COMMUNITY
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
A3
Grant Union pep band rallies the crowd
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union pep band
members help generate
excitement at the Prospec-
tor basketball games, play-
ing energetic songs such as
“Eye of the Tiger,” “Iron
Man” and the school’s fight
song.
The band, directed by
music teacher Levana
James, also start the games
off with a stirring rendi-
tion of “The Star-Spangled
Banner.”
James said the band
encourages school spirit
and unity for fans watching
the game and those playing
the game.
“It’s the pep squad build-
ing enthusiasm for the
team,” she said.
The pep band played
during the football season
as well.
There are usually 10
band members playing,
ranging from seventh-grad-
ers to seniors, with sev-
eral on trumpet and clari-
net, plus bass clarinet, flute,
baritone, French horn and
drum set.
Pep band players tackle
a different style of music
in an atmosphere much dif-
ferent than their formal
concerts.
“It’s something a little
more enthusiastic and not as
strict — even though it has
its own challenges,” James
said. “The songs aren’t nec-
essarily easier, but the stu-
dents catch on well to the
tunes.”
Songs are played sponta-
neously, during the 30-sec-
ond timeouts, when they
cover snippets of their
selections.
“They have to watch me
because we might cut off
early or I might have them
play it again,” she said.
Cheerleaders perform a
routine while the band plays
the fight song, and they
play full versions of their
songs before the games and
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union pep band members Matthew Shorts on
saxophone, Carle Wright on bass clarinet and Alex Finley
on trumpet (in back) entertain the crowd at the Prospector
basketball games.
Grant Union pep band members perform at the Jan. 26 Prospector boys and girls basketball
games. From left: Katie Allen, Bradlee Smith, Amelia Hall, Emily Finley and Alyx Schlarbaum.
The Grant Union pep band keeps the beat with director Levana James during Prospector
basketball games in John Day.
during halftime of the boys
and girls games.
Sophomore saxophon-
ist Matthew Shorts said he
enjoys playing in the gym
with the crowd and the
teams.
“I like being able to sup-
port the team and the school
and being able to watch the
game while doing that at
the same time,” he said. “It
gives exposure to playing in
front of an audience. I like
all the songs.”
Levi Carpenter, a soph-
omore on the trumpet, said
his favorite song is “Spider
Man.”
“I like being able to hang
out with my friends and
Grant Union pep band member Samantha Floyd on trombone
entertains the crowd at the Jan. 26 Prospector basketball
games.
support the teams,” he said.
Bass clarinetist Carle
Wright, a senior, said she
also enjoys supporting the
teams.
“It’s a different kind
of environment for us to
play in, instead of just in
the band room or at a con-
cert,” she said. “We play
more modern music, which
is fun.”
Grant received for kiddie park and splash pad
New facilities
expected to be
completed by June
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The John Day-Canyon
City Parks and Recreation
District is seeking 20-30
volunteers for a “communi-
ty-build” project for a new
playground in April.
The district recently was
awarded a $243,083 grant
from the state Parks and
Recreation
Department,
which will be used to build a
new kiddie park, splash pad
and exercise stations at the
Seventh Street Complex in
John Day, executive director
Art Thunell told the Eagle.
Kiddie park
Ground preparation near
the restrooms on the east
end of the complex for the
6,800-square-foot
kiddie
park will begin in late Febru-
ary and early March, Thunell
said.
Parts for the playground
have arrived, and the play-
ground designer will be here
in April to oversee construc-
TREAT
YOUR
FEET
tion of the
kiddie park
on
April
12-14,
he
said.
T h e
RC Huerta
“community
build” will
include pouring concrete
footings and assembling the
playground equipment. Vol-
unteers who can commit to
one to three days are asked to
apply at the district office at
845 1/2 Bridge Street in John
Day.
“We want people to take
pride in the construction of
this playground,” Thunell
said. “We want kids to know
their parents had a hand in
building it.”
The kiddie park will offer
two playground areas, one
for ages 2-5 and one for
ages 5-12, with swings, tube
slides, a climbing wall, plat-
forms, monkey bars and an
ADA-compatible
swing,
program director RC Huerta
said.
The playground surface
will be a pour-in-place rubber
that will resist wear and tear
and temperature variations,
Thunell said. The thickness
of the rubber surface will
Our Services Include:
vary from 2-6 inches depend-
ing on the type of playground
equipment nearby, he said.
Splash pad
Construction of the sea-
sonal 87-by-37-foot con-
crete splash pad near the
kiddie park is expected to be
completed by June. Thunell
said similar facilities exist
in Redmond and Portland,
and the designer modeled
the district’s splash pad on
one at an Air Force base in
Boise.
Splash pad features will
include three 7-inch water
rings, three bucket dumps,
one unit with seven ground
sprays, a wildfire hose, a
question mark and a hitch-
ing post, Huerta said. A water
dome in the center will fea-
ture a six-foot high mush-
room-shaped fountain.
Users will push a pneu-
matic button to activate the
splash pad for several min-
utes before it automatically
shuts off. City water will be
used in the various fountains
and spray features. The water
will not be recycled and will
instead drain to a holding
pond used for irrigating the
complex.
bluemountainhospital.org
cise stations could be done
by recreation district crews
or community volunteers,
Thunell said. He said he has
spoken with local exercise
trainers about the equipment.
The total cost of the three
projects is $363,590, leav-
ing a $120,496 match for
the state grant. The city of
John Day and the recre-
ation district each will put in
$50,000, and the remainder
of the match will be made
up with in-kind donations of
labor, equipment and mate-
rials, Thunell said. Lisa
Weigum wrote the grant
application for the district.
Several years ago, the
district used a grant to build
restrooms at the east end of
the sports complex and com-
plete the walking trail.
Staff changes
Huerta became the dis-
trict’s program director last
August. He grew up in Red-
mond and left the area to
play college baseball after
graduating from high school
in Redmond.
Returning to Redmond,
Huerta started a family
and took a number of jobs,
including assistant superin-
tendent at the Juniper Golf
Course for five years. He’s
coached basketball and
football for middle school,
freshmen and junior varsity
teams in Redmond and will
be the assistant coach for the
Prospectors baseball team
this year.
Huerta said his grand-
parents lived in Prairie City,
and he visited here often in
the summertime. He and his
wife have three children in
elementary school.
Kimberly Ward has left
the district after nine years
serving as the office man-
ager and pool manager.
Sabrina Howard will be the
new pool manager as well
as the John Day Swim Team
coach.
541-575-1648
- Skin Inspection
Call for an Appointment
- Nail Trimming
$35 fee
- Callus and Corn Reduction
- Electric filling of thick, hard to cut nails
Services available at
- Basic foot care provided by a trained CNA
Home Health Office,
- Advanced foot care provided by
a Certified Foot Care Specialist
422 W. Main, John Day.
- Monument/outlying foot clinic every 8 weeks
Blue Mountain Hospital We provide Basic and Advanced foot care nursing based on current medical
FOOT CLINIC
Walking trail
Fifteen exercise sta-
tions will be installed along
the Jimmy Allen Memorial
Walking Trail that circles the
sports complex. Just under
a mile long, the trail is used
by walkers, runners, adults
with baby strollers and adults
teaching children to ride a
bicycle.
The new mountain bik-
ing trail on the hill above the
sports complex is located on
Grant School District 3 prop-
erty and is not maintained
by the recreation district,
Thunell said. Bicycles are
not allowed on the walking
trail.
Signs at each station will
explain an exercise. Some
stations will feature exercise
equipment such as a vault,
parallel-bar arm walk, beam
walk and hop over. Thunell
said the stations will be a
nice addition to the trail for
all ages.
Installation of the exer-
research and professional guidelines. Reduce your risk for foot infection and injury
by scheduling with our professional staff today.
Brad, Mary, Owen & Eli Armstrong
541-620-2007
Bob & Lauri Armstrong
541-620-0051