La Salle overcoming graduation losses

YAKIMA — After being struck by key graduation losses, there weren’t a lot of people giving La Salle much chance of making a fifth straight appearance in the state soccer semifinals.

Well, guess what? They’rrrre baaack.

And with an expanded state tournament field that breaks up the Class 1A and B schools for the first time, the Lightning may have their best shot at capturing that elusive state title.

The final steps begin Friday when La Salle (18-1) plays Seattle Lutheran (13-3-3) in a noon semifinal at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.

“It’s amazing to be going back because a lot of people doubted us,” said Ally Hernandez, the team’s leading scorer with 20 goals.

“People didn’t expect us to go this far, so we’re motivated to prove them wrong,” said midfielder Stephanie Wytko, La Salle’s lone senior. “We just wanted to be as good a team as possible.”

That’s turned out to be a pretty darn good one, despite the loss of its top two scorers (Monica Schneider and Jasmine Stohr) and No. 1 goalie (Lauren Chambard) off a team that lost to Meridian 1-0 in a shootout in the championship match last fall.

“There was some uncertainty,” coach Anne Newell said about entering this season. “We had some holes to fill and some uncertainty with the returning players.”

But Newell and her players quickly discovered that the well wasn’t dry and that this group had every reason to believe they could make another deep state run.

That confidence started growing from the outset, even though that was a season-opening 3-0 loss to loss to West Valley.

“From the beginning, it was good to see where we were at,” said Newell, who admits to being surprised by how quickly this group developed into a title contender. “I think the kids surprised themselves (against West Valley), and realized that we’d be OK.”

“When we were able to hold our own against West Valley,” center midfielder Julia Kennedy said, “we knew we were ready to take on anyone and accomplish anything we set our minds to.”

They’ve done just that, stringing together 18 straight victories since that opening defeat, including wins over Selah and 2A state semfinalist East Valley.

“We knew we had the core players, we just had to fill those other spots, and we’ve done that,” defender Katie Knoebel said.

While finding the right pieces and then getting them in the right places was the first priority, the players all say that what’s truly made the difference is that they’ve developed a special cohesion as this season has unfolded.

“We’ve learned to count on each other to get the job done,” sweeper Katie Vickers said.

“We’re united and we work as a team,” Hernandez said. “We trust each other.”

That’s particularly evident on offense, where there is plenty of balance behind Hernandez’s lead, with Wytko adding nine goals, and Savannah Bonny and Karley Kester eight apiece.

“We don’t rely on one player to get the job done,” Newell said, pointing to last Saturday’s 8-0 state quarterfinal victory over Bridgeport as evidence.

In that match, seven different players scored, and Hernandez didn’t score until the second half, although she assisted on La Salle’s first two goals.

“It’s more important to all of us to score and not worry about who scores,” Kennedy said.

“We step on the field with a game plan — which is team play — and we don’t deviate from it,” Newell said. “They have truly played as a team, and that’s why we’re going back to the final four.”

With the departure of the 1A schools, who have been responsible for the Lightning’s three straight championship match defeats, the Lightning believe they’re poised to finally break through. But, true to their season-long approach, they’re not taking anything for granted.

“We treat every team like they’re the best team we’ll play this season,” Kennedy said of not overlooking any opponent.

“We’re confident but not cocky,” said goalie Chelsea Adkins, who has anchored a defense that has recorded 10 shutouts and allowed just five goals since the West Valley loss.

That mentality has Newell confident these players can enjoy a different ending than past teams.

“There were others who didn’t think we’d be as strong this year, and we’ve proven them wrong,” Newell said. “I’m confident that the girls in this group can get it done.”

Nickles helps Ike bowl past Davis

YAKIMA — Kayla Nickles’ 393 series led Eisenhower to a 3-1 victory over Davis in a girls high school bowling match at Nob Hill Bowl on Tuesday.

The Cadets (2-0, 3-0) swept the two regular games and split the Baker contests. Erin Purdy backed up Nickles with a 336 series.

Raven Stackhouse paced Davis (0-2, 0-3) with a 342 series.

Team scores: Eisenhower 787, Davis 742; Eisenhower 793, Davis 792. Baker games: Davis 150, Eisenhower 121; Eisenhower 157, Davis 122.

Highlights: Kayla Nickles (E) 393 (202), Erin Purdy (E) 336; Raven Stackhouse (D) 342, Shannon Bedell (D) 325.

Selah 3, Sunnyside 1

At Valley Lanes

Team scores: Selah 697, Sunnyside 654, Selah 688, Sunnyside 657; Baker games: Selah 132, Sunnyside 127; Sunnyside 167, Selah 137.

Highlights: Danielle Erickson (Se) 301, Holly Wood (Se) 293, Maleesha Maltos (Su) 166, Maritsa Rodriguez (Su) 142.

West Valley 4, Ellensburg 0

At Rodeo Bowl

Team scores: West Valley 782, Ellensburg 619; West Valley 743, Ellensburg 595. Baker games: West Valley 174, Ellensburg 118; West Valley 155, Ellensburg 116.

Highlights: Becky Pearson (WV) 319, Sam Sutton (WV) 307, Amber Pearson (WV) 304, Alyssa Deaton (WV) 300, Kelsi Kjorsvik (E) 271, Sarah McNamee (E) 256.

Record: West Valley 2-0 league, 3-0 overall.

PREP FOOTBALL

White Swan game on Friday

The Class 2B state quarterfinal between White Swan and Asotin has been moved from Saturday afternoon to Friday evening.

The kickoff at Clarkston High School is set for 7 p.m.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

Central twosome named all-GNAC

ELLENSBURG — Central Washington’s Rachael Schurman and Brandie Vea have been named to the GNAC volleyball all-conference team.

Schurman, a senior middle blocker from Mead High School in Spokane, and Vea, a sophomore libero from Honolulu, were among eight players chosen to the first team. Junior outside hitter Erin Norris, also from Mead, was named honorable mention.

Schurman made the first team for the second straight season, having led the Wildcats in kills, hitting percentage, and blocks.

In Vea’s first season as a regular for the Wildcats, she set a CWU single-season and single-match records for digs and finished with an average of 6.08 per set to rank second in the conference.

Central, which finished with a 16-12 overall record and was fifth in the conference with an 8-8 mark, will lose six players to graduation.

Humberto Perez to play at CWU

YAKIMA — Central Washington, which most figure to have a superlative team set for this season, has gotten an impressive head start on next season with the signing of ex-Davis superstar Humberto Perez.

The addition of Perez for 2009-10, was confirmed Tuesday by Wildcats basketball coach Greg Sparling, who announced another early  signing in the form of Tacoma Community College standout T.J. Tyler.

Perez, a 2005 Davis graduate, earned Big Nine Conference player of the year honors as a senior with his explosive scoring and slashing offensive style of play.

At 6-foot-3 Perez was virtually unguardable for high school foes with his extreme quickness and expansive shooting range. Sparling believes he’ll pose problems for Division II defenders as well.

“He can do it all,” the Wildcats coach said. “He can shoot it, he can get to the rim and I think he guards it pretty well. I watched him play at North Idaho, and he gets in there and rebounds, too.”

After starring at Davis, Perez played one season for the Community Colleges of Spokane with Pirates teammate Jeremy Mangum, took the next year off and then spent last season at North Idaho College where he averaged 13.3 points a game. He led leading the Scenic West Athletic Conference in 3-point percentage at 47.4 and in 3-pointers per game at 2.68.

He has been recovering from a stress fracture in his right leg, but said Tuesday he hopes to be full speed soon.

“I’m excited to start playing again,” Perez said. “I’ve been taking some online classes at Adams State (in Alamosa, Colo.) and I’ve been working out a little to get my leg back in shape. I’m just getting back into the routine.”

Sparling said Perez will enroll at Central for winter quarter. And both he and Perez sounded excited about the prospect of having a high school standout continue his career close to home.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Perez said. “My parents can come and watch me, and other members of my family and my friends will be able to come up, too.

“Central has a great new facility (recently remodeled Nicholson Pavilion), they have a good program that made the DII playoffs last year and they have a great coaching staff. So overall it’s a great fit.”

Said Sparling, “Getting a kid from the Valley helps in a lot of ways. Right now we’ve got a little buzz around here with Riley Sivak since he’s an Ellensburg kid. We haven’t had an Ellensburg kid play for us since I’ve been here.”

Tyler, a 6-2 point guard and off guard, is the son of former University of Washington football standout and ex-New Orleans Saint Toussaint Tyler. He was a sophomore on the 2004 Kentwood High School team that featured future Eastern Washington star and current Detroit Piston Rodney Stuckey.

The Conquerors, en route to the state championship, defeated Perez, Mangum and coach Shag Williams’ Davis Pirates 71-58 in their tournament opener.

“T.J. is strong and very athletic,” said Tacoma coach Carl Howell, a former Central assistant. “He’s very mature and his motor never stops running. He’s very physical and very intense, and he’s every coaches dream because he takes practice as seriously as he does games.”

Tyler played his freshman season at Bellevue Community College and sat out last winter.

M’s to name Wakamatsu manager

SEATTLE — The disappointment was evident in the voice of a crushed Joey Cora as he came to terms with the fact that somebody else had been given the job of managing his once-beloved Mariners.

Cora had just learned that Oakland Athletics bench coach Don Wakamatsu had beaten him out for what he’d considered his dream job. Wakamatsu, 45, the first Asian-American to manage in the major leagues, is to be introduced in Seattle at a news conference on Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

“I was very disappointed, obviously,” said Cora, the former Mariners infielder, who played a key role on the 1995 team that lost to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series. “I thought I would have been a great fit to help restore the Mariners with pride and reenergize the fan base. It seemed like it was all falling into place. But it is what it is. There’s nothing I can do about it now.”

Cora and five other finalist candidates were told of the decision in telephone calls from Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik on Tuesday afternoon. Zduriencik declined to comment, referring all calls to the team’s media relations department, which confirmed late Tuesday that an announcement of the new manager — officials would not say who it was for the record — would be coming on Wednesday.

Wakamatsu is a former big-league catcher who played in the Mariners organization as a minor-leaguer in 1995 and 1996. He was a bench coach with the Texas Rangers two years ago and a finalist to replace the fired Buck Showalter as manager before the job was given to Ron Washington.

Before that, Wakamatsu was a minor-league catching coordinator and roving instructor with the Angels, who gave him a World Series ring after winning the 2002 championship. Wakamatsu still wears the ring daily.

Some team officials were highly supportive of bringing Cora back to replace Jim Riggleman, who was not interviewed for the job he took over on an interim basis after John McLaren was fired June 19. But Zduriencik was given total control over his first managerial hire and allowed to move forward with Wakamatsu, who becomes the team’s fourth manager in just more than 16 months.

Cora wished Wakamatsu well and said he accepts Zduriencik’s decision.

“He’s the GM,” Cora said. “He’s trying to restore the franchise to where it was and he thinks that he has a better chance of doing it with the other guy. It is what it is.”

Cora, who had been turned down twice previously for manager jobs, said he’ll put the Mariners out of his mind and focus on “a great situation” he has in Chicago as White Sox bench coach under manager Ozzie Guillen.

As for whether he anticipates managing any time soon, Cora was blunt: “I thought this was it, to be honest with you. It couldn’t be any more fitting. I don’t know what the future holds.”

Red Sox third-base coach DeMarlo Hale, like Cora, has been down this road of rejection before on the managerial front and says it won’t be tough to move on.

“You understand the process and you understand that there was only one person they could pick,” Hale said. “It’s not difficult at all. You’ve got to look at it as an opportunity. They’ve chosen another candidate, gone in another direction.”

Arizona Diamondbacks third-base coach Chip Hale said it was tough waiting for the final word.

“To be honest, I’m extremely disappointed,” Hale said. “But I learned a long time ago, especially playing baseball in college and professionally, to be disappointed but not discouraged. There’s a big difference in those two words. There will be other opportunities. This was a great learning experience. The Mariners are a great organization. That’s why I was so excited.”

Hale has crossed paths with Wakamatsu throughout his baseball career and feels he’ll do well in his new job.

“Don and I played against each other in high school,” he said. “He was at Arizona State when I was at Arizona. I also managed against him in the minors. He’s a wonderful baseball guy, and has done a lot of different things, which is great when you become a big-league manager. He’s a very class act. I’m sure he’ll do a good job.”

The other finalists were Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills; Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo; and San Diego Class AAA manager Randy Ready.

Mills told The Boston Globe on Tuesday night: “I’d be lying to you if I told you I wasn’t disappointed because I think it’s going to be a good situation up there. They’ve got a lot of good things in store to happen.”

— Geoff Baker and Larry Stone/The Seattle Times

Buyer steps up to purchase nearly defunct Reds

YAKIMA — With time poised to run out, the fate of the Yakima Reds seemed sealed.

The Premier Development League soccer team appeared out of options in its efforts to return for a 15th season.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the miracle general manager Teresa Vega talked about needing in September emerged in the person of Perry Piercy.

Piercy, a longtime soccer fan, has stepped up and purchased the team from founder Jere Irwin, ensuring the Reds will return to the PDL’s Northwest Division in 2009.

“I wanted to keep the team here,” said Piercy, who lives in West Valley and is a financial adviser at Clear Choice Insurance and Financial Services. “I’m a huge fan of soccer and I feel like we can make it work here.”

So Piercy said he contacted Reds coach Hector Vega to inquire about buying the team that Irwin founded in 1995.

“I had no idea I’d be able to acquire the team, I just knew the Reds had announced that there would no longer be a team,” Piercy said. “I talked to Hector about what it would take to keep the Reds here.”

Eventually the two sides arrived at a deal, with Piercy getting league approval just days ahead of the league deadline to secure new ownership. A new owner had to be in place before the start of league meetings Thursday in Tampa, Fla.

Longtime general manager Teresa Vega will remain in that capacity, and Hector Vega will return as head coach.

“I’m very happy to have them on board,” Piercy said. “They are big advocates of the Reds. I want the team to succeed.”

In order for that to happen, Piercy said, the Reds will have to garner more community support than they’ve managed in the past.

“I think I can match Jere’s passion for soccer, but I can’t match his ability to sponsor the team for as long as he did,” he said. “Jere was the team’s biggest sponsor for 14 years. I can’t do that. I’ve got to get the community involved. I have to sell the community on the benefits of the Reds to the community.”

That said, Piercy said his intention is to see the Reds thrive for years to come, but only if makes financial sense for him.

“I’m committed to this long term, however it’ll take a lot of time and effort to make it work,” he said. “I don’t have access to a whole lot of funds, so we need the community’s support to make this work.”

While the Reds had a loyal core of fans and sponsors, it wasn’t enough to offset expenses, leading Irwin, president of Irwin Research and Development, to announce in early September that he could no longer continue to bankroll the team.

At that time, general manager Teresa Vega said the team recouped only a fraction of the $100,000 and $200,000 it spent each year on travel, uniforms and league fees.

The challenge to break through and reach a wider swath of the community is possible, Piercy said.

One way is to continue Hector Vega’s emphasis on using players from the Yakima Valley. That approach didn’t hamper Yakima’s ability to compete against other teams last season as the Reds finished third in the division with a 9-6-1 record, and had the PDL’s most valuable player in Juan Garcia, from Sunnyside.

Some other things Piercy plans to do include soccer tournaments, clinics and exhibition matches to help raise money for the team.

Piercy moved to Yakima four years ago after spending the previous 12 years in Spokane. He played soccer while attending Everett Community College and Eastern Washington University — where he earned a degree in business administration — and still plays in the Mexican, Warehouse and indoor leagues here in Yakima.

Piercy is married and has a 2 1/2-year-old son.

Now, he’s eager to channel his education experience and passion for soccer into making sure the Reds remain a fixture in Yakima.

“Jere’s been a savior for the Reds for quite a while … and I’m honored to continue the Reds tradition,” he said. “My goal is to unite the community behind this fantastic team.

“I’m planning on being as involved as possible in bringing soccer to the community, and letting this community support this team.”

Sounders FC tryouts Saturday in Yakima

YAKIMA — The search for players for the inaugural Seattle Sounders FC Major League Soccer team comes to Yakima this Saturday when the team holds an open tryout at Chesterley Park.

Prospective players over the age of 18 must register at www.SoundersFC.com.

Check-in is from 9 to 10 a.m., with the tryout from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

At least three players from this tryout will be invited to take part in a a one-hour tryout in Seattle on Feb. 1.

There have already been tryouts in Spokane and Tukwilla.

The Sounders are preparing to make their MLS debut in 2009.

CWU’s Reilly a finalist for Hill Trophy

YAKIMA — Central Washington University quarterback Mike Reilly has been announced as one of eight national finalists for the 2008 Harlon Hill Trophy, officials said Monday.

Reilly, the Wildcats’ record-setting senior quarterback, was named as one of two finalists from the Super Regional Four.

Joining Reilly as the regional representatives on the final national ballot is Abilene Christian running back Bernard Scott. Of the eight national finalists, six are quarterbacks and one is a wide receiver. Scott is the lone running back.

Reilly completed his collegiate career with the Wildcats on Saturday, as Central Washington fell to host West Texas A&M, 49-42, in the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Reilly, the unanimous 2008 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year, threw for a career-high 420 yards against the Buffs, also establishing a single-game career-high for total offensive yards (461) and pass attempts (61). He matched his career-high of five touchdown passes in the loss to West Texas A&M.

In addition to the single-game totals Reilly amassed against West Texas A&M, he also broke the final two career major passing records in school history, becoming the school’s all-time leader for yards (12,448) and pass attempts (1,553).

He finished his career owning virtually every career passing record in the history of the program, passing NFL quarterback Jon Kitna in the process.

Reilly’s final career numbers included 995 completions, 1,553 attempts, 12,448 yards, 118 touchdowns, a 151.32 quarterback rating, completed 64.1 percent of his pass attempts, and was responsible for 132 career touchdowns. His 1,263 career rushing yards were also the most ever by a Wildcat quarterback.

While his numbers ranked atop the CWU career charts, Reilly has also left his mark among the NCAA Division II all-time ranks. He finished his career ranked third in Division II history in passing yards and total offense, and his 46 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass were a NCAA all-divisions record. Reilly also posted a 34-12 record as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback.

Cramer leads WV bowling team past Davis

YAKIMA — Mandy Cramer bowled a high game of 202 and finished with a 361 series to lead the Rams past the Davis Pirates 3-1 in a non-league bowling match at Nob Hill Lanes.

Alyssa Deaton had a 204 game and a 353 series for West Valley (1-0 league, 2-0 overall), and Becky Pearson added a 311 series as well.

Ofelia Mendez had a high game of 190 and a series score of 342 for Davis, and Raven Stackhouse added a 181 high games with a 336 series.

West Valley 3, Davis 1

At Nob Hill Lanes

Team scores: West Valley 822, Davis 747; Davis 820, West Valley 766. Baker games: West Valley 175, Davis 133; West Valley 159, Davis 145.

West Valley leaders: Mandy Cramer 202, 361; Alyssa Deaton 204, 353; Becky Pearson 311.

Davis leaders: Ofelia Mendez 190, 342; Raven Stackhouse 181, 336.

Record: West Valley 1-0, 2-0.

Eisenhower 3, Selah 1

At Nob Hill Lanes

Team scores: Eisenhower 786, Selah 697; Eisenhower 739, Selah 690. Baker games: Selah 169, Eisenhower 114; Eisenhower 159, Selah 128.

Eisenhower leaders: Stephanie Nickles 203, 332; Erin Purdy 317.

Selah leaders: Holly Wood 336.

Record: Eisenhower 2-0.

Lack of winter weather leads to miffed hunters

YAKIMA — For wildlife enforcement officers working the Cascade foothills during the modern-firearm elk season that ended Nov. 2, the answers they got from hunters all began to sound alike after a while.

“Great weather for camping. Stinks for hunting.”

“With this weather, the elk can be pretty much anywhere. But not here.”

“When it’s like this, it’s just a nice camping trip.”

Unseasonable, late summer-like weather may be nice for barbecues and last-chance picnics. But it’s not helpful to the hunters who count on snowy days and frigid temperatures to push the elk down from their safe nooks among the highest ridges.

That’s why many of the elk hunters working their favorite haunts west of Yakima came away feeling less than satisfied.

“It’s been frustrating,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement Sgt. Morgan Grant said while patrolling Bethel Ridge just over halfway through the season. “Some guys in the Ahtanum have been starting to pull out already. Deer season was slow up there, too.

“It’s too bad. Guys will start venting. At the beginning of the season, everybody’s relaxed, they’re enthusiastic, they’re taking vacation time away from work and looking forward to it — and they’re hoping for the cold, blustery weather because it pushes the elk down, gets them moving around a little bit.

“And then they get this.”

Weather occasionally figures into the elk-hunting equation in the nine Yakima-area elk game management units (GMUs) so popular with hunters from around the state — GMUs 336 (Taneum), 340 (Manastash), 342 (Umtanum), 346 (Little Naches), 352 (Nile), 356 (Bumping), 360 (Bethel), 364 (Rimrock) and 368 (Cowiche).

In 2005, the hills got hit with three snowstorms in a row, and hunters had tremendous success in the Yakima GMUs. But the deep snow left some hunters unable to get their trucks and RVs unmired from the snowy deluge or to finagle them down those now dangerously slick one-lane dirt roads.

The next winter, 2006, saw record numbers of spike bulls make it through the hunting season — possibly as a result of the difficulty hunters had in escaping the 2005 storms.

“In 2006 we got four inches of snow up high and cold rain down low, and the people from the upper elevations panicked and left,” said Jeff Bernatowicz, a WDFW wildlife biologist based in Yakima.

“And then it was a cold, miserable rain down low, and people didn’t want to hunt hard. There was actually perfect tracking snow for hunters, but there was almost nobody in the higher elevations where the elk were.”

But Bernatowicz is convinced this year’s elk harvest numbers, the mild weather notwithstanding, will turn out to be in line with most typical years when they become available after the Jan. 31 mandatory hunter reporting deadline. The Yakima elk herd, he said, is typically at about 11,000 before the season and 9,500 afterward, with the harvest of spike elk almost invariably in the 65 to 70 percent range.

Bernatowicz believes the tales of woe told to wildlife officers in hunt camps and along the roadways are misleading.

“When you’re doing hunter checks, the people you talk to are typically sitting in camp,” he said. “They aren’t the ones harvesting elk. The ones who are harvesting elk are the ones whose rig is sitting at the gate at the end of a closed road. They hike in two miles and they harvest an elk and they haul it out.”

Of course, the ones who aren’t finding elk might not see it that way, and Bernatowicz can count on receiving calls and e-mails from frustrated hunters who came away empty-handed.

He got an e-mail this year from “one guy who was very, very mad and claimed there were no elk left. They’re gone,” Bernatowicz said.

And yet the story sounded very different at the Oak Creek Wildlife Area headquarters, which wildlife area manager John McGowan said was typically busy with successful hunters who wanted a chance to talk about their good fortune with anybody who happened to be there.

“I would say it was an average season, maybe a little on the good side,” McGowan said, adding that hunters also killed five bears and a cougar on the wildlife area during this year’s deer and elk seasons.

McGowan said he sees a trend of hunters being less willing to spend the time and the effort to be successful.

“The animals haven’t changed. The people have,” McGowan said. “Because of the pressures of our lives, our busy schedules, hunters don’t take a week off out there and hunt leisurely, the way they used to. They take one or two days. And it’s ‘Hey, if I get out there for 10 minutes and I don’t get an elk, hey, what’s going on?’”

But for those hunters who either don’t want to or don’t have the time to do their own legwork, McGowan said he was considering reinstituting the once-highly popular “hunter success map.”

The department used to display that map at the old hunter check station at the “Y” of highways 12 and 410, in the years prior to the mandatory hunter report cards. Whenever hunters checked in with a harvested elk, the department staffer — usually McGowan — would stick a pin or a dot at the location the elk was killed.

“Hunters would pour into that check station,” McGowan said, “and they’d say, ‘Oh, we’re just here to see the map. Where they at? Where they killing ’em?’”

Without such a map, and without snowy weather that pushed elk down to where the hunters were looking, enforcement officers like Morgan Grant were left commiserating with the hunters they were monitoring for violations.

“Sorry you didn’t have any luck,” Grant said to an Anacortes hunter who had come up empty after five days in the Bethel Ridge area.

“Oh well,” the man responded with a shrug. “That’s why they call it hunting, instead of killing.”

11/18/08 What’s happening

Fly fishers to focus on invasive species

A presentation on invasive species in local waters will be the highlight of tonight’s meeting of the Yakima Fly Fishers Association.

The lecture by Sgt. Eric Anderson, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s enforcement coordinator on aquatic invasive species, will include tips on “hot zones” to avoid and on decontaminating watercraft and trailers of such aquatic hitchhikers, especially zebra/quagga mussels, the state’s top threat.

The 7 p.m. meeting will be at Bert’s Pub meeting room, downstairs at Glenwood Square (51st and Tieton).

DU fundraiser set for Dec. 12 in Yakima

This year’s annual fundraising banquet put on by the Yakima chapter of Ducks Unlimited will be Dec. 12 at the Howard Johnson Gateway Inn on 9th Street in Yakima.

Doors will open at 5 p.m., with dinner at 7 and the evening involving the usual array of hunting-related entertainment, including raffles, games, live and silent auction. The chapter is focusing on getting more local members to step up to the Sponsor Member level, with every such membership allowing Ducks Unlimited to save an acre for wildlife.

Attendance prices are: $30 for Greenwing (a child under 18), $65 single membership, $90 couple, $325 single sponsor membership, $350 couples sponsor membership.

There will be plenty of raffles that night, but early-sale raffle tickets will be for an engraved Ruger Red Label 12-gauge shotgun and a Browning Ducks Unlimited Anniversary semi-automatic 12-gauge engraved shotgun. Goodies up for grabs that night (by bid or raffle) include DU limited edition art, sculptures, decoys, furniture and romantic getaways.

Bird Alert: Betting on a trifecta of loons

Birders enjoying a calm, fall day at Priest Rapids Lake were treated to a trifecta of loons: a common loon, a pacific loon and our smallest loon of all, the red-throated loon, which is a very rare visitor inland. Red-breasted mergansers appeared to be everywhere and easily outnumbered the more common, common mergansers.

A group on the Yakima Training Center was surprised to find a mountain chickadee working the water birch trees along Cold Creek. As their name implies, mountain chickadees are usually found in mountain habitat and normally prefer conifers to deciduous trees. Other surprises on the YTC included red-breasted nuthatch, singing horned lark and Lincoln’s sparrow.

Lewis’s woodpeckers seem to be congregating and on the move this fall, with more than 80 being observed on a trip to Snow Mountain Ranch. This is an unusually large gathering away from their normal haunts like Fort Simcoe.

The Poppoff trail was the place this week to see sparrows — fox sparrow, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, golden-crowned sparrow, dark-eyed junco and spotted towhee. A resident southwest of the Yakima Airport found 17 Eurasian collared-doves and about 50 mourning doves on the power lines above his back fence.

Please call your bird sightings into the Yakima Valley Audubon phone line at 248-1963.

— Kerry L. Turley

AROUND AND ABOUT

RINGOLD STEELHEAD: Fishing for hatchery steelhead in the Ringold area of the Columbia River’s Hanford Reach has been picking up, with anglers now allowed to keep any hatchery steelhead with a clipped adipose fin. Earlier in the season, anglers had been restricted to keeping only those steelhead with both a clipped adipose fin and a clipped right ventral fin — the dual clips that identify fish reared in the Ringold Hatchery. Those fish are targeted until November to ensure escapement of sufficient upriver-bound fish to meet population goals.

DUCK NUMBERS RISING: Duck numbers are continuing to build in the Columbia Basin, especially mallards and American wigeon, and WDFW waterfowl specialist Mikal Moore says Eastern Washington is “starting to see the beginning of the Canadian duck migration.” One thing to watch out for: Canvasbacks are concentrated on the Wells Pool of the Columbia River, and canvasback season is closed this year. With small Canada geese showing up on both the north and south parts of the Columbia Basin, the Nov. 27-28 Thanksgiving goose-hunting days in that zone should see a lot of activity.

BASS TV COVERAGE: Much-delayed coverage of September’s FLW Series Western Division bass tournament on the Columbia River will 8 a.m. Sunday on FSN, including a short segment featuring the Tri-Cities’ quality of life. The Sept. 17-20 tourney was only the tour’s second ever there at Richland’s Columbia Point Marina.

CHRISTMAS TREE PERMITS: They’re available at all Forest Service ranger stations and numerous vendors at $5 each (limit two per family).

ON THE CALENDAR

MONDAY: The Banff Mountain Film Festival tour makes it annual stop at Central Washington University with a 7 p.m. showing at the CWU Student Union and Recreation Center Theatre. Tickets are $6 for CWU students and rec center members, $8 for general admission.

TODAY AND EVERY TUESDAY: The Cascadians’ Tuesday trekkers meet at 8 a.m. at the 40th Avenue Bi-mart parking lot and carpool from there to whatever hike, cross-country ski trek or snowshoe trip is decided upon that day, usually determined by weather and snow conditions or the whim of the trip leader.

THURSDAY: The Cascadians’ Pokies plan a “three-gallery tour” and a two-mile walk in Yakima, including a stop for lunch. For meeting time and place, call June Anderson at 972-0195.

SUNDAY: The Yakima Valley Sportsmen trap club will hold the first of its two turkey shoots of the fall, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and going until everyone’s done. Tickets are $25, and only two wins per ticket. Buying a ticket guarantees a turkey. Classes will be for all ages and ability; bring your own shells and guns. Lunch will be available.

TUESDAY (NOV. 25): The Lower Columbia Audubon Society chapter meeting in Kennewick will feature a raptor presentation by Andy Stepniewski, author of “Birds of Yakima County” and well-known for his expertise on Washington’s birds of prey. The 7 p.m. program begins at 7 p.m. at Kennewick Lutheran Church, at the junction of Yelm Street and Highway 395.

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