Wednesday, August 31, 2022
A15
SPORTS
NORTHEASTERN OREGON
Shortage of volleyball offi cials a major issue
By DICK MASON
The Observer
UNION COUNTY —
Jennifer Stephens, a vol-
leyball offi cial for the past
30 years, remembers a time
when the Union, Wallowa
and Baker county region
was fl ush with high school
volleyball offi cials.
The La Grande resident
said it was sometimes hard
for less-experienced offi -
cials to get the match assign-
ments they wanted because
the region had almost a sur-
plus of referees. The days
when the Northeast Ore-
gon Volleyball Association,
which provides offi cials
for high school matches in
Union, Wallowa and Baker
counties, had plenty of ref-
erees are a distant memory.
The association is down
to 16 offi cials this season, up
two from a year ago but still
well short of the optimum 20
to 24 offi cials needed, said
Karen Howton, of Island City.
This means local vol-
leyball offi cials will be
stretched thin again this
year, keeping the pressure
on offi cials
“Last season, I was offi ci-
ating fi ve or six days a week.
By the end of the season, I
was dead tired. It is gruel-
ing. It is easy to get burned
out,” Howton said.
Stephens agrees the
shortage puts great pressure
on offi cials.
“We are on the run from
the start of the season until
the last playoff game,” she
said. “I don’t get to see
much of my family during
that time.”
Heidi Justus, commis-
sioner of the Northeast Ore-
gon Volleyball Association,
credits athletic directors with
being very accommodating.
“The athletic directors
are really great to work
with,” she said.
Justus said the short-
age of offi cials is partially
due to the COVID-19 pan-
MORE
INFORMATION
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Angie Malone, of La Grande, makes a call Saturday, Aug.
27, 2022, at the Hanna Cashell Memorial Tournament at La
Grande High School. Malone is among the volleyball offi cials
who belong to the Northeast Oregon Volleyball Association,
which serves schools in Union, Wallowa and Baker counties.
demic. She said that prior to
the pandemic, the Northeast
Oregon Volleyball Associ-
ation had 16 to 18 offi cials.
Some who stopped offi ci-
ating during the pandemic
have not returned, she said.
Stephens believes one
of the best ways to address
the shortage is to encourage
younger members of the
association to recruit their
friends, such as those they
play intramural volleyball
with.
When encouraging peo-
ple to step forward, Ste-
phens believes it is import-
ant to concentrate on the
contributions people will
make as offi cials — without
them, she said, girls will not
The Northeast Oregon
Volleyball Association
provides training for
everyone who wants to
become an offi cial. It is
now signing up people
for training prior to the
2023 season. People who
are interested in serving
as offi cials for the North-
east Oregon Volleyball
Association should send
an email to Heidi Justus
at neovba@gmail.com.
experience the joy of play-
ing high school volleyball.
“We need to focus on the
excitement of helping girls
do something fun, which
helps keep them in school,”
Stephens said.
Howton, who has offi ci-
ated volleyball for 21 years,
also said she is driven to
keep going because of what
it means to the girls play-
ing, student-athletes she
gets to see grow up right
before her eyes, while offi -
ciating not only high school
but also middle school
matches.
“I love every one of
them,” she said.
The camaraderie offi -
cials share is also cherished
by Howton.
“You have fun traveling
together. You get to know
each other well. Some of
my dearest friends are vol-
leyball offi cials,” she said.
Volleyball offi cials are
paid about $67 for matches
involving schools in the
Class 4A to 6A enrollment
classifi cations and about
$64 for games of schools in
the smaller 3A and below
classifi cations. It’s not a
lot, but Stephens said it is
a sum people like college
students would welcome.
“What student could not
use a a few extra dollars in
their pocket?” she said.
Destiny Wecks vying to become next Ms. Stars and Stripes
By ANN BLOOM
For the Wallowa County
Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Des-
tiny Wecks is reaching for the
stars — and the stripes too.
The 18-year-old from
Enterprise is currently in
fi fth place with a few weeks
left to fi nd out if she will
become the next Ms. Stars
and Stripes and take home
$25,000. The winner will
also be featured in a two-
page article in Star Maga-
zine. The competition comes
with the opportunity to par-
ticipate in a variety of coun-
VOTING ONLINE
Voting is free and done
online. Votes can be
placed once every 24
hours at www.msstripes.
org/2022/destiny-wecks.
try-style events around the
United States.
Contestants advance in
standing by levels, based on
the number of online votes
they get. The most recent
round of voting ended Aug.
25 for her group. Groups
are randomly selected. The
number of votes a contestant
receives determines whether
they advance in the stand-
ings. Wecks said as long as
she remains in the top 10
she will advance. Once vot-
ing ends for a group, and a
contestant advances, the vot-
ing begins again. If she wins,
her title will be Ms. Stars and
Stripes 2022.
The contest was adver-
tised in Cowgirl Magazine
and on social media. Wecks
said she saw it on social
media and applied online,
sometime around the Fourth
of July weekend. She was
not sure how many contes-
tants there are, but since it is
a national competition, there
could be “at least 5,000.
There were a lot,” she said.
Wecks is not new to com-
petition. She is currently
Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon
and aspires to one day be
Miss Rodeo America. She
has been Junior Miss Rodeo
Oregon, Honorary Chief
Joseph Queen for 2020 and
2021 and a Miss Oregon
High School Rodeo First
Attendant.
Wecks has a profi le page
on the competition’s web-
site. Under her motto sec-
tion, she states that she
always wants to be seen “as
a person who works hard to
make a diff erence on a large
or small scale. And this dif-
ference can change peo-
ple’s lives, which I hope will
leave a legacy. I want to be
remembered as the girl who
wants change for the better.”
If she wins, Wecks said
she will use the money to
further her education and,
again quoting from her pro-
fi le page, “growing up in a
very small community who
has always been there for me
as my support, I would like
to fi nd a way to give back to
them. Where my end goal
would be to have it help all
people involved in my suc-
cesses and life.”
She will be a fi rst-year
student in the fall at Trea-
sure Valley Community Col-
lege, taking classes in the
area of agriculture business
management, but looking
at something more specifi c
later on “in the ag world and
career area,” she said.
Asked if there were any-
thing she would like people
to know about her experi-
ence, Wecks said it would be
that she is grateful for all the
support “and love the com-
munity has shown for me.”
Weekend A
e
ft
Th
er
Sep
9-10 t.
-
202 11
2
L ab
or Day
IT’S OUR 41st n!
Plan to Attend the 40th Annual Agai
HELLS CANYON
MULE DAYS
LIVE DEMO EVENT
Wallowa County Fairgrounds
Enterprise, Oregon
Rated “E” for Everyone!
This is an event you don’t want to miss!
Profiles, movemnet joints, using quadec,
and jolly to wrap a niche for this live event
We hope to see you there!
Carpet One Floor and Home
800 S River St, Enterprise OR 97828
Wednesday, September 7th
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Dinner will be provided.
For more information,
please contact:
Jared Bedard - 541-426-9228 or
jared@carpetoneeo.com
Mule Show with Events & Games for All Ages
Non Motorized Parage • Pit B-B-Q
Mule Clinics * D.O. Cook-Off
Cowboy Poetry Gathering • PT Mule Sale
Cowboy Church with Soul Renovation
Western Art & Gear Show
Features Tennessee Mule Artist Bonnie Shields
• S aturday N ight C oNCert -
K riStyN h arriS d uo - oK t heater - 7:00 pm •
t y e vaNS m ulemaNShip C liNiC - S ept . 6-7-8 Fmi: tSMULES.COM