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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2019)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Sports & Recreation SOUTH LANE COUNTY SPORTS AND RECREATION ISCS Speedweek takes stage at CG Speedway • WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 21, 2019 • B1 CONTACT SPORTS REPORTER NICK SNYDER AT 942-3325 OR NSNYDER@CGSENTINEL.COM Sawdust flies at WOE Heritage Fair By Ben Deatherage Cottage Grove Speedway For the third straight night of the week, the Interstate Sprint Car Se- ries was in action for the 2019 “Week Of Speed.” Cottage Grove Speed- way once again was the site for racing action. The race was initially scheduled for Willamette Speedway, but the race moved south. 28 total cars were on hand rep- resenting Oregon, Wash- ington, California and Idaho. After a wreck on the opening start, Tyler Thompson paced the fi eld for the fi rst lap of the main event. The Har- risburg teenager wasn’t quite able to develop a signifi cant lead over the rest of the competition due to several stoppages from lap two to seven. After the fi nal restart of the evening, Thompson began to fl y out in front of the pack. Coming up to lapped traffi c late in the race proved to be a bit tricky. Tyler began to feel a bit of pressure from Tanner Holmes in the fi nal third of the main. Holmes managed to make a close-quarter pass on lap 21. Holmes, of Jackson- ville, was under pressure the rest of the way but held on to win the race. It is Holmes’ second win of the week and his fourth of 2019. The vic- tory puts him level with Thompson on the all- time main event win list. Tyler Thompson was a close second while third went to Lake Stevens, Washington’s Eric Turn- er with a great run. Emi- ly Williams, from Castro Valley, California, rallied to a fourth-place result over fi fth fi nishing Junc- tion City veteran Shane Forte. Qualifying was split up into four separate groups. Earning fast time awards were Tan- ner Holmes, Shane Forte, Cottage Grove’s Kinzer Cox, and Tyler Thompson. Heat race wins went to Eric Turn- er, Central Point driver Mike Wheeler, Ashleigh Johnson of Ferndale, Washington, and Raquel Ivie, of Eugene. Arling- ton, Washington traveler Brett McGhie scored the victory in the consolation feature. Sunset Speedway Park was the battleground for the fourth race of the 2019 ISCS Week of Speed schedule, held on Friday, Aug. 16. It is the smallest track the series visits and is the only time the tour goes to the “Banks Bullring” this year. Shane Forte is the defending speedweek winner at SSP. Ticket prices were $13 for adults and seniors/ military/juniors (13-17) $10, youths (6-12) $5, and kids (5 & Under) were free. A Family Pass (two adults and up to four youths (6-12)) was offered for $35 while Premium Seats were available for $25 each. Pit Gates opened at 2:00 p.m., Front Gates 4:00, with racing kicking off at 6:00. For more informa- tion, log on to www.sun- setspeedwaypark.com. PHOTOS BY NICK SNYDER/CG SENTINEL A competitor in the axe-throwing competition (left) hits a bullseye on the beer can positioned in the center of the target; (top right) the competition kicks off as a timber-cutter attempts to cut a slice off the log; (bottom right) the crowd looks on during last Friday’s Lumberjack Show at the W.O.E. Heritage Fair. The Lumberjack show high- lighted the weekend’s an- nual event that celebrates local customs By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com The debate over what is and isn’t considered a sport rages on in con- versation all over the country. For viewers of one particular event last Friday evening, however, the an- swer was clear. The 87th annual Western Or- egon Expo [WOE] Heritage Fair took place from Friday, Aug. 16 thru Sunday, Aug. 18 at the WOE fairgrounds. Attendees roamed the grounds serenaded by various bands on multiple stages, admired animals raised by local 4-H stu- dents, browsed the wares of local vendors and, most notably, cheered on the participants of the Lumber- jack Show which, in this part of the world, is most definitely regarded as a sport. “Oh yeah, it’s a sport,” said one attendee when asked whether or not these kinds of timber-cutting demonstrations qualify. “If they can show poker and cornhole on ESPN, then I’m going to go ahead and call this a sport. It’s hard work and it takes a lot of skill.” The Lumberjack Show has long been a highlight of the Heritage Fair and this year was no exception. Competing for cash prizes, partici- pants could sign up for axe throw- ing (men’s and women’s), large saw bucking, women’s stock saw, modi- fied saw and motorcycle saw. After some hiccups getting start- ed and a few last-minute sign-ups, earplugs were handed out free of charge and the saws roared to life. Axes flew towards the bullseye, piles of sawdust steadily grew on the competition grounds and the men and women participating in the event put all their skills on dis- play. While the attire has changed and safety measures modernized, the skills of these timber cutters have been valued in the state of Oregon for centuries. “A lot of these people know each other and what you see here is kind of the showmanship aspect of [tim- ber cutting],” said Happy Gree- nough, Creswell resident and for- mer logger and timber cutter. “There used to be an event up in Albany, the Timber Carnival, but it’s gone now. So these events are getting rarer, but this one here is trying to keep alive a dying art,” Greenough continued. Common throughout the state during the timber industry hey- day, timber shows and lumberjack showcases have been on the decline for decades. West Linn, Estacada and Prospect, Ore. still hold sum- mer events, but the popularity of the event in Cottage Grove shows that these skills are still enjoyed and valued by many. In many ways, the decline of timber shows is representative of the situation for many of the skills and crafts on display at the Heritage Fair. Whether it’s metalworking like that of local blacksmith Perry Thie- de, the animal husbandry of 4-H students or the ability to maintain decades-old engines, these are in- dustries that have seen their popu- larity wane and fall out of favor with many young people. “But here at the fair there’s the people you do see that still have those skills, the crafts and hobbies … it’s just that’s not where you make your money anymore. Where it used to be that was your living based on what you know how to do, but now you go to Wal-Mart and it’s just cheaper to buy everything,” said Skye Hefner, WOE office manager and a key organizer of the event. Stan Garboden, a Creswell resi- dent and volunteer that helped or- ganize the numerous musical acts that performed over the weekend, also lamented the loss of something that was a part of so many Orego- See HERITAGE 2B CG youth golf grows at summer program Six-week youth golf camp concludes at Middlefi eld with tournament By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com Golf is a game that can test the patience of even the most tranquil people, but the scene at Middlefield Golf Course last Wednes- day was all fun and smiles. The Cottage Grove Sum- mer Golf program - which has been operating for nearly 20 years and al- lows children ages 8-14 a chance to be introduced to and educated in the game - wrapped up on August 14 with it’s annual Cottage Grove Junior Golf Tourna- ment. Even though the six-week course ended with a friend- ly competition, program leader Clayton Nordquist says that the program is about much more than win- ning. “The biggest thing about this program is to really get them comfortable swinging a golf club, get them com- fortable going around the course, and it’s a great intro. “First, we kinda go over the fundamentals, the grips … After that, we get them out on the course as much as possible,” Nordquist con- tinued. “When I was in high school, that’s how I learned how to play … you learn to play the game out on the course.” And Nordquist certain- ly learned how to play the game. A Cottage Grove na- tive, he played golf at Cot- tage Grove High School and Athlete of the Week PHOTO BY NICK SNYDER/CG SENTINEL The youth golfers and coaches of the Cottage Grove Summer Junior Golf Program. fell in love with the sport. After graduating in 2007, he knew he wanted to pursue a long-term career in the in- dustry. He attended the Golf Th is week’s athletes of the week are all the participants in last Friday’s W.O.E. Lumberjack Show, keeping an old tradition alive in the 21st century. Academy of America in Chandler, Arizona where he received a degree in golf course complex manage- ment with a specialty in ad- vanced teaching. With two years of experience under his belt as an assistant golf professional at Kokopelli Golf Club in Gilbert, Ariz., See GOLF 3B Event organizer Larry Horner watches on as the competition kicks off . PHOTO BY NICK SNYDER/ CG SENTINEL
