Bibiana Gifft cried during the 2024 and 2025 Oregon state FFA conventions.

But the source of her tears this year were dramatically different from last.

Gifft, a teacher at Baker High School, is the advisor for the Baker FFA chapter, along with BHS teacher Nicole Merchant.

On March 22, 2024, Gifft was driving a short school bus, with 14 students aboard, when a Subaru Ascent SUV driven by Katrina Nicole Dacus of Culver went through a stop sign and crashed into the bus.

The collision, at the intersection of Highway 126 and Helmholtz Road on the west side of Redmond, injured several students.

Four were treated at a hospital.

Oregon State Police arrested Dacus for driving while intoxicated.

The Deschutes County district attorney’s office later charged Dacus, 35, with 29 counts, including two felony counts of third-degree assault.

Dacus, whose plea hearing was delayed five times during 2024 and early 2025, was in Deschutes County Circuit Court on Wednesday morning, April 9.

A judge set a trial date for Dacus of Oct. 28, 2025.

A day before Dacus’ hearing, on April 8, Gifft and Chase Myatt, a sophomore who attended both the 2024 and 2025 FFA conventions, talked about their experiences over the past year.

Gifft said she cried during the 2024 event for the obvious reason — the trauma of the crash and its aftermath.

She wept during this year’s convention, which took place March 20-23, again in Redmond, because she was so gratified by Baker students’ exemplary performance, which included senior Alex Wise being elected by his peers as 2025-26 state president.

Wise also placed first in the job interview competition.

Gifft said two other Baker students, Sydney Penning and John Garcia, were also candidates for state office.

Gifft said Baker brought 37 students to the convention, a record for the local chapter. Eleven of those students, including Myatt and Wise, were on the bus that Dacus crashed into in March 2024.

Baker was named one of 25 “superior” chapters out of 130 chapters statewide.

Wise earned a state degree, as did Jaxon Ford, Ally Hansell, Taylor Johnson, Daniel Maldonado, Connor Martin, Madison Meyer, Luis Rosales and Ella Wilde.

Baker’s ag issues team placed second. The team, which was guided by a student teacher, Chelsea Caldwell, included Wise, Alex Jaca, Alex Honsvick, Sofie Kaaen, Sydney Penning, Ford and Neva Lynch.

The agribusiness team placed seventh. Team members are Myatt, Ford, Martin, Conner Norton, Honsvick, Waylon Gibbons, Jose Armenta, Wise and Jaca.

In agriscience research, four Baker students placed first in their division: Myatt, Payton Peppers, Payton Anderson and Xander Johnson. Kinley Downing and Honsvick also competed in agriscience.

Daniel Maldonado was a state finalist in swine proficiency, and Shayla Duran competed in creed speaking.

“For us to have such a good convention as we’re still dealing with things from a year ago,” Gifft said. “It was really cool that we took the biggest group and had so much success.”

Gifft said the students’ performance is a testament to their camaraderie.

“We were already really close to each other, and the bonds are even stronger now,” Gifft said. “I like that we can still bond over happy stuff too.”

Returning to Redmond

Gifft said she was “really nervous” at the prospect of going back to Redmond for the 2025 convention.

Gifft said she had been to Central Oregon twice since the crash, including for a teachers conference in October 2024.

During that trip she visited the intersection where the crash happened.

“That was really tough,” she said.

Gifft said that as she stood there she was surprised by how deep the ditch is beside the highway.

“How we didn’t roll. …” she said, her voice trailing off. “God was watching over us for sure.”

Gifft said that more than a year later, she is “still in physical and mental recovery” from the crash.

She can’t ride on a bus, much less drive one.

“The smell of the seats brings it all back,” Gifft said.

She rode with another advisor to this year’s convention.

Gifft said she was glad that B.J. Lynch, a Baker City firefighter and paramedic, as well as parent of an FFA student, was able to drive the bus to the convention.

“It felt good to have him with us,” Gifft said.

Lynch was one of many parents who traveled to Redmond — a larger contingent than usual.

“We were happy to have so many parents go with us,” Gifft said. “They came to support their own kids and the chapter and the advisors.”

Myatt said he has tried to use the crash as a “learning opportunity.”

He said he’d never had such an experience — listening to 911 calls, watching emergency responders do their jobs.

Myatt said he still feels “trauma” from the crash, particularly when he’s driving or riding in a car.

“I have to go slow around curves,” he said.

Myatt said that as the months progressed after the crash, he expected that the 2025 convention “is going to be so weird” due to the memories.

But it wasn’t that way at all.

“I totally forgot once we got on the bus,” he said. “I didn’t even really think about it at all. It was a normal state convention.”

Gifft said the crash affected each student differently.

“Some people were more traumatized than others,” she said.