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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2017
PHOTOS BY NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
The Siuslaw Vikings (left) and Mapleton Sailors (right) football programs could face changes in district competition if the latest OSAA recommendations are adopted later this month.
Districts
from 1B
suggestions was to include
Siuslaw among 30 schools
playing down a classification
in new Class 3A special dis-
tricts. The proposal would put
the Viking football program
in the 12-school Special
District-2 with Harrisburg,
Brookings-Harbor, Cascade
Christian, Hidden Valley, La
Pine, Pleasant Hill, Santiam
Christian, South Umpqua, St.
Mary’s
(Medford)
and
Sutherlin.
It would also bump
Abalone
from 1B
under the current rules. Yet we
suspect that Oregon’s abalone
population has declined from
historic levels,” says Scott
Groth, ODFW shellfish biolo-
Marshfield into a seven-
school 4A special district with
Cottage Grove, Henley,
Klamath Falls, Mazama,
North Valley and Phoenix.
North Bend would be part
of a 5A special district along
with Ashland, Churchill,
Crater, Eagle Point, South
Eugene,
Thurston
and
Willamette.
“From our perspective, this
proposal makes a lot more
sense and keeps schools with
450 kids or so playing against
schools with 900 kids,” said
Johnson.
The committee used a 22
percent or less Colley win-
ning percentage formula,
based on the last two seasons
rather than four years, to
determine which schools
would qualify to drop into a
lower classification for foot-
ball for the 2018-2022 sea-
sons.
At with a 21.4 winning per-
centage against schools in its
own classification for the past
two seasons (1-6 in 2017 and
2-5 in 2016), Siuslaw easily
qualified for a special district
slot within the 3A.
Should the OSAA sign off
on the proposal, the decision
would be re-evaluated in two
years, with the understanding
that the eventual goal is for
each school’s football pro-
gram to eventually transition
back to its original classifica-
tion
“Siuslaw has a proud foot-
ball tradition but we have to
take a realistic look at where
we are,” said Johnson. “This
is an opportunity to continue
that tradition by bringing
some competitive balance to
the program.”
While the changes won’t
have a big impact on
Mapleton’s 8-man football
program, it will mean a shift
in competition as teams from
Alsea, Eddyville, McKenzie,
Powers and Triangle Lake —
all of whom have been part of
the Mountain West — have
expressed interest in 6-man
programs.
That would mean The
Sailors would join the 1A
Special District-1, with Crow,
Elkton, Mohawk, Myrtle
Point, North Douglas, Siletz,
Waldport and Yoncalla.
The changes would only
apply to football; all other
sports would continue to com-
pete within each school’s pri-
mary classification and dis-
trict.
Schools have until Friday,
Jan. 5, to make their final
decision on their Special
District placement in advance
of the next public meeting of
the Ad Hoc Football Advisory
Committee set for Tuesday,
Jan. 9, in Wilsonville, begin-
ning at 9 a.m.
For more information, visit
www.osaa.org/governance/co
mmittees.
The meeting will allow for
public testimony before hold-
ing a closed work session.
gist for the south coast. “This
emergency action postpones
the fishery so we can hold off
on issuing 2018 abalone per-
mits until we’ve had a chance
to do a more thorough review
of the situation.”
ODFW staff plan to evaluate
the fishery (including potential
impacts from California’s clo-
sure), solicit public input, and
present suggestions, including
possible rule changes, to the
Fish and Wildlife Commission
at their March 16 meeting in
Salem.
Annual regulations require
recreational abalone harvesters
to purchase an Oregon shell-
fish license and obtain a free
annual abalone/scallop permit
from ODFW. ODFW will con-
tinue to issue permits for scal-
lops after Jan. 1.
Abalone are highly prized
and the fishery creates a high
demand, primarily among
divers.
While seven species exist on
the West Coast, five of these
have some listing status under
the Endangered Species Act.
Red abalone are the only
species still fished in the con-
tiguous United States, and
southern Oregon and northern
California are the only areas
where recreational harvest has
occurred in recent years.