Smoke Signals
Hawaiian Style: Her Track Career Just Beginning
Tribal member Sarah Felmley "a natural" at the hurdles.
8 FEBRUARY 1, 2004
By Ron Karten
Darryl Felmley and his ex-wife, the former
Julie Simmons who is a Tribal member, have
some pretty sturdy kids. One is heading for the
Hawaiian track state championships and maybe
beyond.
Eleventh grade Tribal member Sarah Felmley
has discovered that she has exceptional talent
as a hurdler.
"She is a natural hurdler," according to her
coach, former U.S. Team hurdler, Denise Fore
man. "As a high school athlete, she has the abil
ity to win state in three different events: the long
hurdles, the 400 meter hurdles and the 800
meter hurdles." Sarah also is coached by
Denise's husband, U.S. Olympic coach, Ken
Foreman, now 81.
Sarah ran cross country for the first time last
year for the most convincing of reasons "my
friend, Kelsey, ran cross country," she said. She
attends Konawaena High School in
Kealakekua, about 200 miles from Honolulu on
the big island.
"We did a couple training drills over a couple
of one-step hurdles, and the coach said I had a
natural hurdle form, so I started practicing on
the hurdles. By the time track season came
around, I was on the hurdles every day, six days
a week. My first race wasn't until February (she
started training in January) and I came in first."
That was the first time she had an inkling that
she could have a special talent, she said because
she didn't just squeak by the other runners. "The
other girls were coming in five steps behind me
and that's a lot in a sprint race (the 300-meter
hurdles)."
"I was never big on the hurdles," said her fa
ther from their home in Kealakekua. "She said
she liked them but I said, That's a
waste of time.' But the first time I
came out to see her, it brought tears
to my eyes."
Darryl Felmley is a paralegal and
a one-time carpenter who raises in
addition to the girls, lambs, chick
ens, ducks, house cats and, until
recently, pigs and a cow.
He reports that the coaches told
him that nothing can stop her, bar
ring injuries from breaking all of the
world records. They brought her to
the stadium in Maui where the 2004
state finals will be held so that she
could look at the stands from the
field and visualize herself winning.
"It was really pretty touching," said
Felmley.
"She needs to lift and train hard,"
said Denise Foreman. "When she's
motivated, she trains well. She's
had a lot of 'well, I'm over this,' but
I think she's getting to the point
where she really wants it bad
enough to work hard for it."
The school also is pitching in to
help Sarah succeed. The high
school, her father said, moved the
weight room across the school so that it would
be closer to the gym and the track where she
works out.
Sarah's sister, Tribal member Mallorie, a 10th
grader at Konawaena High School, is active in
the ROTC Rangers, meaning she does rock climb
ing, repelling, that sort of stuff, and recently,
her dad said, she put a starter in his truck.
Despite their prodigious
'J
V
JUfnx J
Ys -v , - I talents, the girls are not
T- .T,S ' I prima donnas. WhenSa-
r V.J S ., rah thinks about the pos-
KK- -ltr lPx - sible success ahead, she
'Nf''VV'? thinks, "If I do it, I'm go-
J - f "'VV ing to want to earn it. I
jOV jT "" don't want them to hand
v-' m'f'.-'i .... ; ..- i
'r- 6, '
"Natural" At practice, Sarah shews her stuff. Keeping an eye on her
progress is 8 1 -year-old Ken Foreman, formerly a coach to Olympian hurdlers.
it to me."
Both girls also work af
ter school giving tours at
the local Greenwell
Farms, the largest kona
coffee producer in the
state.
With the family living
25 miles from school and
100 from the nearest
shopping mall, Felmley
recently bought the sis
ters a little sports car. The
CD player in it didn't
Close At Home Tribal sisters Mallorie (left) and Sarah
Felmley on the track at Konawaena High School where Sarah's
hurdling career is taking flight. Mallorie is active in the ROTC
Rangers and can install a starter in a truck.
work, so he bought a separate CD player and
gave it to Sarah. "So, she sat out there for a few
hours and then she said, 'I got it going.'"
But this sense of personal responsibility and
willingness to work hard is not to say that they
aren't every bit teenage girls. "Sarah likes to go
" to the dances," said her dad. "One year, she
spent almost $500 on the dress, the shoes. "
And when Mallorie goes shopping, she prides
herself on knowing a bargain. "Sarah'll spend
$25 on a blouse and Mallorie will get two or three
for that price," said Felmley.
And he encourages the wise use of money.
When Mallorie turns 21, her father said that
she wants to use her Tribal Trust money to buy
a Hummer. He told her, "When you get your
money, you can buy a piece of property, sell it,
and use the profit off it to buy the Hummer."
The girls grew up in California but moved back
to Grand Ronde with their mom when they were
six or seven. "I always wanted to be on Roy
alty," said Sarah, "but by the time I was able to
do that, we moved to Hawaii. Hawaii's a lot dif
ferent from Grand Ronde. I miss sitting in the
trailer with Uncle Sammy (Simmons) telling us
about how Grand Ronde was when he grew up."
If the past looms large in their lives, the fu
ture does, too. Practice for track & field has
started again, and Sarah now has hurdles as
big as the whole world in her sights, n
Elders Present Good Neighbor Award
Information & Photo Provided By
Tribal Elder Betty Bly
Beaver Court Elders presented a Spirit Moun
tain Pendleton blanket and 'Good Neighbor
Award' to one of their own last week.
Following the New Year's Day snow storm this
year, Tribal Elder Harvey Grout shoveled walks
and driveways by hand for Elders living in the
Beaver Court section of the Tribe's Elder Hous
ing development. He was out there every day
throughout the week-long ice and snowstorm,
according to Tribal Elder Betty Bly.
"If it wasn't for Harvey I wouldn't even be able
to visit my next door neighbor," said Tribal El
der Anna Hannan.
"The TV cable was out but at least I could walk
to the mailbox," said Tribal Elder Juanita Lee.
Thanks to Grout, residents were able to move
V 1 77, hA :
their vehicles out of their driveways
and even pick up much needed items
including medicine, groceries both for
themselves and for others who could
not get to town.
"I was raised to help others when
ever I could," said Grout. "It's the In
dian way."
Pictured left to right (back row):
Betty Bly, Vonnie Grout, Juanita
Lee, Harvey Grout, Anna Hannan,
Francis Dugan. Front: Joe Vicenzi. Not pictured were other residents of Beaver Court: Jess and
Candy Robertson, Frank Thomas, Roger Bly, Leonard Vivette, Jerry Dugan, Nadine McNutt,
Wanda Phillips and Leroy Shaw.
.a-
I
8.
E