SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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CHANGES APPROVED FOR PREP BASEBALL , SOFTBALL
Rules changes for the 2016
baseball and softball seasons
were made at rules committee
meetings last month in
Indianapolis, Ind.
Those changes were subse-
quently approved by the
National Federation of State
High School Associations
(NFHS) Board of Directors.
For baseball, beginning with
the 2016 season, umpires will
be required to issue a warning
to coaches before restriction to
the bench/dugout or ejecting
them as part of a new penalty
progression to promote preven-
tive officiating.
The revision to Rule 3-3-1
Penalty was one of two changes
recommended by the NFHS
Baseball Rules Committee at
its June 7 meeting.
Previously, issuing a warn-
ing to an offending coach was
optional for umpires, who will
now restrict to the dugout or
eject coaches who commit a
violation after previously being
warned for a minor offense.
However, coaches can still
be ejected on a first offense if it
is deemed to be major.
Also part of the modification
to Rule 3-3-1 Penalty, coaches
who receive a written warning
(Rule 10-2-3) will be restricted
to the bench or dugout for the
remainder of the game.
“The new rule change has
initiated a penalty progression,
starting with a written warning,
restriction to the bench/dugout
and subsequent ejection from
the contest,” said Elliot
Hopkins, NFHS director of
sports and student services and
liaison to the Baseball Rules
Committee.
The changes to Rule 3-3-1
Penalty will help to de-escalate
contentious situations and
allow coaches to dictate their
status in the game by their
behavior, Hopkins said.
“A successful game official
practices preventive officiating,
and this new penalty progres-
sion will allow the official to
issue penalties that give the
coach the opportunity to remain
in the game and teach his play-
ers.”
The other change approved
by the Baseball Rules
Committee is an addition to
Rule 3-3-1. Article “q” will
state that a coach, player, sub-
stitute, attendant or other bench
personnel shall not “have any
physical contact, spitting, kick-
ing of dirt or any other physical
action directed toward an
umpire.”
The addition of article “q”
serves to clarify other behav-
iors that would result in an
ejection from the game,
Hopkins said.
“Bad behavior that is being
imitated from other levels has
no place in education-based
athletics and will not be tolerat-
ed,” Hopkins said. “If we are to
continue to use sport to teach
life lessons, then we have to
ensure that appropriate behav-
ior and conduct are modeled
from those adults in the role of
coach or teacher.”
In addition to the two rules
changes, the Baseball Rules
Committee approved three
Points of Emphasis for the
2016 season. Points of empha-
sis are developed by NFHS
rules committees and should
receive special focus and atten-
tion by officials, coaches, play-
ers, fans and other leaders with-
in the high school setting.
For softball, one rule change
was recommended by the
NFHS
Softball
Rules
Committee at its June 15 meet-
ing.
In the new Article 4 of Rule
2-57, the committee provided a
standard definition of a “pro-
jected” substitute.
Rule 3-3-3 prohibits the use
of a projected substitute, which
is now defined in the new arti-
cle as “a player who does not
immediately participate in the
game.”
“There has been some confu-
sion among both officials and
coaches about substitution pro-
cedure,” said Theresia Wynns,
NFHS director of sports and
officials education and liaison
to
the
Softball
Rules
Committee. “Therefore, the
committee felt it was necessary
to clear up that process and pro-
vide coaches and officials with
a standard definition of a pro-
jected substitute.”
According to the NFHS
Athletics Participation Survey,
baseball is the fourth-most pop-
ular sport for boys at the high
school level with 482,629 par-
ticipants in 15,789 schools.
Fast-pitch softball is the
fifth-most popular sport for
girls with 364,297 participants
in 15,225 schools during the
2013-14 season.
— Submitted by Brandon
Jones, intern for NFHS
Publications.
High water temperatures stressful on fish
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SALEM — Summer condi-
tions have come early to
Oregon, and in many places
fish like trout, salmon, steel-
head and sturgeon are strug-
gling with low water levels and
high water temperatures.
“Normally we see these
kinds of conditions later in the
summer, not in late June and
early July,” said Rick
Hargrave, ODFW Information
and
Education
Division
Administrator.
In response, the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife is asking anglers to
take precautions when fishing
during these drought condi-
tions.
“When streams get too
warm, fish are stressed and as a
result the fishing goes downhill
fast,” said Rick Hargrave,
ODFW
Information
and
Education
Division
Administrator. “Fish stop bit-
ing or retreat to deeper, cooler
water where they are harder to
catch.”
On days when temperatures
elevation lakes or shaded
streams near headwaters. These
places are often cooler.
• Use barbless hooks so you
“If drought conditions continue, it’s
possible we may have to close or
restrict some fisheries in order to
protect fish.”
— Rick Hargrave, ODFW Information and Education
Division Administrator
soar, anglers can do their part
to reduce the stress fish are
under. Hargrave recommends
the following when fishing in
waters that include native fish
you intend to release:
• Fish early in day when
water temperatures are cooler.
• Use a thermometer to
check water temperatures fre-
quently. Stop fishing when
temperatures
exceed
70
degrees.
• Look for trout in deep, high
can release fish easily.
• Use the appropriate gear
and land fish quickly. The
longer the fight, the less likely
the fish will survive.
• Keep the fish in the water
when you unhook it and cradle
the fish upright until it revives
enough to swim away.
• Use your judgement. If
conditions where you want to
fish seems especially severe
(low, hot water), consider fish-
ing somewhere else where
water conditions are better.
Check the regulation update
pages on the ODFW website at
www.dfw.state.or.us to make
sure temporary emergency reg-
ulations have not been put in
place for the waters you want
to fish before you go.
“If drought conditions con-
tinue, it’s possible we may
have to close or restrict some
fisheries in order to protect
fish,” Hargrave said. “Anglers
will need to be alert to these
changes.”
Anglers after hatchery trout
will continue to find some
good fishing in places where
ODFW continues stocking
trout.
“We’re adjusting some
stocking schedules to put fish
in those places with the best
water conditions,” Hargrave
said.
He recommends anglers
check the weekly Recreation
Report on the ODFW website
at www.dfw.state.or.us/RR/
index.asp for updates on stock-
ing, water conditions and boat-
ing access.
Texas 4000 cyclists return to Florence tomorrow
On Thursday, July 9, there
will be a group of bicycle rid-
ers arrive in Florence to spend
the evening at St. Andrew’s
Episcopal Church.
The Texas 4000 is a group of
22 men and women riding their
bikes from Austin, Texas to
Anchorage, Alaska to help
raise awareness and money for
the cure of all cancers.
The group’s target this year
is to exceed $800,000.
While some of these riders
are cancer survivors them-
selves, they all have been
touched by this disease through
family or close friends.
On May 29, there were three
groups of riders that all started
at the University of Texas.
One group went north
through the Mid-West, one
group went north along the east
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side of the Rockies, and this
group (known as the Sierra
group) stayed to the west side
of the Rockies.
They will all meet on Aug. 7
to ride into Anchorage togeth-
er.
This is the ninth year that the
Texas 4000 has visited
Florence. Traditionally, the
group arrives in the late after-
noon and is treated to what has
become
known
as
a
“Thanksgiving in July” turkey
dinner. During the dinner, rid-
ers frequently give talks on
their own experiences as well
as others in their lives.
Following dinner, the group
is taken to its host’s home to do
laundry and get a good night’s
sleep in a real bed.
While St. Andrew’s has
always been the host facility,
RENEW
With the Marine Board’s
new online storefront (open
24/7), boat operators can order
a replacement boater education
card and print out a temporary
permit and go boating right
away. Boaters no longer have
to call or visit the Salem office
during business hours to verify
they have a card, and then wait
for snail mail for their replace-
ment — which typically takes
two to three weeks.
“This time every spring,
boaters get their boats and gear
prepped, and sometimes panic
when they realize they can’t
find their card,” says MariAnn
McKenzie, Boater Education
Coordinator for the Marine
Board. “It’s easy to go to our
online registration system to
order a replacement.”
The cost of a replacement
card is $8 and the storefront
there are many friends and
neighbors who pitch in to help
with housing, cooking, clean-
ing and all the work it takes to
put this together.
About 8 a.m. on Friday
morning, the group will start
its ride with a traditional
“Hakkah” circle and ride dedi-
cation ceremony. This is in a
“multi-layered, hold-hands
type of circle” where everyone
present is invited to participate.
This is held in the parking
lot at St. Andrew’s, 19th and
Tamarack streets.
Everyone who wants to join
in the ceremony and the safe
wishes for the riders is wel-
come.
For more information, con-
tact Terri Pennington at 541-
999-2400.
B OATING C ARD
accepts most major credit
cards.
Go to www.boatoregon.com
and click on the RegLine icon
from the homepage. If boaters
have purchased an AIS permit,
applied for a boater education
card or registered a boat, the
Marine Board’s online store-
front already has the boater’s
baseline data.
Simply register to create an
account.
Once boaters establish a user
name and password, they can
login, and click on online serv-
ices drop-down, and select the
Boater
Education
Card
Replacement Application link,
then follow the directions.
Once payment is verified,
boaters will have the option to
print a temporary permit,
which is valid for up to 60 days
and must be carried onboard
ONLINE
the boat. If you need assis-
tance with the online process,
contact the Education Section
at the Marine Board at 503-
378-8587.
The Mandatory Education
law was implemented in 2001
and requires boaters to take an
approved boating safety
course, apply for a boater edu-
cation card and carry it with
them on the water when oper-
ating a powerboat over 10
horsepower.
The card costs $10 and is
good for life.
The card costs $10 and is
good for life.
It’s a Class D violation and
boaters could get a $110 fine.”
To order a replacement
boater education card or to set
up an account with the Marine
Board’s online storefront, visit
www.boatoregon.com.