Cottage Grove Sentinel Community & Lifestyle B1 THURSDAY | MAY 21, 2020 • CONTACT SPORTS REPORTER NICK SNYDER AT 942-3325 OR NSNYDER@CGSENTINEL.COM County campgrounds reopening today, with caveats Following the phase one reopening of many businesses, Lane County campgrounds are now being phased in Oregon, Washing- ton set summer, fall salmon seasons Oregon and Washington fi shery managers recently announced seasons and regulations for 2020 summer and fall Columbia River fi sheries. Although sockeye and fall Chinook returns show improvement from 2019, below average projections for summer Chinook, coho and upriver summer steelhead will require another year of reduced or closed seasons and bag lim- its. Th e summer season will be limit- ed to sockeye and steelhead retention. Th e weak summer Chinook forecast of 38,000 fi sh returning to the Columbia River would be slightly better than the 2019 return but still too small to pro- vide for directed harvest in non-treaty fi sheries downstream of Priest Rapids Dam. Th e improved sockeye forecast of 246,300 will allow for a retention sea- son. Th e fall seasons are based on a pro- jected return of 420,400 fall Chinook, which is about 12 percent higher than the actual return of 375,800 last year. Th is year’s forecast includes 227,600 upriver bright Chinook, compared to a return of 212,200 in 2019. To reduce the chance of exceeding the ESA lim- it allowed for non-treaty fi sheries as occurred in 2017 and 2018, the states intend to manage the fi shery based on an allowed harvest rate of 15 percent on the upriver bright stock — but only al- locate 8.25 percent prior to the in-sea- son run update. Th is conservative approach compli- cates setting pre-update fi sheries but will hopefully result in some good op- portunity post-update for some parts of the river. “Th e fall fi shery planning process was very challenging this year,” accord- ing to John North, fi sheries manager for ODFW’s Columbia River Program. “Considering the Covid-19 situation, multiple ESA-impact constraints, and uncertainty related to the upriver bright forecast, we struggled to design fi sheries that would meet public expec- tations.” Due to the low projected returns for upriver summer steelhead, protective regulations are needed again this fall including a one steelhead daily bag lim- it in June and July, area-specifi c steel- head retention closures beginning in August, and Th ermal Angling Sanctu- aries associated with Eagle Creek, Her- man Creek, and the Deschutes River. Th ese collective actions are intend- ed to reduce take of both hatchery and wild fi sh. For more information about upcom- ing Columbia River seasons, including regulation updates, visit ODFW’s on- line fi shing reports at www.myodfw. com. Officials have announced that, beginning today (May 21), five county campgrounds — Archie Knowles, Armitage, Harbor Vista, Richardson and Baker Bay — will allow restricted reopenings, offer- ing modified camping to would-be recreators. While campsites will be avail- able for reservation, the county is operating under the Guidelines for Outdoor Recreation issued by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and a number of precautions and restrictions have been put in place to ensure safe reopening and con- tinued use of facilities by visitors. These include: • Restricting access to gathering areas within the parks (showers in- cluded) • Additional cleaning and sanita- tion of high-touch areas like public restrooms • Bilingual signage at highly visi- ble locations, • Some individual campsites re- maining empty to assure proper distancing • Use of approved cleaners and disinfectants in restrooms. In addition, each campground will also have site-specific modifi- cations and campers are being in- See CAMPING 2B Coping with sudden change PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA Mitchell Krokus, a senior at Cottage Grove High School, is seen here as a junior winning the 2019 4A state triple jump title. Krokus won with a winning jump of 44-04.75 feet, but due to coronavirus shutdowns, won’t see the chance to defend his title in 2020. School closures force seniors across the nation to deal with an abrupt end to their high school careers By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com The global coronavirus pandemic has un- leashed a torrent of financial, economic and health woes the world over. It has touched ev- eryone’s life in one way or another. For America’s youth, however, it presents it- self most tangibly as a unique mental challenge, forcing them to find ways to cope with their present and future being thrown into a whirling cloud of uncertainty. Cottage Grove High School (CGHS) senior Mitchell Krokus - the reigning 4A state triple jump champion - has spent the last couple of months doing just that: coping. “It’s been a mix of emotions. It’s been a lot of different things,” Krokus said, echoing the emotional toll of rapid societal fluctuations be- ing felt all over the country. It started on March 12 when Krokus and all of his fellow CGHS seniors, unbeknownst to them, attended their final day of high school. At that point, public schools in Oregon had not Yard of the Week brought to you by: Cottage Grove Sentinel 116 N. 6th • (541) 942-3325 Week of May 21st Winner is: 1598 Elm Yards will be selected each week by nominations. To nominate a yard you can call City Hall (942-5501) or Chamber of Commerce (942-2411) been ordered to close through the remainder of the year, but that change came soon enough. “No one knew it was going to be our last day of school,” Krokus said. “Just that by itself is a pretty big thing.” Years of preparation through elementary, middle and high school. Piles of homework. Test upon test. Suddenly and quite unceremo- niously, it was all over through no fault of their own. But, there were still opportunities to re- train focus onto other things and, for Krokus, that outlet was track and field which, at that point along with all other spring sports, was only postponed through early April. “First thing I did was go to my head coach, talk to him about it and get his perspective,” Krokus added. “At first I was kind of bummed out, but when I realized I’d just be getting more practice and work in it gave me a little bit more to look forward to.” Krokus, after all, had found his niche in the track world during his sophomore season when he tried triple jump for the first time and qual- ified for state. After winning the state champi- onship in 2019, Krokus threw himself into his training, discovering a new passion for not just the competition, but the preparation as well. “Since a couple months after last season, I started working out a ton,” Krokus said. “I really wanted to be the best version of myself coming into the season. I wanted to be there as soon as I started the season … I’d think, ‘If there’s another guy I’m gonna be competing against working out right now, I’m gonna work harder than him’. That was my mindset every day of working out.” So, to say Krokus was focused and prepared going into his final season as a Lion would be an understatement. This was a student-athlete ready to defend their title. Alas, he would never get the chance. The postponed starting date for spring sports came and went and, on April 8, Krokus had a dizzying day: he officially graduated from high school sans robes, family, peers and cer- emony; spring sports were canceled through See KROKUS 2B NHSFCA endorses football development model created by USA Football The National High School Football Coaches Alliance comprised of high school coaching associations across 41 states, today announced its endorsement of USA Football’s Football Development Model for youth leagues nationwide. The Alliance represents the country’s largest group of state high school football coaches associations. The model is in alignment with the American Development Model designed by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Com- mittee (USOPC). USA Football is the sport’s national governing body and a USOPC member. A new approach to coaching, learning and playing football, the Football Devel- opment Model helps coaches develop the whole athlete based on a child’s age and stage of development. The framework in- troduces smarter and safer play, centered on fun and fundamental skills while re- ducing contact. Coaches teach athletes based on their age, skill level and the ver- sion of the sport they play, from non-con- tact (flag) to contact (11-player tackle). Leaders for safer and smarter play, Al- liance members also hosted more than 80 youth football events nationwide in 2019, including dynamic and fun player clinics and education-based summits for coaches and league organizers. Prior to COVID-19 mitigation and shelter-in-place direc- tives, Alliance members had committed to expand their support of youth football through more than 100 events for coaches, parents and players in 2020. “The National High School Football Coaches Alliance recognizes the impor- tance of youth football and endorses USA Football’s Football Development Model at the youth level,” said Alliance President Rob Younger, who also serves as the Or- egon Athletic Coaches Association Execu- See FOOTBALL 2B