Kids show off their creativity in Christmas coloring contest

The Weiser Signal American’s always popular Christmas coloring contest attracted entries from tons of kids this year.

 Local businesses sponsored pages in the coloring book and each picked winners from the entries that were filled out and returned. The Weiser Signal American’s page in the coloring book was called “Make a Newspaper.” 

 Children were required to come up with the elements of the front page of a newspaper, such as the headline, a picture and a short story. The newspaper staff picked the top three winners from a pile of entries. There was no shortage of interesting stories and artwork to go with them.

 Midvale fifth-grader Wyatt Stiff, 11, wrote about spotting a wild animal while he and his parents were driving to Donnelly to pick up his brother from summer camp.

 His story was called “The Mystery.” Stiff used his imagination to draw a wolf for his story. The story was based on an actual sighting of a wild animal, but he embellished it a bit. 

 He really saw a bear next to the road while driving to Donnelly in July, but he said he really couldn’t draw a bear very well so he substituted a wolf.

 “I was just making it up as I went along,” he said.

 His mom, Melissa, said they saw other animals on the way to Donnelly, including a deer that crossed the road and also a fox.

 Both Wyatt and his brother Zach, 8, got to go to camp last summer.

 Mary Jane Roukema, 8, a third-grade student at Annex, wrote a story about a camping trip she took with her family to Olive Lake last summer. They went on a hike that actually lasted three hours all the way around the lake. 

 “We had tons of fun,” she said.

 She went with her mom and dad, brother Edward, and her dad’s friend to the lake, which is located high in the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon. They didn’t catch any fish, but they did catch a bunch of crawdads. They also made a teepee. 

 MJ said it was fun because she got to spend time with her family and go out on the lake in a boat to fish.

 For her entry, Weiser resident Elizabeth Fitch, 8, wrote a crime story with lots of detail that involved robbers breaking into a house in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep.

 It was a school night and when the family woke up at 6 a.m. they found out most of the things they owned had been stolen. Later that day they went to the police station to tell officers what had happened. A few weeks later that found out who the robbers were and they were arrested immediately. The family got their belongings back, according to Fitch’s story.

 Fitch, who is in the third grade, said the story just came to her when she was thinking about stuff and she put it down on paper. She said she got the names of the robbers from watching a movie. 

 Signal American Editor Steve Lyon said he was impressed with the stories submitted by local children. There may be a future writer or artist in the bunch, he said.

 “The kids wrote some interesting and imaginative stories that were a delight to read,” he said.

 Many of the children who participated in the coloring contest stopped by the Weiser Signal American office to meet Santa Claus.

 Participating businesses and their winners:

 Homestead Cafe – Emory Chandler, Isaiah Velasco.

 Comfort Zone – Ivy Walker.

 Bo’s Barn – Rachel Watkins, Dyllan Dickerson, Emma Nordgren.

 Weiser Veterinary Clinic – Grady Johnson, Emory Chandler, Ivy Walker.

 Weiser Classic Candy – Leala Shaw, Anyka Duran, Emory Chandler, Landan Hale, Jace Jones, Ethan Morgan.

 Golden Horse – Brooklyn Dille, Rachel Fifer, Elizabeth Fitch, Jace Jones, Edward Roukema, Zaide Espinoza, Lily Bair.

 Wells Fargo –  Ivy Walker.

 Peoples – Katie McQueen.

 McDonalds – Natasha Sierra Casas, Isaiah Velasco, Emma Nordgren.

 K-Hardware – Janstan Walker.

 Farmer’s Supply Co-Op – Grady Johnson, Emory Chandler, Ivy Walker.

 AmeriTitle – Rachel Watkins, Ariana Tarelo, Brooklyn Dille, Ivy Walker, Daniel Lazaro, Aurora Emery, Harper Kennedy, Jonny Edwards, Emma Nordgren, Jaxton Edwards, Dyllan Dickerson, Isaiah Velasco, Korbyn Dickerson.

 Farm Bureau – Ellie Woods.

 Les Schwab – Natasha Sierra Casas, Brooklyn Dille, Hadley Jones, Case Cobb. 

 Steve’s Hometown Motors – Jonathan Walker, Sheila Field.

 Idaho Pizza Company – Dyllan Dickerson, Elijah Hale, Bethany Walker.

 Dille Dental Family & Cosmetic Dentistry – Jax Ruland.

Campo’s Fast and Easy – Rachel Fifer, Claire Walker, Anya Boles.

 MTE Communications – Korbyn Dickerson, Isaiah Velasco.

 Waffleberry’s – Tori Brown, Ellie Jane Woods, Caleb Heim.

 Weiser Signal American – Elizabeth Fitch, Mary Jayne Roukema, Wyatt Stiff, Anya Boles, Dyllan Dickerson, Korbyn Dickerson, Lily Bair, Nicolas Bair, Allie Bair, Leah Arrizu, Harper Kennedy, Gage Kennedy.

 Subway – Zachary Stiff, Bethany Walker, Claire Walker.