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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2015)
6 Wednesday, September 9, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Volleyball sweeps La Grande, Madras Flooding concerns rise in fire- ravaged area near John Day By Rongi Yost Correspondent The Lady Outlaws came out strong in their first showing of the year, and swept their matches against Madras and La Grande at home in Sisters on Thursday, September 3. Sisters served tough against Madras and piled up 23 services aces in the match, which helped big in the 25-8, 25-11, and 25-10 win. The girls were challenged to hit specific spots on the court, and they rose to the challenge and nailed them. The Outlaws didn’t get many opportunities to run their offense, but did get in a lot of serving practice. Alex Hartford finished with 13 assists and Hawley Harrer had nine. Jessie Brigham had five aces on the night, and Allie Spear, Ashlynn Cantwell, and Peytan Zanck each had four. Harrer led the team with nine kills, and Zanck added six. Brigham led the defense with seven digs. Coach Jason Myhre said, “The girls have been run- ning fast this year so far on offense, so they were chal- lenged with how to keep momentum in a game that might be moving slower than they would like. They stayed with it, and made some great choices to keep focus and keep momentum.” In the match against La Grande, Sisters prevailed with scores of 25-7, 25-17, and 25-6. The Outlaws worked on their serving and tallied another 11 aces in the match. The girls were able to run their offense, which resulted in 39 kills on the night. “Our middles are being used a lot this season, and it is photo by Jerry baldock Jessie Brigham digs in volleyball action against La Grande. showing with the impact they are making at the net block- ing and hitting,” said Myhre. Brooke Knirk and Peytan Zanck combined for 18 of the 39 team kills. Defensive players Allie Spear and Jessie Brigham played a great match, and picked up every- thing that was hit at them. Hartford dished out 19 assists and Harrer had 12. Zanck led the squad with 10 kills, Harrer recorded nine, and Knirk added eight. Hartford and Spear both had five aces on the night. Myhre said, “All in all, the evening really showed some great signs for the upcoming season. The girls are play- ing an up-tempo offense this year that really mixes up the set distribution. This couldn’t happen if we didn’t have such an accomplished pair of set- ters in Alex Hartford and Hawley Harrer. They are just setting at another level and it shows, and with the set dis- tribution, it has also freed up our outside hitters, Allie Spear and Ashlynn Cantwell, to be hitting against single blocks.” Myhre added that the up-tempo offense forces everyone on the court to be engaged in the game, and to be thinking strategically about every move they make. He noted that the girls are really becoming students of the game, and realize they don’t have to always hit hard, but hit smart. “I am very proud of these girls and what they have accomplished this early in the season,” said Myhre. “They are getting faster and faster every game.” The Lady Outlaws were to play at Bend High on Tuesday, September 8. They will face Summit at home two days later. FALL IS COMING... GET THOSE SMALL JOBS DONE! Airless Paint Sprayer Walk-Behind String Trimmer Deck Sander NEED IT, RENT IT! 506 N. Pine St. 541-549-9631 Sales • Service Rentals • Accessories www.sistersrental.com PENDLETON (AP) — With rain and even a little snow falling on a destructive wildfire near John Day, local officials were able to breathe a sigh of relief that flames are largely controlled, but another concern is emerging: the potential for catastrophic flooding. Grant County has asked an engineering firm to inves- tigate what can be done to ensure fire damage doesn’t cause flooding for cities and homes located beneath the charred mountains. A significant amount of the Canyon Creek drainage has been damaged by fire, much of its steep slopes are now filled with half-burned debris, downed trees and ashy ground. Without vegetation to keep debris anchored to the hillside, the potential for cata- strophic flooding and erosion increases, the East Oregonian reported. “I’m just scared to death of what could happen,” Grant County Commissioner Boyd Britton said. “We don’t have any vegetation now in much of that watershed.” The fire has destroyed 43 homes and burned more than 170 square miles south of John Day and Canyon City. Firefighters reported over the weekend that parts of the fire continued to burn but spread- ing was minimal. Crews are dropping water and strength- ening containment lines. Doug Ferguson of Ferguson Surveying and Engineering will act as liaison between multiple local, state, and federal agencies that will conduct rehabilitation efforts in areas of the Canyon Creek drainage harmed by the fire. “The silt and ash and debris that could come down that creek could be devastat- ing. Everybody is still pretty focused on fighting the fire. But I am worried about the possibility of imminent flood- ing problems,” Ferguson said. “We just don’t have anything left to hold back a flood.” Ferguson met with officials from the U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conserva- tion Service and other agen- cies Sept. 2 to begin hashing out a plan. Restoration efforts to help control flooding, including soil stabilization and ero- sion control projects will be conducted as quickly as pos- sible, Malheur National For- est Supervisor Steve Beverlin said Wednesday “We’re moving as fast as we can,” he said. “My direc- tions to my team are: Let’s have those investments down before the snow flies.” Grant County Court Judge Scott Myers, the county’s top elected official, said the flood- ing concern is legitimate. “If we were to have a ... sudden downpour, with all the vegetation upstream of Canyon City virtually gone, we could get an influx of mud and debris,” he said.