10A
WEDNESDAY
November 22, 2017
Enterprise High standout
signs to play college softball
Madison Plew will
attend Jamestown,
in N. Dakota, on a
softball scholarship
I couldn’t do this without
everyone here. I’m really
thankful.”
— Madison Plew
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
It may not seem like the time of
year to celebrate softball achievements
unless you’re Enterprise High School
stand-out Madison Plew. She had cause
to celebrate the sport on the brink of
winter Nov. 10.
The EHS senior signed a letter of
intent to attend the University of James-
town in southeastern North Dakota on a
softball scholarship.
Nearly 40 well-wishers, including
teammates, former coaches and friends
gathered in the school cafeteria to cel-
ebrate the event. Plew, a pitcher and
third-baseman, is the first Outlaw to
receive a softball scholarship in four
years.
EHS athletic director Larry Wells
congratulated Plew on being one of the
few from the school to sign a letter of
intent. He also said he knew of no one
more deserving than Plew.
Former coach Jeff Edison said he
looked up the word “exceptionalism” in
the dictionary and noted the definition,
“a condition of being different from the
norm.”
“You are not normal,” Edison said to
Plew, “But you are exceptional.”
Plew followed, saying she couldn’t
EHS softball player, addressing the
family, friends and teammates at her
signing ceremony
believe the day had arrived. She said she
had dreamed of being a softball player
before she knew what it meant or what
it would take.
Plew’s journey was an example that
dreams come true if you’re willing to
work for them, and if you have the sup-
port of those around you.
She said that she was the only player
in tee-ball who struck out at the tee ––
even after being given two extra swings.
Her first year in Little League saw Plew’s
father, Andy Plew, coaching her team --
one that had no pitchers.
His daughter was the only person he
had time to work with, so they bought a
book on the subject and the two watched
hours of college softball to learn.
“Thank you for watching hours and
hours of softball and always pushing
me to better myself,” Plew said to her
father. She also thanked her mother and
brother for their contributions to her
success.
She also paid tribute to Edison, other
coaches and her teammates.
After the signing ceremony, which
took place at a table decorated with the
colors orange and black, the colors of her
future school, Plew posed for photos and
took time to thank those who attended.
When asked how much she actually
played softball in North Dakota, Plew
didn’t hesitate.
“I play softball nine months out of
the year,” she said. “Games run from the
beginning of high school until the end of
summer. I’ll start practicing in a couple
of weeks.”
She added the longest time she’s spent
away from the game in the last four years
is about a month.
She is active with several teams from
Boise to Pendleton and also plays pickup
ball for teams from as far away as Port-
land. Jamestown did not recruit Plew for
pitching, she said she will play mostly
third-base and some outfield.
Plew, a scholar and athlete who sports
a 3.72 GPA, said she plans to study hard
and has chosen to major in exercise sci-
ence and minor in sports psychology. She
said it can be difficult to balance the two
pursuits.
“It takes a lot of work,” Plew said.
“But if you know yourself as a stu-
dent and how much time you need to
study helps. Being a student and athlete
is really important to me, and student
comes first.”
Even with her school an 18-hour drive
from her home, Plew doesn’t plan to for-
get where she came from.
“I couldn’t do any of this without
everyone here,” she said. “I’m really
thankful.”
Steve Tool/Chieftain
Madison Plew faces down a hitter last season. Plew re-
cently signed a letter of intent to attend Jamestown Uni-
versity and play for the school’s softball team.
County athletes ODFW on guard for chronic wasting disease
garner league, So far, no local
deer or elk have
state awards
been impacted
By Steve Tool
Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife is increasing its mon-
itoring of deer and elk herds for
Chronic Wasting Disease, a fatal
neurological disease that has
never been detected in Oregon’s
cervids but is spreading in North
America.
The disease is caused by a pro-
tein prions that damages the brain
of infected animals, causing pro-
gressive loss of body condition.
It’s untreatable and always fatal.
Prions are infectious agents
composed entirely of a protein
material that can fold in multiple,
structurally abstract ways. The
prions that cause Chronic Wasting
Disease can also last a long time
in the environment, infecting new
animals for decades.
Department staffers have
been keeping an eye out for the
disease for years now, running
check stations in eastern Oregon
to test harvested deer and elk on
the opening weekends of popu-
lar hunting seasons and requiring
disease testing at captive cervid
ranches.
The test to confirm Chronic
Wasting Disease involves collect-
ing an animal’s lymph nodes or
brain stem and can only be con-
ducted once an animal has died.
Department officials sampled
deer for Chronic Wasting Disease
over opening weekend of rifle
deer season.
ODFW is also testing road-
killed deer and elk and is expand-
ing this testing to western Oregon
this year.
Animals that exhibit signs of
wasting or neurological disorder
are also tested. If you see or har-
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa County 1A athletes garnered their
fair share of both league and state athletic
awards for fall sports. The Joseph volleyball
team and Wallowa football team led the way
in awards with the coaches on both teams win-
ning “coach of the year” awards.
Joseph volleyball placed two players,
junior Emma Hite and senior Alexis Sykora
on the Old Oregon League first team. Fresh-
man Sabrina Albee found a place on the second
team and junior Tori Suto garnered an honor-
able mention.
Wallowa High School’s Rylee Goller was
named second team while sophomore Ashlyn
Young rated an honorable mention.
Wallowa football stacked the league with
selections as on offense as junior Gus Rams-
den won first-team honors for quarterback
while senior Patrick Ritthaler and junior Austin
Brockamp filed the rest of the first-team back-
field slots. Senior Ethan Burns earned a first-
team selection as an offensive lineman.
Defensively for the Cougars, Burns got the
nod for first-team as a linebacker while Brock-
amp and Ritthaler filled out the second team at
the position. Ramsden chalked up another first-
team award as a defensive back and junior Joe
Robb earned first-team honors as a defensive
lineman. Freshman Zeb Ramsden chalked up
an honorable as a kick returner.
The Joseph football offense saw junior Trey
Wandschneider on the first team as a tight end
and wide receiver while junior Tyler Homan
received an honorable mention as running
back. Senior Rylie Warnock was awarded a
second-team slot as an offensive lineman.
The Eagles defense saw Warnock with an
honorable mention in the linebacker slot and
Homan on first team as a defensive back.
Wallowa coach Matt Brockamp and Cou-
gars quarterback Gus Ramsden won coach of
the year and player of the year, respectively.
Jill Hite, Joseph volleyball coach, was also
named coach of the year.
T
2008 CHEVROLET
T
T
vest a sick deer or elk, report it to
the ODFW Wildlife Health Lab
number at 866-968-2600 or by
email to Wildlife.Health@state.
or.us and do not consume the
meat.
Although Chronic Wasting
Disease has not been shown to
sicken people, the Centers for
Disease Control advises hunt-
ers not to eat meat from ani-
mals infected with Chronic Wast-
ing Disease. It’s also always a
good idea to wear latex or rubber
gloves when field dressing an ani-
mal and to wash hands and instru-
ments thoroughly afterwards.
The state department is also
asking hunters interested in hav-
ing their deer or elk tested for
Chronic Wasting Disease to con-
tact their local office to set up
an appointment. ODFW is most
interested in deer and elk that
are at least two years old. To get
an animal Chronic Wasting Dis-
ease tested, hunters will need to
bring in the animal’s head, which
should be kept cool prior to sam-
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pling if possible.
ODFW will also take a tooth
for aging and hunters should
receive a postcard several months
later with information about the
animal’s age. If an animal tests
positive for Chronic Wasting Dis-
ease, the hunter will be notified.
Samples are tested out of state and
results can take several weeks.
Hunters heading to a state
where Chronic Wasting Disease
has been found are reminded
they are prohibited from bringing
back any parts of their deer, elk
or moose that contain brain mat-
ter or spinal cord tissue. This is
where the Chronic Wasting Dis-
ease prion is most concentrated.
“Chronic Wasting Disease is
considered one of the most dev-
astating wildlife diseases on the
American landscape today,” said
Colin Gillin, ODFW State Wild-
life Veterinarian. “Once Chronic
Wasting Disease enters a state and
infects free-ranging deer and elk,
it has been nearly impossible to
eradicate with present day tools.
So we want to do all we can to
keep this disease out of Oregon.”
Once animals show the clini-
cal signs of the Chronic Wasting
Disease, the disease has probably
already been on the landscape one
or more years. It can take several
years for an animal to become ill
but the disease can be transmit-
ted throughout the period of the
infection.
Early detection of Chronic
Wasting Disease could allow Ore-
gon to potentially eradicate the
disease before it takes root. The
state of New York was successful
in limiting Chronic Wasting Dis-
ease’s spread because it quickly
located the first few individual
animals infected and removed
them, and no further cases were
detected.
“If we ever document Chronic
Wasting Disease in Oregon, we
want to act quickly and will need
the support of Oregon hunters,”
Gillin. “Early detection is our
best chance to keep the disease
from spreading, should it enter
the state. That is why we need the
active involvement of hunters and
all Oregonians to continue sur-
veillance and keep an eye open
for animals that appear sick.”
Chronic Wasting Disease
appears to spread most quickly
through movement of live ani-
mals, although it can also spread
by transport of carcasses by hunt-
ers or through infected migrating
deer and elk.
Documented cases of Chronic
Wasting Disease have occurred in
Alberta, Arkansas, Colorado, Illi-
nois, Kansas, Maryland, Michi-
gan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mon-
tana, Nebraska, New Mexico,
New York, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South
Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia,
West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyo-
ming and Saskatchewan.
T
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