Wednesday, March 6, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
During Barton9s trek to
now-retired 17-year-old Lab
mix Sasha.
After moving to Oregon in
2008 as an undergraduate stu-
dent at OSU, she apprenticed
under Karen Yeargain to learn
about sled dogs.
Yeargain, experienced
musher, instructor, Mush
Without Slush founder and
founder of Tumnatki Siberians,
has been raising and training
sled dogs for over 28 years.
“I first met Kelly at a sled
dog race outside of Yosemite
in 2009,” Yeargain said. “She
came over to my truck, full of
Siberian huskies, and asked
if she could help me for the
weekend. She learned about
hot-waxing sled runners, and
on the second day, her role
shifted, and she was the one
teaching new mushers the
tricks of waxing!”
“Six months later she called
out of the blue and asked if she
could stop by my kennel in
Prineville on the weekends to
help out.”
Over the course of the next
few years, Barton learned how
to manage a kennel, assess
sled dog form and function,
set training schedules, main-
tain good nutrition, and how to
properly drive a sled team.
Barton noted, “Karen per-
mitted me to compete with her
dogs that we trained together
from 2009-2015.”
Barton has participated in
mushing races as short as a
two-dog couple-mile scooter
race to eight-dog 25-mile
races and even a three-
day, 75-mile race one year.
“When not racing with
them, we spent a lot of time
training and conditioning the
dogs and would take a dog
team camping from time to
Cold Weather,
Warm Soup
time,” Yeargain said.
Between 2015 and 2018,
Barton attended veterinary
school at Ross University
School of Veterinary Medicine.
Upon graduation, she resumed
training with Yeargain and
her current dog team, recently
competing at the Diamond
Lake sled dog race.
“Last weekend, I offered
Kelly my main race dogs to
compete in the Diamond Lake
Sled Dog Race at Diamond
Lake, Oregon. Conditions
were tough but Kelly ran the
team well and took first place
in the 6-dog 15-mile class,”
Yeargain said.
Barton has two Siberian
huskies out of Yeargain9s ken-
nel, Larka, a four-month-old
puppy and her 8-year-old lead
dog, Wingman (aka Wing).
“I chose dog mushing as my
sport and veterinary medicine
as my profession for similar
reasons,” said Barton. “I love
the human-animal bond and
watching how that develops
over time through life9s ups
and downs. In the case of dog
When not racing with
them, we spent a lot
of time training and
conditioning the dogs and
would take a dog team
camping from time to time.
— Karen Yeargain
sledding, that relationship is
incredibly close, as the dogs
are frequently your mode of
transportation through remote
wilderness. They rely on you
13
to take care of them and you
rely on them to get you here
and there safely. I see that deep
bond with many of the clients
and patients that frequent the
clinic as well and am happy to
help both sides of the relation-
ship as much as I can.”
In veterinary medicine,
Barton is particularly fond of
client education to help pet
owners make the best-informed
decisions for their pets9 needs.
“I became a vet primarily
for these reasons and am very
excited to get to know the peo-
ple of Sisters and their pets!”
Yeargain added, “Over the
years, Kelly became my most
consistent and adept mushing
student. Her skills as a musher
and sled-dog racer have gained
her a reputation in the sport
that is one of being a good dog
person and a mentor to others
in her own right.”
Students Weigh in on “Ski and Ride” at Hoodoo
By Clover Keyes
Black Butte School has a tradition. All
of the students get to ski or snowboard at
the amazing Hoodoo.
“I like to snowboard,” said Scott, a 7th-
grader at BBS.
“I prefer to ski,” said Maddie, a 4th-
grader also at BBS.
Our instructors are always super cool;
the last two years I have had Brandon. He
is the best ski instructor. He would let us
ride to the top of Hoodoo.
Emily, another 7th-grader, said, “The top
of Hoodoo is so magical.” We get to ski/
snowboard every Friday for eight weeks
plus a family ski day on an extra Friday.
Clover Keyes is a 4th-grader at Black
Butte School in Camp Sherman.
PHOTO BY D. SHARP
Fish, Bake, and Quilt: Math Class
By Lily Henderson
Photo by TL Brown
Orion Schmill helped cook a
soup for guests of Sisters Cold
Weather Shelter in an after-
school cooking class at SPRD.
Students learned knife skills,
food safety, and hands-on
cooking from Angelena Bosco
of Kid Made Camp. They ate
some of their own soup. Then
Angelena brought soup to the
shelter, which helps people
without homes when it gets
cold out.
I love math, it’s awesome. We have so much
fun with problems and projects.
Every week we have a Problem of the Week.
Each week it is a different problem. This week
we had options. The options were you could
fish, bake, or sing. I chose baking.
Our math teacher’s name is Ms. Steele. She
is really nice. Ms. Steele has one daughter who
is in fifth grade like me.
This is Ms. Steele’s third year teaching at
BBS. She is a “math nerd.” She is very passionate
about math and will do math problems for fun.
This year we are doing a quilt project that all
of the school is helping with. The owner from
the Stitchin’ Post is coming to help us make the
quilt. She is very nice, and she is going to bring
us fabric.
We all have a lot of fun in math at school.
Lily Henderson is a fifth-grader at Black Butte
School in Camp Sherman.
SPRING BREAK CLASS AT SPRD
“Make Your Own Newspaper”
Write, illustrate, and design a mini newspaper in one short day! We’ll go outdoors
for inspiration from nature, and learn to conduct a feature interview. Professional
writers, editors, and graphic designers will lead this Kid Made Camp class. The
writing, art, and comics we make at camp will also be submitted to The Nugget.
Thursday April 4, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. | Grades K-8 | $50
Register with SPRD at 541-549-2091.
Got questions? Email t@kidmadecamp.com
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH & FAMILIES More announcements/events on pages 10 and 11
Family Fun Story Time Kids
of all ages join in songs,
rhymes, and crafts designed
to grow readers. 10:30-11 a.m.
Thursdays at Sisters Library.
Caregivers attend. 541-617-
7078 or deschuteslibrary.org.
Royal Tea Party Wear your
crowns, sparkles and super-
hero capes for stories, enter-
tainment and refreshments.
Ages 2-11. Sat., March 9 at 1
p.m. at Sisters Library. 541-617-
7078 or deschuteslibrary.org.
Tw e e n W r i t i n g C a m p
Workshops for kids ages 9-14
at Suttle Tea on Tuesdays,
March 12 and 19 at 4 p.m.
Sponsored by Sisters Library.
Registration required, 541-617-
7078 or deschuteslibrary.org.
Sisters Science Fair Balloon
car races, student projects,
planetarium by OMSI, green-
house gardening and more.
Presented by Sisters Science
Club Saturday, March 16, 12 to
4 p.m. at Sisters High School.
Animal Adventures Live ani-
mals, stories, crafts with High
Desert Museum at Sisters
Library Tuesday, March 19 at
11:30 a.m. For ages 3 to 5 with
their caregivers. 541-617-7078
or deschuteslibrary.org.
Rodeo Day at Hoodoo Ski the
Wild West with a chili cookoff
and free rides on a mechani-
cal bull in the lodge. Wear your
Western gear and join the fun
March 30 at Hoodoo. 541-822-
3799 or skihoodoo.com.