Friday, September 20, 2024
Ever since the new high school opened in time for the 2000-01 school year, there have been students who opted to drive snowmobiles to school instead of riding the school bus or relying on parents or older siblings to give them a ride.
This year, the idea has caught on with even more students.
"This is the most we've ever had," said John Erspamer, who is one of the two principals at the high school.
On some school days, close to 10 snowmobiles were parked by the tennis courts on the school grounds - the area designated specifically for that purpose during the winter months.
Bret Rodenz, the police liaison officer, talks to the students who drive snowmobiles to school, telling the students where they can and cannot go.
Erspamer said that as long as the students behave on their snowmobiles, park them by the tennis courts and go home after school on the trails, they are allowed to snowmobile to school.
This week's springlike temperatures mean the ability for students to drive snowmobiles to school has come to a halt.
Unless there is additional snow that allows for trails to reopen, these students will have to wait until next winter to take their sleds to school.
Aaron Minton will certainly be among them.
The 15-year-old freshman started driving his snowmobile to school in December. "My friends did, and they wanted me to," said Minton, who received his snowmobile permit when he was 12 years old.
In Wisconsin, snowmobiles can be operated by those as young as age 12 after they complete and receive a snowmobile safety certificate.
Minton snowmobiled to school almost every day and was one of at least five students who did so last Friday, Feb. 11, when the temperature that morning was 12 below zero.
On snowmobile, his trip from home to school was about five minutes. These days, he is back to being dropped off at school by his mother.
"It's pretty fun, because not too many people do it," he said.
Mitch Molder is also a freshman at the high school, and he, too, traveled to and from school via snowmobile.
"I knew other people who did it," he said. "They talked me into it."
It took Molder 15 minutes to drive a snowmobile to school. When asked if it was difficult to fit his snowmobile gear into this locker, he said it was hard to fit his helmet in his locker but he was able to.
For Mitch Grorich, a sophomore at WHS who turns 16 on April 6, snowmobiling to school meant he had to get up about 30 minutes earlier on those days.
But, that was all right with him.
During his freshman year, he snowmobiled to school several times a week, saying he started snowmobiling to school because he knew other students who were doing so.
"This year, I went less because of the gas prices," said Grorich, who must pay for the gas himself when using the snowmobile.
It took him 45 minutes to drive from home to school. Otherwise, he rode the bus or got a ride to school from his father or his sister.
Snowmobiling to school was fun for him.
But, next winter, he will not be snowmobiling to school as much, because he will be driving a truck to school.
Ben Nickel also started snowmobiling to school during his first year of high school.
Now a sophomore, he made the 15-minute trip from home to school two to three times per week.
Nickel, who turns 16 in July, says he does not like to ride the bus. He spends an hour riding the bus to school.
Driving a snowmobile to school meant he could sleep a little later, and he said it was a fun way to get to school.
Next winter he plans to still take a snowmobile to school some days, even though he will have his driver's license.
Brandon Nowak turns 16 this month and said he started snowmobiling to school this year. "My friends always rode," he said. "I had everything. I just wasn't sure how to get to the high school on the trail."
Once the high school sophomore figured that out, he was able to reach the school in about 30 minutes after leaving home.
Nowak is happy to see that the idea has caught on with other students. "It's a lot of fun," he said.
