2 B
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, JULY 15, 2017
Department of Forestry urges safe campfire practices
ODFW
from 1B
out of your hands
• Fish when it’s cool out —
likely early in the morning or
late in the afternoon — fishing
is better and stress on fish is
less.
Upriver summer steelhead
forecasts are very low this year
Flag
from 1B
al soil, at least five feet on all
sides, and circle it with rocks.
Store unused firewood a
good distance from the fire.
• Keep your campfire small.
A campfire is less likely to
escape control if it is kept
small.
A large fire may cast hot
embers long distances.
Add firewood in small
amounts as existing material is
consumed.
• Attend your campfire at all
times. A campfire left unattend-
ed for even a few minutes can
grow into a costly, damaging
wildfire.
Stay with your campfire
from start to finish until it is
dead out.
That ensures any escaped
sparks or embers can be extin-
guished quickly, and it is
required by state law.
• Never use gasoline or other
accelerants. Don’t use flamma-
ble or combustible liquids, such
as gasoline, propane or lighter
fluid, to start or increase your
campfire.
Once the fire starts, wait
until the match is cold and then
discard it in the fire.
• Have water and fire tools
on site. Have a shovel and a
bucket of water nearby to extin-
guish any escaped embers.
at approximately 119,000,
compared to 5- and 10-year
average actual returns of
236,000 and 315,000, respec-
tively.
Wild upriver summer steel-
head forecasts are low as well,
with a forecast return of just
34,000 fish versus the 5- and
10-year average actual returns
of 87,000 and 105,000, respec-
tively.
Snake River wild “B” steel-
head returns are the most
imperiled, with a forecast of
just 1,100 fish.
With returns of steelhead so
low, another strategy is to not
target them and focus on other
species, including warmwater
species such as bass, walleye,
and pikeminnow.
These species are not only
fun to catch but they also prey
on juvenile steelhead and
salmon.
For more fishing ideas and
opportunities, visit ODFW’s
Fishing Resources Page at
www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/
fishing/index.asp.
football before the age of 12 is
associated with a markedly
increased risk of developing
memory and thinking problems
in middle age.
“The findings suggest that
sustaining repeated head
impacts during a critical neu-
decided not to have their
youngest play tackle until mid-
dle school.
“I didn’t play tackle football
until seventh grade and neither
did our two older sons,”
Johnson said. “They’re not
coordinated enough yet as fifth
tackle football hasn’t been met
with a positive response from
some parents, which Aaron
said she understands.
“It wasn’t a decision we
came to lightly, but when we
put our kids’ safety above all
else, it was clear what direction
we needed to take,” said Aaron.
That direction is a flag foot-
ball program partnered with
NFL and USA Football’s offi-
cial 2017 Flag Football, which
focuses on fundamental skills
in all areas except tackling.
In addition, there will be a
football skills clinic taught by a
former NFL player and scout
for the Chicago Bears.
“It’s a way to teach the fun-
damentals and provide skill
building without the dangers of
full-contact tackling for kids
that age,” said Aaron.
Signups have begun and will
continue through Friday, July
28, for all flag football players,
grades 1 through 6.
For more information, call
the Teen Center, 1501 Airport
Road, at 541-902-0304, or visit
www.bgcwl.org.
Each child between the
ages of 9 and 12 who
plays football experiences
an average of 240 head
impacts each season
— Boston University School of Medicine study
rodevelopmental period may
increase the risk of later-life
cognitive impairment,” authors
of the study concluded.
Last year, the B&G Club
tackle football program docu-
mented two players who suf-
fered concussions, with three
documented concussions the
year before.
At the middle and high
school levels throughout
Oregon, coaches are required
to take a certified class educat-
ing them on recognizing the
potential signs of a concussion.
Given that the B&G Club
sports program are coached by
volunteers, there is no such
requirement and turnover is
ongoing from year to year.
“I don’t think it’s fair to put
our volunteers in a position to
have to make that kind of deter-
mination,” said Aaron. “It’s not
fair to them or to our kids.”
Andy Johnson, who coached
football at the junior varsity
and middle school levels for 19
years, said he supports the
decision by the B&G Club.
As a father of three boys,
including two who played var-
sity football at Siuslaw and a
nine-year-old entering fourth
grade in the fall, Johnson said
he and his wife had already
and sixth-graders to see any
real benefit. They can learn
plenty of skills from flag foot-
ball and wait for junior high to
begin tackling.
“That’s the right time in my
opinion.”
The decision to eliminate
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step, household
Items, everything must go!
open fires at any time of year.
A first-time citation carries a
$110 fine. But by far the
biggest potential cost is liabili-
ty for firefighting costs if your
campfire spreads out of control.
These can range from a few
hundred to tens of thousands of
dollars or more.
Visit the Keep Oregon Green
website at www.keeporegon
green.org for other wildfire pre-
vention tips.
Contact Kristin Babbs, presi-
dent Keep Oregon Green
Association, at 503-945-7499
or email Kristin.a.babbs@ore-
gon.gov for more information.
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Before you leave, drown all
embers with water, stir the
coals, and drown again.
Repeat until the fire is dead
out. If it is too hot to touch, it is
too hot to leave.
• Burn only wood. State reg-
ulations prohibit the open burn-
ing of any material that creates
dense, toxic smoke or noxious
odors.
Burning paper and cardboard
can also easily fly up to start
new fires.
Escaped campfires can be
costly.
Oregon law requires the
proper clearing, building,
attending and extinguishing of
n
tackle football program for
fifth and sixth graders.
“I was researching a pro-
gram that was similar to our
basketball program, where we
teamed up with the Portland
Trailblazers through the NBA’s
community outreach program,”
said Aaron. “That’s when I
started finding research and
articles on youth football.
“The research is overwhelm-
ing in terms of the long-term
damage those kinds of hits can
cause kids.”
The most recent statistics
show that 70 percent of all
football players in the U.S. are
under the age of 14, with each
child between the ages of 9 and
12 experiencing an average of
240 head impacts each season.
“I know how passionate peo-
ple are about football. I am
too,” said Aaron. “But if we
can’t offer a program that’s
safe for kids, I’d rather not
offer it at all.”
Aaron approached B&G
Club Director Chuck Trent
about her findings and con-
cerns, and the two agreed to
suspend the program in favor
of a flag football alternative.
Tuesday, parents of club
members received a letter from
Aaron, informing them of the
decision.
“Unless we can find a new
way to protect kids playing
tackle football, we are not
going to offer it this year and
beyond,” Aaron stated in her
letter, which also cited how, at
every level of youth football,
from Pop Warner to NFL, the
number of lawsuits being lev-
eled on programs and school
districts across the country due
to traumatic head and neck
injuries was growing.
In an article published this
past Wednesday in the journal
Neurology, a study led by
researchers at the Boston
University School of Medicine
showed that playing tackle
map continues to improve and
is “an excellent tool for folks to
use from home or from their
mobile device.”
• Kick the campfire habit this
summer. Portable camp stoves
are a safer option to campfires
at any time of year.
Areas that prohibit campfires
outside maintained camp-
grounds with established fire
pits often allow camp stoves.
• Select the right spot. Where
campfires are allowed, avoid
building the fire near your tent,
structures, vehicles, shrubs or
trees, and be aware of low-
hanging branches overhead.
Clear the site down to miner-
A
As temperatures rise over the
summer months, the Oregon
State Fire Marshal and Oregon
Department of Forestry urge
Oregonians and visitors to the
state to follow some basic out-
door safety tips:
• Know before you go. Call
your local forestry or fire dis-
trict to learn if there are any
current campfire restrictions at
your recreation destination.
An interactive map of
Oregon’s fire restrictions is
available at www.oregon.gov/
ODF/Fire/Pages/Restrictions.
aspx.
Tom Fields, ODF’s fire pre-
vention coordinator, says the
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