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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">They found his body
today. Idaho has lost an icon of poetry, teaching, publishing, and lover of
Idaho itself.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Warren
Hayman</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'"></SPAN> </P>
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<H3><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">July 06,
2008<o:p></o:p></SPAN></H3>
<H1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Idaho
poet, kayaker William Studebaker presumed drowned<o:p></o:p></SPAN></H1>
<H2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Studebaker, 61, was
last seen south of Yellow Pine. Idaho has lost a 'true force of nature,' a
friend says.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></H2>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">One of Idaho's
foremost poets and kayakers is missing and was presumed drowned Friday south of
Yellow Pine while kayaking in challenging rapids with friends.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">William
Studebaker, 61, of Twin Falls, was first seen swimming for shore Friday morning
on the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River and then floating face
down. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Friends on
the road and in kayaks could not find him, though his kayak and other gear were
recovered Friday. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Valley
County Search and Rescue, local law enforcement and emergency crews from various
agencies also were unable to find him. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Friends,
kayakers and rescue crews continued searching Saturday, but high water runoff
and the swiftness of the river hampered efforts, said Lt. Dan Smith of the
Valley County Sheriff's Office. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">"It's a
huge blow," said Shelley Gardner, a friend and an owner of Idaho Guide Service,
for which Studebaker worked. "He was the premier kayaker. His love for the river
... he was just so passionate. He was an amazing storyteller. He will be
missed." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Studebaker
was a well-known Idaho poet, essayist and outdoor photographer.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">"He's a
great spirit," said Paul Shaffer, executive director of The Cabin, a literary
center in Boise. "He was a terrific writer, fabulous teacher, one of the most
capable boaters. He was all Idaho. He really loved this state."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Studebaker
was born and raised in Salmon, friends said. He spent 30 years at the College of
Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, teaching English and coordinating the outdoors
program before retiring in 2005. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Studebaker
and his wife, Judy, have four sons. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">"He had
little patience for people who said they wanted to write if they only had the
time," said Rick Ardinger, a longtime friend, owner of Limberlost Press and
collaborator with Studebaker. "He raised four kids, taught at the university,
built a house, raised bird dogs. He lived to the fullest."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Studebaker
worked as a correspondent and feature writer for the Times-News and as a feature
writer for Idaho Magazine. He frequently published in Tertulia, an online
magazine, journals and reviews. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Studebaker
also taught literature classes for Idaho State University. He received the Idaho
Humanities Council's Outstanding Humanist Award for 2005. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">"He's the
true Idaho poet laureate," Ardinger said. "He was born in this state and has
written about it so eloquently." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Studebaker's books
include "Short of a Good Promise," which details the life of his family in the
vast expanses of southern Idaho, and "River Religion," a collection of kayaking
poems and "... histories of adrenaline rushes I have waltzed through or limboed
under." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">"His
poetry was about Idaho, the rivers the landscape," Ardinger said. "He writes
about the desert." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Ardinger,
executive director of the Idaho Humanities Council, said Studebaker was engaged
in the arts and in preservation of the literary heritage of Idaho.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">"It was
not just for his own writing," Ardinger said. "He has always had a fascination
for the literature of Idaho. He was an editor, a collaborator. He's been a
wonderful friend but he's also been a great ... we're losing a lot. We're not
just losing a friend, we're losing a force - a literary force, a true force of
nature. He put his whole heart into everything he did." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Ardinger
believes Studebaker may have died doing something he loved and wouldn't have
wanted it differently. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">"He'd
always say, 'I'm not going to die in a bed,'" Ardinger said.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Sandra
Forester: 377-6464 <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>