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This Week’s ERC Beat: Park the Car Page 6
Canfield Reviews new Album ‘Arrow’
Bob Rosso Crowned Nordic Ambassador of the Year at Galena Lodge Benefit
Page 8
Shapiro Talks Platelet Rich Plasma Page 12
read about it on PaGe 4
J a n u a r y 4 , 2 0 1 2 • V o l . 5 • N o . 2 4 • w w w .T h e W e e k l y S u n . c o m
Tadd Mansfield Shows Film student will show his special needs documentary “days with marley” at 6 p.m., this tuesday STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
T Devon Sherrerd, Isabel Kirk, Morgan Jones and Hannah Robideaux, and Jolie Blair served up cheers for the skiers, along with some tasty homemade chocolate kiss cookies.
Nordic Fest Continues STORY & PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
H
undreds of skiers kicked off the third annual Sun Valley Nordic Festival Saturday by kicking and gliding 11 miles from Ketchum to Hailey as they took part in the annual Ski the Rails. The event attracted adults, kids and pets, along with out-of-town visitors hailing from places like Seattle, New York and San Luis Obispo, Calif. They were greeted by cheers from those handing out refreshments at aid stations along the way, including a group of Community School students who served up some yummy chocolate kiss cookies and chocolate chip cookies they’d cooked the night before. “This is my second year,” said Kirsten Barker of Twin Falls. “I love it because it’s dog-friendly, well organized and they have shuttle buses and refreshments!” “I’ve never done anything like this before,” said Yvette Stepp, a Seattle resident who had been skiing Sun Valley’s Nordic trails for the past few days. “My fifth year,”said John Shelly of Bellevue. “Gotta keep it up.” The Nordic Festival continues through Sunday with the high-energy sprints, concert and snowshoe dance competition on Thursday, the Boulder Mountain Tour on Saturday and free demos on Sunday. The schedule:
Today:
The inaugural WinterSun Classic will take place at 10 a.m. at the Sun Valley Nordic Center at the Sun Valley Golf Course. The 10- and 5-kilometer mass start races are a precursor to the 2013 U.S. National Masters Championships, which will be held in Sun Valley. Entry fee: $15 for the 10k and $10 for the 5k, with registration beginning Tuesday and ending at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Nordic Center. Information: 208-622-2250 or 208-721-8340. The second annual Sun Valley Ski Hall of Fame Induction will be held at 4 p.m. at the Ketchum-Sun Valley Heritage & Ski Museum at First and Washington streets in Ketchum. This year’s honorees are Dick Durrance, Warren Miller, Janette Burr Johnson, Pete Patterson, Michel Rudigoz, Bill and Annie Vanderbilt, N’tala Skinner, Charley French, Hans Muehlegger and Jenny Busdon. Live music and drinks will accompany the event. Three-time Olympian Jim Galanes, who finished eighth in the 4-by-10kilometer relay at the 1980 and 1984
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add Mansfield confesses he’s never been much of a talker. He has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, which not only has inhibited his social interaction, but has frustrated his ability to understand what his teachers want of him. But this past year the Wood River High School senior discovered that he has a unique talent for communicating—through film. In fact, he’s been asked to show a 45-minute documentary he made of another special child at Bellevue Elementary School at the Idaho State “Tools for Life Conference” in March. Mansfield will discuss his challenges and strengths as an individual with special needs at the conference, which focuses on transition to adulthood and independence for high school students with special needs. “Student presenters at this conference are not common, so this is especially exciting,” said Kelly Choma, who coordinates the Blaine County School District’s Parent Information Center, which provides information and resources about special needs and learning differences to families and professionals. To prepare for the conference, which will take place in Wallace, Mansfield will offer a free showing of his film, “Days with Marley,” to the public at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Wood River High School’s Distance Learning Lab. “This is a student who walked into Wood River High School with his head down and not really socially participating. And, due to his finding his passion—making films—he now realizes he has an asset that the world values,” said Tadd’s teacher, Jamie Ellison. “His is one of the most remarkable transformations I’ve ever seen.” Because of his Asperger syndrome, Mansfield, who turned 18 on Friday, has long had low self-esteem and socialization skills. He’s been in special education classes and had to learn coping strategies
favoring visual rather than auditory clues. The Bellevue youngsters made a video in Chet Olson’s video production class and it morphed into his senior project. The video is of Marley Chapman, an 8-year-old with a rare brain disorder called Lissencephaly, which causes her to have seizures and trouble walking and communicating. Mansfield spent day after day filming her at school and including her mother Natalie talking about her special young lady. The video captures Marley’s indomitable spirit and her contagious smile. “Nobody meets Marley without falling in love with her,” Choma said. “She has a hug for everyone. Both Tadd’s and Marley’s stories are very powerful and convey the message that strength and beauty reside in all people despite their challenges.” Mansfield said he first realized the impact of movies when he watched Clint Eastwood’s movie “Grand Torino,” which prompted him to do a little research to see how Eastwood came up with his ideas. He made a few small videos for the school news service, in addition to his film on Marley. Now he’s working on a Special Olympics ski video and a farewell video for one of his classmates. And he plans to attend Full Sail University— one of the world’s premier art, music and film schools—in Winter Park, Fla., to study filmmaking. “I dabble in film, but he has real talent,” said Ellison. “I can give him 20 minutes of film and he can pick out the 30 seconds that are meaningful. He’s risen above his own disability, figured out what makes him go and he’s running with it. People tell me: ‘He’s come so far I can’t believe he’s in your (special education) program.’ ” Tadd credits his teachers for helping him realize success. “In elementary school, I had a hard time figuring out what my teachers were telling me
Tadd Mansfield gets to take his documentary on the road to show it in during the Idaho State “Tools for Life” Conference this March in Wallace. Photo: Karen bossick/sun
Marley Chapman and her mother Natalie.
to do. It was so frustrating, I’d bang my pencil on my head and not know what to do,” he said. “But now my teachers have helped me step out of my
Twilight Snowshoe
Dinner & Auction for Breast Cancer Research
Saturday, February 11 • 5:30 pm • The Valley Club • Hailey, Idaho
Order tickets Now: 726-6456 • email: ei@expeditioninspiration.org • or online:
www.expeditioninspiration.org
COURTESY Photo
comfort zone to make things happen for myself. I am excited about going to the state conference. I am excited about tws my future.”