Let the young ones lead the way

During state schools superintendent Sherri Ybarra’s less-than-sterling appearance before the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, something in the video stood out.

Chairman Brent Regan was, for the most part, smiling. The rest of the committee members? They looked like they’d bit into one of the Grinch’s three-decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwiches with arsenic sauce.

Hey, the point isn’t to pick on those pouty mugs. The guy writing this wears one too often. So, too, do far too many Americans who can only shake their furrow-browed heads and long for the days when they were young and had all the answers.

Well, guess what? Anybody looking to turn frowns upside down should be looking not in a mirror, but in a local classroom. (That includes you, Superintendent Ybarra; Coeur d’Alene is a hotbed of inspiration, not critical race theory.)

Over the span of just a few days, your humble neighborhood newspaper shined a bright light on some of these amazing young people channeling their energy and optimism not into bitching about the deplorable state of the nation, but to actually making a positive impact in their community.

On Monday, sisters Bridget and Lillian McNamee were front-page news. The girls have stepped up locally and statewide in their quest to help other students held back by dyslexia. And it’s not just that the girls want to make a difference — they already have, with Coeur d’Alene School District on its way to putting special font books into its school libraries.

How about the amazin' Sam Wilson, inventor extraordinaire at age 13? Sam, featured Christmas Day, used a potato cannon for his prototype, which can plant tree seeds at a rapid rate. The University of Idaho is taking Sam's creation and improving upon it for possible mass-production.

Sam's not stopping there, either. He's working now on a device that would prevent accidental shootings at gun ranges.

“The base for the prototype is a Nerf gun with a camera attached to it,” he told reporter Elli Goldman Hilbert. “I’ve installed AI software that will detect a human figure and will move a motor that blocks the trigger.”

Did you catch the story Friday about Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy senior Ryan Eaton, who started a STEM and Engineering Club in the fall? With four other high school students and an adviser, Ryan and team are mentoring younger students, already well on their way to giving back some of what they’ve learned and motivating even younger minds to think big and aim high.

There’s been more, lots more, through this season of giving, including youngsters contributing their sweat and their cash to less lucky children locally.

We contend that the smiles on these beautiful faces are the solution, not the problem, something the rest of us should emulate if we’re going to get through this virus war and political meltdown in one reasonably unified piece.

Thanks, kids, for giving us what we need the most.

Hope.