PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 15, 2020
KEIZERTIMES.COM
OSAA weighing their options for the fall
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
After Gov. Kate Brown
announced on April 8 that
in-person classes would be
cancelled for the remainder
of the school year due to the
coronavirus, the OSAA elect-
ed to offi cially cancel the
spring sports season.
Now it’s looking like the
fall sports season could be in
jeopardy as well.
On Thursday, May 7, Brown
stated in a press conference
that all large gatherings would
not be allowed until at least
October, meaning that major
sporting events, like college
football, would likely have to
play games without fans.
However, because there
wasn’t a number specifi ed
on what is considered a large
gathering, OSAA executive
director Peter Weber feels like
the organization is still waiting
for guidance on what their
next steps should be for the
fall season.
“There weren’t a lot of spe-
cifi cs in the announcement.
We’re still trying to fi nd clar-
ifi cation on what this means
going forward,” Weber said.
“There are a lot more ques-
tions than answers right now.”
Despite the question marks,
Weber acknowledged that
anything is on the table right
now.
“We are proceeding like
there will be modifi cations to
the fall sports season,” Weber
said.
Earlier in the spring, Weber
formed multiple contingency
groups made up of athletic
directors and coaches around
the state to help make deci-
sions on where to go from
here, as well as to come up
with suggestions that would
make a fall sports season more
feasible.
“We’re hoping to have
regular contact with the con-
tingency groups to come up
with ideas and suggestions
for next season. We want to
be as prepared as we can be.
We don’t want to just make a
last-minute shift on an issue,”
Weber said. “We’re willing to
look at anything if it makes
sense.”
One idea that is being con-
sidered is moving golf and
tennis, which are normally
spring sports, into the fall sea-
son.
During Brown’s press
conference,
Dr.
Dean
Sidelinger, the state health
File
Please see OSAA, Page A12
McNary defensive back Noah Lelack makes a tackle in a game from last season. At this point, it’s unknown if there will be high
school football being played in September.
MYB not ready to give up hope for potential season
File
Cash Martin prepares to throw an off-speed pitch to the plate in a McNary Youth Baseball game
from last summer.
Keizertimes
Wheatland Publishing Corp.
142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303
Phone: 503.390.1051 • www.keizertimes.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Eric A. Howald
editor@keizertimes.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
One year:
$35 in Marion County,
$43 outside Marion County,
$55 outside Oregon
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Matt Rawlings
news@keizertimes.com
COMMUNITY REPORTER
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
Lauren Murphy
reporter@keizertimes.com
Publication No: USPS 679-430
ADVERTISING
POSTMASTER
Stephanie Wittman
advertising@keizertimes.com
Send address changes to:
PRODUCTION MANAGER
& GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Andrew Jackson
graphics@keizertimes.com
LEGAL NOTICES
legals@keizertimes.com
BUSINESS MANAGER
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Lyndon Zaitz
publisher@keizertimes.com
2019-2020 President
Oregon Newspaper
Publishers Association
Keizertimes Circulation
142 Chemawa Road N.
Keizer, OR 97303
Periodical postage paid at
Salem, Oregon
Leah Stevens
billing@keizertimes.com
RECEPTION
Lori Beyeler
facebook.com/keizertimes
twitter.com/keizertimes
By MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
There have been several
youth baseball organizations
across the state that have
thrown in the towel on their
chances to have a season this
year due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
McNary Youth Baseball
(MYB), however is still in
wait-and-see mode.
The MYB baseball pro-
gram, which is in its fi rst year
in the Clackamas County
Junior Baseball Association
(CCJBA), is still is hoping
to facilitate some kind of
abbreviated season, despite
multiple programs in the
league saying that they won’t
be participating in any kind
of baseball activities this sea-
son.
“We still have a lot of
people willing to stick it out
and play the waiting game,”
MYB President Bo Lane
said. “Once stuff begins to
open back up again, we will
continue to push forward.”
Cleveland, Colton, Put-
nam, North Marion and
Gladstone are just a handful
of the programs in the league
that have already decided to
cancel their respective sea-
sons.
Earlier this month, the
MYB board sent out a survey
to all parents in the program,
asking if families would rath-
er pull their child out of the
program and get a refund, or
if they want to wait for re-
strictions to lift and have a
possible season take place.
According to Lane, 66
percent of the parents said
that they wanted to wait, and
34 percent of parents said
that they would want to pull
their kids out of the program
— although Lane said that
only half the parents in the
program participated in the
survey.
Because of the results of
the survey, the MYB board
decided that they would ac-
cept refund requests for any
family that got tired of play-
ing the waiting game.
“We respect whatever
parents decided. We know
they have their child’s best
interest at heart and so do
we,” Lane said.
Based on those numbers,
Lane says they will still be
able to have a modifi ed sea-
son if they get clearance.
“We may have to re-orga-
nize some of the teams, but
there is still a lot of potential
baseball to be played,” Lane
said. “But we take a lot of di-
rection from our district, so
if they pull the plug, then we
will too.”
Last month, Misty Gend-
harr, the president of CCJ-
BA, said in a Facebook post
that she believes that the or-
ganization will have a start
Please see MYB, Page A12
Warner signs with Linfi eld
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Zoie Warner has excelled
with the McNary volleyball
program for the last three sea-
sons. Now, she is taking her
talents to the next level.
After receiving fi rst-team
all-league recognition during
the 2019 season, Warner of-
fi cially signed with Linfi eld
University to continue her ac-
ademic and athletic career.
Warner plans on majoring
in nursing at Linfi eld.
“It’s always been a goal of
mine to play college volley-
ball, so I am really excited to
get the opportunity to play at
Linfi eld,” Warner said. “It’s a
very close-knit community, so
that was a big draw for me.”
For Warner, one of the oth-
er appeals of playing at Lin-
fi eld was that she would get to
re-connect with a pair of her
old teammates from McNary.
Warner played with Sophia
Zielinski and Kara Thomas at
McNary in 2017 and 2018.
Zielinski and Thomas each
signed with Linfi eld after their
senior seasons and the three
players look to be reunited on
the court this fall.
“The three of us really
clicked when we played to-
gether at McNary and I can’t
wait to play with Kara and So-
phia in college,” Warner said.
Warner was one of the
most versatile players in the
Mountain Valley Conference
last season. Not only did she
lead the Celtics with 201 kills,
she also had 183 digs and was
named McNary’s top defen-
sive player.
Whatever position Warner
Please see WARNER, Page A12
File
After receiving fi rst-team all-league honors as a senior, McNary
senior Zoie Warner will be continuing her career at Linfi eld.