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