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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2015)
SPORTS SCHEDULE Thursday, Dec. 3 WEDNESDAY December 2, 2015 Grant Union dance team and dance groups pres- ent Holiday Showcase in John Day, 7 p.m. HOLIDAY DANCERS Friday, Dec. 4 Dayville/Monument basketball @ Fossil Tournament (Echo), girls Dayville/Monument 3 p.m./boys 4:30 p.m. Grant Union Long Creek Grant Union dance team and dance groups present Holiday Showcase in John Day, 7 p.m. Prairie City Prairie City basketball vs. Red- mond JV in Prairie City, girls 5 p.m./ boys 6:30 p.m. TO DELIVER SPIRIT OF THE SEASON Saturday, Dec. 5 Grant Union wrestling @ Irrigon Duals in Irrigon, 10 a.m. Grant Union basketball vs. Redmond JV in John Day, girls 2 p.m./boys 3:30 p.m. Dayville/Monument bas- ketball @ Fossil Tourna- ment (Pilot Rock), girls 1 p.m./boys 2:30 p.m. Prairie City basketball vs. Burnt River in Prairie City, girls 5 p.m./boys 6:30 p.m. Winter sports are on the way! Grant County teams prep for weekend By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle GRANT COUNTY – Winter sports athletes have been at work in practice, preparing for their ¿ rst games and performances this weekend. The Grant Union High School dance team, coached by Shannon Adair, will start things off with a large group of younger dancers, presenting their Holiday Showcase Thursday and Friday, Dec. 3 and 4, with both shows beginning at 7 p.m. The event will be held at the school’s old gym, and admission is $5 and a canned food item. Grant Union’s boys and girls varsity basketball teams will host the Redmond junior varsity on Saturday. See WINTER, Page B8 Contributed photo/Jeff Meyerholz of MeyWow Photography The Grant Union Gold dance team performs at last year’s Holiday Showcase. 60 dancers will perform variety of styles By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle J OHN DAY – Dancers will kick off the Christ- mas season at the annual Holiday Showcase at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 3 and 4, at the Grant Union old gym in John Day. Admission is $5 and a canned food item, children under 6 have free admission and re- freshments will be served. Shannon Adair, who coordinates the event and is in her 19th year coaching the Grant Union dance team, said the event will feature ballet, contemporary, jazz and hip hop styles with solo, small group and full group performances. “For us, it’s a great start to the holidays, try- ing to deliver happiness and the spirit of the sea- son,” Adair said. About 60 dancers ranging in age from 3-18 will perform in the showcase. The younger students – Level 1 through 3 and the junior team – receive their training at Body, Fitness & Dance, while the Grant Union dancers are a high school team. Adair works with assistant coaches Jessica Moore and Kattie Piazza to coach the Grant Union Gold team. Chandra Holliday coaches Levels 1 and 2, and Stephanie Parsons coaches Level 3. Coaching the junior high dancers are Piaz- za and assistant coach Rebecca Batease, who is also on the high school team. Adair said she takes a lot of pride in the Hol- iday Showcase, and noted all the coaches were once on her dance team, except Holliday, who was on the Pendleton High School dance team. “It’s a pretty big program for the size of our community,” Adair said. “I’m excited – it’s one of the things I have a lot of pride in.” “ For us, it’s a great start to the holidays, trying to deliver happiness and the spirit of the season.” Shannon Adair, Grant Union dance team coach Local shares joys of winter birding Favorites are chickadees’ personable ways By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle JOHN DAY – Marilyn O’Leary enjoys bird watching at home, on walks and on trips with her husband Clarence. The couple have lived on the out- skirts of John Day for 24 years, and have their yard set up to cater to a variety of feathered friends who come to visit. The Eagle had a conversation with Marilyn to ¿ nd out what there is to love about winter bird watch- ing. Q. What do you enjoy most about your hobby of bird watching? A. It’s something you can do no matter where you go, whether its a trip to Bend for shopping or medical or going to town or on daily walks. It’s something we’re always doing. We also watch for trends, such as new birds, and declines in other birds, too. Some species for instance, with Prospector athletes selected for honors GU sophomore volleyball players achieve success Blue Mountain Eagle the common Stellar’s jay) – there was one in Mt. Vernon about a month ago; they may be moving further west here. It’s strictly a hobby, but one we can do any- where. JOHN DAY – Two Grant Union soph- omore volleyball players were selected for Oregon 2A Volleyball All State honors. Kori Pentzer was named to the First Team and Mariah Moulton to the Third Team. The Prospectors won third place at the OSAA State Championship Tournament in Redmond on Nov. 7. Pentzer was also named to the All State First Team last year as a freshman. “She worked diligently at improving various aspects of her game this year, See BIRDS, Page B8 See HONORS, Page B8 File photo Oregon juncos are among Grant County’s “frequent flyer” winter birds. the northern shrike, a predator bird, there have been a decline in numbers. The western scrub jay didn’t use to be here, but now they are ¿ rmly established. It’s interesting to watch and see if we get some of the interesting birds such as the eastern blue jay (not COME SEE THE CREW AT LES SCHWAB IN JOHN DAY, 551 W. Main John Day 541-575-1346 t a DON’T GET STUCK... without your tire chains this winter. v y QUICK FIT DIAMOND TIRE CHAINS If you don’t use your passenger/light truck chains, return them for a full refund after April 1, 2016. Return program does not apply to spikes spider device. They take the work and frustration out of using tire chains. They go on and off quickly and fit right to provide excellent traction during tough winter driving conditions.