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Wednesday, august 7, 2019
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One summer, one hundred fish
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
When summer break
began, Hermiston High
School social studies teacher
Josh Walker gave himself a
homework assignment:
To catch 100 fish by the
end of the summer.
“It just sounded like a
good number,” said Walker,
41. “I thought it would be
unattainable. I don’t own
a boat, and when you’re
restricted to the shore, you
really limit your results.”
The goal, as it turns out,
is coming along much easier
than Walker initially antici-
pated. He’s already amassed
94 catches this summer so
far — well on his way to
meeting his personal quota
ahead of Monday, Sept. 23,
when summer officially
ends.
“I think I can do it,”
Walker said. “It just started
out as something to do
during the summer.”
When he’s not teach-
ing history to juniors and
seniors at Hermiston High,
he serves as an assistant
pastor at the Victory Bap-
tist Church. When school let
out, he found himself with
more time to focus on his
beloved hobby.
Fishing, Walker said,
became a longstanding tra-
dition ever since he was a
kid growing up along the
Oregon coast.
“Everyone fishes there,”
Walker said. “I fell out of
it for a bit as an adult. But
once I hit my 30s, I started
fishing for steelhead again.”
Since he embarked on
his journey when school
let out on June 14, Walker
has traveled all over Ore-
gon in an effort to complete
his goal. He’s found spots in
Hermiston, Ukiah, Eugene,
Portland, and all along the
Columbia River. So far, he’s
reeled in 68 bass, 24 trout,
and two catfish.
“The Columbia River is
known for its smallmouth
bass,” Walker said. “Pound
for pound, smallmouth bass
have more fight in them
than any other fish. Bass
are very finicky. There’s a
Contributed photo
Josh Walker holds up a bass he caught this summer as he strives to catch 100 fish.
whole technique (to catch-
ing them). It’s fun.”
Walker prefers to catch
and release, and only keeps
his catches if it’s against the
rules and regulations to set
them free again.
“It’s a touchy subject,”
he said. “Some people
want you to keep the bass,
because they’ll eat young
steelhead and salmon. Oth-
ers like to catch and release
because the next person who
catches that same fish in the
Kennison Field gets top marks
heading into fall sports
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston
High
School’s Kennison Field
turns 6 years old this month,
but recent testing showed
that the playing surface is in
pristine condition.
Buzz Turf Synthetic
Turf Testing of Boise per-
formed the annual test on
the facility’s synthetic turf
last month, with the report
reflecting continual good
maintenance since its instal-
lation in 2013.
“Our turf being in
such good shape shows
our school district made
the right choice by buy-
ing quality turf and hiring
the company that we went
through,” Hermiston ath-
letic director Larry Usher
said.
All is good news with
the fall sports season get-
ting under way later this
month.
Football practice begins
Aug. 21, while girls soccer
starts Aug. 26.
According to the report,
the field was tested in des-
ignated areas to measure
shock attenuation. Tes-
ters use what’s called a
G-max test to measure
impact on the field. The
higher the G-max score,
the less impact the field is
absorbing.
The results help deter-
mine if there are any areas
HH File Photo
This undated photo shows the Kennison Field turf and
grandstand at Hermiston High School, which was unveiled
by the Hermiston School District on Aug. 23, 2013.
“We make sure our
field is safe in a
time of heightened
awareness of
injuries.”
Larry Usher, Athletic Director
of concern, and if repair or
replacement is required.
G-max tests must be
below 165 to be considered
safe. Kennison Field passed
with flying colors, testing
out between 103 and 125.
“We make sure our field
is safe in a time of height-
ened awareness of injuries,”
Usher said. “Our field is as
safe as it can be. It graded
out as a new field.”
The company also dis-
tributed crumb rubber fill
in the areas that needed it
to make the field cohesive.
The turf is supported by
thousands of pounds of pul-
verized rubber, which plays
a part in the safety of the
field.
The inspection included
a magnetic sweep of the
field, which removed items
such as bobby pins, safety
pins and track spikes.
The surface also was
cleaned and sanitized.
“People wonder why we
do that when it looks clean,”
Usher said. “There is vomit
and people bleed on it. You
can get staph infections
from the turf. This helps
prevent that.”
There also was some
concern from community
members about the integ-
rity of the field surface
after the Hermiston School
District maintenance staff
cleared more than a foot of
snow off the field in mid-
March. The testing showed
no damage.
“The scores are indica-
tive of the work done by our
grounds crew,” facilities
supervisor Martie McQuain
said in school press release.
“Monthly sweeps of the
field have proven to be a
diligent method to keep the
field in good condition. Our
coaching staff, community
members and visiting teams
have also helped maintain
our field in good condition
by keeping food and drinks
(except for water) off the
field.”
The Bulldogs open their
football season Sept. 6 at
Pasco. Their first home
game is Sept. 13 against
Richland.
The girls soccer team
opens its season Sept. 7
with a home match against
Kamiakin.
Kennison Field also is
used for track, lacrosse and
community events. It also
served as a practice facility
in May for the softball team
so it could get used to play-
ing on an artificial surface
that is used at the 3A state
tournament.
future, is going to catch a
bigger fish.”
Walker keeps his fish-
ing tradition alive and well
in his family — his wife
Sadie and kids Madilyn, 10,
and Colton, 9, tag along for
many of his expeditions.
Walker noted that Colton
caught his very first bass
earlier this summer.
Walker fishes two to four
hours a day, five to six days
a week.
“It’s a great way to stay
active,” he said. “I walk
upwards of eight miles a
day.”
Walker’s record for the
summer so far is seven
bass in one day. He said
that although some days are
successful, others are not.
Occasionally, there are days
where he only hooks one
solitary fish.
“That’s why they call it
fishing, and not catching,”
he joked. “At the beginning
of the summer, there were
days I would go out and not
get anything. Now, I can get
three to four a day. I’d say
I’m getting better.”
Walker documents each
catch on a journal on his
phone, as well as Fish Brain
— an app that he describes as
“Facebook for fishermen.”
Although summer’s end
is still several weeks away,
another obstacle looms in
Walker’s path to comple-
tion — a mission trip to Ire-
land. He’ll take off on Aug.
9, and return home on Aug.
17. It’s over a week’s worth
of time that’ll slow down his
progress.
But Walker remains up
for the challenge.
“You gotta be patient,” he
said. “It’s more than a mat-
ter of just casting. There’s
research. You have to know
the temperature, whether the
water’s going to be moving
or not, and the right loca-
tions. All of that determines
what kind of bait you’re
going to use.”
And Walker still isn’t
through challenging him-
self once he’s completed his
summer goal. He’s already
set a new year’s resolution:
To catch 200 fish by the
end of 2020.
“It’s a good way to enjoy
God’s creation,” Walker
said. “You cast the line out,
and you never know what’s
going to come in.”
Local students to receive
Oregon Hall of Fame scholarships
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Two local student-ath-
letes will receive scholar-
ships from the Oregon Sports
Hall of Fame in September.
Martin Heredia of Herm-
iston, and Veronica Alvarez
Frias of Riverside, are two of
six Oregon student-athletes
who will receive a $3,000
scholarship at the Hall of
Fame induction and banquet
Sept. 24 at the Multnomah
Athletic Club in Portland.
The scholarships are
made possible by contribu-
tions from the MacTarnahan
Family Trust. The recipient
must attend an Oregon col-
lege or university.
Heredia, who will attend
Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity, earned letters in cross-
county and track, and earned
the varsity most improved
award.
Academically, he earned
the Breakfast of Champi-
ons Award and Bulldog Way
Award. He also had partici-
pated in various community
service activities, including
elderly home volunteer, out-
door school and leadership
retreat.
Alvarez Frias, a varsity
cheerleader for four years,
will attend EOU.
She was on the honor
roll for four years, and was
a four-time letter winner and
scholar-athlete award win-
ner. She also has participated
in multiple Red Cross blood
drives, Breakfast with Santa,
Heredia
Frias
Windy River cleanup and
the after-school program.
Students may apply for
the scholarship, or be nom-
inated by a teacher or school
official. Hundreds of appli-
cations were screened by
a committee, according to
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremony Chair
Mike Rose.
“Academic and athletic
achievement score high, but
the tie-breaker is always true
financial need,” Rose wrote
in an email. “It ain’t just
the rich kid who happens to
have good grades and plays
first string.”
Also receiving schol-
arships are Zach and Jack
Folsom of Sheldon High
School; Brinley O’Neill of
North Medford; and Paige
Baker of South Eugene.
Being inducted into the
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
are Kenny Moore, a Uni-
versity of Oregon distance
runner (3-time All-Ameri-
can and Olympian); boxer
Molly McConnell; Ray
Bloom (1977-81) and Mark
Radford (1977-81), Oregon
State University basketball;
Dr. Bob Gill, special con-
tribution to sports; and the
1975 Portland Timbers.