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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2020)
16 Wednesday, March 4, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon SCREEN FREE: Break from technology boosts well-being Continued from page 1 <It was weird at first,= said Bennitt, <but now I9m play- ing more Monopoly, playing with my dog more, playing baseball 4 doing a lot more stuff outside than I normally would.= Outdoor activity, time in nature, and making real con- nections with other people and animals: all have been shown to be good for kids (and adults, too). Too much screen use, on the other hand, has been linked to depres- sion, anxiety, and feeling less empathy toward others. Did he notice any changes in how he felt, during this unusual week? Bennitt thought for a moment before replying, <I don9t get as mad as easily.= He said he9d like it if the school had screen-free times once a month, for a few days. He added he might do it even without a reward. At Hoodoo on Friday, SES families gathered with their coupons after school. For $15, each family member could enjoy skiing and riding in the late afternoon sun and on into the night4including equip- ment rental. Clouds drifted overhead, dark grey and glowing peach, as the sun waned. The figures on the hill, skiing and snow- boarding, became inky sil- houettes against the dimly lit SKI CHAMPS: First trip to state competition in many years Continued from page 6 On the girls side, Lewis9s race looked to be one of her best slalom runs ever, but she caught a gate and crashed on her first run. Hollie skied a really clean second run and came in sixth and earned 22 points. Sydney Wilkins, Skylar Wilkins, and Adelt came in one right after the other with 29th, 30th, and 31st respective finishes. Cohen was 39th, and Cramer finished 41st. The Lady Outlaws fin- ished fifth in the slalom race. Both the boys and girls teams ended up with a fourth- place finish overall for the season. The boys were just a fraction away from grabbing the third-place spot. <The seniors on the varsity boys team have been work- ing hard for years, and this season represented a culmi- nation of that effort,= said Chladek. <They came really close to a top-three season fin- ish, and even though they fell just a bit short they exceeded snow. A dad reached out a pole to drag his preschooler in her pink helmet, back and forth. A daredevil youngster on skis, not yet bothering with poles, zoomed down the dusk- tinted hill, directly back into the short, fast lift line, pushing his feet into a snowplow V at the very last second. Parents and kids expressed delight that Hoodoo had offered this opportunity. One student got his very first chance to put on skis and give the sport a whirl. His mother, Renee Stelle, lamented that screen time is so <ingrained= in her family. <It9s such a bad habit in our family,= Stelle said ruefully. <Everybody9s on their screen, every day. We try to limit the times 4 but if I9m busy with a big cleaning chore or cooking dinner, I forget to tell them to stop.= Parents, kids, and other individuals of all ages expe- rience frustration trying to scale back their screen use, partly because today9s games, apps, and devices are engi- neered specifically to promote <engagement.= This can lead to habitual use and addiction. (See related story, page 17). Inside the lodge, some adults and teens stared at their phones. But mostly, a relaxed, friendly, small-town atmo- sphere permeated the scene. Locals from around Sisters Country chatted and listened to live music. A talented har- monica player caught his groove, playing along with singer-guitarist Jerry Zyback. The duo performed blues numbers and classics from Johnny Cash, The Beatles, and The Grateful Dead. Musicians play in the lodge weekly from 5 to 9 p.m. for Hoodoo9s Friday Night Lights program. A pack of little children from nearby Camp Sherman rushed through the spacious upstairs loft. The town9s tiny Black Butte School includes Friday ski days at Hoodoo in their outdoor education pro- gram; teachers and parents lounged around tables and socialized. A gaggle of teen- age boys leaped up the stairs and surrounded a mom well- stocked with snacks. Plenty of beer, fries, steaks, and chicken strips were con- sumed. Some adventurous skiers brought campers and trailers for an overnight park- ing lot experience. SES Principal Joan Warburg praised the work of Sisters Parent-Teacher Community group (SPTC), which spearheaded the event. She said she was especially appreciative of board member Haley Ellis, who worked hard to make it happen. Outside, lights illumi- nated ski runs as the sky went black. Some skiers glowed or blinked, swathed in multicol- ored strings of LED lights. Eventually snow began to fall, billowing against the lodge9s walls, shining in its outdoor light. The big flakes looked like moths clustering at a streetlamp. A young man standing underneath suddenly flipped up his snowboard, everyone9s expectations in the league this year.= The top four varsity teams in the league advance to the State championships, and both the boys and girls teams will be in attendance. The State championships will be held on Mount Ashland, Wednesday through Friday, March 4-6. <We9re super-excited to race at a new venue and see how we can do against some of the other Oregon teams that we haven9t seen in quite a long time,= said Chladek. The boys JV team also got to participate in the league finals, and three racers qualified for the finals in the giant slalom on Friday. Christopher Lundgren logged the best finish of the day at 37th overall, and was followed by Connor Petty, who finished in 42nd place. Simon Rhett raced hard, but sadly crashed on both runs. <Simon may have crashed, but I always have a lot of respect for a racer who9s push- ing hard and discovering the limits,= said Chladek. On Saturday, Rhett was Sisters9 only JV racer that qualified for slalom finals. He skied two good runs and came in 35th overall for the day. PHOTO BY TL BROWN Hoodoo Ski Bowl hosted elementary school families Friday during a special Screen-Free Week event. holding himself up with one arm, and landed gracefully. Hoodoo opens 23 runs for night skiing and riding Thursday through Saturday from 3:30 to 9 p.m. More information is available at www.hoodoo.com. Sisters kids will share more with the community about their experiences trying out Screen-Free Week. Look for it in an upcoming edition of <Kids in Print= in The Nugget. READY FOR TIRE CHANGEOVER? Call and make your appointment now for no-wait service! DAVIS TIRE 541-549-1026 Serving Sisters Since 1962 188 W. 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