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Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Tire idea wins for inventive kids
By Jim Cornelius

Three Sisters youths have parlayed their idea for self-deploying studs on tires into a prestigious national prize.

Jared Schneider, Trevor Jutte and Zachary Cummings are third graders at Sonrise Christian School. They developed a concept called STOP (Studded Tires -- Optimal Protection) for the national ExploraVision science competition.

The competition is sponsored by the Toshiba Corporation and the National Science Teachers Association. After winning regional honors in March, their entry moved on to win first place at the national finals in the kindergarten-third grade category.

An independent panel of engineers, scientists and science educators selected the team's project from among nearly 5,000 entries from across North America.

The project called for scientifically valid technologies that could exist 20 years from now.

The Sonrise team conceived of tires with studs that "pop out when you need them" as Jutte described them in March. Vehicles would be equipped with sensors to detect icy road conditions. The sensors would trigger an electronic device to deploy the studs. Or, if the driver felt unsafe, he or she could push a button to deploy the studs.

Jeff Taylor of Les Schwab Taylor Tire Center helped the students craft a prototype for the national competition and the students were also required to design and create an internet website to describe their concept.

Zack Cummings said his team had a lot of confidence in their entry.

"We actually thought we had a pretty good chance," he said.

In winning the regional competition the students earned for their school a digital camera and a laptop, both from Toshiba. They used these tools to create their website.

This time out, the students each won a $10,000 savings bond for use in further education.

In addition to the savings bond, the students and teacher Gwen Philipsen will be treated to an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

All three students indicated that they'd like to pursue careers in science and invention -- and they're off to a good start.

For more information visit www.toshiba.com/tai/exploravision.

The site has a link to the students' website.

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