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Street Dance, Poker Ski and Relay included in this year’s SolFest. Page 3
Student Lex Shapiro is an International Traveler Page 5
Katie Breckenridge featured in this week’s Blaine Hoofbeats. Page 11
M a r c h 2 1 , 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
Benefit Tickets BY KAREN BOSSICK
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ickets are on sale for this year’s Sun Valley Summer Symphony Benefit concert. The July 29 concert will feature trumpeter Chris Botti. Botti, pronounced boat-tee, has become the largest selling American jazz instrumental artist since the release of his 2004 CD “When I Fall in Love.” He has recorded and performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Joshua Bell, Sting and Josh Groban. And his work with PBS has led to four No. 1 jazz albums and multiple Gold, Platinum and Grammy Awards. “I would encourage people to buy tickets now because he’s phenomenal. He’s a crossover jazz player who plays with the orchestra. He comes with his own band—a pianist, drummer, guitar player, singer and violinist. And his music appeals to a variety of audiences and his shows are energetic,” said Jennifer Teisinger, the symphony’s executive director. Tickets range from $50 to $500, with the $250 and $500 tickets including a 5 p.m. cocktail reception on the Sun Valley Lodge Terrace. The proceeds help fund the symphony, the largest privately funded free admission symphony in America. This year’s symphony starts off with four Edgar M. Bronfman In Focus Series chamber concerts beginning July 22. Eleven orchestra concerts will follow, with a concert featuring Soprano Deborah Voigt on July 30. The finale is Aug. 14. For tickets go to www.svsummersymphony.org or call 208-622-5607. tws
Free Playreading BY KAREN BOSSICK
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hen someone kills an Irish Liberation Army enforcer’s black cat on a lonely road on the island of Inishmore, you can bet your St. Paddy’s Day Guinness that he’s not going to let sleeping dogs lie. So sets the stage for McDonagh’s award-winning play, “The Lieutenant of Inishmore.” The nexStage Theatre will present a free play reading of the dark and comic play as part of its 2012 play reading series at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum. Royal Shakespeare Company first produced the play in London in 2001. It’s set in the early 1990s when the Northern Ireland peace process is taking its first steps. Upon learning that his Wee Thomas is sick, the enforcer—a man known for his insanely violent temper—leaves behind his stint of torturing drug pushers and blowing up chip shops and rushes home to inflict a different reign of terror. “It’s hysterically funny and very dark. And the writing is outstanding,” said Director Jon Kane. McDonagh, considered Ireland’s preeminent playwright, is best known for his play “The Pillowman” and as the writer and director of the film “In Bruges.” The play will star Dawson Howard as the insane terrorist, along with Scott Creighton, Will Hemmings, Charlotte Hemmings, Andrew Alburger, Steve d’Smith and Ben Flandro. tws
Over 200 children and adults enjoyed Idaho Dance Theatre’s
read about it on PaGe 16
Biathlon Training
STORY & PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
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taff Sgt. Guillermo Tejada jabbed his short ski poles into the snow, pushing himself along in a bucket-like seat mounted on skis. When he neared the top of the canyon that branched off from the Sun Valley Gun Club, he lay down on his side, bringing his chair down with him, and took up a light wooden Steyr air rifle. He took a deep breath just like his ski coach had told him to do, then slowly exhaled. He took another breath. Then he pressed the rifle against the butt of his arm and took aim at a target about 50 yards away. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! The quiet pops emanating from his air rifle were nothing compared to the IED (improvised explosive device) that blew off his legs in Afghanistan. And the peace and solitude of Sun Valley seemed far removed from the fear he’d occasionally felt rising in him as he patrolled that troubled country. But this morning on the biathlon range was a solid step toward getting back on his feet, so to speak, after undergoing rehab at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. Staff Sgt. Tejada was one of seven veterans and civilians who recently took part in a Paralympic Biathlon training camp on the Nordic trails looping around the Sun Valley Gun Club. For some, it was an introduction to the sport of biathlon—an opportunity to see if it was something they might want to pursue. For others, it was an opportunity to train for an upcoming national competition. “It’s awesome,” said Tejada. “I love shooting so it’s great to be able to come here and shoot.” LizAnn Kudrna, of Bozeman, Mont., lay next to Tejada. Kudrna was paralyzed from her waist down three years ago while climbing Mt. Cowen, an 11,206-foot peak in the Absaroka/Beartooth Range near Bozeman. She and her friends had summited the peak and
“It takes some problem solving to figure out how to move your body to create a tripod for shooting. But that’s something you do every day in a wheelchair.” –LizAnn Kudrna
were hiking down a steep gully when Kudrna dislodged a rock the size of a TV that hit her in the chest. She tumbled down a 60-foot cliff, plummeting headfirst into another rock and coming to a stop only because one of her fellow climbers broke her fall. She spent the next 18 hours in a gully awaiting rescue. “I’ve Nordic skied quite a bit but I’m not that good at shooting,” she said. “It takes some problem solving to figure out how to move your body to create a tripod for shooting. But that’s something you do every day when you’re in a wheelchair. And it’s what I do in my work as a Pilates trainer.” Coach Rob Rossner, a former U.S. biathlete, paced the target range as coaches Marc Mast, Laura Todd, Jeannie Wall, Laurie Lehman and Mia James looked on. “Close your eye and open it and that’s your natural aim,” he tells one of the shooters. Rossner stopped to show former Marine Omar Bermejo how to hook his gun to his one arm for stability while shooting. Bermejo completed four tours in Iraq without getting hurt only to mangle his arm in a motorcycle accident. He had it amputated two months ago.
(From Top) • LizAnn Kudrna, who was paralyzed in a climbing accident near Bozeman, Mont., tries target practice while strapped into her sit ski. • Guillermo Tejada goes out for a round of skiing in between target practice. • Marine Sgt. Omar Bermejo, a veteran from Tucson, Ariz., had to learn to shoot with just one arm and hand after losing his right arm in an accident. • In his first attempt at skate skiing, Omar Bermejo had no trouble jacking up his heart rate to simulate an actual biathlon race.
continued, page 10
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