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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2017)
NED HICKSON , SPORTS EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3523 ❘ SPORTS @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM SATURDAY EDITION ❘ MARCH 11, 2017 ❘ SECTION B Siuslaw News Sports & Recreation On the Bite A WEEKLY FISHING REPORT FOR THE LOCAL REGION www.dfw.state.or.us/RR NORTH COAST LAKES: Nehalem Hatchery released 200 surplus winter steelhead into Vernonia pond, 57 into Lost Lake and 60 into Lake Lytle. These fish get fairly active FISHING 3B CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK See S PORTS Calendar Spring openers • MARCH 13 SHS SOFTBALL AT N EWPORT 4 P . M . • MARCH 17 MHS TRACK AT W ALDPORT 4 P . M . • MARCH 23 SHS TRACK & FIELD S IUSLAW PHOTOS BY NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS I CEBREAKER AT SHS 4 P . M . Siuslaw senior pitchers Heidi Jones (left) and Michael Larson (top) will lead Siuslaw’s defense from the mound. The season gets started for softball March 13, at Newport, and baseball, March 24, at home against Sweet Home. Vikings winding up T IDE T ABLE Entrance Siuslaw River High Tide Low Tide March 11 11:03am / 7.7 5:09am / 1.6 11:54pm/ 7.3 5:37pm/ -0.3 March 12 12:48am / 7.6 6:52am / 1.2 7:14pm/ 0.0 March 13 1:28am / 7.4 1:31pm / 7.4 7:33am / 1.0 7:49pm / 0.4 March 14 2:00am / 7.4 2:12pm/ 7.1 8:12am / 0.8 8:23pm/ 0.8 March 15 2:31am / 7.4 2:53pm/ 6.7 8:51am / 0.8 8:57pm/ 1.3 March 16 3:03am / 7.2 3:35pm/ 6.2 9:31am / 0.9 9:30pm/ 1.9 March 17 3:35am / 7.0 4:22pm/ 5.9 10:13am / 1.0 10:06pm/ 2.4 S IUSLAW N EWS 148 Maple St. Florence 541-997-3441 B Y N ED H ICKSON Siuslaw News O n Feb. 27, the leathery sound of softballs and baseballs landing in well-oiled mits began at Siuslaw High School as play- ers for both teams began winding up for the upcoming spring season around the diamonds. The baseball team is returning a strong group lead by the pitching com- bination of senior Michael Larson and Mapleton sophomore Gabe Simington. At first base, senior Brogan Cornish will be returning to the stretch, along with junior third- baseman Jared Brandt at the opposite corner and senior Even Teter behind the plate. The Vikings were originally sched- uled to open the season on the road at Taft High School, but that matchup was canceled last week. Instead, Siuslaw will open the sea- son at home against Sweet Home on Friday, March 24, beginning at 5 p.m. Tony Castro returns to the helm, along with assistant coaches Dave Snow and Randy Paredes. The Vikings had a solid season last spring, going 8-15 overall and 5-10 in the Far West. Siuslaw is hoping to improve on that this season and finish deeper into the post season. Around the softball diamond, things will be getting started a little earlier than baseball, with the Lady Viks on the road this Monday, March 13, at Newport. Senior returning starting pitcher Heidi Jones will join fellow senior Nikki Launius in the battery, with Launius behind the plate for Jones for the fifth-straight season since the duo began playing together in the seventh grade. Other top returners for Siuslaw will include infielders Jenicah Ecker, Chehalis Stinger and Claire Waggoner. In the outfield, Auriel Hager-Tolle and Kathryn Dodson will return to shore up the Lady Viks’ defense. Monday’s game begins at 4 p.m. Siuslaw will play two more games on the road, March 21 at Sutherlin (4 p.m.) and March 24 at Sweet Home (4:30 p.m.), before returning for their first home game Saturday, March 25, in a doubleheader against Bandon. First game is at 1 p.m., followed by game two at 3 p.m. Sean O’Mara returns as head coach, along with assistant coaches Jamie Hunt, Jodi O’Mara and Kim Gibson. The Lady Viks were 4-11 in the FWL last season. Aquarium help raise awareness for endangered porpoise NEWPORT — The Oregon Coast Aquarium, in cooperation with WhaleTimes Inc., is using 2017 to raise awareness about the vaquita, the world’s most endan- gered porpoise. First discovered in the 1950s, the vaquita has become an internation- al symbol for species impacted by “accidental bycatch.” The impact on the vaquita has been devastat- ing. In mid-2016, it was estimated that less than 60 individual animals remained in the wild. By January 2017, that number had been revised downward to 30. Vaquita research is led by Mexico with collaborators from the United States and United Kingdom. seafood in order to reduce the global by-catch problem which is estimated to kill tens of millions of non-targeted species every year. “More and more fisheries in the United States are turning toward sustainable practices which great- ly reduce accidental bycatch,” said Marsh Myers, the aquarium’s manager of education innovation. “But so much of the seafood we eat here still comes from other places where safer, more environmen- tally conscience methods are not prac- ticed. “The vaquita is just one species impacted by accidental bycatch, but there are hundreds more out there.” Over the course of 2017, Team “The vaquita is just one species impacted by accidental bycatch, but there are hundreds more out there.” — Marsh Myers, OCA Although the vaquita is not a species found in the waters of the Pacific Northwest, the member organ- izations of “Team Vaquita” hope to use its story to encourage teachers, stu- dents and the public to think more carefully about how we acquire our Vaquita will be distributing free K-12 curriculum, classroom activities, videos and other resources to help young people learn about the issue of sustainable fishing and enable them to become more conscientious con- sumers. The team is also cooperating with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) program which has its own vaquita initiative. “There are so few vaquita left, we really don’t know what this species’ fate will be at this point,” said Ruth Musgrave, Director of WhaleTimes Inc. and the creator of Team Vaquita. “However, the porpoise is a powerful See PORPOISE 3B
