Teacher/Student Lunch

The Logan River Academy students have opportunities to engage in off-campus activities from time to time.  One of the traditions at LRA is that upon a student’s discharge from the school they are given the opportunity to take a few close friends off campus to a restaurant for lunch.  They are accompanied by staff and get to choose where they want to dine. Recently by happenstance, staff was not able to attend a lunch event and some teachers were given the opportunity to accompany a discharging student on their goodbye lunch.  Five Guys was the food of choice, and the teachers and students went to a local park to enjoy their meal.  It doesn’t happen often that teachers and students are given the opportunity to mingle outside of the classroom, but the experience was enjoyed by all and hopefully created good memories for the discharging student and their peers.

LOGAN RIVER ACADEMY
A PREMIER RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER

Respect Assembly

Chad Checketts and his son-in-law Wade came and spoke to our student body last week.  They did an interactive presentation which started out talking about the structure of a business he used for Logan RiverAcademy students called “Me Incorporated.”  They talked about all of the different departments in a business and the roles each play.  Then they related those roles to the students’ lives right now.  Both Chad and Wade have gone through different things in their lives that the students were able to relate to.  They talked about what role patterns play in life and how having a good mentor can help you be successful.  They talked about self-worth and how it comes from within--no one has a more powerful effect on you than yourself.   In the end Chad and Wade tied everything to respect and how you have to respect yourself first.  Mistakes happen, relapses happen, but when you have a good mentor and surround yourself with people you trust, you can be successful.

The students really enjoyed the life stories both speakers shared.  There were many who left the assembly saying “that was exactly what I needed to hear this morning.”

LOGAN RIVER ACADEMY
A PREMIER RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER

USU/Bridgerland Tours

Nine Logan River Academy students, the careers teacher, and a staff member recently spent a school day on tours.  The first tour was of Utah State University.  One of the LRA students arranged for the tour to begin at the Military Science building where the students learned about the Army ROTC program and what it took for those students to choose their military career or to have the military pick it for them.  Part of the criteria involved how fast they performed a two-mile run and the number of push-ups they could do.  Then the formal tour began at the AdmissionsOffice where the students learned about Utah State University and some of the benefits of attending.  A USU student ambassador showed the students around campus.  The LRA students learned how the “True Aggie” tradition began and how USU students now become one.  The walking tour included seeing a classroom that seated approximately 400 students and a Monsters, Inc. type book retrieval system at the Merrill-Cazier Library.  This tour was followed by a USU Housing tour where they learned about three different styles of living accommodations and menu plans before they walked through actual USU student living quarters (with students there trying to study).  Many of the students would say the next part was great as they had lunch at the all-you-can-eat Aggie Marketplace.

The final stop was a tour of the Bridgerland Applied Technology College.  Our students found out that many of the hands-on skills programs have open-entry/open-exit courses where they can learn at their own pace.  The students visited the machining, meat cutting, and health departments.  (Some students handled the meat cutting better than others.)  At the end it was a treat to be shown a 3-dimensional printer and some of the things it can create.

Overall it was an interesting and fun day for the students.  They now have a better understanding of a couple post-secondary education options available.  Hopefully it will give them something to look forward to in their future.

LOGAN RIVER ACADEMY
A PREMIER RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER

Project Reality

Every semester we take a group of students to the County Jail for Project Reality. We take a tour of the facility and then visit a classroom to meet with some of the inmates. There was a group of five inmates who participated in this Project Reality. They came in the room and sat up front, facing the students. They all introduced themselves and then open it up to a question and answer panel. At first students were hesitant to ask questions; they weren’t sure exactly what to ask. Once the first question was asked, however, hands flew up and they were eager to ask questions. The students came up with some thoughtful questions about what the inmates’ plans were after their time was up, how they were going to stay clean, how the students can deal with their own situations to stay out of jail, etc. Some of the inmates had been doing the program off and on for months; for one it was his first time. The students felt like it was a good experience because they could relate to the inmates on different levels. After each trip to Project Reality, students are to write a 1 page response. The responses are given to the County Jail and the Project Reality team is able to read them. It is a great experience for the students, staff, and inmates alike.

LOGAN RIVER ACADEMY
A PREMIER RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER 

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The Capture Guy

Boone Smith, a wildlife zoologist and known as “a capture guy” from Preston, Idaho, recently spoke to the Logan River Academy student body.   He travels the world trapping and putting collars on wild big cats, such as mountain lions, pumas, cheetah, jaguars, and snow leopards. 

Being a wildlife zoologist was a natural choice for him.  His great grandfather was a government tracker for bears, and his grandfather was a mountain lion bounty hunter who taught Smith how to train hound dogs and sets traps.  From there, he attended USU and BYU.  His first job was as a wildlife field biologist tracking a group of animals with radio collars. 

The way he would catch a mountain lion is first by finding a track.  Then, the hound dogs are turned loose to find and trap the lion.  In the past, they gave the lions a sedative, but now they give them a disassociative drug, which makes the lion hallucinate and lose the use of his senses, while maintaining muscle control.  While the animal is under the influence of the drug, they put a radio collar on the animal, and they monitor the lion’s heart rate, pulse, and temperature, as well as check for diseases, measure their paws and teeth, and determine age among other things.  They want to take advantage of the time to gather as much research data as possible. 

In order to hunt and collar the animals, Smith said the capture guys needed to go where the big cats are.  Some places don’t work for the dogs, so instead they use snares (buried wire that pulls tight and traps the cat when stepped in).  As with many of the things they do, there is a lot of trial and error learning.  The capture guys use trail cameras to figure out where the animals will step.  In one situation they learned that the animals traveled on the roads.  A trick they learned was to put a log near the trap. This helped them avoid catching a lazy water buffalo that would stay away from the log; the jaguar, however, did not see the log as a deterrent, and they were able to trap it.  The capture guys also needed to learn how to utilize snares in various landscapes, such as rocky terrain. 

The radio collars don’t bother the animals or interfere with their habits.  The collars are used to see what animals do in private or in remote, isolated, and forested area; know their movements, such as rest or moving, speed; and whether they are with other animals or alone.  As a result, zoologists are able to learn how the big cats survive alone and in a group, what their territory is, how same and different species interact with one another, what may be killing a species, how habitats and terrains affect species, etc.

Why does the Capture Guy do it?  Smith stated that we have a responsibility to take care of our wildlife and the information can be used to make management decisions.  The wild animals need wildlife areas that are big enough for them to live and survive.  Smith also does it for the adventure, excitement, and the thrill of the hunt.

The students were able to sense the excitement as they asked questions to learn more about the animals and his experiences.  It was an enjoyable time and Logan River Academy appreciates the time Boone Smith took from his schedule to spend time with us.

Students, faculty, and anyone interested in learning more can go to the following websites.

www.boonesmithwildlifecapture.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boone-Smith-Wildlife-Capture/214949631945548 

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/secret-life-of-predators/articles/about-boone-smith/

LOGAN RIVER ACADEMY
A PREMIER RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER

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SAT/ACT Prep

It is that time again for students to prepare for the SAT/ACT test.  Math and English SAT/ACT prep classes are offered for students who want extra help.  Students are often nervous about these tests because they're looking forward to moving onto the next stage of their life at college.  When students attend the Math SAT/ACT prep class, they receive test-taking strategies and tips for the test and LOTS of encouragement.  They are given reviews and practice tests from collegeboard.org to do, as well as the official ACT and SAT sites, which give a break down of the subject categories, and additional instruction to help calm their nerves. 

LOGAN RIVER ACADEMY
A PREMIER RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER

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