A9
WEDNESDAY
July 17, 2019
Lady Cubs prepare for Arizona battles
Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Junior Little League lady Cubs,
the fi rst softball team in Wallowa
County history to win a state champion-
ship, are hard at work down at the Jen-
sen ball fi elds every evening. The squad
is advancing to the regional champion-
ships in Tucson, Ariz this week, some-
thing this confi dent squad is looking for-
ward to.
Coach Shane Kirkland is a noted
coach who has already won a little
league baseball state championship, but
this is the fi rst time he’s taken a team
to a regional championship. He noted
the generosity of local citizens in ensur-
ing that the team has the means to get to
Arizona.
“We’ve done a lot of fundraising and
a lot of raffl es for this,” he said. “We’re
departing Tuesday (July 16), driving to
Portland and fl ying down to Tucson.” He
added that the team and their families are
staying at OMNI National, a resort.
The team’s practice regimen isn’t
much different despite the higher level
of play according to Kirkland.
“We’re preparing basically the same
as any other game,” Kirkland said.
“We’re trying not to make a big deal
out of it. We’re trying to keep the girls
relaxed and having some fun. More
important than anything, we’re trying
to make sure they enjoy this time.” The
coach also noted the girls have good atti-
tudes during their preparations for the
next level of play.
“Their spirits are great,” he said. “No
one’s out in front of themselves, which is
easy to do because we’ve beat up on a lot
of teams. They’re working just as hard as
they would with any other practice.”
This is striking, because the team is
so young. What is essentially supposed
to be a team of 13-15 year-olds has an
average age of 12.82 years, although
they don’t act like it. While they obvi-
ously have fun, they’re serious about
what they’re doing. Giggling happens
only occasionally. Throws have a lot
of zip with very little arc and pop into
mitts with more than a little force. The
very few mistakes made are met with
encouragement from both coaches and
teammates.
Coach Kirkland has an easy rapport
with the team, and the mutual respect
Steve Tool/Chieftain
Liz Rowley, fi rst baseman of the Wallowa Valley Cubs junior league softball team, throws to home during practice for the
team’s regional championship game in Tucson, Ariz., on Wednesday, July 17. The team recently won the fi rst-ever state softball
championship for a county squad.
Steve Tool/Chieftain
GOT IT! — Wallowa Valley Cubs softball
outfi elder, Iris Crist, snags one as the
team practices for its upcoming regional
championship game in Tucson, Ariz., on
Wednesday, July 17.
they share is more than a little obvi-
ous. Players are attentive when Kirkland
points out small mistakes with suggested
corrections and no one talks back or
shows annoyance, even in a joking way. tices because of her potential as player
The team is famous for its double-play at both the pitcher, catcher and fi rst base
ability, which is probably better than the positions.
high school squad.
“The coach invited me out here, and
Sydney Hopkins, 14 and preparing to I came to learn some stuff and get some
enter her freshman
experience for next
year of high school,
year,” she said. “It’s
‘EXPECTATIONS ARE
plays outfi eld. She’s
awesome to practice
very excited about
with the team and
TO GO DOWN AND
the team’s state
learn.”
MAKE SURE EVERYONE
championship and
Later,
asked
only a little nervous
about his expecta-
HAS A GOOD TIME.’
about playing in Ari-
tions for the tour-
Coach Shane Kirkland
zona. She hasn’t
nament, Kirkland
been to the state
shook his head
since she was little.
before he spoke.
“It gives them home-court advan-
“Expectations are to go down and
tage,” she said. She added that the team make sure everyone has a good time,” he
helps her stay grounded through its sense said. “We’re just going to go down there
of humor.
and do our best.”
Asked her expectations for the
The Cubs’ fi rst game is at 7:30 p.m.
upcoming tournament, she replied, on Wednesday, July 17. Fans can fol-
“We’re going to go kick some booty.”
low the game on Gamechanger online.
Emmerson Hook is an 11-year-old Should the team prevail in Tucson, they
prospective player for the squad next will play the next level at Kirkland,
year. Kirkland invited her to the prac- Washington.
Community pride in action Short bouts of exercise enhance
brain function, research shows
GOLFING EVENTS
ROUNDUP
Rochelle Danielson
For the Chieftain
They say it takes a village to accom-
plish goals. There are no villages in Wal-
lowa County, but there is plenty of “active
community.” Wallowa Valley Golf Associ-
ation is a proud shareholder in that entity.
Golf or visit Alpine Meadows Golf Course
and witness “community pride” in action.
Golfers who have played the fairways
and greens the past few weeks speak
highly of the course. “The layout is clean
and looks absolutely beautiful,” says one
happy Wallowa Lake camper. “We’ve had
an enjoyable day of golf. We will be back.”
This type of comment is not only
expressed by tourists, but local golfers
alike. Credit goes to the efforts of a car-
ing Greens crew who includes JD Hagan,
Tristan Beck, Mac Huff and Jon Hagan
plus several dedicated volunteers.
Credit also goes to AMGC’s current
Board of Directors, who includes presi-
dent, Jerry Hook, vice-president, Kathy
Reynolds and board members Judy Ables,
Ron Layton, Adam Ward, Mike Harsh-
fi eld and Brian Rahn. The group meets
once a month, year round, to guide Alpine
Meadows in a sustainable direction. Each
board member serves a 3 year stint. The
board hires and works with clubhouse
MEN’S DAY THURSDAY, July 11, skins
results: Dick Anderson, 3 gross skins. Dale
Johnson, 3 gross. Harlan Menton, 1 gross/2
net. Terry Lamb, 1 gross. Jerry Hook, 1 net.
Blind Draw results: Low Gross, Terry Lamb
and Chuck Haines. Low Net, Dale Johnson
and Harlan Menton.
GLOW BALL TOURNAMENT canceled.
THE annual SHRINE GOLF Scramble is
Friday, July 26. Get an entry in right away
encourages Sam Wade. Golfers always
have a good time while contributing to a
great local cause.
co-management, Cheryl Kooch and Mar-
sha Hauptmann and greens superintendent,
JD Hagan. If you’re interested in taking an
active role in community there’s two (2)
board positions open for election this year.
See Cheryl or Marsha in Pro Shop and fi ll
out a candidate declaration form. Voting
will take place August 10 through 19.
The AMGC logo was given a facelift
this month. Thanks to a tenacious Nancy
Huff, who with help from husband Mac
Huff, purchased 60 heavy stone blocks,
put three coats of white paint on each one,
hauled the material to the site and with vol-
unteers Judy Ables and Carol Marr, pulled
out the crumbling cement and replaced
with the new.
12
FINANCING
AVAILABLE
on purchases made with your Carpet One
credit card between 7/11/19 and 8/18/19
Most people know that
regular exercise is good for
your health. New research
shows it may make you
smarter, too.
Neuroscientists at OHSU
in Portland, Oregon, work-
ing with mice, have dis-
covered that a short burst
of exercise directly boosts
the function of a gene
that increases connections
between neurons in the hip-
pocampus, the region of the
brain associated with learn-
ing and memory.
The research is published
online in the journal eLife.
“Exercise is cheap, and
you don’t necessarily need
a fancy gym membership or
have to run 10 miles a day,”
said co-senior author Gary
Westbrook, M.D., senior
scientist at the OHSU Vol-
lum Institute and Dixon Pro-
fessor of Neurology in the
OHSU School of Medicine.
Previous research in ani-
mals and in people shows
that regular exercise pro-
motes general brain health.
However, it’s hard to untan-
gle the overall benefi ts of
exercise to the heart, liver
and muscles from the spe-
cifi c effect on the brain. For
example, a healthy heart
oxygenates the whole body,
including the brain.
“Previous studies of
exercise almost all focus on
sustained exercise,” West-
brook said. “As neuro-
scientists, it’s not that we
don’t care about the ben-
efi ts on the heart and mus-
cles but we wanted to know
the brain-specifi c benefi t of
exercise.”
So the scientists designed
a study in mice that specif-
ically measured the brain’s
response to single bouts of
exercise in otherwise seden-
tary mice that were placed
for short periods on running
wheels. The mice ran a few
kilometers in two hours.
The study found that
short-term bursts of exercise
– the human equivalent of a
weekly game of pickup bas-
ketball, or 4,000 steps – pro-
moted an increase in syn-
apses in the hippocampus.
Scientists made the key dis-
covery by analyzing genes
that were increased in sin-
gle neurons activated during
exercise.
One particular gene stood
out: Mtss1L. This gene had
been largely ignored in prior
studies in the brain.
“That was the most excit-
ing thing,” said co-lead
author Christina Chatzi,
Ph.D.
The Mtss1L gene encodes
a protein that causes bend-
ing of the cell membrane.
Researchers discovered that
when this gene is activated
by short bursts of exercise, it
promotes small growths on
neurons known as dendritic
spines – the site at which
synapses form.
In effect, the study
showed that an acute burst
of exercise is enough to
prime the brain for learning.
In the next stage of
research, scientists plan to
pair acute bouts of exercise
with learning tasks to bet-
ter understand the impact on
learning and memory.
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Erik Robinson
OHSU
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