SN THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY EDITION | FEBRUARY 17, 2021 | $1.00 Siuslaw runners sweep season-opener Siuslaw News Community & Lifestyle ODFW REGIONAL FISHING REPORT www.dfw.state.or.us/RR LAKE, PONDS, RESERVOIRS: Mid-coast lakes scheduled to receive stockings the week of Feb. 8 include Cleawox, Munsel, Lost, Carter, Dune, Alder and Thissel. Tis’ the season for mid- coast trout. This week (Feb. 15), the Big Creek Reservoirs near Newport will be stocked. SIUSLAW RIVER: Winter steel- head Winter steelhead fishing con- tinues to be slow on the Siuslaw like all the other coastal rivers this season. The river has dropped into shape and will have good conditions through the upcoming weekend. Expect the fishing to improve as February is typically the peak month on the Siuslaw. The Whitaker Creek area is the best place to target returning hatch- ery fish. ALSEA RIVER: Winter steelhead Winter steelhead fishing con- tinues to be slow on the Alsea. Even with the ideal conditions over the weekend, the fishing was slow. Anglers are still catch- ing some fish everyday through- out the system from the NF 9:59am / 1.8 9:40pm / 2.3 Feb. 18 10:53am / 1.8 10:17pm / 3.0 Feb. 19 Feb. 20 5:32am / 6.6 7:41pm / 4.8 Feb. 21 6:32am / 6.6 9:01pm / 5.1 12:15am / 3.9 2:10pm / 1.2 Feb. 22 7:35am / 6.8 9:55pm / 5.4 1:36am / 4.1 3:07pm / 0.8 Feb. 23 8:34am / 7.1 10:36pm / 5.8 Siuslaw News Ames, Brooks-Anderson to be featured artists in April at Backstreet Low Tide Feb. 17 4:43am / 6.7 6:09pm / 4.8 B Y Z EAHNA Y OUNG 1:04pm / 1.6 Entrance Siuslaw River 4:02am / 6.8 4:51pm / 5.1 The state's latest metrics have given the green light for outdoor sports beginning this week, including cross country, soccer and football. 11:55am / 1.8 11:05pm / 3.6 FISHING 3B Tide Tables 3:28am / 6.9 3:49am / 5.6 Members of the Viking girls cross country team clap as members of the Viking boys approach the final stretch on Saturday. After months of uncer- tainty, the Siuslaw High School cross country team was finally able to take to the course this past Saturday (Feb. 13) at the Siltcoos Outlet south of Florence. The dual meet against Bandon High School was Siuslaw’s first of this school year, with runners and coaches glad to hear the sound of running shoes set in motion for competition. “It was nice just to be able to compete again, it’s been a long time for all of us,” said Siuslaw head coach Chris Johnson. “Just to put the uniforms on and have a chance to compete against another school… It was all kind of new, having a dual meet. We haven’t had a dual meet here since I was in high school — but it was fun.” The dual meet is one of the health guidelines cur- rently in place, which require leagues to involve no more than two teams per See High Tide NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS 2:45am / 3.9 3:55pm / 0.3 Award-winning photogra- pher Stephanie Ames and wa- ter media artist/author Pattie Brooks Anderson will share the spotlight at Backstreet Gallery during March and April. With an eye for the unex- pected, Ames says views sub- jects in a unique manner. She presents ordinary and scenic beauty in a powerful style. It isn’t accidental that she cap- tures breathtaking sunsets, hummingbirds, crashing seas, rusting trucks or a rustic barn at the perfect time. Ames researches the tide ZEAHNA YOUNG/SIUSLAW NEWS Siuslaw junior Rylee Colton finished first in the girls' race with a time of 20:30.9. meet. “We’re used to competing with about 20 teams at the same time, so the dynamic of a dual meet is a lot differ- ent,” said Johnson. “I think in a normal year, that would have been sort of an anticli- mactic type of an event because it was so small. But I think just because we haven’t tables and the sun and moon charts, positioning herself at the right moment to catch the sun or moonlight, illuminat- ing her subject in a spectac- ular way. This advantage combines technical skills with excellent equipment. Ames, an avid traveler of Western Oregon, says she loves to discover “old aban- doned farmhouses, vehicles and ghost towns. The images she captures are a retrospec- tive of those travels. Her is represented in sepia tones, black and white and had an opportunity to do anything for so long, it was pretty cool.” The girls team scored 15 points overall, with junior Rylee Colton finishing first and coming in at 20:30.9, followed by senior Brea Blankenship in third place overall with a time of 21:22.7. full color. The beauty of the North- west and her love of backpack- ing, birding, kayaking, snow- shoeing and rock-hounding put her in a myriad of inspi- rational locales. Within her photography, the viewer experiences the in- tense emotion that Ames feels at the moment she snaps an unforgettable photo. Many Oregon Coast travel guides and “Oregon Coast” magazine carried her photos, which have shown in Eugene’s See The team’s spirits were high, and the girls were excited to compete once again. Senior Gracie Freudenthal, who finished sixth (23:00.9) said, “It feels good, it feels like it’s not real. We’ve been training so much, but this is our first race; it’s exciting! And once we get our first race over it’s smooth sailing.” Freshman Jane Lacouture, who placed seventh in 23:05.2, said the race provid- ed extra incentive after such a long delay. “Because we’ve been practicing so much, now having a race provides more motivation to keep practicing and keep working hard.” Finishing eighth was freshman Corduroy Holbrook, whose time of 23:24.4 pushed the Vikings toward their winning score. This was the first meet the Vikings held a meet at Siltcoos Outlet. “It’s obviously a little bit different. We’ve never had a meet out there before but we practice out there all of the See VIKS 2B Chamber, City offering flower baskets Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, in partner- ship with the public works department of the City of Florence, is preparing to hang the flower baskets that have adorned Bay Street from spring into fall for the last several years. However, that program See ART 2B BASKETS 3B I trust you all had a Happy Valentine’s Day! Ours was pretty relaxed...watched golf then did a food pickup from Waterfront. It was perfectly cooked and delicious.I wish the weather had been better for everyone , but glad we don’t live in Portland/ Salem area where it was icy and colder. I’ve been keeping track of all the sales, new listings, etc for weeks on end. Our inventory is getting smaller. two weeks ago we had 44 active listings, this week we have 41 active listings. Most of the listings remain the same but if there are any new ones they are mostly sold before we see them or go pending quickly. Th ank goodness interest rates have stayed low if you are thinking of buying or selling. Call me if you’d like to buy or sell, I’m here to help. 100 Hwy. 101, Florence, OR • 541.997.7777 Lynnette Wikstrom Broker “We’re next to the Bridge.” lynnette@cbcoast.com · Cell: 541.999.0786 COAST REAL ESTATE