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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 2015)
A18 Blue Mountain Eagle WEDNESDAY November 11, 2015 Local cyclists IN GEAR for new trails SPORTS SCHEDULE Nonprofit clears, repairs forest path College football By Angel Carpenter JOHN DAY – Opportunities are opening up for mountain bikers to en- joy the scenery of Grant County. John Day area mountain biking enthusiasts recently formed their own chapter with the Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA). Andrea Mesple is the Grant County COTA chapter president and serves on the COTA’s board. Local members hosted a work party last month to spruce up and repair areas of the North Fork Malheur Trail located Oregon St. Oregon @ Stanford at 7:30 p.m. Oregon State @ California at 7:30 p.m. Blue Mountain Eagle Oregon Saturday, Nov. 17 southeast of John Day. The 12.4-mile trail travels through a canyon and along the North Fork Mal- heur Wild and Scenic River. The area is remote and gives riders an opportunity to enjoy the solitude of the forest. The trail is not only used for moun- tain biking, but also hikers and horse- back riders. &27$ D QRQSUR¿W RUJDQL]DWLRQ works to design, construct and main- tain non-motorized trails to enhance the mountain bike riding experience through safety, education and trail stewardship. The Grant County trail builders are working on other long-term projects as well, including a proposal for 42 miles of trails which would be part of the Summit Creek Restoration Project and a series of trails near Magone Lake – both are under analysis by the U.S. Forest Service. Another project, repur- posing multiple old forest roads which were already closed, Camp Lick is in early development. Russ Comer of Canyon City, who helped at last month’s work event, said he enjoys the serenity of the biking trails in Grant County. “You can ride all day and not en- counter another person – it has a differ- ent vibe,” he said. Comer and his business partner Joe Hittle own Fossil Shift, a bicycle repair and accessories shop in John Day at 301 W. Main St. Hittle said progress on local moun- tain biking trails should be good for the community, and not just from a busi- ness perspective. “I think it’s a positive thing for the citizens of the community, giving them one more opportunity to go out and ex- perience the mountains and forest in a different way,” he said. Directions to North Fork Malheur Trail from Prairie City: Turn onto South Main and follow to the junc- tion with Bridge Street. Turn left onto Bridge and continue past the cemetery, the road then becomes County Road 62. Follow CR 62 approximately 19 miles to the junction with Forest Road 16, then turn east onto FR 16 and fol- low for approximately 11 miles to the junction with Forest Road 1675. Fol- low FR1675 for approximately two miles to the campground. Grant Union spikers take third place at state tourney ter that. It was great to see them come out and just have some fun today. We were a little dis- REDMOND – Being one appointed that we didn’t get to of the elite eight teams in the play in the championship game OSAA/U.S. Bank/Les Schwab again like we did last year, but Tires Class 2A volleyball for the we had a great season.” second straight season and third The Prospectors certainly time in the last four years, the saved their best performance Grant Union lady Prospectors IRUWKHLU¿QDOFRQWHVWRIWKHWZR were focused on bringing home day tournament. The Prospec- more shiny hardware. tors had a fabulous start against That’s exactly what the Lady Kennedy, while jumping out Prospectors (26-5) did, as they WR DQ ¿UVW VHW DGYDQWDJH earned the third place trophy Grant Union junior libero Chel- with a 25-17, 25-11, 25-18 win sie Kodesh fueled the strong ral- over the Kennedy Trojans (24- ly by serving 11 straight service 7) Saturday at Ridgeview High points, including two aces. Se- School in Redmond. niors Samantha Brock, Kenzie The Prospectors, guided by Wilson and sophomore outside coach Shae Speth, notched a hitter Kori Pentzer (19 kills, TXDUWHU¿QDOZLQ1RYRYHU nine digs, two blocks) contrib- the Bonanza Antlers (25-4), fol- uted kills to help build the lead. lowed by a 3-1 loss in Friday’s “It’s exciting to be in the VHPL¿QDOV WR WKH &XOYHU %XOO tournament again and it’s just dogs (30-4). The Prospectors, great to get third place, so we ZKRORVWLQWKH¿QDOVWRWKH really had a fun season,” said Burns Hilanders, came back to Wilson. “It was our last chance redeem themselves by getting and we just wanted to give ev- a big victory over Kennedy to erything we had out on the court conclude the season on a posi- WRGD\:HGH¿QLWHO\KDGKRSHG tive note. WRJHW¿UVWRUVHFRQGSODFHEXW “We didn’t really play our it’s nice to end the season with best on Friday, so I was very a win.” proud of the way the kids came The Prospectors then just back and played so hard to get traded points with the Trojans as third place,” said Speth. “We they continued leading by dou- weren’t really quite sure how ble digits with a 24-14 advan- well we would feel after a pick- tage. Pentzer, a unanimous All up truck hit our bus after the Tournament First Team recip- game Friday night. Four of the ient, pounded a game-winning girls went to the hospital to get kill in the 25-17 win. WUHDWPHQWDQGWKH\ZHUH¿QHDI In the second set, Kenne- By Mike Weber Special to the Eagle the +27 corn e r’s 6+ 7 EEK OF THE W + E$7+E5 M 26/E< School: Grant Union Grade: 11 Parents: Kielee and Mark Mosley Sport: Volleyball Position: Middle Blocker/Hitter What I like best about my sport: “I enjoy competing as a team and playing with this group of girls. Blocking is my favorite aspect of the game. I’m excited to return to the state tournament.” Coach’s Comment: “Heather is one of our most improved athletes this season, and has become a force at the net in both her hitting and blocking. Heather is a team-first athlete who always has a positive attitude in practices and games.” – Coach Shae Speth Proud sponsor of Grant County athletes 100 E. Main ¬6WRSOiJKW in -RKn 'a\ 10 02947 Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography Studio The Grant Union Prospectors volleyball team with their third-place trophy after the state tournament. From left, front: assistant coaches Shanna Northway, Rhonda McCumber, players Hailie Wright, Chelsie Kodesh, Natalie Stearns, Cody Jo Madden, Heather Mosley, Mariah Moulton, Kori Pentzer, Whitney McClellan, head coach Shae Speth, assistant coach Steve Speth. Front row: Taylor McCluskey, Jocelynn Smith, Rheanna Cartner, Kenzie Wilson and Samantha Brock. dy took the initial lead at 2-0. Grant Union quickly came back and after a sideout made it 2-1, .RGHVK VHUYHG ¿YH VWUDLJKW service points to give the Pros- pectors a 6-2 lead. Pentzer’s kill later extended the margin to 8-3. The teams then traded points as Grant Union continued leading 13-8. The Prospectors offense was unstoppable from that point on as they outscored the Trojans 12-3 the remainder of the set for a 25-11 win. Brock served WKH¿QDOVHYHQVHUYLFHSRLQWVRI the set, which concluded with Pentzer’s game-winning kill. Grant Union’s momen- tum continued in the third set. Pentzer, junior middle blocker Heather Mosley, senior Joce- lynn Smith and sophomore Ma- riah Moulton (nine digs) each pounded kills to give the Pros- pectors a 12-6 lead. The teams traded points with the Prospec- tors remaining on top 20-13 on a Pentzer kill. The squads traded WKH¿QDO¿YHSRLQWVZKLOH0RV ley delivered the game-winning kill in a 25-18 win. Senior setter Rheanna Cartner had 35 assists. ,Q D ORQJ VHHVDZ ¿UVW VHW EDWWOH LQ WKH VHPL¿QDOV DJDLQVW Culver, the Prospectors pulled out a close 28-26 win. Culver, the Columbia Basin Conference champions and nearby local favorites, regained the momen- tum by winning three straight sets for the 26-28, 25-20, 25- 23, 25-19 win. Culver then ad- YDQFHGWR6DWXUGD\¶V¿QDOVDQG lost 3-0 to the Burns Hilanders, who captured a second straight title. Pentzer had 22 kills, Cartner had 40 assists and Moulton had 14 digs. In their opening 10 a.m. TXDUWHU¿QDO PDWFK YHUVXV WKH Mountain View Conference champion Antlers, the Prospec- WRUVGURSSHGWKH¿UVWVHW Grant Union responded by win- ning three straight sets. Kodesh served six straight service points to help the Prospectors build an 8-1 second set lead. Grant Union continued leading 21-16 when Pentzer (21 kills, 15 digs, ¿YH DFHV VHUYHG EDFNWREDFN aces. A game-winning service ace by senior Taylor McClus- key provided Grant Union with a 25-18 win. Grant Union’s momentum continued in a close 25-22 third set win in which Mosley tipped D EDOO WR WKH ÀRRU IRU WKH ZLQ ning point. In the fourth set, Grant Union trailed 7-1. The Prospectors had big 17-4 rally to go on top 18-11 and they con- cluded the match with a 25-17 win to capture the 19-25, 25-18, TXDUWHU¿QDOYLFWR ry. Cartner had 44 assists and 18 digs. “We struggled early and had somewhat of a slow start, but I was proud of the way the girls fought back hard to win three straight sets,” said Speth. “It’s just been a really incredible sea- son for us.” This postseason appearance marked the sixth straight year *UDQW 8QLRQ TXDOL¿HG IRU WKH state playoffs. Moulton joined Pentzer on the All Tournament Team as she earned a Sec- ond Team Award. For seniors Brock, Wilson, Cartner, Smith and McCluskey, it marked the ¿QDOJDPHRIWKHLU*UDQW8QLRQ High School volleyball career. “Our seniors have had a great career with us and they provided leadership and played strong out on the court the last four years,” said Speth. “They played with a lot of desire and KHDUW WR JHW D ZLQ LQ WKH ¿QDO game of their career. Not many seniors get to end their career with a win, so I’m really proud of them for doing that.” Taking teaching and learning outdoors Dayville students get hands-on science lessons at Camp Hancock Blue Mountain Eagle FOSSIL – Teaching and learn- ing made fun. Carrie Sullivan, who teaches grades 4-6 at Dayville School, said that was the experience for her students who recently attend- ed Outdoor Science School at Camp Hancock Field Station near Fossil. “Students are having so much fun that they hardly know they are learning,” Sullivan said. “I believe that is how teaching should be done whenever possible.” Laughing and smiling while learning dance moves to accom- pany a chant were evidence of the students’ fun, Sullivan said. The school, hosted by Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, offers a rich, hands-on, custom- ized outdoor learning experience for students in grades 1-12. The 15 students enjoyed activ- ities such as drawing up maps of “In the past, the school was attended only in the fall, but the schedule switched up a bit to al- low some of the students to expe- rience spring in the desert,” Sulli- van said. They were able to explore the full range of extremes in the des- ert environment – from the cool, wet spring to the extreme, dry fall – allowing them the opportunity to compare and contrast seasonal changes, she said. Seven new students at Day- ville School who had never been to Camp Hancock were able to enjoy the experience at experi- Contributed photos ence this trip. During a recent trip to Camp Hancock Field Sullivan said her class draws Station, Dayville School teacher Carrie Sullivan upon the team building skills and (upper left) and her grade 4-5-6 students, Jessie strategies learned in the team Douglass, Thomas LeQuieu, Rowdy Israel, Autumn challenges course to strengthen Walker, Katelyn Chouinard Barker, Hallie Rhoda, the unity within the classroom. Riley Walker, Majik Leigh, Alyssa Merkord, Gabby According to Sullivan, the Boehlke, Ethan Thompson, Cash Moore, Gauge overnight school was fund- Jenks, Ethan Walker Sofia Pinkal, with Sarah, (top, ed in the spring in part by the center) one of the OMSI instructors. Grey Family Foundation for $1,012.50, which covered half the area, a hike to a celestial ob- LQWUDLQLQJFDPS¿UHVDQGPXFK of the amount for the students’ servation area, a lesson on how to more. experience. The Clark Founda- use a star chart, a hike up Horse Sullivan believes making tion’s substantial contribution Tail Canyon to a paleontological Camp Hancock a part of the cur- helped the class attend again in VLWHWRVWXG\IRVVLOVE\ÀDVKOLJKW riculum is a huge factor in her the fall. “It has become a key part of under overhanging rocks, a close- students’ success on state science our classroom culture,” she said. up encounter with Stew, an owl tests.
