The year that was was a busy year, to coin a phrase.  While it can seem that not much is really going on from day to day, with a year’s worth of material to look over it quickly becomes apparent that such is not the case.  

As mentioned in the opening article of this paper, this issue is largely devoted to ongoing news, coloring pictures, and Sports Year in Review, but to take some of the burden off next week, we’re presenting here some of the biggest headlines of the year.  A lot of pretty important things changed this year.  For a county that in many ways is fond of tradition and predictability, some of those changes will take time to get used to.

Here are some of the top stories that we will explore in greater detail next week:

MES held its first full year of classes in 2025.

Malad Elementary School

After much anticipation and a few delays, the new elementary school officially opened its doors to students on Monday for the start of 2025.  

Students spent the last week at the old elementary school right next door saying their goodbyes to the building, dotting their I’s and crossing their T’s, and in some cases, writing their names on the walls.  Students were given permission to “leave their mark” on the classrooms and other special areas of the building as they prepared to say goodbye.  

In addition to being more efficient, the new setup is also considerably safer, which the same parent mentioned.  The line of sight from the office to the street was occluded by structures and trees in the past, whereas now the main office has a clear view of the parent pickup lane and can serve as an additional set of eyes.  

Changes coming to Malad
Valley’s Welsh Festival

With the goal of “celebrating and preserving the Welsh heritage of Malad Valley,” the Festival began in 2005 with no budget, a dozen activities, and lots of volunteers.  In 2025 the Festival was well funded with grants, donations, vendor fees, and sales at the Country Store.  Nearly 40 events and activities took place over the two days last year. In addition to the 36 committee chairs, over 100 volunteers remained essential to the Festival’s success.

Even before the 2025 Festival, some major committee chairs expressed their desire that this Festival be their last.  With nearly half of the 36 committee chairs having worked on various aspects of the Festival for 10-15 years (with some serving nearly 20 years), it became evident that this was the time to make some major changes. 

The new site of the Welsh Festival in Samaria.

Luke Waldron has been part of the Festival from its beginning, mostly by offering activities at the Heritage Square in Samaria.  His enthusiasm for Wales and Welsh pioneer heritage is well known throughout Malad Valley.  Therefore, he was the natural choice to become the next chair of the Festival, replacing Jean Thomas, who has served as co-chair for 2 years and chair for 18 years. The Heritage Square Committee, chaired by Waldron, will take over all planning and organizing of the Festival once the transition is complete.

The Welsh history, culture, and traditions that the Welsh pioneers brought with them to the Malad Valley will continue, just with some changes that will strengthen that focus.  The Festival will continue to invite everyone – whether or not you are Welsh – to the Malad Valley Welsh Festival at Heritage Square.

Thomas Market

A familiar sign.

 Malad icon, Thomas Market, was sold to Broulim’s in 2025.  Jerry and Brenda Thomas made the announcement over the summer, and the transition began slowly.  Thomas Market has deep-founded roots in the Malad community which were planted and cultivated by Stan Thomas and carried on by Dennis, Brenda, and Jerry Thomas. The residents of Oneida County have long supported and been able to depend on the service provided by the Thomas Family and the employees at Thomas Market.  In return, the Thomas family and their employees have enjoyed serving and being an integral part of the Malad community.  It’s no exaggeration to say it will take many people a long time to stop themselves from saying “Thomas Market.”

Hospital Ice Cream Social celebrates 100 years 

In June, Nell J Redfield Hospital hosted an ice cream social to thank the community for its support over the last 100 years.  The event is one of the many planned for this centenary year, over which the hospital, and the Enterprise, are looking back at the last century of service and professionalism in the county.  NJRMH’s Kathy Hubbard and John Williams, as well as many members of the hospital and clinic’s staffs, spent the afternoon chatting with the crowds of people who stopped by for a cold ice cream bar.  Williams provided a DJ set, and was happy to talk over it to those in attendance about what the hospital has planned for the next 100 years. 

NJRH employees celebrate 100 years.

There were no long speeches at the event, which saw constant streams of visitors throughout the afternoon.  There was, however, a lot of chatting and conversation between the administration, the staff, patients, and community members—almost all of whom have had (or currently have) family members that have been cared for over the course of the hospital’s existence.  That difference, the one between a distant, public event, and the less formal person-to-person experience, is central to the way that the hospital operates.  While an impressive array of awards, recognitions, and ratings from professional health care organizations attest to the professionalism and quality of the hospital, that isn’t in the end more important than the relationship that people in the community have with it.

School District

In February, Dallan Rupp was hired to be the new superintendent of the Oneida School District #351. Jon Abrams, the former Superintendent, emphatically stated when he was hired that he would stay in the position for five years. His term of service will concluded with his retirement at the end of June 2025.

As a result, Robert Hannah and Joshua Smith took on new principal roles.  

Robert Hannah, who has served in many positions in the district over the last 37 years including Lunch Services supervisor, counselor, and principal of the elementary and middle schools, was hired to replace Rupp at the high school.

Joshua Smith, currently the AD and Vice Principal at MHS, was hired as principal at the Middle School.

The Combine

School is ideally a place where students acquire the skills they will need to make them successful throughout the rest of their lives.  While that includes many concepts that can seem abstract at the time—critical thinking, analysis, group work, organization, problem solving, geometry—the Construction Combine gives students a way to directly see those concepts in action as they work together to construct a set of sheds which are then presented to Idaho veterans. 

The Combine, spearheaded by the Continuing Education Workforce Training (CEWT) program at Idaho State University, is made of a large number of moving parts, including contractors, sponsors, leaders, volunteers, businesses, and students.  This year, a number of those essential parts came from Malad, along with other schools in Southeast Idaho.  There are two main goals for the Combine, according to its organizers—to honor veterans, and to provide an opportunity for students considering entering into the construction field to get hands-on experience with the processes and skills involved.  Over the past years, it has also been a rare chance for interested students to make connections with potential employers looking for motivated and interested potential employees.

Construction Combine.

“They said that every year there are people who end up with job offers because of this combine,” student Mordecai Charles said, a sentiment that was echoed by organizers and contractors alike.  Charles and four of his classmates (Jefferson Buttars, Kendan McCullough, Hunter Allen, and Beth Schardine) were brought to the combine by MHS teacher Kami Willie, who had heard about the event and thought it sounded like a fun idea.

Active Shooter Drill

In October, agencies from around Oneida County and beyond held an “Active Shooter Exercise” at Malad High School.  The event was complex, and involved the participation, support, and efforts of dozens of people in order to be the success that it was.  “Success” in this case means that the exercise went the way that it was designed to in terms of its testing parameters, and generated the kinds of hard data as well as experiential outcomes that will help each of the institutions involved clarify their emergency response protocols for situations that can only be unthinkable to those that will not have to potentially deal with them as the first lines of action.  

While very few of us will ever go through such a traumatic event in “real life,” that is not true of the first line responders, who deal with incredibly difficult situations all the time.  And it also isn’t true of our school employees, who at the very least deal with the prospect of such things.  And of course, students who are confronted with yearly training for active shooters are constantly reminded of how thin the line is between safety and chaos.  With exercises like this one, however, those who are called upon to respond will be much better forearmed.

Active Shooter drill at MHS.

 Agencies involved include: Oneida County Ambulance, Oneida County Schools, Oneida County Search and Rescue, Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, Nell J Redfield Memorial Hospital, Oneida County Officials, IHLA, Idaho Enterprise, Tera Young (ISU), Dan Williams (Oneida County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator), Eric Hobson (Caribou County Emergency Services), Darin Letzring and others from the Idaho Office of Emergency Management, Guy Bleisner from Idaho School Safety and Security, and many others.

Oneida Crisis Center Fundraiser writes a new verse

The Oneida Crisis Center held its annual fundraising event last Friday, and the organizers decided to try something a bit different.  In the past, the Gala has featured a dinner and auction, along with speeches and recognition for the staff and community.

This year, the Center envisioned something more audience-oriented, and brought in a high-energy pair of musicians for a “Dueling Piano” concert that generated megawatts of entertainment for everyone who attended. 

Dueling Pianos at the Crisis Center event.

New Crisis Center Director Malena Jimenez, along with former Director Holly Llewellyn, Jade Curtis, Emily Nelson, and many current and past board members were on hand at the event for a night of food, friends, and music.   

Kathy Kent awarded Lifetime Achievement honors by ILA

During last week’s conference of the Idaho Library Association, recently retired Oneida County Library director Kathy Kent was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the closing evening banquet.  Kathy joined three other Lifetime Achievement recipients, which constituted the first class of the newly created award.

Kathy was joined by her family, as well as recent Trustee of the Year Award winner Lois Willie, and Board member Tracy Ward.

Tracy Ward introduced Kathy prior to her award, by stating “My dear friend Kathy deserves this award so much.  She started at the library in high school, and has worked at the library since high school.  She has turned our library in Malad, Idaho into an amazing resources for all ages in our community.  She services mothers that are having new babies.  She survives the preschool storytime.  She does our teen STEM work, and her daughter now works with us there in the library.  She has treated the board fantastically.  She does outreach to all the schools in Malad.  She’s done classes for adults, she’s got reading clubs—I took an art class at the library!  I’m learning to watercolor after I retire.”