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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2004)
Smoke Signals Tribal Member Runs In District, State And Border Clash This Year Shannon McKenzie sets her sites on Willamette University. 8 JANUARY 1, 2004 By Ron Karten and Sandy Bobb Tribal member Shannon McKenzie (see Smoke Signals, 12102) placed fourth in district for the 5,000 kilometer (3.1 miles) cross country race. Her success in the Gresham-Barlow High School district, where she is a senior, translated into a slot on the state team, and her success there placed her in the "Border Clash" race where runners from Oregon com pete against their counterparts in Washington. Although McKenzie said that she wasn't pleased with her performance at the district meet, she was pleased that it took her to a berth at the state com petition held on November 1 at Lane Community College. McKenzie placed 24th, receiving an Honorable Mention, at the State Meet. That, in turn, qualified her for the Nike-sponsored "Border Clash" meet held on the Nike campus late in November. She placed 54th at the Border Clash. She credits her running success to her coaches, Paul Quirk and Jim Babson, who, she said, "always n I i in w 1 "I"1 '" '"' ') 1 ' LV " '1' ' v Fast And Talented Barlow Senior Shannon McKenzie (right) leads the pack at a track meet last season. pushed me to my potential. They made me realize what I could do. They believed in me." Babson called her, "Our best runner by far." "She's just a great girl," he said. "Well be sad to lose her. A really fine girl. Great character, too." Carrying a high three-point grade average all the way through high school, McKenzie now awaits an admissions decision from Willamette University. First, however, is the spring track season. McKenzie goes into this final high school season with a lot of experience and a record that includes being first team, all league and a competitor at state in 10th, 11th and 12th grades. McKenzie runs both cross country in the fall and track in the spring. "In track last year," said Coach Babson, she had knee trouble and didn't qualify for state in the 3,000 meters." But it is a demonstration of her charac ter, he added, that "she came back the next day and we were anxious that she could even run, but she ran re ally well and qualified for the 1,500 meters." Again On The National Mat Linton boys take first, second in the Wrestling Nationals. By Ron Karten Tribal members Denny Linton, Jr., 12, and his brother Brandon, 14, wrestled to first and second place in their weight classes in the Las Vegas World Wrestling Championships early in December. The meet hosted 450 competitions in the range of weight classes, said Denny Linton Sr., father of the boys. Denny Jr., in the 76-pound weight class, won the championship based on three matches, and brother Brandon, in the 82-pound weight class, took sec ond place based on four matches. Denny Jr. won his first match with a pin in the second round, his second match, 3-1 in points, and the final, 9 2 in points. Brandon won his first match by points, his second by a technical fall, which is awarded when one wrestler is 15 points ahead of his opponent. In this case, Brandon was winning 17-2 when the match was called. He lost his third match 9-5 to Colorado wres tler, Zeke Hofer, for second place. Tournament rules, however, allow the third place finisher to challenge the second place finisher for second place. Brandon's final match was this challenge, which he won 9-7, said his father. Brandon's title match with Zeke Hofer had some his tory to it. Although Brandon beats Denny Jr. when they wrestle together, at last year's tournament, Denny Jr. beat Hofer in their semi-final match. So, it came as some surprise that this year, Hofer beat Brandon. Linton Sr. did not think that Brandon was at his best in the final match. Still, the boys' suc cess on the mat is, hopefully, going to be a springboard for their approaching college careers, according to Linton Sr. "I know that they're going to need more than wres tling," he said. "They'll need good grades, too." But for now, wrestling is taking up the lion's share of the family's time. The boys practice four days a week from 3:30-8 p.m. They work out with the Willamina High School team for two hours, then an hour with the ad vanced group, then two more hours with the local Little Guy Wrestling Club, where they spend a lot of time J ft J Brandon Linton coaching younger, and less experi enced wrestlers, said their dad. Once a month, the boys practice with the USA Greco-Roman Club, coached by former Olympian Anthony Amato. Greco-Roman is different because Greco-Roman wrestlers don't use their legs for holds, but accord ing to Linton Sr. the combination of free-style, which the boys use in school meets and tour naments, and Greco-Roman "will make you tougher as a collegiate wres tler. You learn to be a better wres tler" using the combination, he said. They plan to go to the Oregon Clas sic in Redmond this month, and the national meet in Tulsa later in Janu ary. And then to the Reno nationals in April. Last year, the community supported the boys with fund raisers to help send them to the nationals, but Linton Sr. borrowed money for the recent trip jt Denny Linton, Jr. based on per capita distributions in December. "That's a good way to use it, I figure," he said. Traveling fru gally, he brought the boys to and from the meet in Las Vegas for under $500. And, he expects to have enough left over for the Tulsa meet. So, the only question left is how the boys are dealing with their success. "Cocky?" Linton Sr. asks. "They are with me, but they're the same with their friends. They're always coming up to me and saying, Tou want some of this?'" What father wouldn't? B Health Clinic Psychologist Earns New Credentials Joseph R. Cook, Jr. M.S. is now also a Licensed Professional Counselor. By Ron Karten Health Clinic Counselor Joseph R. Cook, Jr. MS, and now LPC, has earned the State of Oregon Profes sional Counselor license. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Cook adds the "LPC" to his professional name. The licensing marks the completion of a 2,400-hour internship, "a substan tial internal training process," said Joseph B. Stone, PhD, Manager of the Behavioral Health Program at the Health Clinic where Cook is a counse lor. "It's one of the most rigorous licens ing programs in the country," said Cook. "It took me about a year and a half." v """"" V . ESI o - . 4- o H I Joseph Cook, Jr. On a personal level, the license "allows him to have a greater independent scope of practice," said Stone, "and it makes it possible for him to be on insurance pan els. His work can be reimbursed (to the Tribe) also." Cook's professional growth gives Tribal members and staffers growing expertise in the health needs of Native Americans, said Stone. Although the growth is gradual dur ing the period of licensing, "as you progress through the licensure process, it's something they (patients) notice and certainly something I notice." Cook also has been offered doctoral seats in Clinical Psychology at George Fox University and Pacific University, but "I've put them both on hold," he said. "It's kind of a selfish thing. My daughter is in an honors pre-med pro gram at Western Oregon University and she needs a lot of support. My son's getting ready to go into high school. There are family consider ations." Still, he said, "It's a pretty big boost to anyone's ego." It may be true, however, that at the end of the day, life goes on for most of us pretty much as before. "It didn't change his status at home," laughed his wife, Paula Cook, who works in the Spirit Mountain Community Fund office.
