NED HICKSON , SPORTS EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3523 ❘
SPORTS @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ NOVEMBER 25, 2017 ❘
SECTION B
Siuslaw News
Sports & Recreation
Special Olympics bowling team celebrates end of season
On Wednesday, Nov. 15, the
Florence Special Olympics
bowling athletes celebrated the
end of the season with pizza
and party favors at Abby’s
Pizza.
After five weeks of practice
at the Holiday Bowl in
Florence, the athletes partici-
pated in a “virtual” tournament
with their counterparts in the
Eugene and Springfield area.
Awards were presented to the
respective athletes at the
pizza party.
In addition, the St.
Mary’s Men’s Club pre-
sented a check for $300 to
Special Olympics Oregon,
which will be used to
defray program costs.
Anyone interested in
participating next fall can
contact Linda Stent at
stentlinda@ yahoo.com or
call 541-991-3161.
From left: John
Pearson, parent; head
coach Linda Stent; and
athletes Jake Pearson,
Nathanael Holmes,
Rachel Ory (holding
Men’s Club check) and
Joseph Dyess.
COURTESY PHOTO
Lady Viks
look for
new coach
S PORTS
Calendar
WINTER SPORTS
OPENERS
B Y N ED H ICKSON
Siuslaw News
• NOV. 29
SHS BASKETBALL
AT C RESWELL
GIRLS : 6 P . M .
BOYS : 7:30 P . M .
• DEC. 1
SHS WRESTLING
AT H ARRISBURG
10 A . M .
• DEC. 5
MHS
BASKETBALL
AT R EEDSPORT
GIRLS : 5:30 P . M .
BOYS : 7 P . M .
T IDE T ABLE
Rough seas for
returning turtles
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
Nov. 25
5:01am / 6.0
3:53pm / 6.0
10:35am / 3.7
10:55pm / 1.1
Nov. 26
5:53am/ 6.2
5:04pm/ 5.7
11:47am / 3.6
11:50pm/ 1.3
Nov. 27
6:42am/ 6.5
6:22pm/ 5.5
PHOTOS COURTESY OREGON COAST AQUARIUM
12:57pm/ 3.1
Nov. 28
7:28am / 6.9
7:37pm / 5.6
12:46am / 1.6
1:58pm / 2.3
Nov. 29
8:11am / 7.4
8:45pm/ 5.9
1:42am / 1.7
2:51pm/ 1.4
Nov. 30
8:53am / 7.9
9:45pm / 6.2
Dec. 1
9:34am / 8.4
10:41pm/ 6.6
2:34am / 1.9
3:40pm / 0.5
3:24pm / 2.0
4:26pm/ -0.4
S IUSLAW
N EWS
148 Maple St.
Florence
541-997-3441
Solstice, one of two olive ridley sea turtles rescued and released last season, continue to be tracked on
the Oregon Coast Aquarium website.
H
arsh winter
storms are an
immutable part
of living on the
Oregon coast. Residents
know to be wary of large
waves, shifting currents,
and cold water tempera-
tures. These same features
that keep humans out of the
water (for the most part) in
the winter, though, can
cause unbeknownst animal
visitors to wash up on our
shores.
If you’re out walking the beach
this winter, keep an eye open for
stranded sea turtles.
Winter storms and transitioning
ocean conditions can push sea turtles
northward, sometimes trapping them
in cold waters. As sea turtle body
temperature decreases, they lose their
ability to swim and feed effectively.
The sea turtles then rapidly grow
weak and can end up stranding on
Pacific Northwest beaches. Pacific
green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas)
and olive ridley sea turtles
(Lepidochelys olivacea) are two
species protected by the endangered
species act that most commonly
strand on Oregon’s beaches.
Lightning and Solstice, the olive
ridley sea turtles that Oregon Coast
Come Monday, Siuslaw
High School administrators
including athletic director
Chris Johnson will begin the
process of looking over
applications to fill the head
coach of the school’s girls
basketball program.
The search for a new coach
comes as a result of the unex-
pected departure of Clint
Tatum,
who
resigned
Tuesday morning for person-
al reasons after three years as
head coach.
Johnson, who wasn’t at
liberty to provide details
regarding Tatum’s decision,
said the position has been
posted on the school’s web-
site and will remain open
until the position is filled.
“With this happening over
the holiday, it’s definitely a
bit of a speed bump for us,”
Johnson said. “But the girls
haven’t missed a practice
because of it and we’re doing
everything we need to do to
keep moving forward.”
Greg Reynolds, the pro-
gram’s junior varsity coach
for the past three seasons, is
serving as interim varsity
coach, with P.E. teacher Sara
Truax volunteering to help
with the JV team coaching
duties.
“With league play not
starting until January, we feel
confident the program will be
ready to compete,” said
Johnson.
Preseason play begins Nov.
29, when the Lady Vikings
travel to Creswell.
On the
Bite
A
WEEKLY
FISHING REPORT FOR
THE LOCAL REGION
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
Aquarium vets release Lighting after the sea turtle spent time recover-
ing at OCA last year.
Aquarium (OCA) recently released
and continue to track on its website,
are just two examples of the multiple
strandings that occur in the Pacific
Northwest each year.
The OCA and Seattle Aquarium
are the only rehabilitation facilities in
the northwest United States author-
ized by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service to provide the specialized
care sea turtles require.
The OCA recently made signifi-
cant renovations to its sea turtle reha-
bilitation facility that increased hold-
ing capacity, climate control and
overall comfort for rescued turtles.
New digital x-ray and ultrasound
machines expand the aquarium’s abil-
ity to effectively treat these endan-
gered animals in-house, improving
diagnostics and reducing stress asso-
ciated with transport.
A timely diagnosis of pneumonia
or a broken bone can make the differ-
ence between life and death for res-
cued, often hypothermic, sea turtles.
“The aquarium plays an active role
in helping sea turtles that are victims
See
TURTLES 4B
W ARMWATER F ISHING
— South Coast
The south coast area
extends along the Oregon
coast from Yachats south to
the Oregon-California bor-
der. The area offers some
of the most productive and
scenic warmwater fishing
in the state with excellent
fishing for bass and panfish
available in large waters
such as Mercer Lake,
Siltcoos Lake, and
Tahkenitch Lake.
Tenmile Lakes located
north of Coos Bay is
See
FISHING 3B