Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Knowles wrestles lead at Cheyenne
Frontier Days
By Johna Cravens for
Cheyenne Frontier Days
CHEYENNE, WY—
Oregon cowboy Blake
Knowles could secure his
third trip to the Wrangler
National Finals Rodeo
(NFR) after taking the over-
all lead in steer wrestling at
the sixth performance of the
119th Cheyenne Frontier
Days Rodeo.
Knowles, who’s cur-
rently ranked ninth in the
world standings, had a total
time of 21.3 seconds on
two steers after stopping
the clock in 11.7 seconds
on Thursday. He is plac-
ing fifth in the first round
with a 9.6. He is out of the
money in the second round,
but still stands to win a pile
of money. His consistency
should put him in good
position in Sunday’s final
championship round.
The ranch-raised cow-
boy still works on Healy
Ranch near Heppner, Ore.,
when he’s not traveling
across the country with
his cousin Trevor Knowles
competing in rodeos. Trev-
or is currently seventh over-
all at Cheyenne and 11th
in the world championship
standings.
Neither cowboy has
The View from the Green
Over the Tee Cup
won a championship at
Cheyenne. Blake’s father
Butch Knowles, the 1987
NFR Champion in saddle
bronc riding and a four-time
qualifier in that event hasn’t
won a Cheyenne champion-
ship either. Blake could be
the first in his accomplished
rodeo family to win a pres-
tigious Cheyenne Frontier
Days buckle.
Sandford treks to Wyoming to compete
for rodeo queen title
Ione student Ivy Sand-
ford calls it “the trip of a
lifetime” when she trav-
eled with close to 30 ro-
deo contestants and family
traveling to Rock Springs,
Ivy Sandford
WY for the National High
School Rodeo Finals July
10-19.
“This portion of high
school rodeo is like any
other; you have to prac-
tice, practice, practice,”
she says. “Outfits to work
out, write a speech and
memorize it, study the Na-
tional High School Rodeo
Association rule book over
and over again, and ride
every day. Then you get to
present all you have learned
and know to a panel of six
judges and an audience of
peers and fans.”
“Talk about stressful,”
adds Sandford. “I felt like
it was my first time roping
in front of large crowd; total
nerves”
Sandford competed
against 44 other young
ladies representing their
states or provinces and
Australian High School
Rodeo teams in a nine-
day pageant. Competitions
included photos, outfits,
fundraising, speeches, in-
terview practices, written
test knowledge, modeling
and horsemanship.
“We left the Wednes-
day before the pageant with
horse trailer packed to the
top and the whole family
on one of the hottest days of
the month headed for Rock
Springs,” Sandford recalls.
“We arrived early morning
Thursday and started the
process with all the other
contestants for check-in.”
Sandford says she got
to work right away, intro-
ducing herself and getting
acquainted with several of
the girls right away.
“I also got to see sever-
al families and queens that
were competing again that
we met the year my older
sister competed there,” she
says.
The pageant started
bright and early Friday
morning with roll call and
orientation for the contes-
tants, as well as the offi-
cial schedule for the week
and draw numbers for the
events. That afternoon the
girls participated in horse-
manship.
“Then, after 45 of us
running through the arena,
we had the first set of in-
terviews that evening,”
says Sandford. “The next
morning, I was up for my
interview, so my family
and I went to the Western
Trade Show afterwards and
I signed autographs, met
sponsors, and shopped, of
course.”
That evening they all
headed back to the college
theatre for the modeling
and speech portions of the
competitions.
“I got to wear my silver
leather dress,” she says. “So
many gorgeous dresses in
one room, and about every
color you could imagine.”
That event was fol-
lowed by team photos,
mandatory meetings, then
onto our the impromptu
question session, in which
Sandford placed sixth out
of the 45.
“I got to act out being
the rodeo announcer of the
first performance of the Na-
tional High School Rodeo,”
she recalls. “Right up my
alley!”
Sandford and the other
contestants were in charge
of representing each of their
states or provinces with
their flags being carried by
a rodeo contestant and each
queen contestant making
the queen run for four of
the 12 rodeo performances.
“One of these run-ins
was State Pride Day!” re-
calls Sandford. “Well, let
me tell you, Hope Lutrell,
my teammate, and I dressed
and decorated to the hilt in
Oregon State colors. I even
made the front page of the
local newspaper with my
football jersey and foam
finger.”
A few days of down
time still had optional
events, says Sandford, in-
cluding Special Kids Ro-
deo, performance awards,
light rifle, trap shooting
contest, and a scholarship
auction; Oregon even won
the volleyball tournament
to be National Champions.
“It is a full week of
events, rodeo events, spon-
sors, businesses, western
heritage and our scholar-
ship opportunities,” says
Sandford. “We met so many
nice people and found out
so much more about high
school rodeo and the op-
portunities out there for us
after high school.”
Sandford said her par-
ents and sister were very
supportive throughout the
crazy and hectic events.
“I would have been lost
without them there,” she
says. “My Dad and sister
helped care for and exercise
the horse, and Mom made
sure outfits were ready and
hair was done. She also was
the official photographer
for us. It truly does take a
team to be successful!”
Sandford finished in
the top 25 and says she
now has friends all over the
U.S. and Canada. She adds
that she now wants nothing
more than to “improve her
skills and abilities to repre-
sent Oregon to the highest
level.”
“I look forward to my
year as Miss Oregon High
School Rodeo and hope-
fully competing at nationals
next year,” finishes Sand-
ford. “Our first rodeo is
Labor Day in September in
Condon. I am very excited
to be there and see all my
teammates. What a great
honor to hold this title and
I look forward to every
minute of it!”
Slottee memorial scholarship applications
available
Applications are now
available for the Elizabeth
Slottee Memorial Scholar-
ship. They are available on-
line on the Morrow County
school website. The dead-
line for these to be turned
in is Sept. 20, 2015. Ques-
tions, call Bill Rietmann,
541-422-7296 or Sharon
Harrison, 541-989-8496.
The Slottee Memorial
Scholarship is awarded an-
nually to a junior, senior or
graduate student at an ac-
credited four-year college
or university.
The scholarship is
given annually in order of
priority, with first priority
given to students major-
ing or minoring in music
and second priority going
to students who have been
Pioneer Memorial Clinic
For Any Morrow County Students
- THREE
accepted into a school of
education. Criteria used in
awarding this scholarship
include scholarship, leader-
ship, citizenship, financial
need, and probability of
success in the students cho-
sen field.
All Deadlines:
5 P.M.
MONDAY
The ladies of Willow
Creek Country Club said
the weather was “perfect”
for the 18 women who
participated in the July 28
ladies’ play day.
Low gross of the field
went to Nancy Propheter,
with low net to Jan Paus-
tian. Least putts saw a tie
between Betty Burns and
Shirley Martin.
For flight A, Virgin-
ia Grant took low gross.
Low net was a tie between
Pat Edmundson and Eva
Kilkenny, while least putts
went to Corol Mitchell.
Kristi Smalley had the long
drive.
For flight B, Pat Dough-
erty had low gross. Jan
Paustian had the long drive
and Shirley Martin KP.
For flight C, Kathy
Martin took low gross.
First low net went to Sharon
Harrison and second low
net to Karen Haguewood.
Judy Harris had least putts
and Karen Haguewood the
long drive.
Chip-ins were Pat Ed-
mundson, 13; Shirley Mar-
tin, 18; and Nancy Proph-
eter, 15. Birdies were Vir-
ginia Grant, 10, and Pat
Edmundson, 13.
Kirk & Robinson
Ranch joins American
Angus Association
Kirk & Robinson
Ranch, Heppner, is a new
member of the American
Angus Association, reports
Richard Wilson, interim
CEO of the national breed
organization headquartered
in Saint Joseph, MO.
The American Angus
Association, with nearly
25,000 active adult and ju-
nior members, is the largest
beef breed association in
the world. Its computerized
records include detailed in-
formation on more than 18
million registered Angus.
The association records
ancestral information and
keeps production records
and genomic data on indi-
vidual animals to develop
selection tools for its mem-
bers.
The programs and ser-
vices of the association and
its entities—Angus Genet-
ics Inc., Angus Produc-
tions Inc., Certified Angus
Beef LLC and the Angus
Foundation—help mem-
bers to advance the beef
cattle business by selecting
the best animals for their
herds and marketing quality
genetics for the beef cattle
industry and quality beef
for consumers.
Electric co-op
announces notice of
nominations
Columbia Basin Elec-
tric Cooperative has an-
nounces that nominations
are open for three director’s
positions in zones one and
seven of the CBEC cover-
age area.
All positions are for
three-year terms. Zone 1
covers territory served by
the co-op and lying west
of the Morrow-Gilliam
County line and north of
the Township line dividing
Townships 4 South and 5
South.
Zone 7 includes co-op
coverage area lying south of
the Township line dividing
Townships 4 South and 5
South and lying West of the
Morrow-Gilliam County
line.
The members of the
nominating committee are
Paul Bates, Condon, for
Zone 1, 541-384-5056, and
Mary Mountain, Fossil, for
Zone 7, 541-763-2070.
The nominating com-
mittee will accept nomina-
tions through August 31.
Nominees must be
members of Columbia Ba-
sin Electric Cooperative,
Inc. and they must reside in,
and receive electrical ser-
vice in, the zone in which
they will be running.
Chamber lunch
meeting
The next lunch meeting of the Heppner Chamber of
Commerce will be an all entities report on Thursday, Aug.
6, at noon in Heppner City Hall conference room. Also
at the meeting, the Heppner Chamber Board of Directors
will go over a three-year strategic plan it has been work-
ing to develop.
Cost of lunch is $10; Murray’s will cater. Chamber
lunch attendees are asked to RSVP at 541-676-5536 no
later than the Wednesday before to guarantee a lunch.
FREE SPORTS PHYSICALS
Tuesday, Aug. 11 th , 1:30 to 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 13 th, 1:30 to 5 p.m.
If exam is not done during these two days
there will be a $34 charge.
Pioneer Memorial Clinic is located at
130 Thompson Avenue, Heppner, OR
541-676-5504
Murray’s 19th Annual
Beer & Wine Tasting
Thursday,August20,2015
6:00–10:30PM
MorrowCountyFairgroundsFair
admissionrequired
Price$10.00StarterPack
2drinktickets&takehomeglass
Additionaltickets$5.00each
St.Patrick'sAltarsociety
Award Winning Wines
From all over the World!
Featuringreceiptsfromupcoming"TasteofHeppner"
cookbook.
BBQBeefDinner
-BakedBeans
-Coleslaw
-MonsterCookies
-Drinks (Nonalchoholicdrinksavailable)
$10-Adult
$5-Kids10&under
CometoastLaurieMurrayand
SeanWoodfortheirupcoming
weddingSeptember5th
Be sure to bring lawn chairs!
LiveEntertainment:
JetTeasforthekids
JoeLindsayFamily/Friends:
6:00–8:00 PM
LukeBasileandDakotaBrown:
8:00–10:30 PM