NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Tuesday, April 26, 2022 Elgin High School band qualifies for first-ever OSAA state competition By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer ELGIN — Hard work is paying off for the Elgin High School band. After practicing their routine since early in the winter, members of the Elgin High School band are seeing the rewards of their dedi- cation on the big stage. The Huskies took first place at the 1A Special District 4 compe- tition to earn an automatic qualifier to the OSAA state band competition in Corval- lis — the trip to state marks the first time an Elgin band has competed in the statewide event. “It feels amazing,” senior saxophone player Paige Gifford said. “I’m so happy we were able to pull together, get the music done and go to state. We missed out on it so many years before, so it’s awesome to finally be able to do it.” The Elgin High School band consists of 15 members, ranging from grades seven through 12. The Huskies placed first overall against Grant Union and Wallowa at the Special District 4 compe- tition on Friday, March 18, scoring 84, 84 and 88 and automatically qualified. The Elgin band performed the songs “Highland Legend,” “Ballade” and “Legacy” at the district competition and will play the same routine at state. Davis Carbaugh/The Observer Members of the Elgin High School band practice at Elgin High School on Thursday, April 21, 2022. The band, which includes students from grades seven through 12, earned its first-ever automatic qualifier to the OSAA state competition in Corvallis. Tucker Murphey is in his eighth year as the band’s director. Prior to his tenure at Elgin, the school had not had a band program for five years. After two years of COVID-19 cancellations and a near miss at going to state in 2019, the Elgin band is poised to make its first-ever run at the OSAA state competition in Corvallis on May 13. For Gifford, the collective hard work and dedication of the band stands out as a differ- ence maker in the Huskies’ success. “It’s a lot of work and a lot of Mr. Murphy going through drills with us to get down the Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY WEDNESDAY Showers around; breezy, cooler Mostly cloudy and cool 57° 40° 56° 40° 62° 43° 62° 42° | Go to AccuWeather.com THURSDAY FRIDAY Mostly cloudy, a shower; cool SATURDAY Remaining cool with some sun 60° 42° 58° 39° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 62° 45° 63° 44° 64° 44° OREGON FORECAST ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 51/41 49/33 60/32 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 56/40 Lewiston 52/40 64/43 Astoria 51/40 Pullman Yakima 61/36 51/36 56/39 Portland Hermiston 55/43 The Dalles 62/43 Salem Corvallis 54/38 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 50/34 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 57/41 53/32 50/34 Ontario 64/40 Caldwell Burns 66° 41° 70° 40° 91° (1946) 27° (1929) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 55/39 0.00" 1.37" 0.65" 3.32" 1.81" 3.42" WINDS (in mph) 63/38 57/29 0.00" 1.06" 1.08" 4.66" 3.55" 5.15" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 46/28 56/42 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 57/40 61/42 62° 43° 66° 41° 94° (1910) 22° (1924) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 51/36 Aberdeen 53/34 58/36 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 51/40 Today Wed. Boardman WSW 10-20 Pendleton W 10-20 Medford 63/40 WSW 7-14 WNW 6-12 By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press PENDLETON — As wheat crop tours for farmers resume in the Pacific North- west, researchers also plan to get together for their annual field day. The Wester n Wheat Workers tour June 20-22 is primarily for researchers, crop consultants and indus- try leaders, but farmers are also welcome, said Chris- tina Hagerty, Oregon State University assistant profes- sor of plant pathology at the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center in Pendle- ton. “We really get into the minutiae at these meet- ings,” Hagerty said. “Getting researchers together like this gives us the opportunity to really understand what the biggest challenges are in the community of researchers, 54/29 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 5:51 a.m. 7:56 p.m. 4:32 a.m. 3:34 p.m. New First Full Last Apr 30 May 8 May 15 May 22 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY PENDLETON — The Umatilla National Forest is set to begin conducting inva- sive plant treatments starting in late April. The treatment process targets invasive species expansion throughout the forest and is expected to last through October, according to the Forest Service. According to a statement from Richie Garnder, inte- grated vegetation staff officer for the forest, the treatments will include primarily spot application through truck 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s ice 50s 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 70s East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2022, EO Media Group 90s 100s warm front stationary front high low VISIT US ON THE WEB AT: SUBSCRIPTION RATES Local home delivery Savings (cover price) $10.75/month 50 percent 52 weeks $135 42 percent 26 weeks $71 39 percent 13 weeks $37 36 percent Single copy price: $1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday www.EastOregonian.com ADVERTISING Classified & Legal Advertising Regional Sales Director (Eastside) EO Media Group: Classified advertising: 541-564-4538 • Karrine Brogoitti 541-963-3161 • kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com EZPay starthistle, sulphur cinque- foil, Dalmatian toadflax and hound’s tongue. The treatment process has been ongoing, with the work implemented under the 2010 decision for inva- sive species treatment project and the forest plan amended by the Pacific Northwest Region 2005 decision for preventing and managing invasive plants. The Forest Service is part- nering with weed boards in Oregon and Washington, as well as the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture and Wallowa Resources. 110s Circulation Dept. For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com In the App Store: 80s sprayers, backpack sprayers and utility task vehicles. The targeted treatment sites are scattered across the Umatilla National Forest. Herbicide treatments are set to be marked on the ground during the time of treatment. A full map of proposed treat- ment sites is on the Umatilla National Forest website. The herbicides in the treatments are aminopyra- lid, chlorsulfuron, clopyra- lid, imazapic, metsulfuron methyl and picloram. Typi- cal invasive species targeted in the treatment include common Crupina, yellow CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. showers t-storms the plots with your colleagues and stakeholders.” The agenda includes discussions about cover crop- ping, a presentation from Syngenta about hybrid wheat and farm visits, which include a walk-through of a 15-foot trench on the Aquino fami- ly’s DLL Ranch and Chris Williams of Johns Ranch discussing dryland and irri- gated winter wheat, irrigated organic dark northern spring wheat, irrigated organic spring barley and green peas. While planning the event, Hagerty made a point to focus less on formal presentations in favor of just spending time together. “Folks are really excited to get out in the field and just have really organic, unstruc- tured conversations,” Hagerty said. “That’s a nice time to just sit next to a researcher you might not know, intro- duce yourself and have a nice conversation.” Umatilla National Forest to conduct invasive plant treatments in late April The Observer High 94° in Zapata, Texas Low 11° in Gothic, Colo. -0s and how we can tackle that as a unit.” Topics can include differ- ent races of stripe rust, disease resistance genes and locations of cooperative trials. State reports about the greatest challenges from the past production cycle reveal opportunities for researchers to collaborate, she said. The event returns to CBARC after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Registration is $100. The field day is in conjunc- tion with a conference held by National Information Management and Support System’s multi-state research committee on cereal diseases, WERA97. Hagerty welcomed the resumption of in-person field days. “There’s nothing like in-person conversations,” she said. “There’s just really nothing like getting to walk SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls -10s mance like the district compe- tition. As a senior with the most experience in the band, she makes it a point of empha- sis that the band members not over stress themselves before going on stage. At the 1A level, Elgin will be competing against eight teams from across Oregon at Wheat researchers, consultants to ponder ‘minutiae’ during field tour A thick cloud cover PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 54° 42° rhythms,” Gifford said. “A lot of us take home our instru- ments to take more time to get the rhythms down and stuff like that, making sure they sound good.” Gifford also noted that the band members try to stay as composed as possible on the day of an important perfor- the state competition. Junior trumpet player Andrew Buck- ley stated that being around other bands with different skill sets will be a good learn- ing experience for the Elgin band. “I’m definitely nervous, but it’s going to be really fun,” he said. “Hopefully we can bring home a trophy.” While each individual band member must have their instrument ready and notes memorized, the band is very much a team. “ Eve r y b o d y wo r k s together really well,” Buck- ley said. “It’s nice being able to play with a band that is good at listening to each other, which helps the sound of the whole band.” “It’s definitely very import- ant,” Gifford said. “We’re kind of like a small family. We have to get along and we all lean on each other when it comes to playing our instruments well.” In 2019, Elgin scored high enough to qualify for state but the band’s season ended after a mix-up made it ineligible for state qualification. Gifford is one of two seniors who were a part of that band, which has been a big motivation during the group’s strong showing this year. “We lost out on going to state a couple years ago and then COVID happened, so this was really exciting since it’s my senior year,” Gifford said. Multimedia Consultants: • Angel Aguilar 541-564-4531 • aaguilar@hermistonherald.com • Melissa Barnes 541-966-0827 • mbarnes@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Business Office Legal advertising: 541-966-0824 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items, engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email community@eastoregonian.com, call 541-966-0818 or or visit eastoregonian.com/community/ announcements. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips, email sports@eastoregonian.com. 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