62 MAY 2019 WOMANSDAYMAGAZINE
Inspire / SMALL-TOWN SAMARITANS
IN NOVEMBER 2014,
there were zero known
cases of HIV in Austin, IN.
Four months later, there
were 81. “It exploded
very quickly,” says
Brittany Combs, 41, a
public health nurse who
recalls residents fearfully
asking for HIV tests at
the Scott County Health
Department building.
The community was in
the midst of an opioid
epidemic—in 2015, fueled
by intravenous drug use,
Scott County’s rate of
premature death was the
highest of any county in
the state—and sharing
needles was common.
By the end of April 2015,
142 people had been
diagnosed with HIV.
Brittany and her
colleagues met with
state and federal experts
about how to stop the
wildfire spread of the
SLOWING AN
EPIDEMIC
A nurse’s bold
suggestion helps
bring a disease
under control.
Brittany Combs
AUSTIN, IN
POPULATION: 4,120
RESIDENTS ENROLLED IN
NEEDLE EXCHANGE: 500
“Recess on steroids.” That’s
how Stefanie Wilbur describes the
crazy moment when 135 snowsuited
schoolchildren hit the slopes at
Vermont’s Pico Mountain ski resort.
Someone always
forgets gloves. Someone
always falls down. Yet
somehow within an
hour, the whole circus,
from snowball-hurling
middle schoolers to
wobbly kindergartners,
is snowplowing, then
speeding, downhill.
Until 2016, only
a handful of kids in
Orwell, the one-store
Vermont town where
Stefanie and her
husband own a dairy
farm, knew how to ski.
The sport just seemed
too pricey or inaccessible for many
rural families. One day Stefanie, who’d
rediscovered the exhilaration of skiing
with her older children (pictured
above, along with her youngest son),
approached the principal of the town’s
only K–8 school. “I want to take the
whole school skiing,” she said.
“You want to do what?” he replied.
To bus every K–8 student to Pico
Mountain for six lessons per winter
would cost $11,000. The school board
agreed—if Stefanie could
raise the money. “I called
every single person I’ve
ever known” to ask for
donations, Stefanie says.
Within 30 days she had
her $11,000.
After four winters of
the program, 98% of eligible
elementary schoolers
participate, including kids
with physical or behavioral
challenges. As Stefanie says,
“the joy, accomplishment,
and empowerment these
kids have is amazing.”
Then there’s the (ahem)
snowball effect. Other
programs for kids have recently
launched in Orwell, including drama
and community-service programs.
“These kinds of activities provide an
outlet for kids, and it keeps them out
of trouble,” Stefanie says. “The town
just keeps getting better.”
STUDENTS OF THE SLOPES
In this Vermont town, mountains make the perfect classroom.
Stefanie Wilbur
ORWELL, VT
POPULATION: 1,234 CHILDREN WHO HAVE LEARNED TO SKI: 175
The joy and
feeling of
accomplishment
these kids
have is
amazing.”
Members of the
ski program at
Pico Mountain.PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 66
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