NED HICKSON , SPORTS EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3523 ❘
SPORTS @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ DECEMBER 30, 2017 ❘
SECTION B
Siuslaw News
Sports & Recreation
On the
Bite
SHS, MHS football may join new special districts
OSAA Ad Hoc committee is proposing changes to create a more competitive balance among football programs
B Y N ED H ICKSON
Siuslaw News
A
WEEKLY
FISHING REPORT FOR
THE LOCAL REGION
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
WINTER TROUT FISH-
ING
Don’t let your trout fish-
ing season end just because
the cold weather has
arrived. Here are just some
of the weekend opportuni-
ties from this week’s Rec
Report:
• Several ponds and lakes
in the Willamette Zone just
took delivery of large brood
trout.
• In the Southeast Zone,
the Ana River has been
kicking out trout in the 12-
to 16-inch range. The
Blitzen also has great year-
round fishing.
• Expo and Reinhart
ponds in the Southwest
Zone were recently stocked
with legal and larger trout
last week.
• The Central Zone has
several popular winter trout
fisheries including the
Deschutes,
Fall
and
Metolius rivers. Also the
Crooked River, which has
rebounded in 2017.
Winter steelhead water
watch
This time of year, water
conditions for winter steel-
head fishing can vacillate
between too low and clear,
and too high and muddy.
Successful anglers will:
1) adjust their gear and
tackle for current condi-
tions, and/or
2) be ready to hit the
water when water condi-
tions improve — usually
once water levels start to
drop after a good rain.
Check out the zone
reports for your best bets.
See
After being moved to the new Sky-
Em League by the Oregon School
Activities Association (OSAA) during
the most recent round of reclassifica-
tions and redistricting, Siuslaw was
set to join powerhouses Marist,
Cottage Grove and Marshfield, along
with Elmira and Junction City begin-
ning next fall.
However, with a record of 3-11
over the last two football seasons, it
wasn’t viewed as a particularly posi-
tive change for Siuslaw High School
administrators, who saw the disparity
in the student ratio between Sky-Em
schools
—
in
s o m e
cases
w i t h
student
enroll-
m e n t
outnum-
bering
Siuslaw
nearly
2-to-1 — as creating anything but a
level playing field.
“We were on the borderline of
dropping down to the 3A. So when
the decision came through that we’d
be staying in the 4A and playing
against
Cottage
Grove,
Marist and
Marshfield,
we kind of
felt like we
were just
out
of
luck,” said
Siuslaw
H i g h
School Athletic Director Chris
Johnson. “When you’re looking at cri-
teria based on the last four years, it
doesn’t take into account the most
recent trend.”
And over the last two years, that
trend has made Siuslaw one of the
three smallest schools in the 4A.
The concerns held by Siuslaw were
echoed by other school football pro-
grams among all classifications, from
1A through the 6A. After receiving
testimony from nearly a dozen other
football programs, the OSAA’s
Football Ad Hoc Committee con-
vened in a work session to discuss
ways to address the schools’ concerns.
At a public meeting held Dec. 18, the
committee submitted its recommen-
dations to the OSAA Executive Board
for review.
Among the committee’s
See
DISTRICTS 4B
Peaceful hike to start new year
TimeOut
The eighth annual Peace Hike will be held New Year’s Day along the Amanda Trail
Retired teacher, coach
and game official
B Y L LOYD L ITTLE
S
tart the New Year off on the
right foot by joining the 8th
Annual Yachats New Year’s
Day Peace Hike being held
Monday, Jan. 1.
Participants in this six-mile round-
trip hike will proceed from the
Yachats Commons, 441 N. Highway
101), along the Amanda Trail to the
Amanda Grotto south of town, where
a Peace Ceremony will take place.
Hikers will traverse both paved
roads and narrow dirt trail surfaces
with some steps and moderate
inclines. Sturdy shoes, layered cloth-
ing and walking sticks are recom-
mended.
In addition, a new activity this year
for both hikers and non-hikers who
would like to acknowledge and honor
Amanda’s journey will be a candle-
light vigil for peace at Yachats’ Little
Log Church.
Here are details for both events:
• 9:30 to 10:15 a.m.
Hikers may check in at the Yachats
Commons’ kitchen. All hikers will
need to sign liability wavers and will
receive safety information, route
See
FISHING 3B
I
See
LITTLE 2B
T IDE T ABLE
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
Dec. 30
2:51am / 2.7
9:01am / 8.5
10:30pm / 6.4 4:07pm / -0.6
AMANDA 3B
A statue honoring the tragic jour-
ney of Amanda along the Amanda
Trail near Yachats.
S PORTS
One and Done
n 1981, the Siuslaw
Viking football team
won the state champi-
onship. Their team motto
was simple:
“We.”
Together, they succeeded
in attaining their goal.
Today, universities across
the nation are being inun-
dated with a breed of ath-
letes and coaches with a
“one and done” mentality.
They are collectively
Dec. 31
9:51am / 8.9
11:23pm / 6.8
3:48am / 2.7
4:56pm / -1.2
COURTESY PHOTO
Calendar
• JAN. 2
MHS GIRLS B-BALL
HOSTS
M C K ENZIE
5:30 P . M .
MHS BOYS B-BALL
HOSTS
M C K ENZIE
7 P . M .
SHS GIRLS B-BALL
HOSTS
W ALDPORT
6 P . M .
SHS BOYS B-BALL
HOSTS
W ALDPORT
7:30 P . M .
Sport abalone season postponed indefinitely
SALEM — ODFW is calling a
time-out on abalone season,
postponing the 2018 recreational
season that was set to open
Monday, Jan. 1, until further
review and Commission consid-
eration in March.
The
decision
follows
California’s closure of its 2018
abalone season due to concerns
over the health of the population.
Abalone stocks in California
have fallen below target levels as
abalone face ongoing environ-
mental conditions that have reduced
their food sources. Since California
“Oregon’s abalone
population has
declined from historic
levels.”
—Scott Groth
ODFW shellfish biologist
Fish and Wildlife closed its season on
Dec. 7, ODFW has seen a dramatic
spike in inquiries about the Oregon
fishery, which is dwarfed by the
California fishery.
Oregon issues about 300 abalone
permits per year, while California
issues 25,000 or more.
Southern Oregon is on the north-
ern edge of red abalone range and the
state’s fishery is managed conserva-
tively to protect the health of
Oregon’s relatively small population.
“California’s closure could lead to
a large fishing effort shift to Oregon,
which would cause a spike in harvest
See
ABALONE 4B
Jan. 1
10:40am / 9.2 4:43am / 2.8
5:45pm / -1.7
Jan. 2
12:17am / 7.1 5:36am / 2.7
11:29pm / 9.3 6:32pm / -1.9
Jan. 3
1:05am / 7.3
12:19pm/ 9.1
6:28am / 2.6
7:19pm/ -1.8
Jan. 4
1:53am / 7.4
1:10pm / 8.7
7:22am / 2.5
8:06pm / -1.4
Jan. 5
2:41am / 7.5
2:03pm/ 8.1
8:18am / 2.5
8:53pm/ -0.9
• JAN. 9
MHS GIRLS B-BALL
S ILETZ
5:30 P . M .
AT
MHS BOYS B-BALL
AT
S ILETZ
7 P . M .
SHS GIRLS B-BALL
J. C ITY
7:15 P . M .
AT
SHS BOYS B-BALL
HOSTS
J. C ITY
7 P . M .
Whale Watching Week continues through Sunday
A variety of activities are being
offered at the Cape Perpetua Visitor
Center as Whale Watch Week, which
began Dec. 27, continues through
Sunday. Cape Perpetua is a partner of
Whale Watch Spoken Here, a program
of Oregon State Parks that promotes
whale watching at 24 designated loca-
tions along the Oregon coast.
Trained Whale Watch volunteers are
on-hand each day from 10 a.m. to 1
p.m., to share information and help vis-
itors spot whales. The public is also
invited to attend the presentation,
“Experiencing Gray Whales” by
Michael Noack, scheduled today at
11:30 a.m. in the Cape Perpetua Visitor
Center.
Noack, a retired Chief Park Ranger
and Naturalist, has been educating
agency staff and the public about the
natural world, especially gray whales,
for many years. He has trained whale
watch volunteers and has been
involved with whale research.
After the program, Noack will be
available to discuss whale watch tech-
niques that have worked for him.
Visitor Center winter hours are 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. During the holiday
season the Visitor Center will be closed
New Year’s Day on Monday, Jan. 1.
The presentation is free, but a
Northwest Forest Pass, Oregon Coast
Passport, and Federal Recreation Pass
or $5 day-use fee is required within the
Cape Perpetua Scenic Area.
For more information, call the
Visitor Center at 541-547-3289.
S IUSLAW
N EWS
148 Maple St.
Florence
541-997-3441