Photo Finish

NAMPA — A Skyview High School student will represent Idaho this summer in a national competition for commercial photography.

Kyle Levinger, a junior, won the chance to head to nationals with a first-place finish at state.

But his teacher, Sue Lindsay, said the state win was unexpected because of Levinger's age, adding that the prize usually goes to seniors.

"I was a little surprised," Lindsay said, "but not really. Kyle has a special gift."

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Single-party System

NAMPA -- The end of the Republican primary leaves Canyon County voters with few choices in November.

In a state that consistently votes Republican, only a fraction of local races will be opposed in the Nov. 2 election.

But Jasper LiCalzi, chair of the Politics and Economics Department at Albertson College, explained that Idaho's de facto, one-party system doesn't eliminate voters' ability to choose.

A county Democratic Party official added that the shortage of opposition candidates is no indication of weakness in quality. Chuck Evans, county chairman for the Democratic Central Committee, said each of the party's three candidates in local races are strong enough to win.

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Condor Queen

NAMPA — A girl in Idaho came up with a plan to save the California Condor.

Sara Riggins, a 7th grade student at Nampa Christian School, said lead shot in dead animals as well as poisoned meat set out for other predators killed many of the now-endangered birds.

She said state governors should prohibit the use of lead shot in bullet manufacturing.

Riggins chose to study the condor after hearing about an essay contest on television. She did Internet research and visited the World Center for Birds of Prey. The Boise center has 19 pairs of California Condors.

Riggins wrote up her ideas and sent them to a contest headed by Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. And she won a trip to San Diego.

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Bruised Sky

A swift wind pushes past the roses, leaves pink-tinged petals scattered across the lawn. Baby pears, still white-green, cling to the ends of waving branches while water drops drip from the corner of the carport roof. A cat, cornered by the rain, waits in the woodpile, eyes the shadowy undersides of purple clouds, hovering overhead, out of reach and glaring grim.

Suburban Nights

The crickets are back, singing outside my window. They serenade the night sky, slowing as the temperature descends. A next door dog barks once, drags his chain in a circle, settles in. The neighbor's window flickers blue. A streetlamp on the corner adds an amber glint to pebbles in the road. And in front of every house, black-shadowed sedans and pick-up trucks parked close to the curb.

Music Scene

NAMPA -- A local ska band dreams of putting Nampa on the map.

In the same way third wave ska revolutionized the California music scene in the early 1990s, members of Remote Confederation say they want to start a music revolution in Idaho.

But it won't be an angry revolt. These Skyview High School musicians characterize their performance as positive.

"It's not angry rock," Jordan Tafoya, 18, said. "(We want to) make people happy with our music."

Tyler Bedell, 15, agreed. He said the band provides a fresh contrast to the angry punk style offered by many area groups.

"We don't like screaming about death," Bedell said. "No screaming."

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Michelle Couldn't Hear

At Boise State's spring commencement today, the university president asked for a moment of silence. We waited, almost 10,000 of us, packed to the rafters. The band played a slow rendition of "America the Beautiful," and as it ended, a man yelled. The shout — muffled by bodies and distance — sounded something like a cap gun, a far-off explosion, small but distinct. He let loose a second time and then a third. He was calling a name. Michelle.

Another voice joined his from the opposite end of the pavilion, and then — a sudden swelling — the building was filled with a chorus of calls for Michelle and her classmates.

I'm still haunted by the moment, filled as it was with longing. Thousands — trapped in their seats — reached out with their voices, a compelling cacophony.

Had we been closer, we never would have been so bold.

Parallel Play

In worship, Sunday morning, I realized that I like these people, but we don't have much in common. We stumble through each song. We have trouble getting along so much of the time. There are so many negative feelings that I associate with this group. But washing over it all, I feel love. Inexplicably, I do love them.

In this love, however, I continue to experience frustration as well. 1) It seems we are more interested in programs than people. 2) There is so little opportunity for communion with each other as a part of our worship. 3) Physically, all our attention is on the platform. We are so separated.

Difference-making

GREENLEAF -- Crystal Patrick said her brother's death of leukemia four years ago changed her life.

Now the student at Greenleaf Friends Academy is working to make a difference for others.

"I was really selfish," Patrick said. "Now I want everything to be for people who need it. I can make do with what I have."

Patrick started a community service project to collect toys for patients at St. Luke's Children Hospital.

"I thought how all the kids when my brother was sick, they didn't have a lot of toys," Patrick said. "There are a lot of kids who are in isolation."

She explained that these children cannot share toys with other patients, which creates a constant need for new toys at the hospital.

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