Polk County Sports
10A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 27, 2017
Trent
PREP TRACK AND FIELD
Continued from Page 9A
Trent didn’t listen to his
doubters. Instead, he be-
came motivated to achieve.
“He never took no for an
answer,” Tammy said.
Trent began to work out in
a home gym and build core
strength.
As a freshman, he joined
the track and field team,
competing in the shot put
and discus.
This winter, he’s added the
swim team to his schedule.
“I get to meet new people,
stay active and have fun,”
Trent said.
Tre n t s w i m s t h e
freestyle and butterfly and
is inspiring others with his
journey.
“He’s a hard worker,”
coach Jeanine Holstad said.
“He doesn’t try to take short-
cuts. He’s there to do the
best he can and wants to
learn. I think that rubs off on
other swimmers.”
Just as — if not more —
important as the physical
benefits is the chance to in-
teract with other students.
“We watch him and just
smile because he’s over there
talking to other students he
would have never been able
to talk to in years prior,”
Tammy said. “He’s laughing
and having fun and it builds
his confidence.”
Academically, Trent ap-
proached his parents about
taking himself off his IEP
and pursuing a normal
diploma.
“His dad was like, ‘OK that
sounds good,’” Tammy said.
“As a mom, I was like, ‘Oh
my God, this is scary.’”
Trent hasn’t disappointed.
“He’s got all his grades and
is in line for his high school
diploma,” Tammy said.
Trent also has his eyes set
on college to become a
forensic scientist.
“My family has all been
scientists,” Trent said. “It’s
my turn now.”
With each success, Trent
is proving to be an inspira-
tion to everyone around
him.
“Every day is challenging,”
Tammy said. “But he lives
with a spirt that outshines us
all. He’s very loving, thought-
ful, hardworking and just
plain amazing.”
Scammers impersonate deputies
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — On Dec. 15, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office
took two reports of people being victimized by scam artists. Both
calls involved a person who identified themselves as a deputy
with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
They informed the victim that he or she missed some sort of
court appearance and that a warrant was going to be issued for
his or her arrest.
To circumvent the warrant, the victim could purchase gift cards
and provide the caller with the card numbers.
On Dec. 20, sheriff’s deputies took several more reports from
businesses and citizens receiving phone calls from males identify-
ing themselves as Polk County deputies. Fortunately, those who
received the calls on Dec. 20 recognized the calls as scams and did
not comply with the requests for money, and called it in to the
sheriff’s office, according to the press release.
The sheriff’s office is working to try and identify the subjects
making these calls by requesting subscriber information for the
suspect phone numbers, which include 503-509-7965 and 503-
662-6730.
No law enforcement agency will make this request of anyone. If
you have concerns that a person is attempting to perpetrate a
scam against you please stop, and call or walk into your local po-
lice or sheriff’s office.
Bibler to compete down under
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
PERRYDALE — When
Abigail Bibler was called
into the school main office
two months ago, she was
more confused than any-
thing else.
“They said I had a letter,”
Bibler said. “I thought it was
really weird because I never
get letters at the school.”
The letter was from
Down Under Sports and in-
vited Bibler to compete in a
track and field meet in
Queensland, Australia, in
July.
The Down Under Inter-
national Track and Field
games have run each year
since 2000.
More than 700 athletes
competed in last year’s
track and field games.
Bibler finished 10th in
the shot put at the OSAA 1A
State Championships last
May.
“I started telling my fami-
ly and friends, and they all
told me, this is a once-in-a-
lifetime thing, you’ve got to
go,” Bibler said.
She is raising money for
the trip. She said she is
looking to raise $5,000 by
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file
Abigail Bibler was invited to compete in Australia next summer.
the end of May.
Track and field coach
Brian Evans will handle
anyone interested in donat-
ing to Bibler’s cause at ble-
jbe@gmail.com.
“It’s awesome that she
has this goal in front of her,”
Evans said. “I know she’ll
work very hard to be a great
competitor in Australia and
here this spring. This op-
portunity has been a huge
confidence builder for her,
and I am excited to see how
she does this year. I’m very
proud of her.”
Bibler knows she has
work to do in raising
money, but she is excited
for the chance to see a part
of the world she never has
before — and test her skills
against athletes from
around the world.
“I don’t know who I am
competing with, but I’ve
started working in a gym,
I’m talking to a personal
trainer, it’s just so crazy,”
Bibler said. “When you go to
state or a track meet in Ore-
gon, you know pretty much
everyone you’re competing
with. This will be a little in-
timidating, but exciting.
Like, this isn’t the Olympics,
but it’s pretty much the
Olympics for kids.”
Oregon FBI offers tips on digital defense against toys
Itemizer-Observer staff report
PORTLAND — The Oregon
FBI warns consumers about
digital defense against inter-
net-connected toys.
In a press release, the FBI
stated that new-fangled
gadgets — including dolls, ro-
bots and the like — are now
coming with “smart” technolo-
gy.
“Personalization is key, and
that means learning what your
kid is all about,” the release
states. “This can lead to serious
privacy invasion, make no
doubt.”
These toys can capture his
likes and locations with
voice recognition, GPS, mi-
crophones and video record-
ing.
They may collect informa-
tion about where a child lives,
goes to school and which park
he or she plays in.
“And it can send that info to
back to the company, leaving
you in the dark,” the release
states.
The FBI offers these tips
when handling new technolo-
gy in toys:
• First, research the toy and
its manufacturer.
Check to see if any hackers
have successfully breached
the company’s database in the
past and try to determine the
level of security the corpora-
tion uses to protect its cus-
tomers.
• Second, turn on all possi-
ble internal security devices. If
a password or even dual en-
cryption option is available,
use it.
Likewise, if the company of-
fers an update or software
patch, install it immediately to
protect against possible hack-
ing vulnerabilities.
Also, make sure any WiFi
system connected to the toy is
equally secure.
• Third, read all disclosure
statements offered by the
company to understand the
purpose and destination of
the information being collect-
ed.
• Finally, monitor the use of
the toy. When not in use, turn
the toy off completely to
avoid automatic systems, such
as GPS or voice recording,
from continuing to collect
data.
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