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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2020)
SPORTS Blue Mountain Eagle A8 Wednesday, July 22, 2020 SHOOTING THE BREEZE Caught with your pants down H unting (like life) is 90% being in the right place at the right time. Of course, it takes skill, discipline, continual training, but nothing can take the place of standing in the exact right location when luck comes to call. Of course, when that does happen you need to be prepared or you may just miss out. Many years ago, a friend of mine and I were hunting elk in the mountains. We hiked and hiked all morning hoping to get a shot at a bull as that is what we had tags for. Upon crest- ing a summit overlooking a small bunch of trees, we stopped to glass before proceeding. Biology being what it is, I felt the call, and so I leaned Old Reliable up against a tree and took a few steps away to get some privacy. No sooner had Dale Valade I unzipped my fly and passed the point of no return when my buddy exclaims, “There’s a bull!” Trying to hurriedly finish taking a leak, without frantically zipping up the family jewels in the fly of my pants while grasping for a rifle that I conveniently left out of reach, led to missing our only chance at a bull. I never got a look at him, nor did I see a bull elk the rest of the season. I’ve seen cheechakos and pros alike neglect to remove scope caps, forget to load their rifles or omit to disengage the safety in the heat of the moment. I’ve heard of a fella who get so excited that he ejected all of the cartridges from his .30-30 without once touching the trigger. Maybe just a lit- tle buck fever. Another tethered their .270 to a pack animal with such amazing efficacy that when he jumped a big buck just off the trail it took him several min- utes to get it free and into action, and of course, by then the buck was long gone. Frequently, vari- able-power scopes get turned to the maximum set- ting in anticipation of a long-range shot only to rob us of a 40-yard shot at a moving animal who doesn’t permit us the necessary time for any scope adjustments. Then there are the dudes who left their ammo at home or, worse yet, brought the wrong caliber. The list literally is endless and gets longer each year. Then are those times where everything just works to come together, and campfire lore becomes reality. The pictures and taxidermy stand idyllic, as it were, as a sort of monument to correct choices meets proper preparation. And it is worth every moment of work that it took to get there. Who’s to say which outcome it will be each time we take to the woods? Moral of the story is this: All the fancy gadgets and preparation in the world are for not if you aren’t ready at the moment of truth. When that moment comes, don’t get caught with your pants down. Want to sound off? Write to us at shootingthe- breezebme@gmail.com! Dale Valade is a local country gent with a love for the outdoors, handloading, hunting and shooting. Contributed photo/Marissa Williams The Lady Prospectors 18U softball team gathers for a team photo Sunday. The girls took third overall at the North American Fastpitch Asso- ciation Summer Nationals Tournament in Newberg last weekend. Lady Pros take third at national tourney in Newberg By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle TEAM ROSTER When COVID-19 canceled the Lady Prospectors’ softball season, head coach Zach Wil- liams told the girls, no matter what happened, he would keep trying to salvage some sem- blance of a season. As soon as the fields opened up in June, Williams put together a team of mostly Grant Union girls and got them to commit to showing up for practice. The perseverance paid off last weekend when the 18U Lady Pros took third at the North American Fastpitch Association Summer Nationals in Newberg. Out of the six tournaments, he registered the team to com- pete in, Newberg’s NAFA tour- ney, which was the only tour- nament the girls were able to play in, the rest canceled due to COVID-19. “In the end, it was short and sweet,” he said. “But we ended it on our terms.” Williams said he tried to put together a team of only Grant Grant Union La Grande Taylor Allen, going to Mt. Hood Community College in the fall to play softball Ali Brock, going to Universi- ty of Montana in the fall to play softball Shaine Madden, going to Columbia Basin College in the fall to play softball Jayce Seavert, going to Or- egon Tech in the fall to play softball Harli Grove Grace Neer Riley Robertson Kara Gooderham, currently an Eastern Oregon Universi- ty student and soccer player Paige Weaver Raney Anderson Union girls, which, in years past, is what he has always done with the older players, and they treat the summer league as a high school softball season. He said he could not get the numbers this year. Williams said, in addition to seven Grant Union players, he brought four high school players from La grande High School. The four-day national tour- nament kicked off Thursday. The Lady Pros won both of their pool games, shutting out Northwest Mayhem 8-0 and besting South Valley Storm 4-3 on a walk-off by Jacee Seavert, a La Grande High School graduate who will play softball for Oregon Tech in the fall. As a result of winning their first two games, Williams said the Lady Pros were seeded first in their pool and placed in the gold bracket. He said, in a 16-team tour- ney, the top eight teams place in a gold bracket, and the bot- tom half place in silver, or platinum, brackets. The girls defeated the Redeemer Lutheran Church Come Worship with us at John Day Valley Mennonite Church 24/7 Inspirational Christian Broadcasting Meeting every Sunday at Mt. Vernon Grange Hall Tune into KSPL 98.1 FM Sunday School ...............................9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship ............10:50 a.m. For more information, call 541 620-0340 Pastor Leland Smucker Everyone Welcome • 541-932-2861 P rairie B aptist C hurch 238 N. McHaley St., Prairie City Sunday School (all ages) .......9:00 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship .10:30 a.m. Awana (Oct.-Apr.) ................3:00 p.m. Youth Group .........................5:30 p.m. St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church Corner of S Canyon Blvd and SW 2 nd Mon. - Fri. Mass - 12:05 pm Saturday Mass - 5:00 pm Sunday Mass - 9:00 am Holy Days Mass: Noon & 6 pm Confession: Saturday 4:00-4:45 pm Anytime by appointment 541-974-8638 St. Anne Monument - 2nd & 4th Sundays at 12:30 pm Office Hours Monday - Friday 9 am - 12 Noon Sunday Worship • 9AM 2 Corinthians 5:17 Every Sunday in the L.C. Community Center (Corner of Second & Allen) Contact Paster Ed Studtmann at 541-421-3888 • Begins at 4:00pm FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Sunday School ...................... 9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship .. 10:50 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship .. 10:50 a.m. No Mid-week Services Pastor Jesse Gosnell 300 W. Main, John Day 541-575-1355 627 SE Hillcrest, John Day st 1 Sunday Worship/Communion ..................10am 3 rd Sunday Worship/Communion/Potluck ...4:30pm 2 nd , 4 th & 5 th Sunday Worship .........................10am Wednesday Evening Bible Study .....................6pm For information: 541-575-2348 MT. VERNON PRESBYTERIAN Community Church SUNDAY SERVICE..............9 am SUNDAY SERVICE ...........9 am 541-932-4800 EVERYONE WELCOME (541) 575-1326 johndayUMC@gmail.com 126 NW Canton, John Day Food Pantry Friday 3-4PM Like us on Facebook! FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH 541-820-3696 www.prairie-baptist-church.com Pastor David Hoeffner Pastor Keith DeHart JOHN DAY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Northwest Thunder, 5-0, but the Diamond Bandits shut out the Lady Pros 10-0 in their quarterfinal game. With their backs against the wall, the Lady Pros had to step up and win Saturday. “We had to win our way back to play for the champion- ship,” Williams said. The girls bested the Dia- mondbacks 7-3 in their only game Saturday. Sunday morn- ing, the girls handily defeated the Cascade Christian Chal- lengers, 6-2. Needing one more win to play for the championship, the girls fell to the South Valley Storm, 13-3, taking third place overall. Williams said it was good to have all of the girls back on the field before moving on to fall sports or college. He said four of the girls on the team would play college softball in the fall and another plays soccer while the other five will be returning to their high school teams next season. “We had a great time,” he said. “And I think everyone got better.” Sunday School ..................... 9:45 am Sunday Worship ...................... 11 am Fox Community Church ............. 3 pm Sunday Evening Bible Talk ......... 6 pm Saturday Men’s Study ............... 6 pm Full Gospel- Come Grow With Us 541-575-1202 Church 311 NE Dayton St, John Day Pastor Al Altnow Cornerstone Christian Fellowship 139 N.E. D AYTON S TREET , J OHN D AY 541-575-2180 Sunday Worship Service 10 am Sunday Youth Group 3 pm Thursday Celebrate Recovery 6 pm Pastor Levi Manitsas cornerstonejohnday@gmail.com ccfjd.org CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE Sunday School .......................... 9:30 am Sunday Worship Service......... 10:45 am Sunday Evening Service ...........6:00 pm Children & Teen Activities SMALL GROUPS CALL FOR MORE INFO Weekdays: Sonshine Christian School St. Thomas Episocopal Church Join us on Facebook live Sunday 10am Like us on Facebook! Pastor Randy Johnson 521 E. Main • John Day • 541-575-1895 www.johndaynazarene.com 59357 Hwy 26 Mt. Vernon Seventh-Day Adventist Church SATURDAY SERVICES Celebration of Worship JOHN DAY 110 Valley View Dr. 541-575-1216 Head Elder ..........................541-575-2914 Bible Classes (all ages) .................9:30 am Worship ...........................................11 am LONG CREEK E. Main Street 541-421-3033 Head Elder .................................421-3468 Bible Classes (all ages) ......................2 pm Worship .............................................3 pm Jr./Sr. High Youth Connection Sundays 5:30pm Youth: 0-6th Grade Midweek Service Thursdays 6:30pm Youth: 0-6th Grade Wednesdays at 6:30pm Overcomer’s Outreach Mondays at 6pm at LWCC A Christ-Centered, 12-Step Recovery Support Group Pastor Sharon Miller 541-932-4910 www.livingwordcc.com S195789-1
