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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Coaches reflect on
lost spring season
Sisters shows resilience in pandemic
By Janel Ruehl
Guest Columnist
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
Jeff Larson had assem-
bled what may have been the
most talented team of track
boys in Sisters High School
many years with a real shot
to make a lot of noise at the
state meet. The season ended
without a single report of a
starter9s gun after Governor
Kate Brown officially shut
down schools across Oregon
due to the coronavirus on
Wednesday, April 8.
<From an athletic stand-
point,= said Athletic Director
Gary Thorson, <this has no
doubt been extremely tough
and difficult on our ath-
letes, their parents, and our
coaches. I saw a lot of hard
work and passion being put
forth in both the offseason
and this spring during the
first few weeks before we
got shut down.=
Larson and many of his
coaching peers reflected on
the lost season over the past
week.
<I am sad for our kids
on many levels,= he said.
<There are individual goals
which won9t be met, per-
sonal records that won9t hap-
pen, and most importantly,
the unique lessons an athlete
learns when they work hard
with goals in mind.=
In his final face-to-face
practice with the track kids,
Larson had a message for his
athletes.
<I can tell you that on the
day of our last practice, that
Thursday, I had a gut feel-
ing the season wouldn9t go
on and that it would be our
last time sitting together on
the grass at the beginning of
practice,= he said.
I took a moment to
encourage the kids. My
advice to them was, »We
can9t control what comes
at us, we can only control
how we react to it.9 Advice
as old as the hills, but I think
it needed to be said at that
moment. We went on and
had a great practice that day
too. Just amazing. The kids
felt what was coming too
and they just put it aside and
threw themselves into the
tasks of the day. Only kids
can devote themselves to the
moment with such abandon.=
When asked about how
the kids seem to be respond-
ing he said, <I9m hearing
very little. Mostly it is hear-
say through my daughter, a
junior on the team, and social
media. What I am hearing is
that the seniors are frustrated
and angry. The younger kids
like my daughter are sad but
seem to be rolling with it
fairly well.
He continued, <There9s
talk of competing in the
summer if the restrictions
are lifted. And there9s the
optimism of youth: »We9ll do
great next year9 4 and stuff
like that. That9s why I love
working with kids.=
Equestrian head coach
Annie Winter said, <It9s so
sad. Our athletes have been
practicing since mid-Novem-
ber and only got to perform
in one of three meets. They
are all bummed.=
Alan Von Stein, girls ten-
nis coach had high hopes
for the season with 25 girls
on the team, including 11
seniors.
<We were set for success
and even had good weather,=
he said. <We were showing
improvement every day and
our new kids were picking
up the sport at a rapid pace,
so the season was looking
pretty exciting.=
Von Stein has taken the
time to learn more about
As one of four focus areas
of the Sisters Country Vision,
<resiliency= has been top-of-
mind for the Vision Imple-
mentation team this month, as
Sisters Country grapples with
changes to our daily lives,
including the ways we con-
nect with one another, plan
for the future, care for the
most vulnerable among us,
and support our local econ-
omy. In these unprecedented
times of global pandemic,
the Vision Team has been
inspired and encouraged by
many examples of positive,
community-led action. I had
the honor of speaking with a
few Sisters Country residents
and local leaders who have
learned to adapt and inno-
vate to encourage community
resiliency during COVID-19.
<The support for our first
responders and healthcare
workers has been amazing.
Restaurants have been drop-
ping off food, and some pri-
vate citizens have been pick-
ing up food and dropping it
off at the fire station,= said
Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire
Chief Roger Johnson, whose
local force has been on the
front lines of emergency
response and preparedness.
His team has made significant
changes to their daily opera-
tions to adapt to new CDC
health and safety guidelines.
<Our primary goal is to
continue to provide high-
quality ambulance service,
while mitigating risk for pro-
viders. This is a major chal-
lenge for a small agency like
ours. If a few providers fall
ill or need to be quarantined,
that9s a large percentage of
our workforce.= Johnson
points out. However, he has
actually seen a decrease in
demand for their services
since the crisis began, which
has him worried for another
reason.
<We9ve seen a 20 percent
reduction in ambulance trans-
ports. People aren9t calling
911 as often and when they
do, there9s a hesitancy to go
to the hospital. Even if they
have conditions that should
probably be evaluated in
an emergency setting, they
are hesitant to go. If people
have serious conditions, they
should still see a doctor,=
Johnson said.
The Fire District, along
with other fire agencies, are
also thinking ahead and look-
ing for ways to prepare for the
upcoming fire season while
adapting to social distancing
requirements.
<On the Sisters Ranger
District, our goal is to fully
staff two engines, a 10-per-
son hand crew and the Black
Butte Lookout. We9re work-
ing to include daily tempera-
ture and wellness checks for
firefighters, offering virtual
fire trainings and briefings,
increased sanitation of crew
quarters, and the potential of
quarantines before and after
wildfire incidents, if needed.=
said District Ranger Ian Reid,
who added that USFS has
also recently authorized a
powerline right-of-way clear-
ing project to improve fire
safety and resiliency.
Sisters resident Laura
Wang found another way to
support first responders and
healthcare workers. Along
with friends Elisa Melton
and Timothy Gorbold, she
founded Central Oregon
Emergency Mask Makers
(COEMM), a Facebook group
mobilizing local residents
to produce and distribute
PPE, including cloth masks,
3D-printed face shields, and
soon, gowns. The group took
off quickly, rapidly expanding
to include more than 3,400
members who have produced
over 18,000 masks. Wang
says the group has attracted
international interest, with
members as far flung as India
and Australia. The PPE pro-
duced by this dedicated corps
of volunteers has been dis-
tributed to hospitals, medical
clinics, home health aides,
retirement and assisted liv-
ing facilities, correctional
facilities, and police and fire
departments. They have sup-
plied 35 major facilities, with
fully 70 percent of masks
going to hospitals. Facili-
ties can sign up through the
COEMM Facebook page to
place a request for PPE.
<Our request list is grow-
ing day by day, but with the
peak coming we may slow
down a bit. We9re trying to
balance how to do this safely
for all our volunteers= said
Wang.
Janel Ruehl is Program
Administrator for Community
& Economic Development with
Central Oregon Intergovern-
mental Council. She is working
on implementation of the Sis-
ters Country Vision Project.
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