A10
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
WEDNESDAY
July 19, 2017
Blind man rides coast to coast
Mairs raises money to restore sight to thousands
By Rylan Boggs
Blue Mountain Eagle
A blind man riding his bike from coast
to coast made a stop in John Day.
Chris Mairs lost his sight at 18 years
old to a rare degenerative eye condition
called retinitis pigmentosa.
Mairs, now 60, hopes to ride from As-
toria to New Hampshire in 60 days, aver-
aging 60 miles each day.
Before reaching John Day, he rode
116 miles in a day.
“The weather has been fantastic,”
Mairs said. “I can’t see the scenery, but
I’m told it’s pretty spectacular.”
He aims to raise $144,000 in dona-
tions to restore sight to roughly 3,600
people suffering from impaired vision.
So far he has raised almost $100,000.
Mairs said there are roughly 39 mil-
lion blind people in the world, and the
most common cause for sight loss in
world is cataracts. He said it is possi-
ble to entirely cure cataracts for about
$40.
“If I raise $40 for each mile we ride,
then we can restore sight to 3,600 peo-
ple,” Mairs said.
He is working with See Internation-
al, which works in countries including
Namibia, Ghana and Cambodia to restore
sight.
On the front end of the tandem is
Alastair Heggie. Mairs rode with Heg-
gie’s fl atmate previously, and the two
agreed to split the ride with Mairs.
Heggie is riding the fi rst 30 days to
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The two had
only ridden roughly 70 miles together be-
fore setting out on this journey.
The two are learning to work in tan-
dem and said the down hill and fl at riding
are easier than on a normal bike, while
the hills much more diffi cult.
“We’ve got the air resistance of a sin-
gle person but the engines of two,” Heg-
gie said.
Both are looking forward to the rest of
the journey but are a little worried about
some of the steeper climbs like those near
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as well as high
temperatures and humidity later in the
ride.
Mairs said he is looking forward most
to “dipping our wheel in the Atlantic.”
Those interested in following Mairs’
journey or donating can visit alineof-
sight.org.uk.
The Eagle/Rylan Boggs
Chris Mairs, left, and Alastair Heggie stand for a photo
with their tandem bike in John Day on Friday, June 23.
Mairs lost his sight at 18 years old and is biking across
the country to raise money to restore sight to thousands.
Contributed photos/Deronda Lallatin
Jay Colson lands the standing long jump for the Grant
County team July 7 at the Special Olympics State
Summer Games in Corvallis.
L APPING UP FUNDS
John Day team hosts invitational July 21-23
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
J
ohn Day Swim Team
youth had plenty of
practice for this week-
end’s home meet at
Friday’s lap-a-thon fundrais-
er.
There were 54 athletes
swimming a total of 2,555
laps.
Amelia Hall was one of
the top performers of the day,
completing 110 laps at Glea-
son Pool in John Day.
One observer said Hall
was hardly out of breath after
swimming a number of laps
equal to three miles.
Fundraising coordinator
Heather Rookstool said the
lap-a-thon and a can-drive
trailer are their only fundrais-
ers this year.
For the lap-a-thon, donors
could pledge money for each
lap a swimmer would make or
pay a fl at rate.
Rookstool said the ath-
letes worked hard, and the
proceeds will be used to pay
for the coaches’ insurance, the
USA swim fees and supplies
needed for the home meet.
Board president Haley
Walker said it was exciting to
see the kids set goals.
“I think all or most of them
achieved their lap goal,” she
said. “They encouraged each
other and cheered each other
on. The team atmosphere was
great.”
The team hosts an invi-
tational swim meet at Glea-
son Pool this weekend. Start
times are 6:50 p.m. Friday,
8:15 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m.
Sunday.
Teams participating in-
clude The Dalles, Pendleton,
La Grande and league oppo-
nents Prineville and Lakev-
iew. There are four Burns
swimmers on the John Day
team this year.
Summer Games brings
thrills for local Special
Olympics team
Eight Grant
County team
members
compete
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photos/Heather Rookstool
John Day Swim Team member Amelia Hall swam a total of 110 laps during the
team’s lap-a-thon fundraiser. TOP PHOTO: Zeke Rookstool swims in Friday’s
lap-a-thon at Gleason Pool in John Day, raising money for the John Day Swim
Team.
The lap-a-
thon and a
can-drive
trailer are
their only
fundraisers
this year.
John Day Swim Team member Zoey Rookstool
participates in Friday’s lap-a-thon fundraiser at
Gleason Pool in John Day.
For the
lap-a-thon,
donors
could
pledge
money for
each lap a
swimmer
would make
or pay a flat
rate.
This year’s Special Olym-
pics State Summer Games
was a sensation for the Grant
County team.
The largest annual event
for the organization drew
2,000 athletes, 600 coaches
and 1,300 volunteers for the
July 7-9 event in Corvallis.
Among the Grant County
athletes competing in track
and fi eld events was Harvey
Davis, who fi nished second
in the 100-meter dash in his
division.
“I enjoyed being with ev-
erybody and being supported
by everyone,” he said. “My
favorite thing about the Sum-
mer Games was winning the
silver medal in the 100-meter
dash.”
Jay Colson improved on
his shot put throw and fi n-
ished seventh against tough
competition. He threw 7 me-
ters, and hopes to increase it
to 10 meters next season.
“You can go to compete
and meet other people, and
just do your personal best,”
Colson said. “The best part is
to just have fun and enjoy the
event.”
The track and fi eld compe-
tition took place at Corvallis
High School, and the Games
ceremonies were held July 8
at Oregon State University’s
Reser Stadium.
Grant County coach
Deronda Lallatin was pleased
with her team, which includes
Davis, Colson, Elizabeth
Swarthout, Katie Latham,
Rodney Brunson, Brian
McKrola, Crystal Wimberley
and Katie Shockley.
“Those who struggled at
the regional competition did
well at the state games,” she
said. “Their hard work paid
off.”
The team stayed at the
OSU dorms instead of hotels
this year.
“It was a lot of fun,” Lall-
atin said. “Everyone was ex-
cited about the new venue.”
The team also enjoyed
a dance Saturday evening
where they met members of
the OSU football team.
Cheering on the eight
local athletes were six vol-
unteers, including team
helper Sarah Lallatin, and
volunteers David Gill, Karla
Colson and Mike and Lori
Shockley.
Next up for the Grant
County team will be soccer
in the fall, if they can fi nd a
coach. For more information,
call 541-620-4295.
Summer Games
Elizabeth Swarthout, fi rst, softball throw
Katie Latham, second,100-meter dash
Harvey Davis, second, 100-meter dash
Rodney Brunson, third, softball throw
Jay Colson, fourth, standing long jump;
seventh, shot put
Jay Colson, Caleb Madsen, Brian
McKrola and Crystal Wimberley, fourth,
4x100-meter relay
Katie Latham, left, competes at the Special Olympics
Summer Games in Corvallis, sprinting in the 100-meter
dash July 7 for the Grant County team.