17 honored during signing day ceremony at Conifer High School

fer High School gymnasium during signing day as students spoke of their love of sports, their families and their teammates.

Plus one student was Conifer’s rst to sign a letter of intent in the arts. e April 14 ceremony signi ed the students’ intention to attend and compete or perform at a speci c university or college.

Assistant principal Eric Kragel re ected on the last four years, which included the pandemic, lauding the students’ tenacity and teamwork in the face of adversity.

“ at’s the great thing about athletics and activities. It teaches you life skills,” he told the students. “I’m really proud of you for all you have accomplished.” e Lobos are attending college all over the country from North Carolina to Alaska and from South Dakota to Florida. Coaches and mentors spoke about the 17 students at the signing ceremony, and students also had something to say about their achievements. ship to attend the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver to play trombone.

Frye played trumpet for 10 years before switching to trombone two years ago, and Frye found they enjoyed low brass more than high brass. Frye has realized that throughout their life, music has been a constant.

“I tried sports and activities, but at the end of the day, I always had music,” Frye said, noting that in college, their studies will be wide-ranging in music to be successful professionally in the eld.

Noah Hartmann, lacrosse, St. Leo University, St. Leo, Florida

Wyatt Canaday, lacrosse, Adams State University, Alamosa, Colorado Hartmann has skill, bravery and a bit of insanity as goalie for the Lobos lacrosse team, coach and dad Matt Hartmann said, adding that it meant a lot that he could go on this athletic journey with his son.

Canaday has come a long way since he started playing lacrosse his freshman year, Hartmann said, not-

The final stretch

ing that Canaday just blossomed and has had an amazing journey.

Isabella Krull-Collins, hockey, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin

Krull-Collins’ coach called her a passionate, caring person with a bubbly personality and a drive to play ice hockey. Since CHS doesn’t have its own team, she traveled a lot to be able to practice and compete.

Zoe Peesel, cross country and track & field, Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa

Patrick Doty, cross country and track & field, University of Alaska-Anchorage

Wyatt Bly, cross country and track & field, Chadron State College, Chadron, Nebraska

Coach Blake Wageman said she felt like she and Peesel started the crosscountry journey together, Wageman as a new coach and Peesel as a freshman, explaining that because of Peesel’s love of running, she encouraged the rest of the team with her enthusiasm. She reminded Peesel that she was more than a runner, so she should grow her interests in other areas.

Doty and Bly have been two of the best leaders at CHS, coach Brian Stotts said. Doty has been more than a runner for the team, also taking photos and posting them online, making teammates feel special. “ at’s what leadership looks like,” he said of Doty.

Doty and Bly were two of the most dedicated athletes Stotts has ever seen.

Stotts called Bly a true original, and no one works harder than he does, adding, “He lives his life the right way and his own way.”

Noah Bishop, basketball, Doane University, Crete, Nebraska

Coach John Ra said the most meaningful part of his relationship with Bishop was watching him grow into a responsible player and young man, who helped the team be successful.

Sage Swegle, lacrosse, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon

Swegle is one of the most hardworking, dedicated multi-sport athletes coach Gretchen Lasda has known. “I’ve watched her grow into an incredible leader,” Lasda said.

Teagan Eisenring, soccer, Columbia College, Columbia, South Carolina

Coach Justin Trujillo said Eisenring is a natural leader, who is tenacious and fearless, saying one of the best things for him and for the team was having her as part of the group.

Nic Hudson, football, University of LaVerne, LaVerne, California

Evan Clark, football, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, Nebraska

For two athletes to sign to play football is incredible, coach John Shipley said. Clark is a player who did what the team needed, while Hudson lives and breathes football.

Mason Pratt, baseball, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Liam O’Connor, baseball, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

Aodhan Linehan, baseball, University of Mary, Bismarck, North Dakota

Liam Pfrommer-Pease, baseball, Greensboro College, Greensboro, North Carolina

Myles Jordan, baseball, Garden City Community College, Garden City, Kansas

Coach Scott Payne called Pratt successful because he was productive and competitive. For Pratt, trying hard was not good enough. He is authentically himself, which gives him the ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

Coach Spencer Hamilton called O’Connor one of the best leaders he’s ever seen, noting that he couldn’t say enough about him as a player and a person.

Linehan, a Goldenview Classical Academy student, played baseball for Conifer. Hamilton said Linehan was a massive part of Lobos baseball, calling him a man in a kid’s body.

Jordan, Hamilton said, is always happy and great to be around, a player who could move to di erent positions depending on where he was needed.

Hamilton said Pfrommer-Pease started as an average baseball player who decided he had what it took to play ball in college. e transformation, Hamilton said, has been inspirational, and Pfrommer-Pease is now one of the best players in the league.

EVERGREEN FIRE/RESCUE

Master plan consultant hired Evergreen Fire/Rescue is embarking on a master plan to look at where the department is going in the next 10 years.

e EFR board is spending $58,000 to hire Matrix Consulting Group to produce the plan, which will take about six months to complete. Fire Chief Mike Weege said community outreach will be part of the process. Matrix, with o ces around the country, specializes in re department master plans.

“So they are familiar with how we operate and our volunteer system,” Weege said, noting that Matrix will look at where stations are placed, demographics of the area and more, hopefully validating things the district o cials already know.

e EFR board signed the contract on April 10 and hopes to schedule a kicko meeting with Matrix soon.

INTER-CANYON

Close to nding a new tower location e Inter-Canyon Fire Protection District is “99% of the way” to locating a new re tower in the district, which de nitely will pull a possible location at Station 5 in Hilldale Pines o the table, according to Fire Chief Skip Shirlaw.

Hilldale Pines residents have been adamant that they don’t want an 80-foot communications tower erected at the station. ey have been attending Inter-Canyon re board meetings since November initially to voice their concerns and more recently to learn the status of the new location.

A Hilldale Pines resident asked when the decision on a location would be nal.

“We are in contract negotiations with the property owner,” Shirlaw said at the April 12 re board meeting. “We have settled on a price, but now we are just negotiating the wording in one paragraph. We hope to get a contract to the board next month if not sooner.”

El Pomar grant e Inter-Canyon Fire Protection District has gotten a $10,000 grant from the El Pomar Foundation that will be used to personal protective gear for the wildland personnel.

While $10,000 sounds like a lot of money, re Capt. John Mandl said, it costs $3,000 to buy a full set of bunker gear. A pair of boots alone is $700. A mask and oxygen tank a re ghter wears cost $8,000.

Volunteer recruitment, retention ey suggested one-on-one checkins with the re chief, creating a buddy system to pair a veteran re- ghter or paramedic with someone going through training and more.

And Inter-Canyon re board committee on re ghter and emergency medical personnel recruitment and retention has suggested that the department make retention a higher priority.

Fire Chief Skip Shirlaw liked the ideas, noting that some already had been implemented in the department.

Committee members Jackie White and Natalie Arnett also suggested that volunteers could be found to help with some tasks that re ghters and administration do to relieve some of the clerical tasks.

“ e perception in the community is that the only way to volunteer is being a re ghter or an EMT,” White said, “but what are other things we need from the community?”