Dollar and Proctor mountains.

While Proctor’s lifts are no longer in service, Dollar Mountain is still alive and well, although the original lifts have been replaced many times. In addition to lifts, Dollar is home to two magic carpets, which gently pull up little skiers to the tops of slopes for easy learning and fun sledding.

While it can be tough for those above three feet to ride the magic carpet with the wee ones, in the end, learning how to ski a full run is quite sweet, even if you’re in your fifth decade.

Wood River High School students got a taste of life with a physica disability. They watched the acclaimed documentary "Darius Goes West," and rode around in wheelchairs for a day. For the complete story, click here.

On Thursday, Jan. 17, Wood River High School students had five special guests at their school. They were not new students or teachers, but rather wheelchairs donated from various organizations in the Wood River Valley. The purpose? To teach students about life in a wheelchair and the difficulties faced by physically handicapped individuals.

The inspiration was a documentary film, “Darius Goes West.” The film centers around a young man named Darius, who has a terminal disease that leaves him severely handicapped. He convinces his friends to drive him across country to California in hopes that MTV’s hit car makeover show, “Pimp my Ride”, might “pimp his ride” -- his ride being a wheelchair rather than a car. Of course, the story is more than just tricking out a wheelchair; it shows young men working to support and care for Darius, which, in turn raises awareness about the challenges people with disabilities must overcome.

Special services teacher Janet Dennis whose personal growth class organized the school-wide screening and the wheelchairs, said the day received an “overwhelmingly positive response.” Students laughed and cried and learned while watching the movie and watching their peers struggle for a day in a wheelchair. For more coverage, check out our slideshow of the students and their responses to the event.

It’s a long weekend in Sun Valley with Monday closed for schools and most offices in observance of the late Martin Luther King Jr. While snow sports are a given activity, with super low temperatures, there is also a lot to keep you and your family occupied indoors. Check our calendar for a complete event guide.

Thursday

Start off the weekend at the grand opening of Hailey’s newest restaurant, Three Ten Main. Three Ten Main features a contemporary twist on classic American cuisine. If you aren’t in a social mood, then be a good Samaritan instead and learn how to save another human’s life. The American Heart Association offers a course on CPR with an Automated External Defibrillator at St. Luke's.

Friday

Enjoy raucous social and political satire with The Second City’s “One Nation Under Blog” at the Liberty Theatre. This traveling comedic troupe has spawned some of today’s top comics, so you are sure to be in stitches. After the show catch Finn Riggins at Fresshie’s in Hailey. This local band is a perfect accompaniment to fine wine, beer and other delicious, fresh snacks. Or, forget staying indoors, and head out with the whole family to PTA skate night at Roberta McKercher Park. You can skate, eat and drink.

Saturday

Make it a proper Saturday morning with mimosas and bratwurst at Apple’s Bar and Grill in Warm Springs. The televised showing of the 68th Hahnenkamm Races begins at 11 a.m. Remember, you must show up with beer stein, a cowbell or in dirndls. Don’t worry Plum will be there to catch you in all the Austrian mayhem. If you are still standing, enjoy the second weekend of Sun Valley’s 2008 Comedy Series at the Boiler Room. This week Kristin Key and George Corrigan will make you laugh until you cry. No politics involved. Last but not least, go big and classy at the 12th annual Galena Winter Benefit and Auction. Enjoy fine dinner, dancing and the chance to win a trip to Mexico or Montana for fly-fishing.

Sunday

Spend the day at Galena Lodge for free ski tours, discounted lunches and more snowshoeing than you can handle. After enjoying the incredible views of the Wood River Valley, cozy up by the fire with some grilled cheese and yummy tomato soup. Then get worldly at the Wood River YMCA for a live broadcast of Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and James F. Hoge Jr. These two policy bigwigs will speak from NYC’s 92nd street YMCA while former Ambassador Alan Blinken will facilitate a local discussion here. End the night at Sun Valley’s Boiler Room with the famous quartet, Forever Plaid.

Monday

If only every weekend lasted an extra day. Relax, sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast at Java. Make sure to order a Bowl of Soul. Then hit the slopes of Bald Mountain. Sure, there might be a few more people than usual, but when is Baldy ever too crowded? Or, go see a matinee or two. We can’t wait to see Katherine Heigl’s newest flick, “27 Dresses,” which is playing at Bigwood 4 Cinemas in Hailey. But we also loved “The Bucket List.” There is nothing better than Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman growing old and cranky together.

Rest up for the week, at Light on the Mountain’s Winter Feast for the Soul meditation practice. Enjoy 15 minutes of questions and answers followed by 45 minutes of meditation. All are welcome. It’s a long weekend, but also a busy one. As always, pace yourself.