Finding the Fire by Alison Smith

Aggravated battery

GAINING MOMENTUM

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MOSTLY CLOUDY 32 • 22 FORECAST, B3

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016

magicvalley.com

Twin Falls schools to pursue $500k less in levy renewal JULIE WOOTTON

jwootton@magicvalley.com

PAT SUTPHIN PHOTOS, TIMES-NEWS

Jen Blair talks about the organization Mama Dragons on Thursday at her home in Twin Falls. Mama Dragons is an organization designed to empower mothers of LGBTQIA children.

FINDING THE FIRE

Mama Dragons fight for LGBT children TETONA DUNLAP

tdunlap@magicvalley.com

TWIN FALLS — Jen Blair was a Mama Dragon before she even knew what that name meant. Blair was always outspoken, supportive and fiercely protective of her children. Those feelings only intensified when her son, Jaxson, came out to her as gay. But she also felt terrified, confused and isolated. Four years later, Blair wants to make sure other Mormon mothers don’t feel secluded like she did the day she held her sobbing son on his bedroom floor. “That desire to protect him that first day, and not try to change him, empowered me to fight for him and silence the other feelings I had inside,” she said. Blair is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the mother to an openly gay son. She is also a member of the Mama Dragons, a group of mostly traditional LDS wives and mothers who support their gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans-gendered children. It’s stance that often pits them against their family, friends, community and faith.

Jen Blair, left, and her daughter Kennedy Blair, 10, talk about the Mama Dragons organization Thursday at her home in Twin Falls. Blair’s son, Jaxson, came out when he was 16. Kennedy says her brother being gay does not change their relationship. ‘Gay is just one of the characteristics that comes with the package that creates Jaxson,’ she says. In Twin Falls, Blair is one of four Mama Dragon members. They are a part of the western Idaho chapter of the Mama Dragons, but most of the members live in Boise. “You don’t have to do anything to be a member,” Blair said. “It happens in your heart more than anything you do.” The name “Mama Dragon” came from a 2012 blog post written by Meg Abhau, who wrote it shortly after her 13-year-old son

came out as gay. The Mama Dragons started as a private Facebook group in 2014. There are now more than 1,000 members in the official Mama Dragon Facebook closed group and the group’s public Facebook page has more than 4,500 likes. Next year, Mama Dragon members are focusing on developing local chapters formed in Facebook groups, Blair said. The Magic Valley’s chapter is small but growing.

Ray Parrish, an LDS spokesman in Twin Falls, said Monday that he was not familiar with the Mama Dragons group, but the LDS church has a website called mormonandgay.org to guide parents who have children who are LGBTQIA. The website shares people’s stories, tips for parents and the church’s beliefs. “While same-sex attraction is not a sin, it can be a challenge,” the website says. “While one may not have chosen to have these feelings, he or she can commit to keep God’s commandments. The parent of a child who experiences same-sex attraction or identifies as gay should choose to love and embrace that child. As a community of Church members, we should choose to create a welcoming community.”

Coming out

Blair’s son Jaxson, 20, is a senior at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He is studying anthropology and expects to graduate next year. While he admits his self esteem isn’t the greatest, he is in a better place than he was five years ago. He contributes it to the decision to come out as a gay man, the support of his family and growing a bit older. Please see MAMA DRAGONS, Page A5

TWIN FALLS — Citing worries about “voter fatigue,” Twin Falls school trustees decided unanimously Monday night to ask for $500,000 less in supplemental levy money this spring. After a lengthy debate, trustees opted to seek a total of $8.5 million over two years. Voters will decide during the March 2017 election. The trustees’ decision went against a recommendation by a budget advisory committee, which included community members, to keep the levy amount the same. But school trustees say they want to thank the community for its support by lowering the property tax rate. And they expressed worries about asking for money multiple times in recent years. “I think we have an opportunity to maybe do some good will if we lower it a bit,” board chairman Bernie Jansen said. The school district’s current two-year, $9 million supplemental levy expires this spring and is up for renewal. It’s used to help pay for basic operating expenses. The levy makes up about 10 percent of the district’s operating budget. Superintendent Wiley Dobbs said he agrees with Jansen. He said the community has “really come up to the plate over and over again.” The state is also increasing public education funding now that the economic recession is over, Dobbs said. Lowering the supplemental levy amount is a way to show appreciation to property owners and give them a little relief, he said. Fiscal affairs director Bob Seaman said trustees shouldn’t go any lower than $8.5 million with the levy. But he sided with the budget advisory committee’s $9 million suggestion. “My personal recommendation would be to go with the committee,” he said. Please see LEVY, Page A5

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school board packet online at Magicvalley.com.

Report: Funding for 22 school programs not based on need KIMBERLEE KRUESI

Associated Press

BOISE — Many of the programs intended to help students in Idaho’s public schools are not funded based on need or actual costs, state evaluators found in a new report released Monday. The state’s nonpartisan Office of Performance Evaluations also found that the state lacks information on the total amount of money spent on these 22 programs at the school district and charter level. The programs, which include literary proficiency, gifted and

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Joint Legislative Oversight panel. The bipartisan oversight committee assigned the report to state evaluators earlier this year. The report was designed to help a separate legislative interim panel currently reviewing Idaho’s overall public education funding system with the intent of possibly reforming the system. The report will be presented to that interim committee on Tuesday. This is the fourth school funding-related report evaluators

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO

LeeAnn Gott talks to some of her fourth-grade students in August 2016 at Please see FUNDING, Page A5 Summit Elementary School in Jerome.

 If you do one thing: Telescope Tuesday sky viewing session will be available from

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talented, academic advisers and others, totaled $165 million in state funding for fiscal year 2017. Evaluators did not review the formulas for teacher pay or discretionary funding, which make up the majority of Idaho’s approximately $1.5 billion education budget. “Many of these individual formulas for these programs were established many years ago and there’s just cause for them to be revisited as needs within schools have drastically changed within that time,” said state evaluator Bryon Welch to lawmakers on the

6 to 9 p.m. in the Centennial Observatory at Herrett Center for Arts and Science in Twin Falls. Admission is $1.50; free for children 6 and younger. AT MAGICVALLEY.COM

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Mama Dragons From A1

Jaxson was 16 when he told his mother he was gay. It was a secret he carried for a couple of years. “I’m definitely a lot happier,” he said. “It’s almost hard to remember how things were before and how I was before. It seemed like back then I was super worried about myself. I was kind of focused on my own flaws. Of course, I considered being gay a flaw.” Jaxson described himself as very “angsty” at 16. Blair thought her son had an addiction to video games. He was always grumpy and despondent. She home-schooled Jaxson and his three sisters, and he would hide in his room all day. “I just got this feeling I had to talk to him about video games,” Blair said Thursday at her Twin Falls home. She said she plopped herself on his floor to have the talk. He started pacing back and forth. “It feels like you are trying to rebel,” Blair recalled telling him. “That’s exactly how I feel,” he replied. Then she just blurted out the question, “Are you gay?” And Jaxson stared at her wideeyed. Blair said she instantly felt horrible was about to apologize, when he went to his desk and wrote down a response. By this time, Jaxson was bawling. “Yes.”

‘I feel so much better now’‌

Susan Flores was cooking when her 14-year-old daughter told her they needed to talk. Flores said she was extremely nervous and wouldn’t make eye contact. She told her mother to keep cooking. Days earlier, she asked to cut her shoulder length hair short. That’s when she told her mother she identified as a male. That was this summer. “I gave him a big hug and told him it would be just fine,” Flores said. “I am glad because he was in a really dark depressed state. I knew there was something up. He was in his room all the time. Not doing stuff with friends. I knew something was up.”

Funding From A1

have provided lawmakers since 2007. According to the report, almost all of the 22 programs reviewed had some sort of absent or obscured information on the total costs. The report pointed out that this is partially because school districts and charters are not required to report total expenditures for the state funding they receive and nor do those schools have a uniform method of reporting their program spending. Idaho’s special education program was particularly singled out in the report because of its multiple funding issues. Evaluators identified $294 million in federal and state funding related to special education students between 2014 and 2015, yet nearly 30 percent of the funding was not documented in statewide financial reports in that same timeframe. “Legislators and other stakeholders cannot look to published revenue or expenditure reports for a complete picture of how much money was generated by, and spent on behalf of, students receiving

And after her son told her his secret he hid for nearly two years, a weight lifted. “I should have done this a long time ago,” Flores said he told her. “Because I feel so much better now.” Flores is also a member of the Mama Dragons. She met Blair at a Magic Valley Pride Youth Group, where she was introduced to the group for Mormon mothers. But not all of her son’s family is supportive. “Because they are LDS, and that is taboo,” she said. She stopped attending the Mormon church in June and said her child’s coming out was a contributing factor. However, Flores and her son have found a new support system with the youth group and Mama Dragons. Her son even accompanied Blair to a conference in Provo. “That was a huge difference in him,” Flores said. “There’s other kids out there like him and it just made his world whole.” Mother and son now attend counseling. Things aren’t perfect, Flores said, but her son is now more active and involved. “He’ll at least get up and go to the store with me and do something,” she said. “That burden really lifted and I could sense that in him.” He wants to do hormone suppression therapy, but Flores shares custody and treatments are expensive. So her son will have to wait until he is 18. “I’m very grateful that there is a community within our community that can identify and help everyone,” she said. “It’s not just kids, its also adults and there’s mentors. I’m just extremely grateful to have this community I can rely on.”

A life we can celebrate‌

After Jaxson came out four years ago, Blair started looking anywhere and everywhere online for support. “I knew I wanted to support my son,” she said. “There wasn’t a lot online, and my church wasn’t offering much and that wasn’t helping either. I had been sold this narrative of how homosexuality was so physical and lusty. He was 17 when he had his first date. My whole life I heard all these stories about how they just want to have sex all the time. He just wanted to sit on the

special education services in districts or charters,” evaluators wrote in the report. “Reporting mechanisms, some driven by federal reporting requirements, have not been set up to capture the complexity of the funding system.” Evaluators pointed out that there were multiple instances in which documented directions on funding contradicted state law. For example, an estimated four out of 10 students who received special education were not actually included in the funding formula for special education — as required by state law — but instead were being counted as regular students as directed by administrative rule. Administrative rules have the same strength as laws, but are to be used to enforce state policies, not create new ones. “As your report points out, Idaho’s formula is complicated, and in many cases, it is challenging to determine total expenditures per program and how expenditures are related to student needs. Any changes that are contemplated to the formula should enhance transparency and understanding of how state funding support students,” said Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter in a statement.

Cassia fair shows $52,000 profit TIMES-NEWS

‌ URLEY — The Cassia County B Fair & Rodeo’s revenues were down $2,000 for the year, but were offset by decreased expenses. The Cassia County Fair board members provided an annual fair and rodeo report during the Cassia County commissioner’s meeting on Monday. The total revenues, which in-

clude the carnival, horse racing, rodeo, community sponsorships, concert revenues, commercial vendor leases and grounds and building rents was $422,893 for the year ending September 2016, Dan Gammon, fair board secretary said. Expenses were $369,833 leaving a net income of $53,000, up $15,000 from 2015.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016 | A5

PAT SUTPHIN, TIMES-NEWS‌

A couple of books written by Carol Lynn Pearson sit on Jen Blair’s piano stool Thursday at her home in Twin Falls. Blair says the books helped empower her to support her son despite the negative backlash from her church. ‘I was reading them and thinking okay, this is what godly people should do,’ she says. couch and cuddle with someone.” She searched “gay” and “Mormon” on Facebook. She accidentally stumbled across a hook up site. A gay Mormon psychiatrist named Daniel Parkinson, who watches these type of sites to make sure people don’t get preyed upon, told her she was looking for information in the wrong place. The two are now good friends, but through the process she has also lost a lot of people she thought were friends. Blair said one of the most hurtful things a former friend said to her was that she could support her in private, but not in public. Because of her advocacy work, she still receives a lot of hateful letters from Mormons across the country. The LDS church does not support gay marriage, and marriage between a man and woman is considered an integral teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will not change, the church’s website says. “The intensity of your attractions may not be in your control; however, you can choose how to respond,” the website says. “Asking the Lord what you can learn from this experience can focus your faith on an outcome you can control. Turning your life over to God is an important act of faith that brings great blessings now and even greater blessings in the world to come. “Sexual relations are proper only between a man and a woman who are legally and lawfully wedded as husband and wife. Any other sexual relations, including those between

persons of the same gender, are sinful and undermine the divinely created institution of the family.” Blair and her family no longer attend the LDS church. “For us, it’s very different,” she said. “We lost our community. We are Mormon, technically, but we haven’t attended church in years.” Blair said she had been asked by church leaders to stop her advocacy work before, but she can’t. She was terrified in the beginning and doesn’t want other women and children feel the same. “I think that tells me that we are doing it wrong,” she said. Now, she is a mentor to 105 teenagers in an online group. Many are millennials, and some are on the brink of suicide, she said. She is also active in Affirmation, an organization that serves thousands of LBGT/same sex attracted Mormon families and friends worldwide. She is involved with Magic Valley Pride and Magic Valley Youth Pride. The youth group is organizing an event Friday where participants will play video games and do art projects. Blair has come a long way from the mother who tried to keep it together as she held her son’s shaking body. Blair remembers holding Jaxson’s head on her lap as she caressed his hair. “How physical it was for him to carry it for all that time,” she said. “His head and his heart had to carry this secret. Then I spend a lot of time crying. I just wanted to protect him.” Jaxson left the Mormon church

Levy From A1

Several committee members were even adamant about wanting to increase the levy amount, Seaman said. But the majority decided to recommend keeping the levy the same. Since the current supplemental levy was approved in spring 2015, there has been a 17.8 percent increase in market value within the school district’s boundaries. It means even if the levy amount had remained the same, property owners may have seen a slight drop in taxes. But trustee Paul McClintock said he has a real concern about “voter fatigue” — coming to voters again and again asking for money. School trustees also talked about how the school district would sell a supplemental levy renewal to voters. Also, “the problem is we’re trying to reach a public that may not have a clue what’s going on,” Seaman said. Voters last renewed the school district’s supplemental levy in March 2015. The measure received support from 67 percent of ballot casters. Voters also approved a nearly $74 million bond in 2014 to build three new schools and pursue other facility projects. Trustee Mary Barron said she shares the concern about voter fatigue. The district needs to be intentional and as clear as possible with explaining the levy and how vital it’s for students, she added. Also, many people may not understand the school district

DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS FILE PHOTO‌

Raquel Simons, 8, looks through her new dictionary donated by Rotary Club of Twin Falls during class Nov. 7 at Sawtooth Elementary School in Twin Falls. The Twin Falls School District will seek renewal of a supplemental levy to help pay for basic operating expenses. supplements teacher salaries beyond the money it receives from the state, Barron said. “We are seeing an increase in money coming in from the state,” Seaman said, but added most are directed toward teacher salaries. During their Monday night meeting, trustees also: Heard a proposal for the 2017-18 school year calendar, but didn’t take action. A calendar committee – which included one representative from every school – came up with a recommendation. There aren’t any significant changes proposed for next year, with school starting in August and ending in late May before Memorial Day. Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring breaks would also remain about

when he was 18. “I felt out of place. I was an evil sinner on the inside and nobody knew it,” Jaxson said. “After I came out, I was just kind of tired of it all. I wanted to go to church not because I was sure I believed in it, but I wanted a force in my life to help me become a better person.” He said he didn’t lose any of his friends after coming out. Sometimes they’ll say ridiculous things, but he corrects them. On friend told him, “God commanded us to have children. You have to try to have children.” “It comes from a place of caring and we still hang out,” he said. “They were all really nice about it, which was good. You spend so many years being afraid of telling people it’s both a relief and a let down. I was filled with anger and despair and you’re like, ‘OK.’” Jaxson is not an LGBT activist like his mother. There is a LGBT group at school, and he likes to study where they meet. But, he said, he doesn’t have other LGBT friends. “Somehow my mom ended up being a bigger supporter of gay people than the gay person in the family,” Jaxson said. “Watching her do all this stuff, I’m like ‘Wow, my mom is actually really cool.’ But don’t tell her that because moms aren’t suppose to know they’re cool.” A framed picture of the Salt Lake City Temple decorate’s Blair’s mantle in her house. Underneath the picture Thursday were stockings, and nearby, a sculpture of Jesus Christ. For her, the picture is not so much a Mormon symbol as much as a representation of where her family started. “I definitely believe in God,” she said. “I’m not positive I care that much for the name. I’ve had a lot of spiritual experiences in the past year and they have increased as I’ve stepped away from religion. We have our deepest spiritual experiences when we are face down in the mud.” “I genuinely believe they are good people who have to protect the church and the other members,” she said. “I need to face God. Even if I’m facing away from the church. They have to do what they have to do. And I have to do what I have to do.”

the same length. “We made the efforts to get the calendars out as quickly as possible so our families can know in advance so they can make plans,” Dobbs said. Approved contracts with private service providers: $6,195.50 to the Center for Teacher Effectiveness for training and supplies, $13,500 to Silverback Learning Solutions for software, and $9,260 to Saulgill, LLC to conduct an independent third-year evaluation for the 21st Community Learning Center program at Harrison Elementary School. Recognized employees of the month from Lincoln Elementary School and Bridge Academy. Voted to convert a lease agreement for a cell phone tower at Twin Falls High School to a permanent easement. The school district will receive $132,675, which will be used to help pay for a remodeling project at Magic Valley High School and building a new school district food service storage facility. Heard an announcement about the Twin Falls High’s drama team winning the 2016 4A state championship. Approved Twin Falls and Canyon Ridge senior class trips. Twin Falls High is planning a trip for May 21-22, 2017. They plan to take a bus to Salt Lake City and then fly to Long Beach, Calif. They’ll visit Six Flags Magic Mountain, Santa Monica Pier and go on a night dinner cruise. Canyon Ridge High’s senior trip will be April 7-9 to the San Francisco area. Both schools will help provide financial assistance to students in need to ensure they can participate in the senior trip.

SERVICES Harry Carpenter‌

BURLEY — Harry Carpenter of Burley, funeral service at 11 a.m. Thursday, December 15, at the Burley 3rd & 7th Ward LDS Church, 2200 Oakley Ave., in Burley. Visitation is from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, December 14, at the Rasmussen Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and from 1010:45 a.m. preceding the service at the church.

Ardyth Green‌ M 1

BURLEY—Ardyth Green of Burley, funeral at 11 a.m. Friday, December 16, at the Burley LDS 3rd and 7th

Ward Church, 2200 Oakley Burley. Ave., in Burley. Visitation is from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, James Osborn‌ December 15, at the RasMOUNTAIN HOME— mussen Funeral Home, 1350 James Osborn of Mountain E. 16th St., in Burley, Home, graveside service at 11 a.m. Friday, December 16, Clarence “Rocky” at the Wendell Cemetery. (Rost Funeral Home, McBaker‌ Murtrey Chapel, Mountain HEYBURN—Clarence Home) “Rocky” Baker of Heyburn, funeral at 1 p.m. Friday, Anne Armstrong‌ December 16, at the Burley BURLEY—Anne ArmUnited Methodist Church, strong, funeral services will 450 E. 27th St., in Burley. be held on Saturday, DeVisitation is from 6- 8 p.m. cember 17 at Little Flower Thursday, December 15, Catholic Church, 1601 Oakat the Rasmussen Funeral ley Avenue, Burley, Idaho. Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in The Rosary at 10:30 a.m.

followed by a Memorial Mass at 11 a.m..

Golden Gardiner‌

Pamela Chappel‌

CLACKAMAS, Oregon— Pamela Chappel, memorial service at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 17 at Bateman Carroll Funeral Home, 520 W Powell Blvd, Gresham, Oregon.

MALTA—Golden Gardiner of Malta, funeral at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 17, at the Malta LDS Church, 280 N. 1st St. W., in Malta. Friends may call from 9:30 Junia Moffett Gibby‌ until 10:45 a.m. preceding DRAPER, Utah—Junia Moffett Gibby of Draper, the service at the church. Utah, and formerly of Burley, funeral at 12 noon Mark Beck‌ COLORADO—Mark Beck Saturday, December 17, at of Colorado, celebration of the View LDS Church, 490 life at 11 a.m. Saturday, De- E. 550 S. of Burley, Idaho cember 17, at First United where friends may call Methodist Church,1005 from 10 until 11:30 a.m. A Stover St, Fort Collins, CO. viewing will be held from

6 until 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 14, at the Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 E. Dimple Dell Road (10600 S.) in Sandy, Utah. (Rasmussen Funeral Home of Burley)

Casandra “Sandy” Appell‌ J E R O M E — C a s a n d ra Appell of Jerome, an informal potluck gathering for friends and family will be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 5:30 pm at The Believers Church in Jerome. (Demaray’s Jerome Memorial Chapel.)