Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
Page 6
A pril 12, 2 0 0 7
Cousins show excellence on the basketball court
B y L eslie M itts
Spilyay Tymoo
Two cousins are quickly gain
ing attention for their skills on
the basketball court.
Shoni Schimmel, a freshman
at Hermiston High School, was
named to the first team o f the
Class 5A All-State Girl’s Basket
ball Team.
Schimmel is the daughter o f
Cece Moses and Rick Shimmel.
H er g rand father is B o b b y
Eagleheart.
Schimmel has a history o f
impressing the crowds with her
basketball skills— she’s currently
playing on the varsity team, and
she is only the second freshman
to ever do so at H erm iston
High School.
Coach Mike Royer told The
H erm iston Herald, “Shoni is
one o f the top freshmen in the
state and without a doubt one
o f the m ost talented ever at
Hermiston High School.”
Briana Stacona, a junior at
Madras High School, received
an honorable mention for the
Class 5A All-State Girl’s Basket
ball Team.
Walking down the hallway at
Madras High School, the 5’4”
Stacona might not seem like the
Briana Stacona
typical idea o f a basketball
player.
But as a point guard for the
girls’ basketball team last win
ter, Stacona stood out in a team
that wasn’t necessarily success
ful during the season.
T h e daughter o f Andy
Stacona and Blanca Ball, she
maintains a 3.13 cumulative
grade point average at Madras
High School.
At Jefferson County Middle
School, however, Stacona main
tained a 4.0 grade point average
all the way through—-something
she credits to taking harder
classes now.
N ot to m ention Stacona’s
heavy involvem ent in other
sports: during the fall she plays
soccer, and currently Stacona is
competing with the track team.
In fact, she won every event
she com peted in during the
April 4 track meet.
Still, balancing her natural
athletic ability with home life and
schoolwork can’t be easy.
“I guess I just got used to it,”
Stacona explained.
Her ability on the basketball
court is something that Stacona
developed at a young age.
“I ’ve always been around it
since I was little,” Stacona said.
From fifth grade until eighth
grade, Stacona even played in
tournaments with an all-boys
team.
Lana Leonard, liaison at Ma
dras High School, said Stacona
has athletic ability in much more
than just soccer, basketball and
track.
“I watched her grow up play
ing. She even plays softball. She
can throw the ball from
centerfield home,” Leonard said.
In L e o n a rd ’s op in ion ,
Stacona may be small in stature,
but that doesn’t mean anything
when it comes to her ability on
the basketball court.
“Sh e’s 5 ’4 ” and probably
plays like a 5’10” girl,” Leonard
$10,000 grant helps museum’s Celilo exhibit
T h e M useum at W arm
Springs received a $10,000 grant
from Portland General Electric
to support the “Remembering
Celilo Falls” traveling exhibit.
The exhibit provides insight
to the Native American tradi
tions on the Columbia River
before T he Dalles D am was
built.
The grant to the museum was
one o f 45 that the P G E Foun
dation recently announced.
The P G E Foundation is com
mitted to helping communities
across Oregon grow and thrive
by investing in nonprofit orga
nizations.
The Foundation funds pro
grams in three categ o ries:
strengthening and delivering
quality education, promoting
healthy families and individuals,
and helping to make arts and
culture accessible to all Orego
nians, especially children.
explained.
Receiving the honorable men
tion for the all-state team came
as a surprise, Stacona said.
She added, “I actually didn’t
hear about it until afterward.”
But Stacona isn’t the type to
offer self-praise.
She said she expects the
honor stems from her ability to
focus on what’s going on in the
game.
“I guess I can just see the
court pretty good,” she said hum
bly.
Plus, Stacona said, “I try to
get my teammates involved as
much as I can.”
Up next for Stacona is her
senior year at Madras High
School— after that, she plans to
pursue higher education.
Stacona isn’t sure what she
wants to study yet, but she does
plan on using her athletic skills
in college.
A ccord in g to Leonard,
Stacona offers more than just
athletic ability.
“She’s a great girl,” Leonard
said. “She’s a very good role
model.”
Schoni Schimmel of Hermiston.
Come see us at Mferson County Fairgrounds,
Home and Garden Show April 13-15
We're baking cookies
Dining Room Sets
10% Off
Kah-Nee-Ta offering scholarship opportunity
Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert
Resort and Casino is accept
ing applications for the 2007
male and female scholarship
award.
This opportunity is for
Warm Springs tribal mem
bers choosing to further their
education at an accredited
secondary learning institute as
a full time or part time student.
Applications will be available
at the Warm Springs Education
Building and Kah-Nee-Ta’s hu
man resources office, and must
be received by the deadline o f
July 16.
O f those applicants meeting
the deadline, one female and one
male will be selected to receive
a $1,000 scholarship and a
laptop computer. Mail the
scholarship application packet
to:
Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert
Resort & Casino
Attn: Donation Commit
tee. RO . Box 1240, Warm
Springs, O R 97761.
S&UÛtÿ
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Ralph's Furniture & T.V.
525 S.E. 5th Street
Madras, OR 97741
( 541 ) 475-2578
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Free towing w/engine or trans
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TECHNICIANS
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BATTERIES
475-6618
330 S.W. Culver Hwy.
Madras, OR 97741
Free Battery Check
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