SPORTS/OUTDOORS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
A11
Weights program provides an outlet
Exercise also provides
mental health benefits
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
Grant Union’s weightlifting class works on a variety of exercises, from left: teacher Jason Miller and
seniors Will Carpenter and Sophie Brockway.
who participate in the program
can build their core strength and
condition themselves to prevent
injuries when doing the specific
training involved with a partic-
ular sport.
“It’s been great for our stu-
dents to get stronger and more
explosive and be more comfort-
able within that setting, and I
think the advantage for the ath-
letics program has been big,”
Miller said.
Senior Jordan Hall, who par-
ticipates in basketball, football
and track, said with the impacts
of COVID-19 on sports, he real-
ized he was out of shape when
he resumed training for sports.
Hall said the combination
of practicing at open gym and
conditioning in the weights pro-
gram has helped in getting back
into shape.
“I definitely took a break
from everything, and I got out of
shape, but you gotta start some-
where and work out everyday,”
Hall said.
Hall added that weightlifting
also helps him relieve stress.
The Oregon School Activ-
ities Association will have
On accuracy
E
By Mateusz Perkowski
EO Media Group
Contributed photo/ODFW
A bill in the Oregon House would make the landowner preference program for hunting
tags permanent.
gram was developed in the first place.”
Landowners who don’t hunt can trans-
fer some or all of their preference tags to
others, depending on the sex and species
of big game, he said.
In the early years of the program, nego-
tiations over how it would work necessi-
tated sunset dates to update the rules, Cot-
tam said. Though ODFW now thinks the
program should be made permanent, it
can still be revisited during future legis-
lative sessions.
“The program seems to be set up
now and working very well,” said Al
Elkins, lobbyist for the Oregon Hunters
Association.
Tags provide compensation for tim-
berland owners, who sustain about $4
million in replanting costs a year from
big game eating seedlings, said Kyle Wil-
liams, forest protection director for the
Oregon Forest & Industries Council.
A large population of elk in Wallowa
County resides primarily on private prop-
erty and causes substantial damage to
cropland and haystacks, said Tom Birk-
maier, a rancher in the area testifying for
the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association.
The landowner preference program
provides ranchers with flexibility, he said.
“It can be used to add revenue for
some farms and ranchers,” Birkmaier
said. “I trade fence work and other ranch
work for these tags.”
Hunter education field day required for youth to hunt as of April 1
2020 temp rule that postponed requirement
due to COVID-19 expires March 31
Youth hunters (age 17 and
younger) will need to fully
complete their hunter educa-
tion certification, including
completing a field day, to hunt
in Oregon on their own tag as
of April 1.
Hunter education classes
and field days were cancelled
or more limited last year due to
COVID-19 restrictions state-
wide. A temporary rule was
approved that postponed the
requirement for youth to attend
a field day class in order to
receive their hunter education
certificate and hunt in 2020.
The rule expires March 31.
Any student who was only
able to complete the online or
workbook portion of the class
in 2020 will need to complete
the field day portion to hunt as
of April 1, including for 2021
spring turkey and spring bear
seasons.
The temporary rule is still
good for hunts from the 2020
season that end by March 31.
To see the latest hunter
education classes and field
days available and register,
visit https://myodfw.com/arti-
cles/hunter-education-class-
es-field-days. More classes
and field days are being added
regularly.
ODFW offers two types of
hunter education classes: con-
ventional that is all in-class-
room instruction, or online that
students can complete mostly
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
541-575-1113
24 hrs/7 days wk
debbie.ausmus@
countryfinancial.com
Eagle file photo
Jaime Vandehey of Canyon
City shoots a pistol at the
hunter education field day
at the law enforcement gun
range in 2019. ODFW instruc-
tor Mark Boss is standing
nearby supervising.
independently, except for the
in-person field day. Find a list
of approved online courses
at https://myodfw.com/arti-
cles/hunter-education-class-
es-and-field-days-schedule.
ODFW has taken a num-
ber of steps to protect both
students and instructors par-
ticipating in classes/field days
since the pandemic began.
Class size is restricted to 25
students/parents and then bro-
ken up into smaller groups at
arrival. Social distancing is
maintained, and all students
and volunteer instructors
are required to wear a mask
during the class. Hand sani-
tizer is available, and equip-
ment and materials are wiped
down regularly.
Serving Eastern Oregon since 1959!
Heppner
Condon
Boardman
(541) 256-1200
(541) 481-9474
www.MurraysDrug.com
S228521-1
are usually
quite gen-
erous in
size and the
informal
rests hast-
ily assumed
Dale Valade
from field
positions
with a quickened heart rate
are not such as to permit tak-
ing much advantage of hair
splitting accuracy. Simply
put, if you can hit a basket-
ball from 400 yards away,
that’s likely “good enough”
for hunters as that’s roughly
the size of the vital area on
their intended quarry. Most
any rifle will shoot at least
that well with proper loads
and quality optics.
In an article I recently
read, the aforementioned
Hathcock could rely upon
1.5 MOA groups from his
sniper rifle and match grade
ammo during his distin-
guished service in Vietnam.
Many today would scoff at
such a setup claiming that’s
nowhere near good enough
for such employ. However,
even that kind of accuracy
will land all of its bullets into
a 12 inch circle clear out to
800 yards away — twice as
far as our aforementioned
hypothetical hunters plan to
shoot.
Oh, it’s cool to post pic-
tures of amazingly small
groups, but after initial load
development is complete,
shooting groups becomes
just another exercise in
ego stroking. All shooters
can benefit from putting in
practical range time rather
than only shooting groups.
Can you keep your bullets
inside of a steel plate the
size of your target’s vital
area? How about from field
positions?
What’s your standard
for accuracy? Write to us
at shootingthebreezebme@
gmail.com!
Dale Valade is a local
country gent with a love for
the outdoors, handloading,
hunting and shooting.
Mendy
Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
Pharmacy • Hallmark Cards • Gifts • Liquor Store
(541) 676-9158
veryone fancies
themselves at least
a distant relative of
William Tell, Annie Oakley
or Carlos Hathcock. Truth
be told it’s good to push our-
selves to always improve
and progress in our craft.
This can be maddening
when we aren’t seeing the
kind of results we expect.
Case in point, the accurate
rifle.
Colonel Townsend
Whelen, a hunter and
shooter and so much more
from days gone by, is often
quoted as having said,
“Only accurate rifles are
interesting.” True enough,
there is little joy to be had
from throwing shots that
do not meet their intended
mark. While nostalgia or
aesthetics may be a driving
force behind firearms acqui-
sition for some, I would say
most, if not all, shooters
agree with the colonel. But
standards can vary beyond
that principle.
Technology allows us
to reach farther and faster
with each advancement, but
the one thing that cannot be
bought, perhaps being most
pivotal, is skill. No matter
what newfangled easymaker
is devised, the fundamentals
of marksmanship are still
the most important variables
in the shooting equation.
Simply put, if the nut behind
the bolt wiggles loose, then
the rest of it is all in vain.
Our standards quite fre-
quently are spurned by our
peer group, directly or indi-
rectly. Whether our good
buddies or mentors are
fine with inch and a half
groups, or inversely demand
sub-minute of angle accu-
racy, we are likely to fol-
low suit. If you’re a com-
petition shooter, smaller
groups mean better scores
means more money. There
is no room for complacency.
But if you’re a plinker or
a hunter, bug hole sized
groups are frankly a use-
less endeavor. Our targets
Monday - Thursday
7am-
6pm
Monday
- Thursday
7am-
6pm
Friday
8am
- 5pm
Friday
8am
-
Mendy Sharpe 5pm
FNP
S226605-1
Blue Mountain Eagle
an executive board meeting
on Feb. 8, which will give an
update on the school sports
season, but Hall hopes to get a
chance to play, no matter how
the season looks.
“It’s my last year, and I
hope we can do something
that makes this year even bet-
ter than the last three,” Hall
said. “Even with everything
going on, I just want this year
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
Bill would make Oregon landowner
hunting tag program permanent
After 38 years, Oregon wildlife reg-
ulators want to make permanent a pro-
gram that provides hunting tags to land-
owners who provide habitat for elk, deer
and antelope.
The landowner preference program
was first implemented in 1982 and has
since been modified and extended sev-
eral times, but the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife now believes it’s time
to eliminate its 2022 sunset date.
The agency has asked lawmakers to
permanently implement the landowner
preference program by passing House
Bill 2068, which is supported by orga-
nizations representing farmers, ranchers,
hunters and timber interests.
“We have a lot of members who rely
on landowner preference program. It has
been an excellent program for our folks.
Farmers and ranchers provide exten-
sive amounts of fish and wildlife habitat
across the state,” said Mary Anne Coo-
per, vice president of public policy for the
Oregon Farm Bureau.
The number of controlled hunt tags
that the public can draw for big game is
limited each year, which highlighted the
lack of tags specific to parcels of private
property, said Doug Cottam, ODFW’s
wildlife division administrator.
“That creates the possibility that land-
owners who are providing habitat for
those animals may not be able to hunt on
their own property,” Cottam said. “That’s
the reason the landowner preference pro-
Grant Union senior Jordyn
Young lifts dumbbells, which
also helps her relieve stress.
S228518-1
139101
Without sports, Grant
Union’s weights and condition-
ing program has provided an
outlet for exercise.
Grant Union Teacher Jason
Miller said the program has
been even more important this
school year.
“I think the kids who can
participate in weights and con-
ditioning, and any vocational
activity in general, can help
relieve stress and get around
and move,” Miller said. “It’s
been huge for the mental
aspect of the kids during these
times.”
Senior Jordyn Young, who
plays softball and volleyball,
said the class has helped her
maintain strength, but also
helped her mental health as the
program helps relieve stress.
Miller said different sports
require different types of
focused training, but athletes
to shine out.”
Senior Sophie Brockway,
who wrestles, said the the
gym program provides a great
opportunity for conditioning,
but the mental health benefits
have been just as important.
She said she appreciated
the time to talk and grow with
classmates in the program,
especially with that opportu-
nity being absent with the lack
of sports.
Hall said one of his favor-
ite aspects of the program has
been the opportunity to work-
out with other students and
learn more about other people.
“It’s also for kids who don’t
participate in sports that just
want to learn those skills that
they can apply in their live-
lihood when they’re older,”
Miller said. “It’s fun to see
these kids who don’t usually
interact a bunch, to push and
root for each other to get the
new max or get the last few
reps. It’s big because it’s team
building even when you’re not
a part of the team. It’s building
school spirit and that pride in
what we do.”