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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2016)
WEDNESDAY August 17, 2016 The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Brothers Run organizer Megan Workman is joined by Shilo Burton, Mindy Hutchison, Melissa Galbreath and KC Dickens, helping at the finish line of Saturday’s race. Community comes together for Brothers Run 5K Proceeds benefit Grant County scholarships By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle NO BULL Contributed/LindseyWyllie.com Justin Josey leaps his competition for the win at Friday night’s Grant County Freestyle Bullfighting event. Bullfi ghters deliver dangerous thrills at fair Two cowboys ride — to the hospital By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Freestyle Bullfi ghting at the Grant County Fair delivered what organizer Trever Hamsher promised would be “the most intense extreme sport you will ever see.” The entertainment had the bull- fi ghters jumping over the bulls, danc- ing around the bulls — and trying not to become gored by the bulls. Justin Jose of Apache, Oklaho- ma, won the event up against a bull named #21 Jump Street with a score of 87. Jesse Tennet of Springfi eld placed second, and Sean Peterson of Sum- merville took third. The bulls had the upper hand over Liam Bertolacci and Bradon John- son, who left the arena by ambulance. Bertolacci, 19, who’s been in the business of bullfi ghting for just a year and a half had a torn lung. He was re- leased from Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day the following day. Johnson was treated and released with a knee injury. Hamsher said he hopes their re- coveries go well. “They’ll heal up,” he said. “I want to say thank you to ev- eryone that came out and supported it, and thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors, along with the fair of- fi ce and fair board,” Hamsher said. “I hope to see everyone there next year.” The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Bull and cowboy look eye to eye. Rodeo youth bring home buckles 78 participate in this year’s Cowkids Rodeo By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Sunday’s Cowkids Rodeo gave youth an opportunity to compete as they learn the ropes of the sport. There were 78 participants from Grant County and as far away as Redmond and Ontario. Simmie Waddel took the reins again this year as the orga- nizer of the event. “They enjoy being able to participate in a real rodeo,” she said. “The Cinnabar Mountain Playdays are great, but they don’t have the opportunity to ride any roughstock.” She said the closest youth ro- deos are in central Oregon and in Idaho. The rodeo had youth through age 5 riding sheep, or wooly bullies in Cowkids terminology. Ages 6-9 could ride calves and the junior and senior divisions could ride steer. “I’d like to give a big thank you to those that donated stock,” Waddel said. “Willis and Mela- nie Kimball donated the calves, Mike Carr and John Clark pro- vided steers, plus the McDaniel family, Martin family and the Waddel family.” There were 22 belt buckles given away to winners. Trinity Hutchison, 15, of John Day, Waddel’s daughter, has been competing in rodeo since she was 2 years old. On Sunday, she earned one buckle for goat tying and anoth- er for dummy roping. She also placed third in barrels and com- peted in pole bending. Hutchison said goat tying is her favorite event, and she com- petes in barrels and pole bending with her 5-year-old fi lly Paulina. She hopes to one day compete Participants in Saturday’s Brothers Run 5K Walk/Run kept two Mt. Vernon broth- ers in mind as they raised money for Grant County student scholarships. This year, 69 runners and walkers were at the Seventh Street Complex starting line. The 5K honors Mt. Ver- non brothers Taner Gil- liam (June 24, 1993-July 19, 2010) and Arthur “AJ” Dickens (June 6, 2002-Dec. 10, 2015). When the event was fi rst organized in 2011 by their sister Megan Work- man, proceeds were split between a scholarship fund and the Muscular Dystrophy Association; Dickens had Duchenne muscular dystro- phy. This year, Workman is keeping the donations local to benefi t the Taner Gilliam and AJ Dickens Scholarship Foundation for graduating Grant County high school seniors. “It was a great way to honor the boys’ memory,” Workman said after Satur- day’s race. She thanked the partici- pants and volunteers during a gathering where they gave away prizes. “We’re really excited to donate so much to the schol- arship fund this year,” she said. “I’d like to thank the whole community for being a part of this event.” First to cross the fi nish line was Tanner Elliott of Canyon City with a time of 17:05. Savannah Wyllie of Loop, Texas, was second, and fi rst in the women’s di- vision, with a time of 20:24. Several friends and fam- ily members volunteered to help hand out water and re- cord times, including Sandy Johnson, Gilliam’s grand- mother. “It’s a good cause for our boys with family and friends,” she said. Those who would like to send in a donation can mail it to: Megan Workman, P.O. Box 106, Mt. Vernon, OR 97865. Make checks pay- able to The Brothers Run or Taner Gilliam Memorial Fund. For more information, contact Workman at 541- 620-1822 or 541-448-2535. in a professional rodeo. She said she likes having the local rodeo with out-of-town participation. “It’s a good experience to get you started, and it’s some- thing to look forward to because you have the opportunity to win a buckle at the end, if you do good.” Waddel said she’s been or- ganizing the Cowkids Rodeo for six years. She handles all as- pects of preparing for the rodeo, and then on rodeo day, many volunteers come out to help with timing, running gates, pushing stock and helping the youth. “I’d like to thank all the vol- unteers who keep everything running smooth,” she said. Besides the other Grant County Fair sponsors, she said her big donors are Pioneer Feed, which gives half the cost of the buckles, and Bar W-B, which donates Wrangler blankets. Mary Ann Vidourek also embroiders the hats and blankets for a minimal cost. Waddel said the buckles are a special prize to the winners. “It’s a trophy that they can wear,” she said. “My kids enjoy hearing people ask about how they won it. It’s something that they earned, not just something they went out and bought.” Cowkids Rodeo, fi rst-place winners Peewee Division Wooly bullies: Nolan Mobley Dummy roping: Paxton Waggoner Pole bending: Kodee Kimball Barrels: Kodee Kimball Goat tail untying: Kodee Kimball Youth Division Calf riding: Taylor Parson Dummy roping: Colton Clark Pole bending: Denni Coleman Barrels: Denni Coleman Goat tail untying: Taylor Churchfi eld Junior Division Steer riding: Riley Robertson Dummy roping: Lacy Churchfi eld Pole bending: Lacy Churchfi eld Barrels: Lacy Churchfi eld Goat tying: Lacy Churchfi eld Senior Division Steer riding: Opie McDaniel Dummy roping: Trinity Hutchison Pole bending: Regan Johnson Barrels: Denali Twehues Goat tying: Trinity Hutchison Knowles hopes to extend fi nals streak Mt. Vernon bulldogger places third in Hermiston By Matt Entrup EO Media Group Mt. Vernon steer wrestler Trevor Knowles has made the Wrangler National Finals every year since 2004, and entered last week’s Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston that his uncle helped found 28 years ago feeling the pressure of keeping that streak going. “It’s been a rough year for me,” said the cowboy of a season that has him at No. 21 in the world standings. “Long story short, my dad’s health wasn’t real good this spring. I came home for quite a while, and then he started doing a lit- tle better and I decided I could go compete again. So I’ve 4K resolution 49” and 55” 1808p resolution 32”, 40” & 48” all smart TVs, some Android TVs been trying to make a come- back here since June.” After an initial hot streak that saw him win the aggre- gate in Sisters and place sec- ond in Reno, Nevada, things have cooled considerably, and Knowles needs to make up about $7,000 to get into the running for the fi nals. “It always turns, and I’m getting impatient,” he said. “You know, it’s August and I’d like to have some opportu- nities to fi ll my pockets in the next 60 days.” He earned a bit of that, $1,301, in Hermiston after a 4.8 in the second performance of the Farm-City Pro Rodeo on Thursday fi nished third place in Round 2. He had a 7.5 in the afternoon’s slack to give him 12.3 combined, but he didn’t place in the aggregate. Mike McGinn posted the best single time at the rodeo, 4.1, to win Round 2, and Clay- ton Hass won the aggregate with a 10.3. 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