The Idaho Enterprise | February 1, 2024

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Enterprise The Idaho

Oneida County's News Since 1879 Malad City, Idaho

February 1, 2024 |Vol. 144 No. 5

"Secret Garden" brings magic to town After a short but intense week of auditions, rehearsal, pre-production, and learning about different facets of the performance process, students of Malad Elementary helped the Missoula Children’s Theatre put on a performance of “The Secret Garden” over the weekend. The large cast of student actors was involved in the process of putting on a play from casting to curtain call, becoming parts of a unique learning experience. And while a week is certainly not a long time to practice, stage, block, and memorize an entire musical, the elementary students managed to pull off a great set of performances on Saturday afternoon. This is the third year that the Missoula Children’s Theatre program has staged a production in Malad. When the MCT visits, they not only put on a production at the end of the week to show off the results of their work, but also leave the less obvious legacy of raising the students’ interest in drama, music, costuming, production, and other aspects of the art. In addition, all the students of the school learn about valuable personal skills like public speaking and memorization, and personal traits like confidence and a willingness to try things that they might be somewhat afraid of. Public speaking is consistently ranked as one of the top fears among adults, but children often have natural showman tendencies that can be cultivated early to help them see social interaction as a natural and positive experience, rather than a source of anxiety. Due to the compressed nature of the production, the students also learn a great deal about time management and adaptability. Co-director Bejamin Gessleman explained to the audience that “These kids started on Monday. They had five days to pull this entire show together. For most professional people, it would take months, or even years. But these kids showed that if they give enough hard work and passion to something, they will absolutely dominate it, and I am so proud of these kids.” “You guys are in for a very special

The Fireflies are center stage in a scene in which Mary (Karymyn Charles) is beginning to change into a nicer person. The “Secret Garden” performed twice on Saturday at the auditorium.

treat. We have been working with these kids all week, and they have really been cracking me and Hannah up. We love how passionate they are.” Gessleman was behind the scenes during the play itself, while co-director Hannah Sullivan filled the role of a narrator character (Detective Del, P.I.) on stage during the play. Sullivan’s presence on stage is helpful for both the audience, who are presented with an ongoing plot summary in the person of the detective “investigating the case,” and most especially for the child actors. As a character on stage, Sullivan is able to “feed” lines to any actors who may be searching for what to say next, or redirect any scenes that go off track a bit. What was particularly impressive to see was the way that the actors helped each other out without any prompting, by suggesting the next line, or subtly indicating who the next speaker was. The idea that in order for the performance to truly work all the actors needed to work together seemed to have been internalized in a serious way. In fact, the concept of bettering oneself by helping others to better themselves is a central theme of the book on which the play is based. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel, which was first published in 1909 as a multi-part

magazine serial in the manner of the works of Charles Dickens, was written as a children’s book suitable for adult audiences. Within the canon of children’s literature, it follows the structure of a story in which the main character evolves over the course of the story through meeting others and learning to empathize with them, ultimately becoming a more complete and rounded individual. The book’s events do edge a bit darker, with the main character’s parents having died of cholera, her aunt having died in the titular garden, and her cousin being afflicted with a debilitating muscular condition. While the more somber elements of the book are tacitly acknowledged in some ways, the focus of the adapted children’s version is on the journeys of Mary and her cousin Colin from their initial, spoiled selves to more compassionate and vibrant ones capable of celebrating their experiences and the world around them. The “Secret Garden,” unlocked by a key from the robin, serves as an analog for their blossoming emotional progress, becoming more cheerful and full of life as the story progresses. Most of the actors fill roles created for the adaptSECRET GARDEN On Page 2

RACOON Winter Field Day Bill Drury, president of the RACOON club (Radio Amateur Club of Oneida Neighbors), planned for a full 24 hours on site at this winter’s Field Day on Saturday. As of Saturday night, his heater new equipment trailer’s heater was going full blast and his sleeping bag was ready for deployment but he was happy to note that things had gone well so far. Everyone on hand, including his wife Tracy, Brenda and Don Daniels, Jim Mustos, and Bret Anderson were also happy to mention that the weather was much less of a problem than it had been during the very snowy winter of last year. During the course of the 24 hour field day, many other member of the RACOONs spent time at the operations center in Malad’s City Park. The main trailer was equipped with an array of communication devices and displays, as well as a very important heater. A new addition for this year’s test was Drury’s mobile communication trailer, which operates on a generator and allows for easy mobile relocation to wherever a radio support setup might be

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Drone strike kills 3 US servicemembers in Jordan

A drone strike on Sunday in a small outpost in Jordan resulted in the loss of three American servicemembers, and represents the first U.S. lives lost in the growing Middle East conflict that began when Hamas attacked Israel and Israel began a ground response in October. President Biden has stated that he holds Iran responsible for the drone attacks, and has decided how to respond to the provocation, but did not make details of the response public as of press time. He reiterated the position that he does not want to widen the war in the area, though the administration does want to respond in such a way as to prevent future attacks on U.S. forces in the region. In addition to the three fatalities, over 40 other service members were injured in the attack.

Election Season Updates

A number of developments that will impact the ongoing presidential election cycle took place over the last week, including a judgment against Trump in the defamation court case against him, narrowing margins in the House, escalating international tensions, and pending legislative actions. Most recently, a bipartisan bill to begin securing the southern border was declared “dead” by GOP insiders, who have been vocally opposed to its passage. Former President Trump has been leading the call to abandon the bill. Compromise between the Senate and House sides of the legislature seem unlikely to allow for passage of the bill without further changes, if at all. South Carolina’s presidential primary contest will be held on February 24, leaving another month of campaigning for Trump and his only remaining competitor Nikki Haley. Those results could effectively end the primary if Trump dominates it.

WWE Founder Vince McMahon resigns amid scandal

Vince McMahon resigned from his position as executive chairman of TKO, the company that controls the WWE, after allegations of sexual assault, abuse, and human trafficking. McMahon has been a controversial figure many times in the past, but the recent allegations bring to light a record of serious and persistent illegality on his part. It was revealed that McMahon has settled a number of similar accusations in the past with monetary payouts, but the lawsuit filed by a former staffer is moving forward, leading to the resignation. McMahon is accused of extorting employees with promises of promotions and financial rewards.

Governor Little supports death sentence for Creech

RACOON Club president Bill Drury makes contacts around the world from the mobile trailer at the Winter Field Day event in Malad's City Park.

needed. “It snowed then thawed then iced over again, which wasn’t ideal. This year, it’s been great though!” Bret Anderson said. Anderson is a member of both the RACOONs and the

Golden Spike Club who generally mans the main communication trailer. The Winter Field day take place in Malad, and a field day later in the RACOON On Page 2

INSIDE THE ENTERPRISE School Board report............................Pg. 3 Looking Back...........................................................Pg.7 Obituaries.............................................Pg. 4 Boys Basketball/Wrestling...............................Pg.11 Puzzles.................................................Pg. 6 Lady Dragons Basketball.....................................Pg.12

Idaho’s longest serving inmate on death row was denied clemency by the state parole board, and his execution will continue as scheduled. The parole board voted 3-3 to uphold the sentence, which resulted in a lack of majority support for a change to the sentence. The seventh member of the board recused himself from the decision for unstated reasons. Governor Little declined to grant clemency or commutation. Creech was convicted of five murders, including the death of another prison inmate, in 1981. It is believed that he is responsible for many more murders for which he has not officially been charged. He himself has claimed to have been involved in anywhere from 26 to 42 murders, and asked to be allowed to die of natural causes.


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