Everything happened September 2, A.D. 2015: The …...smokejumper crew returning from the Royal Fire north of Big Peak. The Royal Fire was a lightning-sparked blaze that was quickly

Twin Otters Come to Fairfield!F Free VIP subscriptions to The Weekly Beaver are available via Email! [email protected]!

Everything happened! n September 2, A.D. 2015: The Tooth, the Whole Tooth, and Nothing But the Tooth!!!

Ketchum-Featherville Road blows out again! Re-opening Date Uncertain! Slope instability dates from 2013 Kelly Fire!

he beloved and popular backwoods turnpike along the South Fork of the Boise River is now rudely interrupted by substantial road washouts and river course shifts between Little Hole and Skeleton Creek. USFS and Camas County crews are preparing for a long road restoration project. Baumgartner

Campground, downstream of the blowout, is still approachable from the Pine-Featherville side.❦

Smokejumpers Out! The Fairfield International Airport received a rare visit by two Twin Otters last week. The big planes dropped in to collect the McCall smokejumper crew returning from the Royal Fire north of Big Peak. The Royal Fire was a lightning-sparked blaze that was quickly squelched by air and ground resources mobilized by the U.S. Forest Service. ❦

Count the Otters in this picture! Photo by Fortuitously Named John Pine of the U.S.F.S.

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Masters of Gravity! Zach Freundlich, one of the elite smokejumpers who worked on the Royal Fire north of Big Peak, obligingly posed last week before boarding a Twin Otter at Fairfield International Airport for the return to their McCall base. At the airport, the smokejumpers geared up ready to jump in case their services were called upon during the return to McCall.

Log truck traffic on Wells Summit Road! Use Caution! From USFS: Heavy log truck traffic is now rolling from Cannonball Creek south over Wells Summit and down Soldier Road through Fairfield ending at the end of September. Alternate routes suggested! ❦

Remembering Mel Olson! Saturday, September 12!

There will be a memorial get together for Mel at the Senior Center Community Room in Fairfield on Saturday, September 12 starting about 2 p.m. Come share any memories of Mel you may have or listen as Roxane attempts to share some of her memories from 41+ years with Mel. ❦

Senior Center! Belly up to the potato bar! Breakfast Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.! Lunches TW&F! Wednesday! Turkey potpie! Friday: Meat loaf! Next Tuesday: Spaghetti! Next Wednesday? Potato bar! ❦

Museum to open Labor Day Weekend! The Fairfield Museum will be open on Labor Day weekend on Sunday and Monday, September 6 and 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. And don’t forget about the Museum's 'Fall Fest' on October 3 – coming up! ❦


Camas students head for the woods! Leadership Challenge Camp! chool launched on a different step for the Camas County junior and senior high school

students and staff. The teachers for grades 6-12 and two-thirds of the students spent Tuesday and Wednesday, August 25-26, at the Sawtooth Camp participating in activities that build teamwork, personal effectiveness and leadership. At the heart of the training was the Challenge Course, capably led and facilitated by camp managers Dave and Candace Hargreaves. The course lived up to its name as it pushed participants to work beyond their comfort zone in a team context, solving problems together.

Throughout the two days, we related camp activities to personal effectiveness and leadership principles we’re learning and will be stressing throughout the year. In fact, these are principles we’re infusing throughout the school in all grade levels. You can check them out for

yourself in the bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Students and staff were divided into mixed age groups to create something resembling family units. Interactions were very constructive as we worked together and played together. Feedback from students and staff alike has been positive with many already looking forward to the next one. It was a motivating start to the new school year. – CCHS Principal Jeff Rast ❦

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Camas Students Outperform State on ISAT + SAT Scores From CCHS Principal Jeff Rast: Several news stories have already come out in the last couple of weeks regarding school and student performance on the new ISAT assessment and the SAT assessments. Keep in mind that the new ISAT (Idaho Standards Achievement Test) is actually the Smarter Balanced Assessment, which measures performance against the new Idaho Core Standards.

The test was piloted two years ago. Because it was a pilot test, schools did NOT get any data since the results were subject to a national norming analysis. The ISAT measures student performance on English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics in grades 3-10. The results for our students’ performance on the ISAT they took last spring are in. We are guardedly encouraged by the results. For Mathematics, our students scored about 3% above the state average with considerable variability among the classes. Five of the eight grades tested scored well above the state average. In English Language Arts/Literacy, our school scored 22% above the state average with all but one class scoring significantly to dramatically above the state average. Keep in mind that these are results from one test. Such an approach is never as good as a series of assessments that give a “moving” picture of growth over time. Nevertheless, the results are encouraging.

As of two years ago, the State of Idaho provided funds to ensure that all public school juniors could take the SAT (which originally meant the Scholastic Aptitude Test) free of charge. The SAT is a globally recognized college admission assessment that tests a student’s knowledge of reading, writing and math. Previously, taking the test was totally optional for those wanting to go to college. Now, all students are tested rather than just the college-bound students. A perfect score on the SAT is 2400 points. The average for college-bound students nationwide is about 1500. Idaho’s statewide average on the test taken last April was 1353. The average for Camas County High School juniors last April was 1460, well above the state average. Another factor to keep in mind is that tiny schools such as ours can experience considerable variability from year to year. Nonetheless, the results for our school in both the ISAT and SAT are encouraging. It’s something we’ve all (students, teachers, staff and parents) have worked on together. ❦

Root for the Musher teams! Yes, sports scores to begin next week! Photos by Jeff Ralph!




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Everything happened September 2, A.D. 2015: The …...smokejumper crew returning from the Royal Fire north of Big Peak. The Royal Fire was a lightning-sparked blaze that was quickly