Keeping strays warm; cocaine in speeding BMW; memorial trail for hotshots
- Updated
Odd and interesting news from around the West.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
NOGALES, Ariz. — The representative of Pope Francis in the U.S. led a cross-border mass on Sunday in an effort to bring awareness to the plight of immigrants and refugees.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, was the principal celebrant as the 3 p.m. mass got underway in both Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico.
At least 250 people showed up on the Arizona side, said Steff Koeneman, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Tucson. It wasn’t immediately clear how many came on the Mexico side. An altar was erected on both sides of the border.
Some sat in camping chairs or held umbrellas while listening to the mass in 80-degree weather.
The mass is the third one along the Arizona-Mexico border this year and is organized by Dioceses Without Borders, a group composed of church leaders from around Arizona and the Mexican border state of Sonora.
Diocese of Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas says the mass focused on immigration, a major issue for the church. Pope Francis has been outspoken in favor of immigration reform and humane treatment of migrants. Prayers were said for Border Patrol agents and others who work around the border.
“His decision to join us is a reminder that this is an issue very important to our Holy Father,” Kicanas said of Pierre’s attendance.
Past border masses have included the delivery of communion through the fence that divides the U.S. and Mexico, but that wasn’t the case this time because the Border Patrol won’t allow it, church leaders say. The masses in the past have drawn thousands.
Kicanas says the mass was also organized to highlight the close relationship between the Diocese of Tucson and the recently founded Nogales, Sonora, diocese.
But the primary focus is to bring attention to immigrants and refugees, Kicanas said.
“The economic migrant is not a criminal. The economic migrant is someone seeking a decent way of life for themselves, for their family,” Kicanas said.
The church has been vocal in its support of migrants. When Pope Francis visited Mexico early this year, he gave a special blessing to migrant families along the border in Ciudad Juarez. Francis stood on a specially built platform next to the Rio Grande, which separates the two countries, and offered a silent prayer for thousands of immigrants who died while trying to reach the U.S.
- Updated
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Billings meat market has accepted big game donations to give to organizations for more than 20 years.
KULR-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2evgv4m) 4th Avenue Meat Market sends donated meat to Billings Food Bank and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Owner Kevin Harrell said the market gets about 100 wild game every hunting season.
He said it's nice to provide meals to the many needy families out there.
The market asks for a small monetary donation that goes toward processing costs.
Deer and elk hunting season started Oct. 22.
___
Information from: KULR-TV, http://www.kulr8.com
- Updated
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Night-drop kennels give stray animals a warm place to spend the night in Anchorage.
People who find animals after hours but cannot take them home can leave them in heated kennels behind Anchorage Animal Care and Control, reported KTVA-TV (http://bit.ly/2dN4Xdv ).
The kennels have water access and the doors lock behind the animals.
Shelter workers check the kennels every morning.
Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Laura Atwood said shelter staffers feel for animals left outside despite the availability of kennels.
"Somebody was trying to get the dog in the kennels at about 11 that night I believe and the security cameras showed the dog waiting out here until about 6 in the morning," she said, noting that the dog was later brought in by shelter staff.
Workers were never able to catch a cat that was left in a fenced play area.
"Obviously we feel for them," Atwood said. "I still worry about that cat. I still wonder."
People are asked to fill out a form detailing information like where the animal was found.
Atwood said the night-drop is intended for stray animals but is also used by people who want to surrender their pets to the facility.
A surrender agreement is on the other side of the form.
"We're always very grateful for the good Samaritans in our community who pick up those stray animals and bring them here," Atwood said.
___
Information from: KTVA-TV, http://www.ktva.com
- Updated
GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a suspected drunk driver crashed into a medical helicopter and fire truck overnight in McKinley County.
Sheriff's deputies say the incident happened early Sunday on Highway 566 near Gallup.
According to investigators, a medical transport helicopter was in a landing zone when the suspect went around a barricade and hit it and the fire truck.
Deputies say the helicopter was supposed to transport a patient from a rollover crash but it was unoccupied and not in operation at the time.
Twenty-six-year-old Glenn Livingston, of Gallup, has been booked on charges of aggravated DWI, resisting arrest and other offenses.
All the vehicles involved, including the helicopter, had to be towed from the site.
- Updated
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The Presbyterian Church of America has apologized for the experiences of Native Americans at boarding schools that had ties to the church.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports (http://bit.ly/2ekJCJq) a group of people who attend a Presbyterian church in the state gave the official apology at the end of the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention on Saturday.
Convention co-chairman Jerry Isaac thanked the church and said he hoped other governments and groups take similar action.
The apology calls the boarding schools an ill-conceived system of assimilation and cites the physical, sexual and emotional abuse that took place.
___
Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
- Updated
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Author John Bisney is trying to unravel a mystery as he writes a book about former President John F. Kennedy and his role in America's space program.
The former CNN correspondent is combing through old photographs of Kennedy's visit to Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1962 and wants to identify workers in the photos, reported the Los Alamos Monitor (http://bit.ly/2e0RHji).
"Although I have identified the politicians and top-level officials, the photos show a number of staff people and project scientists who I would love to identify," he said. "Unfortunately, I have so far only run up against dead ends. I have tried the Los Alamos Historical Society, the lab's alumni group, a NMSU (New Mexico State University) history professor, Facebook, etc."
"The Space Age Presidency of John Kennedy" published by the University of New Mexico Press is expected to be released in spring 2018.
"What's interesting to me is if you look through this book, you can see what he saw," Bisney said. "You can follow his interest in the space program through his eyes. You see his experiences. Meeting the astronauts, having them in the White House, talking to them, traveling to Houston, traveling to the cape, (Canaveral), going to Vandenberg to see a missile launch, going to Los Alamos," he said.
The book is the latest collaboration between Bisney and space photo archivist J.L. Pickering, who have made several photo books on the American space program.
"The goals with all of our books is to show pictures that have rarely or never been seen before," Bisney said.
People can see the photos at lamonitor.com and send tips to lanews@lamonitor.com.
___
Information from: Los Alamos Monitor, http://www.lamonitor.com
- Updated
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Montana State University has brought in $308 million to hit a fundraising goal two years earlier than planned.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/2eHZ4NQ) the money will be spent on scholarships, classrooms and other projects.
The university set out to have $300 million raised by the 125th anniversary of the school's founding in 2018.
MSU Alumni Foundation president and CEO Chris Murray said this was the biggest fundraising campaign ever in Montana.
He said the foundation will continue to raise funds for the next two years.
___
Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com
- Updated
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man is facing charges after police found 20 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $320,000 inside a BMW.
Officers pulled over the vehicle for speeding on Interstate 5 in Portland.
A police dog found a hidden compartment with cocaine inside the car.
Police arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of drug possession.
Another adult and a child were also in the vehicle.
- Updated
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Garden Home man was arrested after authorities say he attacked his landlord with a samurai sword.
KOIN-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2eHU0ZL ) that the Washington County Sheriff's Office received a call at about 7 p.m. Saturday about a disturbance involving a sword.
It was reported that Gregory Barsaloux had used a "samurai type" sword in an attempt to injure his landlord.
When deputies arrived, they found the landlord unharmed.
Authorities said they tried to speak with Barsaloux, but he armed himself with a rifle and started threatening deputies. Officials evacuated neighbors.
Other officers arrived and after three hours of attempted communication, Barsaloux surrendered.
Barsaloux was booked in jail and faces charges of first-degree attempted assault, unlawful use of a weapon and criminal mischief.
___
Information from: KOIN-TV, http://www.koin.com/
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Authorities say a crash in Salt Lake County that left a man seriously injured was spurred by road rage.
Utah Highway Patrol officials say the crash occurred Saturday evening in Magna on State Road 201.
According to witnesses, the drivers of an SUV and a BMW argued and then chased each other.
Sgt. Jacob Cox says the driver of the SUV lost control and the vehicle rolled several times.
A male passenger who was not using a seat belt was ejected.
He is in critical condition.
The driver, 30-year-old Brandon Atkinson of West Valley City, and another passenger only suffered minor injuries.
Cox says Atkinson was arrested for DUI with intoxicants.
According to Cox, drug paraphernalia and drugs were found in the car.
The BMW driver fled the area.
- Updated
PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — A trail that will lead people to the site where 19 firefighters were killed during a 2013 Yarnell wildfire is nearing completion.
The Prescott Daily Courier reports (http://bit.ly/2eFqnIy) that the trail and the Yarnell park honoring the Granite Mountain Hotshots is on track to open next month.
Arizona State Parks officials say a dedication ceremony for Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park is scheduled for Nov. 29.
According to a project manager, the 2.85-mile trail stretches from the trailhead to a ridge overlooking the site.
There will be benches, interpretive signs and an observation deck along the trail.
Plaques with the names of each fallen firefighter will be placed every 600 feet.
The firefighters died in June 2013 when winds shifted and trapped them in a brush-choked canyon.
___
Information from: The Daily Courier, http://www.dcourier.com
- By ROSEMARY PONNEKANTI The News Tribune
- Updated
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Ashley Fox doesn't look that different from the other ballet students waiting for class at Kirkland's International Ballet Theatre.
Hair pulled back, wearing warmups and big slippers, she laughs and talks with the rest, with a slightly faraway look.
But something is about to set her apart from your average American teenager: The 16-year-old junior from Puyallup is studying for a year at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (formerly Bolshoi Ballet Academy), one of the most prestigious ballet schools in the world.
And she's going on her own, reported The News Tribune (http://bit.ly/2e0mHmq).
"I'm a bit excited and a bit nervous," Fox said calmly, in Kirkland for a final class at the dance school she's attended for five years. "But I'm ready to jump into my studies and refine my technique."
Fox isn't as nervous as you might expect, though, thanks to six weeks recently spent at the academy's summer dance intensive workshop.
After doing the Russian school's three-week course in New York, she was one of 13 students nationwide chosen to attend the Moscow course on a full scholarship from the Russian American Foundation, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The program, called the National Security Language Initiative for Youth, teaches language and cultural skills, as well as dance, and is intended to deepen understanding between the two countries.
Fox, who is cramming in classes to finish off her junior year at the Puyallup Online Academy, was a good student, learning basic Russian and fitting in well. And so she was invited to join the academy — a training school linked to the famous Bolshoi Ballet — for its full academic year.
That makes Fox one of just 62 foreign students out of 695 total at the school, which was founded in 1773 and offers vocational through graduate-level programs.
"For a girl from Puyallup to go to one of the most prestigious ballet schools in the world, it's a big thing for any person, a big accomplishment," said Vera Altunina, the director of the International Ballet Theatre.
Russian-born herself, Altunina studied at Russia's other prestigious school, the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg.
"It's a big honor . and an amazing experience in dance training," she said.
Fox has been dancing since she was a 3-year-old eagerly watching her older sister at ballet class.
First attending Dance Theater Northwest in University Place, she moved to Kirkland's International Ballet Theatre five years ago. That meant three, then four, then five days a week of commuting for parents Tom, recently retired from the U.S. Air Force, and Gloria, a Puyallup school music teacher.
"We'd get up at 7 a.m. and take her to school, then we'd drive up to Kirkland for dance, then drive home in time for bed, then get up and do it all over again," said Gloria Fox, who jokes with other dance parents that they should have their names inscribed on the waiting room chairs.
Now, though, both parents are excited and proud of their daughter — and only just a little worried that she'll be flying halfway across the world by herself and living there for nine months.
"Ashley's always been mature for her age," said her mother, an immigrant from the Philippines. "She makes friends easily, so I'm not that worried about her.
"Tom and I are really thrilled because this will help her grow. Not just for her dancing, but as a person — more grounded, able to appreciate other cultures. . We want her to become a person that gives back."
When she arrived in Moscow this week, Fox was to be met by the host family she stayed with during the summer. They'll take her to the academy, which houses administration, teaching studios and dorm rooms in one building in the Khamovniki district, just across the river from Gorky Park.
Her room, meals and tuition are included in the $2,000 a month her parents are paying.
Gloria Fox will visit during spring break, and her daughter might get to hang out with her Kirkland classmates when Altunina brings them on the school's biennial trip to St. Petersburg in April.
Fox will spend a few hours each day in language classes, and all her dance classes will be in Russian — but that doesn't bother her. She already knows many phrases, including her name, age and how to say, "I love to dance."
"I really enjoyed speaking with people there (over summer)," she said. "They were always very nice and appreciated that I was studying their culture and language."
After a year at the academy, Fox might get the chance to stay on — other American students have done so, studying the full four-year course and finishing high school.
Even if she doesn't, the career benefits from having the Bolshoi Ballet Academy on her résumé are huge.
"Dancing has always been what I want to do," said Fox, who hopes to join a professional company somewhere in the world.
But the biggest benefit, said Fox and Altunina, is not so much getting higher legs or more refined technique.
"It's about finding my soul in dance, I guess," the teen said a little shyly.
As she begins the barre warmups in class, Fox inhabits her steps as she does her words — thoughtfully, gracefully, seeming to focus on something beyond her physical body.
"Ashley is truly an artist," Altunina said. "She's a natural dancer, organic, a pleasure to watch. That's what Russian teachers truly value. Her soul is dancing — that's why she was chosen."
___
Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com
- The Associated Press
NOGALES, Ariz. — The representative of Pope Francis in the U.S. led a cross-border mass on Sunday in an effort to bring awareness to the plight of immigrants and refugees.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, was the principal celebrant as the 3 p.m. mass got underway in both Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico.
At least 250 people showed up on the Arizona side, said Steff Koeneman, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Tucson. It wasn’t immediately clear how many came on the Mexico side. An altar was erected on both sides of the border.
Some sat in camping chairs or held umbrellas while listening to the mass in 80-degree weather.
The mass is the third one along the Arizona-Mexico border this year and is organized by Dioceses Without Borders, a group composed of church leaders from around Arizona and the Mexican border state of Sonora.
Diocese of Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas says the mass focused on immigration, a major issue for the church. Pope Francis has been outspoken in favor of immigration reform and humane treatment of migrants. Prayers were said for Border Patrol agents and others who work around the border.
“His decision to join us is a reminder that this is an issue very important to our Holy Father,” Kicanas said of Pierre’s attendance.
Past border masses have included the delivery of communion through the fence that divides the U.S. and Mexico, but that wasn’t the case this time because the Border Patrol won’t allow it, church leaders say. The masses in the past have drawn thousands.
Kicanas says the mass was also organized to highlight the close relationship between the Diocese of Tucson and the recently founded Nogales, Sonora, diocese.
But the primary focus is to bring attention to immigrants and refugees, Kicanas said.
“The economic migrant is not a criminal. The economic migrant is someone seeking a decent way of life for themselves, for their family,” Kicanas said.
The church has been vocal in its support of migrants. When Pope Francis visited Mexico early this year, he gave a special blessing to migrant families along the border in Ciudad Juarez. Francis stood on a specially built platform next to the Rio Grande, which separates the two countries, and offered a silent prayer for thousands of immigrants who died while trying to reach the U.S.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Billings meat market has accepted big game donations to give to organizations for more than 20 years.
KULR-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2evgv4m) 4th Avenue Meat Market sends donated meat to Billings Food Bank and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Owner Kevin Harrell said the market gets about 100 wild game every hunting season.
He said it's nice to provide meals to the many needy families out there.
The market asks for a small monetary donation that goes toward processing costs.
Deer and elk hunting season started Oct. 22.
___
Information from: KULR-TV, http://www.kulr8.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Night-drop kennels give stray animals a warm place to spend the night in Anchorage.
People who find animals after hours but cannot take them home can leave them in heated kennels behind Anchorage Animal Care and Control, reported KTVA-TV (http://bit.ly/2dN4Xdv ).
The kennels have water access and the doors lock behind the animals.
Shelter workers check the kennels every morning.
Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Laura Atwood said shelter staffers feel for animals left outside despite the availability of kennels.
"Somebody was trying to get the dog in the kennels at about 11 that night I believe and the security cameras showed the dog waiting out here until about 6 in the morning," she said, noting that the dog was later brought in by shelter staff.
Workers were never able to catch a cat that was left in a fenced play area.
"Obviously we feel for them," Atwood said. "I still worry about that cat. I still wonder."
People are asked to fill out a form detailing information like where the animal was found.
Atwood said the night-drop is intended for stray animals but is also used by people who want to surrender their pets to the facility.
A surrender agreement is on the other side of the form.
"We're always very grateful for the good Samaritans in our community who pick up those stray animals and bring them here," Atwood said.
___
Information from: KTVA-TV, http://www.ktva.com
GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a suspected drunk driver crashed into a medical helicopter and fire truck overnight in McKinley County.
Sheriff's deputies say the incident happened early Sunday on Highway 566 near Gallup.
According to investigators, a medical transport helicopter was in a landing zone when the suspect went around a barricade and hit it and the fire truck.
Deputies say the helicopter was supposed to transport a patient from a rollover crash but it was unoccupied and not in operation at the time.
Twenty-six-year-old Glenn Livingston, of Gallup, has been booked on charges of aggravated DWI, resisting arrest and other offenses.
All the vehicles involved, including the helicopter, had to be towed from the site.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — The Presbyterian Church of America has apologized for the experiences of Native Americans at boarding schools that had ties to the church.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports (http://bit.ly/2ekJCJq) a group of people who attend a Presbyterian church in the state gave the official apology at the end of the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention on Saturday.
Convention co-chairman Jerry Isaac thanked the church and said he hoped other governments and groups take similar action.
The apology calls the boarding schools an ill-conceived system of assimilation and cites the physical, sexual and emotional abuse that took place.
___
Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Author John Bisney is trying to unravel a mystery as he writes a book about former President John F. Kennedy and his role in America's space program.
The former CNN correspondent is combing through old photographs of Kennedy's visit to Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1962 and wants to identify workers in the photos, reported the Los Alamos Monitor (http://bit.ly/2e0RHji).
"Although I have identified the politicians and top-level officials, the photos show a number of staff people and project scientists who I would love to identify," he said. "Unfortunately, I have so far only run up against dead ends. I have tried the Los Alamos Historical Society, the lab's alumni group, a NMSU (New Mexico State University) history professor, Facebook, etc."
"The Space Age Presidency of John Kennedy" published by the University of New Mexico Press is expected to be released in spring 2018.
"What's interesting to me is if you look through this book, you can see what he saw," Bisney said. "You can follow his interest in the space program through his eyes. You see his experiences. Meeting the astronauts, having them in the White House, talking to them, traveling to Houston, traveling to the cape, (Canaveral), going to Vandenberg to see a missile launch, going to Los Alamos," he said.
The book is the latest collaboration between Bisney and space photo archivist J.L. Pickering, who have made several photo books on the American space program.
"The goals with all of our books is to show pictures that have rarely or never been seen before," Bisney said.
People can see the photos at lamonitor.com and send tips to lanews@lamonitor.com.
___
Information from: Los Alamos Monitor, http://www.lamonitor.com
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Montana State University has brought in $308 million to hit a fundraising goal two years earlier than planned.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/2eHZ4NQ) the money will be spent on scholarships, classrooms and other projects.
The university set out to have $300 million raised by the 125th anniversary of the school's founding in 2018.
MSU Alumni Foundation president and CEO Chris Murray said this was the biggest fundraising campaign ever in Montana.
He said the foundation will continue to raise funds for the next two years.
___
Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man is facing charges after police found 20 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $320,000 inside a BMW.
Officers pulled over the vehicle for speeding on Interstate 5 in Portland.
A police dog found a hidden compartment with cocaine inside the car.
Police arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of drug possession.
Another adult and a child were also in the vehicle.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Garden Home man was arrested after authorities say he attacked his landlord with a samurai sword.
KOIN-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2eHU0ZL ) that the Washington County Sheriff's Office received a call at about 7 p.m. Saturday about a disturbance involving a sword.
It was reported that Gregory Barsaloux had used a "samurai type" sword in an attempt to injure his landlord.
When deputies arrived, they found the landlord unharmed.
Authorities said they tried to speak with Barsaloux, but he armed himself with a rifle and started threatening deputies. Officials evacuated neighbors.
Other officers arrived and after three hours of attempted communication, Barsaloux surrendered.
Barsaloux was booked in jail and faces charges of first-degree attempted assault, unlawful use of a weapon and criminal mischief.
___
Information from: KOIN-TV, http://www.koin.com/
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Authorities say a crash in Salt Lake County that left a man seriously injured was spurred by road rage.
Utah Highway Patrol officials say the crash occurred Saturday evening in Magna on State Road 201.
According to witnesses, the drivers of an SUV and a BMW argued and then chased each other.
Sgt. Jacob Cox says the driver of the SUV lost control and the vehicle rolled several times.
A male passenger who was not using a seat belt was ejected.
He is in critical condition.
The driver, 30-year-old Brandon Atkinson of West Valley City, and another passenger only suffered minor injuries.
Cox says Atkinson was arrested for DUI with intoxicants.
According to Cox, drug paraphernalia and drugs were found in the car.
The BMW driver fled the area.
PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — A trail that will lead people to the site where 19 firefighters were killed during a 2013 Yarnell wildfire is nearing completion.
The Prescott Daily Courier reports (http://bit.ly/2eFqnIy) that the trail and the Yarnell park honoring the Granite Mountain Hotshots is on track to open next month.
Arizona State Parks officials say a dedication ceremony for Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park is scheduled for Nov. 29.
According to a project manager, the 2.85-mile trail stretches from the trailhead to a ridge overlooking the site.
There will be benches, interpretive signs and an observation deck along the trail.
Plaques with the names of each fallen firefighter will be placed every 600 feet.
The firefighters died in June 2013 when winds shifted and trapped them in a brush-choked canyon.
___
Information from: The Daily Courier, http://www.dcourier.com
- By ROSEMARY PONNEKANTI The News Tribune
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Ashley Fox doesn't look that different from the other ballet students waiting for class at Kirkland's International Ballet Theatre.
Hair pulled back, wearing warmups and big slippers, she laughs and talks with the rest, with a slightly faraway look.
But something is about to set her apart from your average American teenager: The 16-year-old junior from Puyallup is studying for a year at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (formerly Bolshoi Ballet Academy), one of the most prestigious ballet schools in the world.
And she's going on her own, reported The News Tribune (http://bit.ly/2e0mHmq).
"I'm a bit excited and a bit nervous," Fox said calmly, in Kirkland for a final class at the dance school she's attended for five years. "But I'm ready to jump into my studies and refine my technique."
Fox isn't as nervous as you might expect, though, thanks to six weeks recently spent at the academy's summer dance intensive workshop.
After doing the Russian school's three-week course in New York, she was one of 13 students nationwide chosen to attend the Moscow course on a full scholarship from the Russian American Foundation, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The program, called the National Security Language Initiative for Youth, teaches language and cultural skills, as well as dance, and is intended to deepen understanding between the two countries.
Fox, who is cramming in classes to finish off her junior year at the Puyallup Online Academy, was a good student, learning basic Russian and fitting in well. And so she was invited to join the academy — a training school linked to the famous Bolshoi Ballet — for its full academic year.
That makes Fox one of just 62 foreign students out of 695 total at the school, which was founded in 1773 and offers vocational through graduate-level programs.
"For a girl from Puyallup to go to one of the most prestigious ballet schools in the world, it's a big thing for any person, a big accomplishment," said Vera Altunina, the director of the International Ballet Theatre.
Russian-born herself, Altunina studied at Russia's other prestigious school, the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg.
"It's a big honor . and an amazing experience in dance training," she said.
Fox has been dancing since she was a 3-year-old eagerly watching her older sister at ballet class.
First attending Dance Theater Northwest in University Place, she moved to Kirkland's International Ballet Theatre five years ago. That meant three, then four, then five days a week of commuting for parents Tom, recently retired from the U.S. Air Force, and Gloria, a Puyallup school music teacher.
"We'd get up at 7 a.m. and take her to school, then we'd drive up to Kirkland for dance, then drive home in time for bed, then get up and do it all over again," said Gloria Fox, who jokes with other dance parents that they should have their names inscribed on the waiting room chairs.
Now, though, both parents are excited and proud of their daughter — and only just a little worried that she'll be flying halfway across the world by herself and living there for nine months.
"Ashley's always been mature for her age," said her mother, an immigrant from the Philippines. "She makes friends easily, so I'm not that worried about her.
"Tom and I are really thrilled because this will help her grow. Not just for her dancing, but as a person — more grounded, able to appreciate other cultures. . We want her to become a person that gives back."
When she arrived in Moscow this week, Fox was to be met by the host family she stayed with during the summer. They'll take her to the academy, which houses administration, teaching studios and dorm rooms in one building in the Khamovniki district, just across the river from Gorky Park.
Her room, meals and tuition are included in the $2,000 a month her parents are paying.
Gloria Fox will visit during spring break, and her daughter might get to hang out with her Kirkland classmates when Altunina brings them on the school's biennial trip to St. Petersburg in April.
Fox will spend a few hours each day in language classes, and all her dance classes will be in Russian — but that doesn't bother her. She already knows many phrases, including her name, age and how to say, "I love to dance."
"I really enjoyed speaking with people there (over summer)," she said. "They were always very nice and appreciated that I was studying their culture and language."
After a year at the academy, Fox might get the chance to stay on — other American students have done so, studying the full four-year course and finishing high school.
Even if she doesn't, the career benefits from having the Bolshoi Ballet Academy on her résumé are huge.
"Dancing has always been what I want to do," said Fox, who hopes to join a professional company somewhere in the world.
But the biggest benefit, said Fox and Altunina, is not so much getting higher legs or more refined technique.
"It's about finding my soul in dance, I guess," the teen said a little shyly.
As she begins the barre warmups in class, Fox inhabits her steps as she does her words — thoughtfully, gracefully, seeming to focus on something beyond her physical body.
"Ashley is truly an artist," Altunina said. "She's a natural dancer, organic, a pleasure to watch. That's what Russian teachers truly value. Her soul is dancing — that's why she was chosen."
___
Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com
View this profile on Instagram#ThisIsTucson 🌵 (@this_is_tucson) • Instagram photos and videos
Most viewed stories
-
A Jets fan and a Bills fan walk into a bar: My tasty journey at Anchor Bar
-
Over 40 exciting events to check out this weekend! 🌱
-
New Eats! 20 new restaurants that opened up in Tucson this winter 🍽️
-
OaxaRico opened their first brick-and-mortar, serving up delicious mole and gorditas
-
The #ThisIsTucson Snail Mail Club is here! Here's how you can get a little piece of Tucson in your mailbox 💗
-
$25 challenge kicks off at Tucson’s Pop Cycle
-
Nearly 90 fun events happening in March! 🌺