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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)
Wednesday,December30,2015The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon15 Teen typical kid ... with Changing lives through art search & rescue training By Natalie pate Statesman Journal By Neil Zawicki Albany Democrat-Herald ALBANY (AP) — On December 10, Savannah Sharp was in the middle of an Algebra II test at Scio HighSchoolwhenshegota page from the Linn County Sheriff Search and Rescue coordinator. Thatcallexcusedherfrom thetest,becausethe15-year- old Lebanon resident was neededonasearch. Justafewhourslater,she wouldfindherselfatthebot- tomofaravine,helpinglost mushroom-pickerJasonLee Keytosafetyafterhespent acold,wetnightinthewil- derness near Scio. Sharp wasoneofthefirsttoreach Key,anditwasherfirstreal- lifemissionwhereherteam conducted an actual rescue. Becauseoftheterrain,ittook Sharpandherteammembers morethanfourhourstohelp Key to safety once they’d foundhim. “It was actually pretty crazy,”Sharpsaid.“Itwasa near-verticalhillandwewere grabbing branches to climb outofthere.” Sharpjoinedthe75-mem- ber search and rescue team inJune,whenshecompleted the 10-day training acad- emy,whichshedescribedas “intense.” “It’s probably the most intense physical thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.“AndI’maprettyphysi- calperson.” Thetrainingprogramwas designed by Linn County StaffSgt.andSARcoordina- tor Joe Larsen. His Marine Corps background clearly influenced the academy’s conditions. “Wedon’twanttobefind- ingoutthatateammember can’t handle the conditions Old-School-Style BARBER SHOP Veteran’s Discounts & Hot Shaves! Walk-Ins during an actual mission,” Larsensaid.“Fromthemin- ute they get there, we treat them like Marine Corps or Army Infantry basic training.” Sharp described running with sandbags in her back- pack, and carrying stretch- ersloadedwithrocksacross streamsanduphills. “We’ve had big football playersquitduringacademy,” Larsensaid. Along with the disci- pline and physical training, Sharpandherfellowtrainees learned wilderness survival, basicfirstaidanddefibrilla- toroperation. Sharp, who in her spare timeworkswithherfamily’s horses and plays the guitar andsings,saidshe’salways wantedtobeapoliceofficer and has plans to ultimately becomeadetective. In the meantime, she’ll continuetobeexcusedfrom teststogooutandrescuepeo- pleinthewoodsunderless- than-favorable conditions. But that’s no matter: She’s alsoa4.0student. AsanSARteammember, andinkeepingwiththerigors and tradition introduced by Larsen, Sharp is also learn- ingthevalueoftraditionand teamwork.At the beginning oftheacademy,eachtrainee is shown the trademark red T-shirttheteamwearsinthe field, but none of them can wear it until they’ve earned thatrightbycompletingtheir training.Eachteammember alsoearnstherighttocarrya fixed-bladeknife,atraditional pieceofequipmenttheyselect andpurchasethemselves. “I don’t have my knife yet,”Sharpsaid.“I’mgetting itforChristmas.” SALEM (AP) — Spoons ...pots...pans...buckets... water coolers ... a toaster oven. Theseitemsarenotwhat manywouldthinkofastools ofart. Mark Powers sees them differently. With art, you have to learn how to use limited resources (to) solve some of life’s problems. — Mark power “I work in a different type of art,” said Powers, a professional percussionist. “Withart,youhavetolearn howtouselimitedresources (to) solve some of life’s problems.” Powersmovedacrossthe stage,bangingonandtapping thevarioushouseholditems, makingmusic;makingart. Though the youth at the HillcrestYouthCorrectional Facility may have limited resources and limited space toexpressthemselves,anew 10-monthartworkshoppro- gramatthefacilityisgiving themanopportunitytomake artandgrowasindividuals. Powersisoneofthelocal artists who will continue working with the youth of Hillcrest over the coming months. T h e R a i n f o r e s t a n d Concrete Art Program was celebratedatanopenhouseat RobertFarrellHighSchool. Themessagetothecom- munity and the youth was summedupbyJoeO’Leary, deputy director of Oregon YouthAuthority. “Artisresilient,”hesaid, addressing the youth. “You areresilient.” Of the many art projects theyouthhaveparticipatedin overtheyears,allhavebeen intheSalemcommunity,such as the Mosaic outside the YMCAdowntown. “Allartwasbeingplaced away from the youth,” said LynnTakata,residentartistat thefacility. The facility created the newestprograminresponse, asawayfortheyouthtocre- ate something they could keepwiththem. “Ihopeit’ssomethingyou canholdonto,”Takatasaid. Takata has worked with the all-male facility on and offsince2011,whenshedid her first workshop with the youth. “Itwassuchameaningful experience,”shesaid.“Ifelt likeIhadtheopportunityto makeadifference.” Thougheachstudenttakes special interests in different types of art, ranging from music to writing as well as poetry,manyparticipatingin the new program painted a three-bannerartpiece. The rainforest theme of thebannerscamefromapop- ular interest of the youth in SouthandCentralAmerican countries. Though such a painting wouldtypicallybemadeinto amural,thiswasmadeinto abannersoitcouldbetrans- portedtofuturelocationsfor thestudents. A few of the students addressed the audience and sharedtheirthoughtsonthe program. Tomaintaintheidentityof theyouth,onlythefirstinitial ofthestudents’lastnamesare included.Thefacilityprimar- ilyhasyouthages14-18. ReynaldoC.,18,gotinto artatayoungage,inspiredby hisbrother’swork. B u t h a v i n g a l w a y s expressedhimselfinfreestyle art, such as small sketches andgraffiti,hewasn’tsurehe wouldenjoytheartprogram. “This was new to me ... but I love a challenge,” he said. Takatatoldhimtherewas nosuchthingasmessingup inart,buttheperfectionistin him struggled with the con- ceptatthebeginning. Afteracoupleweeks,he saidhebegantounderstand. “Art doesn’t have a for- mula,”hesaid.“Artiswhat youmakeit.” Asidefrombeingableto express themselves through art,theyoutharealsolearn- ingvariousskillsinthepro- gram,suchashowtobetter communicateandcollaborate withoneanother. And for these youth, workingtogetheristhemost importantpart. Reynaldo and ceremony emceeKayshawnH.aregood friends. Kayshawnsaidthatwhen hegetstoworkonthingswith his friends he always has a goodtime. “One of the cool things aboutdoingittogetheristhat something positive, some- thing fun always comes out ofit,”hesaid. art has the ability to heal and transform. — Lynn Takata Takatahopesthestudents have a meaningful engage- mentwiththeartthroughthe workshops. “Arthastheabilitytoheal andtransform,”shesaid. THE GALLERY R E S TA U R A N T A N D B A R Happy New YEar No appt. needed 170 W. Cascade Ave., Ste. 5 (Behind BJ’s Ice Cream) 541-549-9000 Tues-Fri 8 AM-5 PM Sat 7 AM-3 PM Sun-Mon Closed COMPLIMENTARY BEER ON TAP! Thank you, locals and travelers. It’s been our pleasure serving you this past year. Breakfast & Lunch 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily Full-service dining in the bar nightly until 10 p.m. (21 & over) Like ke us! 171 W. Cascade Ave., Sisters • 541-549-2631