PAGE LABEL
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
A13
WEDNESDAY
July 3, 2019
Grant Union grad
Madi McKrola
to play for
Timberwolves
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union gradu-
ate Madi McKrola, who
was the salutatorian for the
Class of 2019, will attend
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College in Pendleton
this fall.
She has received a
scholarship to play softball
for the Timberwolves, and
she’ll also play basketball
for the school.
McKrola, who plans
to pursue a psychology
degree, also received a
$1,000 scholarship from
Community
Counseling
Solutions and a $5,000
scholarship from Oregon
Trail Electric Consumers
Cooperative.
A short stop for the Grant
U n i o n
Prospec-
tor softball
team, she
was named
the 2019
League
Madi
and State
McKrola
Player of
the Year.
She was also named
Second Team All-League
for the Prospector girls bas-
ketball team this year in the
Blue Mountain Conference.
“I’d like to thank my
coaches and teammates for
always believing in me,
loving me, for having my
back and for shaping me
into the person and player
I am today,” McKrola said.
She is the daughter of
Darrel and Kim McKrola
of Mt. Vernon.
Contributed photo
With cheap ammunition and no recoil, the .22 provides
hours of plinking fun.
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
The mighty .22
ack when I first
started school at
the University of
Idaho, I was delighted to
learn that the college had
an indoor .22 range. It was
used mainly for ROTC
training but was avail-
able to students every
Tuesday night. One day
I invited a friend to go
shooting. He was part of
an avid hunting family so
I was absolutely floored
when he said he couldn’t
because he didn’t own a
.22! Growing up in John
Day, everybody owned at
least one, most several,
.22s. It was almost too
much for my little brain to
comprehend.
There are so many rea-
sons to have a .22 that I
just can’t see why any-
body that shoots shouldn’t
have at least one. First
of all, they are just plain
fun. Nonexistent recoil,
minimal noise and cheap
ammo provide for hours
of plinking fun. It is truly
a sad childhood that
doesn’t include some
memories of bouncing tin
cans around with a .22
rifle.
Because they are so
nonthreatening, they are
the best way to intro-
duce newbies to the shoot-
ing sports. Most .22s are
fairly light and come in
so many configurations
that it is easy to find one
to conform to any body
type from the little Cricket
for your 5 year old to the
ubiquitous Ruger 10/22.
Every serious shooter
should have a .22. Hand-
gunners can get every-
thing from a 1911 clone
to a single action revolver
chambered in .22 long
rifle. Several manufactur-
ers provide them in AR
platforms, and just about
everybody makes a .22
variant of their bolt-action
rifles including the popu-
lar Ruger Precision Rifle.
Having a .22 version
B
of your
serious
shooter
allows for
inexpen-
sive prac-
tice. You
Rod
can work
Carpenter
on firearm
manipu-
lation, positional shoot-
ing and trigger control for
pennies compared to the
price of centerfire ammo.
Working with a .22 is
also a good way to cure
any flinching that devel-
ops from a steady diet
of full-power loads. One
well-known African
hunter uses a .375 H&H
for all of his hunting. He
isn’t shy about admitting
that the recoil isn’t pleas-
ant. Every year before the
hunting season begins, he
spends some quality time
with his .22, works up to a
7x57 and only just before
the season begins does he
begin shooting his .375.
From the looks of his tro-
phy room, it appears to
work for him.
The ammunition for the
.22 long rifle is as diverse
as the firearms that shoot
it. Remington, Aquila
and several others make
subsonic (read “quiet”)
rounds for inoffensive
shooting. Often they are
very accurate. Remington
Thunderbolts and similar
provide cheap plinking.
If you like to shoot teeny,
tiny groups, then Eley is
for you. Are you a speed
demon? CCI COPPER-22
is advertised at 1800 feet
per second.
Whatever your shoot-
ing needs, there is a .22
out there for you. Get out
and buy one (or another
one) today. Your spouse
will understand.
We welcome your
thoughts at shootingthe-
breezebme@gmail.com.
Rod Carpenter is a
husband, father and
hunting fool.
Balance, fitness, flexibility
Tai chi classes
grow from group
focused on serving
older adults
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Tai chi, an ancient Chinese
tradition, is a graceful form
of exercise that is growing in
popularity in Grant County.
Krish Hamilton has been
teaching the “Tai Chi Moving
for Better Balance” program
at the John Day and Prairie
City senior centers for the past
year.
The classes are available
for free at John Day Senior
Center on Mondays following
the 12-1 p.m. lunch services
and on Thursdays before
lunch and at Prairie City
Senior Center after the 12-1
p.m luncheon on Wednesdays.
Tai chi is a low-impact
exercise, making it a good fit
for all ages and abilities.
Hamilton said the move-
ments can be adapted for peo-
ple sitting in a chair or wheel-
chair, standing while grabbing
a chair or just standing.
Tai chi is a noncompetitive
martial art providing gentle
physical exercise. It has been
shown to improve balance,
control, fitness and flexibility
and to reduce the risk of falls
in older people.
Hamilton said the body can
“freeze up” with age and less
activity, but the good news is
that adding movement, such
as tai chi, can reverse that.
She recently led a group
of about 12 in a demonstra-
tion at the June 15 Grant
County Family Health Fair in
John Day with people of all
ages getting into the flowing
motions.
The idea for the tai chi
classes, which have been
ongoing for the past two
years, grew out of a local
community
partnership
called Older Adult and Vul-
nerable Population Collab-
orative, a group that meets
monthly to share resources to
assist Grant County residents.
Family nurse practitioner
Nora Healey of Strawberry
Wilderness
Community
Clinic established OVPC
with help from co-coordina-
tor Dani Jones, who is a cer-
tified medical assistant and
community health worker
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Krish Hamilton, left, leads a group in tai chi at the Grant County Family Health Fair at the
fairgrounds pavilion June 14 in John Day.
with
the
local clinic,
and
Rod
Harwood
from Pend-
leton,
an
older adult
Nora Healey, b e h a v i o r a l
family nurse specialist.
practiioner
Healey
established
OVPC with the idea of creat-
ing better lines of communi-
cation with older adults.
She also wanted to explore
ways to improve the health
and well-being of other area
residents.
Healey said their mission
statement is: “We’re peo-
ple passionate about meeting
the unique needs of under-
served individuals in our
communities.”
This can include older
adults, people with disabili-
ties, people with mental ill-
ness, children and homeless
people, she said.
Healey said her idea for
OVPC began two years ago
when she recognized the
growing need to support
caregivers who are helping
those with dementia.
Workshops for caregiv-
ers, including family mem-
bers, were set up in June of
2017 at Valley View Assisted
Living Facility John Day and
Blue Mountain Care Center
in Prairie City with about 40
attending.
Now the group covers a
myriad of topics.
Jones said their June
meeting included a presenta-
tion about power of attorney
and guardianship.
She said agencies gather
at the meetings and brain-
storm ideas to help the older
population and others in
need. For example, a People
Mover representative came
up with the idea to provide
free transportation for seniors
to tai chi classes.
If someone has an idea for
a project, Healey said, they are
encouraged to share it at the
meeting where the group can
discuss resources and ways to
get things off the ground.
She gave an example of
having older adults read to
children, with interaction
between the two generations.
There have been any-
where from five to 15 attend-
ing the meetings.
“We’re shooting for 40,”
Healey said.
Harwood, who works for
Greater Oregon Behavioral
Health, Inc., and the Older
Adult Behavioral Health Ini-
tiative, said his travels include
eight counties.
“Part of my job is to build
better collaboration,” he said.
“There are 10,000 people
hitting (age) 65 everyday in
this country,” he said. “In Ore-
gon, we recognize that that
population is growing.”
He said, although peo-
ple and agencies interact and
coordinate with each other
and think they know what
other community stakehold-
ers can or will do, it helps to
sit down and share resources.
People can “team together”
and identify gaps and address
needs.
Harwood said he can also
provide education, workforce
training and set up or help
with training meetings.
He helped Healey set
up the dementia support
workshop.
Tai chi is just one of the
successes from the group.
Over the past two years,
the program has received
grant funding, including
$3,000 from the Blue Moun-
tain Healthcare Foundation
and $8,000 from the Ore-
gon Office of Rural Health.
Last fall, the group received
a $10,000 grant from the Ore-
gon Community Foundation.
OVPC also held fundrais-
ers and received in-kind dona-
tions, such as the senior cen-
ters providing free space for
the tai chi classes.
Healey said she’d like
to see more involvement in
OVPC.
“We’re a senior commu-
nity, whether people realize
it or not,” she said, but added
they also want to address the
“big mental health crisis in
the area,” as well as others in
need.
She said collaborating is
key.
“The more manpower you
have, the better, and we need
the help,” she said. “It’s nice to
have other people involved.”
OVPC meets 10-11 a.m.
on the third Monday of each
month at the Department of
Human Services conference
room at 725 W. Main Street in
John Day.
For more information
about OVPC, email ovpc@
bluemountainhospital.org.
The current tai chi classes
will continue through the end
of July then start back up Sept.
18 through Dec. 12 in Prai-
rie City, and Sept. 17 through
Dec. 13 in John Day.
For more information, call
the Prairie City Senior Cen-
ter at 541-820-4100 or the
John Day Senior Center at
541-575-1825.
Coach Howard back at the John Day Swim Team helm
Team competes
at Prineville
Invitational Swim
Meet, Lakeview
Meet
JOHN DAY SWIM
TEAM SCHEDULE
July 12-14: Hi-Desert Swim
Meet in Burns
July 19-21: John Day Swim
Meet
July 26-28: District Swim
Meet
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Sabrina Howard of Prai-
rie City has returned as
head coach
of the John
Day Swim
Team.
“It’s my
heart, and
where my
passion is,”
John Day
she said.
Swim
Team
Howard
head
coach
was
head
Sabrina
coach of the
Howard
team in 2016
and 2017,
and was assistant coach in
2015.
This year, she is also
the Gleason Pool manager,
overseeing lifeguards, swim
lessons, recreational swim-
ming and all the activities at
the pool.
Howard comes from a
family of swimmers. Grow-
ing up in California, her
dad and grandpa were both
Olympic trial swimmers.
It’s not just an important
life skill, she said.
“It’s a pretty amazing
sport,” she said. “When
you’re in the water, you’re
at one with your team — it’s
a family.”
Contributed photo
Members of the John Day Swim Team show off their medals
Monday, June 24, which were earned at the June 21-23
Prineville Meet. From left: Jack Strong, Syris Workman,
Cayden Howard, Chet Workman and Colbie Howard.
She added, “For being an
individual sport, the camara-
derie that comes with swim-
ming is like none other. To
see the growth over time is
an amazing thing to watch.”
The John Day team com-
peted at their first event
June 21-23 at the Prineville
Invitational Swim Meet.
Besides
their
Cas-
cade East District teams,
Prineville,
Burns
and
Lakeview, the team battled
against year-round swim
teams, including Redmond,
Bend and Klamath Falls.
Medaling
at
the
Prineville
Meet
were
Jack Strong, Syris Work-
man, Cayden Howard,
Chet Workman and Colbie
Howard.
First in the district stand-
ings for the boys are Strong
(13-14 division) for the
100-meter freestyle and 50
freestyle, Andrew Hunt (13-
14) for the 100 butterfly and
Danner May (8 and under)
for the 25 butterfly.
On the girls side, first
in the district standings are
Sierra May (11-12) for the
100 freestyle and the 50
breaststroke and Morgan
Walker (11-12) for the 50
butterfly.
The team competed at
the Lakeview Swim Meet
on June 28-30, and results
will be released when they
are available.
There are 41 swimmers
on the team, and 21 com-
peted in Prineville — all
age 14 and under.
Howard said she hopes
to have her older swimmers
competing at other events if
their summer work sched-
ules will allow for it.
The coach said that in
the week after the competi-
tion they look at any “DQ”
slips
(disqualifications)
they received so the swim-
mers know where they went
wrong and how to improve.
“We take a negative
and turn it into a positive
by making it a lesson and
teaching tool to better them-
selves and their swim,” she
said.
She said the benefits
of joining the swim team
include
“conditioning,
socialization and better-
ing their life skill of aquatic
awareness.”
Gleason Pool will be
especially busy Friday-Sun-
day, July 19-21, for their
home meet and Friday-Sun-
day, July 26-28, for the Dis-
trict Championships.
The event is expected to
be a boost to the local econ-
omy with travelers staying
in the area for the events.
“I would encourage the
community to come out and
support them,” she said.
“The cap is 250 swimmers
— that is a lot of families.”