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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2018)
Wednesday, March 28, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 15 Festival SHS grad helps build Ducks football program announces initial line-up By Ceili Cornelius Correspondent CCB# 87640 541-549-9280 | 207 W. Sisters Park Dr. | PonderosaForge.com This Easter Do Something Special... CHOPS Year-round FIREWOOD SALES — — SISTERS FOREST PRODUCTS We do repair work & fabrication in steel, aluminum, copper & other metals. PHOTO PROVIDED Thomas Arends will play a key role in the University of Oregon’s football program next season. currently trying to get settled in again. “It’s been a whirlwind,” he said in an interview ear- lier this month. “A week ago I was in Waco and now I am back in Eugene get- ting started and trying to catch up on the players and what’s happening within the community.” He is looking forward to being back in Eugene, where home in Sisters is only two hours away. Quality Truck-mounted — Kindling — Don’t throw it away, we can fix it “Your Local Welding Shop” Head Coach Mario Cristoball as the Director of Player Personnel. His job essentially entails making sure that the school is choosing the right play- ers. He builds a team of guys from different backgrounds and locations and brings them together within the Oregon football community. He helps prepare recruit tryouts and walk-on tryouts. Arends is the home base when it comes to coaches going out to high schools and doing recruit- ment visits. He calls it “air traffic control,” where he makes sure everything goes smoothly. He makes sure the program is following all the right rules and procedures for the process of recruiting high schoolers. “It is important for the staff to know an area of high schools where there are up- and-coming players, so in the most important month of recruitment, which is May, coaches are able to visit high schools and coordinate recruiting opportunities,” Arends said. Arends is back in Eugene CARPET CLEANING Quality Cleaning 16 years in Reasonable Prices Sisters! — Credit Cards Accepted — ENVIROTECH 541-771-5048 541-410-4509 Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#181062 SistersForestProducts.com RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PHOTO BY ALEX JORDAN The Sisters Folk Festival a n n o u n c e d t h e i n i t i a l lineup for the annual event, September 7-9. As one of the most respected acoustic music e v e n t s i n t h e P a c i f i c Northwest, the Sisters Folk Festival is where “All the Town’s a Stage,” with 11 ven- ues throughout town. Festival passes are $150 for adults and $50 for those 18 and under. In the wake of last year’s event cancellation due to smoke impacts from the Milli Fire and dozens of other fires across the region, the art- ists represent many from the 2017 lineup, with new addi- tions. The artists bring diverse styles, cultures and genres along with exceptional talent to this year’s Festival. 2018 artists include songwriter Justin Townes Earle; author and activist Dar Williams; Robbie Fulks; Claire Lynch; leading actor in the film “American Folk,” Joe Purdy; Portland-based songsmith Haley Heynderickx; Joe Pug; Danny Schmidt & Carrie Elkin; Chuck Cannon; and Canadian Lindi Ortega. Diverse and entertaining bands include Amy Helm; the horn-driven stringband The Dustbowl Revival; the hot jazz and Western-swing trio Hot Club of Cowtown; the progressive bluegrass band The Lil Smokies; Toronto- based Afro-Cuban band Battle of Santiago; the indie- leaning The Accidentals; the genre-bending Gangstagrass; the Hawaiian swing band Kahulanui and many more. The final lineup will be released by mid-June. The Festival is also releas- ing its 2018 poster from artist Dennis McGregor, “A Picker’s Paradise.” Stringed instru- ment-pickers from around the country and beyond wait in line for their chance to play in Sisters. It’s not just the fresh air, water and scenery, but the community. They are treated by organizers and audience alike in a way that stands out from other festivals. They love Sisters and regard it as a picker’s paradise. This year’s poster, inspired by the fruit-crate-label art of yes- teryear, celebrates the fertile environment that Sisters has become for fresh Americana music. For tickets, artist informa- tion, and a complete listing of the initial lineup, visit www. sistersfolkfestival.org. Thomas Arends, a Sisters High School graduate, class of 2009, will be returning to work at the University of Oregon this upcoming sea- son — as Director of Player Personnel. Arends attended the University of Oregon from 2009-2012 studying econom- ics with a minor in business. He had always had a natu- ral interest and inclination toward sports. “When I was young, at sleepovers I wouldn’t want to watch cartoons or mov- ies, I would want to watch SportsCenter,” he said. He always had a love for football, and played in high school. Early on, he was interested in recruiting. “I loved all aspects of the game and especially the recruitment aspect, and I caught the bug as an intern at Oregon starting in 2009 and it’s crazy — 11 years later I am in the industry,” he told The Nugget. S t a r t i n g o u t a t t h e University of Oregon, he was the lowest man on the totem pole under Coach Chip Kelly. When Kelly left to coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, Mark Helfrich hired Arends for the full-time position of Assistant Director of Player Personnel for his first two years on the job, and then Director of Recruiting Operations/High School Relations for his last two years. After the firing of Helfrich after the 2016-2017 sea- son, Arends went to Baylor University in Waco, Texas. “The work environment was different, for sure,” he said. During the recruitment process, he would attend Texas high school games. “Watching high school football in Texas is a whole other world compared to Oregon high schools,” he said. “They have huge gath- erings, 500-person bands and cheerleaders and it’s just a huge deal down there,” he said. Arends said that he felt very happy working in Texas and was immersed in the culture of Baylor. “It was the best thing that could’ve happened to me, especially professionally,” he said. “I learned a lot under Coach Rhule, head coach at Baylor, I learned more about process work and really valued that job.” Arends is looking for- ward to being back in Eugene working next season under Old-World Smoked Easter Ham B is t r o Easter Dinner 2-6 p.m. Reservations Recommended 4-Course Prix Fixe Menu • $65/person Featuring Entree Choices: Lamb Chops • Halibut Cheeks Wagyu Beef • Pasta Regular Hours: Tues-Sun Open 4:30 p.m. Live Entertainment Fri-Sun (excluding Easter Sunday) 370 E. Cascade Ave., Sisters 541-549-6015 It may be the best Easter ham you’ve ever had! Quantities are limited. Excellent meat case! Beer & wine, too! 541-719-1186 110 S. Spruce St. Open 9 AM -7 PM Every Day MEATS • CHEESES • EATERY • DRINKERY
