Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two scheduled to appear in Sunday’s Tribune.
———
GRANGEVILLE — Third grade Grangeville Elementary Middle School student Addyson Fuller received a royal ride to school Jan. 27. Not in a limousine or a Rolls Royce or even on a Harley or a Clydesdale.
Addison arrived at school in a snowplow.
“It was fun!” the 8-year-old grinned.
Addyson has a deep connection with snowplows. Not only do both her parents, Jay and Beth Fuller, work for ITD (Idaho Transportation Department) and drive snowplows, but she also had the honor of naming the one her mother drives.
ITD selected 12 winners from its first annual Name a Snowplow contest in December. The name will be featured on 12 plows across the state.
Most of the names were submitted by eighth-grade classrooms across the state. Because this was a new contest this year, a few areas needed extra help coming up with names. ITD asked employees and their children to get involved. The 12 winning names were selected by an anonymous vote by ITD employees.
As the plow names have been installed, ITD has coordinated educational visits with the winners to teach the students about snowplows and safe winter driving.
“On behalf of safety for our more than 400 plow drivers in Idaho, thank you to all the students and teachers for getting involved! It really helps us spread the word about winter driving safety,” said ITD Chief Operations Officer and Chief Deputy Director Dan McElhinney. “Please look for those named plows and give them a wave and plenty of space to work if you see them out on highways helping our communities.”
Addyson named the Grangeville snowplow “Alpha Storm One” after a special, feisty person in her life: Her great-grandmother.
“Her name is Alpha and my dad would call her Alpha Storm,” laughed Addyson, describing her mother’s late grandmother, or her “GG.”
Addyson was able to complete some extra large show and tell last week as her classmates and friends toured two snowplows on the GEMS grounds.
“She’s a great kid, always happy,” Beth said of her daughter. She and her husband grew up in the Kamiah and Kooskia areas and have four children; Addyson is the youngest. They have each worked for ITD for just more than three years.
And what does young Addyson want to do when she grows up? As if we had to ask.
“I want to drive a snowplow!” she exclaimed.
— Lorie Palmer, Idaho County Free Press (Grangeville), Wednesday
Call off the dogs: Idaho Sled Dog Challenge canceled for avalanche danger
McCALL — The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge 200-mile race was canceled mid-race on Tuesday after heavy snowfall put mushers and their teams avalanche danger.
Race marshal Mark Cox placed both the 100- and 200-mile races on a 12-hour hold at 4 a.m. Tuesday after reports of an avalanche and worsening conditions.
Meanwhile, three 100-mile race teams were held at Little Ski Hill and the three 200-mile race teams were held at the Wye checkpoint.
Seven of the 100-mile teams had left Little Ski Hill before the hold began and finished the race at the Wye checkpoint.
Nicole Lombardi, of Lincoln, Mont., finished first in the 100-mile race for the third consecutive year with a time of 18 hours and 44 minutes.
Dallin Donaldson, of Coalville, Utah, was second with Madeline Rubida, of Lincoln, Mont., in third, racing Lombardi’s backup sled dog team.
On Tuesday morning at around 7 a.m., the race officials decided to cancel the 200-mile race.
“The safety of our mushers and their teams is paramount,” said race co-founder and trails coordinator Dave Looney. “The safety margin was not adequate to warrant continuing the race, and that was confirmed when I spoke with the Valley County (snowmobile trail) groomers this morning.”
Officials awarded mushers in the 200-mile race based on how they arrived at the Wye checkpoint and their time completing the 58-mile first segment of the trail.
Wade Donaldson, of Coalville, Utah, was awarded first with a time of 9 hours, 14 minutes. Second was Clayton Perry, of Power, Mont., and Charmayne Morrison, of Bozeman, Mont., was third.
This year’s 200-mile race will not serve as an Iditarod qualifier because the race was cut short. However, that decision will not affect Morrison, who has already qualified to compete in this year’s Iditarod Feb. 27-March 6.
This is the third time the ISDC has been canceled. The race was canceled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s race was canceled due to not having enough snow.
Three mushers took on the 200-mile course while ten mushers competed in the 100-mile course.
The 100-mile racers were expected to finish on Tuesday and the 200-mile racers were expected to finish on Wednesday, but mushers expected the race to take longer with the recent snowfall.
For Michael Tarver, a musher from Driggs, the 100-mile race was his first. He expected the blizzard conditions to slow everyone down.
“That’s dog mushing, it is an outdoor activity, it’s not an indoor thing,” said Tarver. “The weather is always the equalizer.”
His race plan was to keep his dogs at a constant, slow pace since deeper snow is more likely to twist a dog’s ankle than well packed snow. Before the race began, he hydrated and rested his dogs while he readied the sled and harnesses.
Musher Madeline Rubida, of Lincoln, Mont., came into the race knowing the snowy conditions would change the course throughout the race.
— Sierra Christie, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday
For instance, if new snow piles on top of the groomed trail, it could be better to let other racers go ahead of her to break trail, she said. If the racers ahead of her stir up the trail too much, it would be better to get in front.
Results of the 100-mile course are:
Nicole Lombardi, Lincoln, Mont.
Dallin Donaldson, Coalville, Utah.
Madeline Rubida, Lincoln, Mont.
Jesika Reimer, Emigrant Gap, Calif.
Natalie Donaldson Wilson, Coalville, Utah.
Alexandra Ness, Trego, Mont.
Kelly Barton, Bend, Ore.
Redman Glisson, Power, Mont.
Michael Tarver, Driggs, Idaho.
Elizabeth Nevills, Middleton, Idaho.
