SATURDAY EDITION | AUG. 8, 2020 | $1.00
THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
T IME
O UT
By Lloyd Little
Retired teacher, coach and
game offi cial
Community
&
Lifestyle
With more than55 years as an
athlete, coach, parent and specta-
tor, Lloyd Little has gained some
insights and perspectives regarding
athletics. Each week, he shares
what he's learned about sports
from his multiple points of view.
Modern Olympics
and old thrills
ODFW R EGIONAL F ISHING
R EPORT
“Th e thrill of victory-the agony
of defeat — this is ABC’s Wide
World of Sports.”
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
SIUSLAW RIVER: Cutthroat
trout Fall Chinook
Fall Chinook fishing opens on
the Siuslaw River on Aug. 1.
Fishing is typically slow during
the beginning of August but usu-
ally picks up by the end of the
month. Anglers are reminded
that due to low forecasted
returns for the 2020 season bag
limits have been reduced. The
bag limit for the Siuslaw River is
1 wild Chinook per day and 1
per year for the 2020 season.
Trout fishing opened in the
Siuslaw basin (including Lake
Creek) on May 22 and has great
opportunities to catch a trout
throughout the summer months.
ALSEA RIVER: Fall Chinook,
cutthroat trout
Fall Chinook fishing opens on
the Alsea River on Aug. 1. The
beginning of August is typically
slow on the Alsea River but
things start to pick up at the end
of the month. Anglers are
reminded that due to low fore-
casted returns for the 2020 sea-
son bag limits have been
reduced. The bag limit for the
Alsea River is 1 wild Chinook
per day and 5 per year for the
2020 season.
Cutthroat trout fishing opened
May 22 on the Alsea River and
trout fishing has been good
throughout the basin. The rivers
are dropping quickly into more
normal summer flows but are
still providing good conditions
for trout fishing and will provide
good opportunities through the
summer months.
SALMON RIVER: Cutthroat
trout, fall Chinook
Fall Chinook fishing opens on
See
FISHING 3B
Tide Tables
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
Aug. 8
3:24am / 6.0
4:18pm/ 6.2
9:52am/ 0.5
10:28pm/ 1.8
COURTESY PHOTO
Brianne Dias, who works at PeaceHealth Peace Harbor in Florence, lost more than 500
pounds as a participant on TLC’s “My 600-lb. Life.”
Losing weight, gaining life
I
t’s been a little over two years
since Brianne Dias, a patient
access
representative
at
PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical
Center, decided she had to make a
change.
Her life and future depended on it.
Her then-husband was undergo-
ing major heart surgery, and compli-
cations put his life at risk. Dias
weighed 750 pounds at the time and
realized she relied on him for so
much — getting dressed, tending to
personal hygiene matters, bringing
in a paycheck.
“I thought every day, ‘OK Bri, this
is it, you have to want this now. Not for
yourself but for your loved ones and
friends,’” she recalls. “I knew that I never
wanted the helpless feelings again, and I
knew my goals in life meant far more than
any food ever could.”
One night, she sent an email to the TLC
show “My 600-lb Life,” which documents
the lives of morbidly obese people as they
try to lose weight. Within two hours she
had a response and an invitation. Over the
last two years, the film crew has followed
her journey — first her initial loss of 275
pounds, necessary before she could under-
go a gastric sleeve procedure.
Through the show, she was introduced
to Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, a Houston-
based physician who espouses a high-pro-
tein, low-calorie, low-fat, low-carb,
no-snack diet.
Today, Dias is more than 500 pounds
lighter.
On July 10, the show’s production team
visited Florence to film Dias. She doesn’t
yet know the date the program will air but
anticipates it will be later this month or
next.
“That Friday was a lot of filming and
stress but, towards the end of my day, we
went to the beach,” Dias said in a note to
coworkers. “I took my dog, Champ.
Usually I take him for a walk around my
“...Even in this crazy
COVID-19 epidemic
we can and should
get up and do things
that make us happy.”
— Brianne Dias
neighborhood but this time we went to the
beach.”
And this time, Dias did something she
hadn’t done in more than 12 years: She
ran.
“For more than an hour!” she said. “I
know to some that’s not a big deal, but to
me two years ago I was over 750 lbs. and
was almost bed-bound, unable to even
walk to the bathroom.
“So, to run was a huge monumental
moment for me. I’m sharing this for all of
you because I want everyone to know that
even in this crazy COVID-19 epidemic we
can and should get up and do things that
make us happy.”
Dias has lived in Florence since 2012,
but only began working at Peace Harbor in
April. She also volunteers as a Mental
Crisis Responder and CST with Siuslaw
Valley Fire & Rescue.
“It’s been over 12 years since I’ve worked
and I can 100 percent say this is the first
job I look forward to coming to and hate
leaving at the end of the day,” she said. “I
love all the patients and look forward to
seeing them and putting smiles on their
faces, as they put smiles on mine.”
This article first appeared in PeaceHealth’s
online caregiver magazine and was
submitted to Siuslaw News
Th ese were the words of
the voice of the Olympics,
Jim McKay. Th is opening
scene for the Wide World
of Sports did not occur
during the Olympics. How
many times have you won-
dered what happened to
the ski-fl ying jumper who
has that terrifying crash
as he attempts to launch
himself down the hill of a
ski jump event?
I looked it up. Th e
jumper was Vinko Bogata.
He was taking his third
jump, aft er setting a per-
sonal best on his previous
jump, when something
went terribly wrong. It was
the voice of Jim McKay
telling us the jumper was
OK.
As a young boy in the
1960s, my life was fi lled
with sports activities. Ev-
ery Saturday, my brother
and I would go inside and
turn on our television
to the “Wide World of
Sports.” Th is program was
the ESPN of today, but 50
years ago.
Once the world began
watching sports television,
it was certain to telecast
the Olympic Games.
From the 1968 Olym-
pics through the Calgary
Olympics of 2002, the
voice of Jim McKay car-
ried to the action in each
Olympic venue.
Th e fi rst modern day
Olympics began in 1896.
Th ey took place in Athens,
Greece, with 14 nations
and 241 athletes (all male).
Th e United States was the
only non-European coun-
try competing. Th e U.S.
won the most gold medals
that year with 11, and host
Greece winning the most
overall medals with 46.
See
LITTLE 2B
Aug. 9
4:10am / 5.5
5:31pm / 6.2
10:26am / 1.2
Annual Siuslaw Open Golf Tourney fundraiser tees off Aug. 29
Aug. 10
5:03am / 5.0
2:06pm / 6.2
11:02am / 1.7
7:34pm / 2.1
Aug. 11
6:09am / 4.6
6:14pm / 6.2
12:17am / 1.6
11:43pm / 2.4
Aug. 12
7:28am / 4.4
7:03pm/ 6.2
1:21am/ 1.4
12:36pm/ 2.9
Aug. 13
8:52am / 4.4
7:59pm / 6.4
2:26am / 1.1
1:43pm / 3.3
Aug. 14
10:04am / 4.7
8:56pm/ 6.6
3:26am/ 0.6
2:54pm/ 3.4
The 10th Annual Siuslaw
Open Golf tournament to
support services provided
by Siuslaw Outreach Ser-
vices is still taking place.
The tournament will be
held Saturday, Aug. 29, at
Florence Golf Links.
The pandemic has forced
a change in playing format.
Due to state regulations re-
garding carts and numbers
gathering, golfers have the
option of playing in the
morning pool or in the af-
ternoon pool.
The 4-person team fee for
the morning pool is $425
and the afternoon pool is
$375 (difference in price is
the wind handicap).
The team fee includes cart,
meals, entry in the putting
contest, mulligans and more.
This year’s tournament
features a hole-in-one chal-
lenge to win a new Ford
F-150 from Johnston Mo-
tors, and a chance to putt to
win $10,000.
Dixon Golf has returned
with its Alrelius Challenge
to win a new driver or $500
watch. Hyak will once again
be on-hand to offer grilled
hot dogs on the course, and
Dutch Bros will be on there
to get you started.
Team prizes will go to the
top three teams. The Siu-
slaw Open is presented by
Oregon Pacific Bank, Ban-
ner Bank, Florence Dental
Clinic, Peach Health and
Johnston Motors.
Golfers can register at Siu-
slaw Outreach Services or
COURTESY PHOTO
at Florence Golf Links.
For more info call Bob Once again, this year’s fundraiser for Siuslaw Outreach
Services, will offer a hole-in-one to win a new Ford F-150.
Teter at 541-997-2816.