Enterprise The Idaho
Caribou County's Newspaper Since 2024
Caribou County, Idaho
March 21, 2024 | Vol. 1 No. 7
Honors Orchestra performs at Tigert; a homecoming for Teresa Norton
Last week, Tigert Middle School hosted district honors orchestra for the first time, bringing in students from Snake River, Blackfoot, Soda Springs, as well as a number of home schooled students. In addition to Orchestra Director Debbie Hansen, special guest conductor Teresa Norton was featured leading the group through three pieces at the end of the day, which were performed for students and parents. The performance pieces included “Gauntlet” by Doug Spata, “Hallelujah” arranged by Robert Longfield, and “Chasing the Storm” by Deborah Baker Monday. Most of the day was spent in sectionals, with a number of volunteer musicians working alongside school faculty to provide focused input and instruction to the group of eager young learners. First violins were led by Aimee Harris, and second violins by Maggie Price. Long time music teacher Kathleen Campbell worked with the violas. Allen Renfroe and Tanner Davis led the cello sectionals. Bass was headed up by Anne Olorenshaw. Longtime music teacher Kathleen Campbell was in attendance for the performance, which was conducted by her former student Teresa Norton. Orchestra in Caribou County has been evolving for a long time, mostly under Campbell’s watchful eye. As she explains, “When my husband and I moved to Soda Springs in 1974 I thought I was the only violin player around for miles. (It turns out that there were two other violinists in Soda Springs who had played in the past.) Only band and choir were taught in the public schools. It became a goal of mine to get a string program into the schools. None of the surrounding communities had strings in their school programs, either.” After finishing her music degree, Campbell set up a private music school following the pattern of a public school music program as much as possible. The school district allowed her to put on assemblies each year with the help of Summerhays music and their traveling clinician, to invite young people to take violin lessons, which turned out to be a big success. A large program
The sectionals allowed each instrument to practice in preparation for the final performance, under the direction of Teresa Norton.
developed with students from all over the county and beyond. She set up a board of directors as a sounding board for parents. Those board members, including Marilyn Kukachka and the late Mary Sorensen, both of Soda Springs, served many years. “We held several string clinics with the school district in Pocatello. Sandra Kenney taught an after school strings program there and we did a few clinics together. The board began an annual fundraiser that allowed us to purchase awards and pay for a private lesson scholarship. Some students later desired to change their instrument to viola, cello, or bass. We were able to purchase orchestra music and a string bass through our fund raiser. Many musicians in the community began developing their stringed instrument skills more fully, including Anne and Wade Olorenshaw of Bancroft. Eventually we developed a community orchestra. People from surrounding communities were invited to join us. We also had a high school chamber ensemble, which went on tour and performed in various music festivals, including the state music festival in Boise.” In 2005, Kathleen and her husband were preparing to serve a senior mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “At that time, to
Kathleen Campbell and her former student, guest conductor Teresa Norton following last week’s orchestra performance.
make sure the strings program kept going, Kristie Godfrey, the mother of two of my students, together with Mary Sorensen and I, formed an organization called Caribou Highlands Strings. Kristie was the chairman of that organization. It became an after school program. We were able to hold classes in the school building. Several people assisted in the teaching of these classes, including myself, Kim Thompson and Debbie Hansen. This program continued for several years, with Debbie Hansen taking over the chairman duties when Kristie Godfrey moved away. Debbie has since developed that program until it has become an actual part of the school curriculum that it is today.” According to Debbie Hansen, Marsh Valley usually hosts a district 5 middle school honors clinic each year. In the past, it has been band and choir only. Last year, orchestra was invited for the first time, and she says the kids loved it. “When I told them they wouldn’t have honors orchestra this year, they were disappointed, so me and Maggie Price decided to create our own. This was the first time we have hosted at Tigert Middle School. The guest conductor and teachers were asked by me if they would participate. I knew most of them from our community orchestra here in Soda Springs.” In fact, Hansen credits the adults in the area for being the reason the strings program has continued. “I think a lot of the support for string instruments in Soda Springs comes from adults who play. Many of us were taught in larger areas and have been able to bring our skills to our small town. Kathleen Campbell has been a huge part of it all and I have tried hard to get it in the schools. Superintendent Mollie Stein was instrumental in getting that set up about five years. Before that, we had an after school program that has existed since before I moved here in 2004.” Hansen’s own path to her position as orchestra director wasn’t direct either. “When I got married, I moved to Soda and Kristie Godfrey found out I played the violin. She introduced me to the community orchestra and the Caribou Highland Strings program and asked me to teach. I’d never taught before, but really enjoyed it. I taught on and off as I had kids and helped on the board. I wanted my time after school with my kids, so I lobbied for the school to have the program and they worked it out,” she says. In Soda Springs, general music is part of every student’s curriculum unORCHESTRA On Page 2
INSIDE Obituaries ......................................................Pg. 3 News of Record.............................................Pg. 5 Puzzles...........................................................Pg. 6
Looking Back................................................Pg. 7 Candidate Announcements.....................Pg. 9 Sports.................................................... Pg. 11-12
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NEWS IN BRIEF Putin wins “election,” extending one-man rule in Russia President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the stage-managed Russian election held last week. Putin was declared the winner immediately after the polls closed, with nearly 90% of the vote. The autocrat has been in charge of Russia since the turn of the millennium, and will continue in that role until he reaches the age of 77 in 2030, after which he presumably will continue to win as many elections as he would like, since passing a law in 2020 eliminating term limits for the executive. The widely acknowledged charade of the Russian election is a source of humor for many, but it is accompanied by the darker reality of the fact that countless members of the opposition in Russia have died in mysterious circumstances over the last three decades of Putin’s power. Against the backdrop of the ongoing war with Ukraine and recent death of opposition leader Alexy Navalny, protests were more widespread than in the past.
Utah 9 year old uses hatchet in murder of father A 9 year old boy in Tooele, Utah, is accused of murdering his 32 year old father with a handgun. A “tomahawk style hatchet” was also believed to have been used in the crime, although the exact nature of the hatchet’s use was not released to the public. Police initially thought that the man had committed suicide based on the crime scene, but as they investigated the body it became apparent that the angle of the shot and the presence of defensive wound meant that a second person must have been involved. Five children under the age of 11 were also in the house at the time. An investigation of the crime, the potential motive, and the timeline of events is ongoing, though the community surrounding the family is shocked at the incident and the age of the perpetrator.
Former VP Pence declines to endorse former boss Some commentators stated that they were shocked by former Vice President Mike Pence’s announcement that he could not at present support Donald Trump’s presidential bid “in good conscience.” Others saw the announcement as confirming something of a foregone conclusion. The relationship between the two men has never been particularly warm, and was more or less permanently broken by the reaction of Trump’s base to Pence’s actions (or lack thereof) during the January 6th attacks on the capital. Pence stated that his refusal to endorse Trump was due to the latter’s statements walking back a total abortion ban and supporting Vladimir Putin, though many issues have been cited as disagreements between the two.