48 minute read
BOILING WATER
from Inlander 09/02/2021
by The Inlander
ENVIRONMENT
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
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Salmon face deadly hot waters along Columbia and Snake rivers as the call for dam removal grows
BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL
Acomplex web of ecosystems and economic drivers depends on the river systems that flow from cool Inland Northwest elevations on out to sea.
Farmers use Snake River dam reservoirs to enable barging of their grains from as far inland as Lewiston, Idaho. Native American tribes that could once rely on abundant fish runs worry about their future and that of wolves, grizzly bears, trees and other parts of nature that historically received nutrients from fish that now struggle to survive.
Salmon and steelhead rely on the cool mountain waters of spring to usher them out through the Snake and lower Columbia River to the sea, where commercial fishermen and guides depend on their return years later.
The adult fish need those same upriver waters to provide a cool refuge for spawning when they return to their home grounds in the spring, summer or fall.
But the window of survivability is getting shorter and shorter for those already endangered fish as climate change and placid waters slowed by eight different dams create warmer and deadlier conditions.
Anadromous fish — those that switch between fresh and saltwater — struggle in water that’s hotter than 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and at 70 degrees they start to die. This summer, water behind all eight dams on the lower Columbia and Snake rivers hit that mark, with some getting as high as 73 degrees.
The effects are being felt everywhere.
Bob Rees has been a professional fishing guide in Oregon for 25 years. Speaking from his boat outside Astoria in late August, he notes that spring Chinook, prized for their quality and high price at market, used to return to the rivers in early spring, spending summers there before spawning at their home grounds in September.
“Typically they run in April and May into Portland and even Idaho, but we’re catching them in August because they know they can’t survive up in those hotter watersheds,” Rees says between catching fish with customers on his guide boat. “So they’re holding down here where the estuary is cooler.”
Along the Deschutes River, a cold water refuge from the lower Columbia, fly fishing guides Alysia and Elke Littleleaf say they’ve seen the changes over the years, too.
Descendants of the Wasco Tribe of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the couple has not only seen hotter river temperatures and restrictions affect fishing times but also algae blooms that impact the tribe’s freshwater resources. Personally, they’ve switched to gathering their own natural spring water as those issues continue impacting them.
“We know the feeling of climate change,” Elke Littleleaf says. “We see the fish getting smaller, the diseases they’re facing, and it’s not just in our river. It’s scary times.”
The time has come to plan with people in floodplains for dam breaching that can help fish runs recover, Alysia Littleleaf says.
“This ‘hurry and wait’ scenario, we’re tired of hearing that. As Native people we hear that too much,” Alysia Littleleaf says. “It’s time to honor the treaties. It’s too late, almost.”
For 20 years, the public has heard that salmon and steelhead could be helped by breaching the four lower Snake River dams. Now, with several species in crisis, many worry there aren’t another 20 years to prevent them from becoming memories. But the question remains, who will take the lead?
Two sockeye salmon are seen with lesions as they swim in the Little White
Salmon River on July 16, 2021. CONRAD GOWEL PHOTO/COURTESY OF COLUMBIA RIVERKEEPER
VIGIL FOR THE DEAD AND DYING
The overall picture for 2021 isn’t complete yet, but hot water exacerbated by a historic heat wave has harmed some of the more than one dozen endangered fish species along the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Northwest tribes and environmental groups worried this year could be a repeat of 2015, when the region saw more than a quarter million sockeye salmon die off.
In late June, air temperatures in parts of the Pacific Northwest hit as high as 116 degrees, which was deadly for hundreds of people. With the heat rapidly melting the remaining mountain snowpack that would usually keep rivers cool later into the summer, water temperatures also rose.
In weekly reports, environmental groups have tracked reservoir temperatures. All four Snake River dams had waters above 68 degrees for at least 39 to 60 days this year as of Aug. 24; the four lower Columbia River dams saw temperatures exceeding 68 for at least 58
to 60 days this year.
On Aug. 19, the water behind Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River hit more than 73 degrees, while water behind the Columbia River’s John Day Dam hit 72.5 degrees.
But the stress on salmon was evident well before that.
July footage captured for the environmental group Columbia Riverkeeper showed sockeye sick with lesions and infections as they sought refuge and died in the Little White Salmon River.
On July 30, Native American tribes and environmental groups held a vigil for the fish.
“What do I tell my grandchildren? How do you continue to give hope for the future?” said Cathy Sampson-Kruse, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation and a Columbia Riverkeeper board member, speaking in a speech for the vigil. “We carry on the best we can, but we are now at a precipice.”
Since time immemorial the Nez Perce Tribe has honored the connections between salmon and other animals. The tribe’s traditional territory includes much of the Palouse, from north of Pullman to south of Lewiston and beyond.
But compared to local stories of runs so abundant you could practically walk across the river, very few fish now return to the cool tributaries of the Clearwater and Salmon rivers in north central Idaho.
This May, the tribe’s fisheries resources staff pointed out just how dire things are in a presentation to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. The council develops a regional power plan for Idaho, Washington, Montana and Oregon.
The presentation notes that while none of the runs are effectively extinct yet, 42 percent of spring and summer chinook runs in the Snake River are at a “quasi-extinction threshold” where 50 or fewer spawning fish are returning to 31 smaller creek areas. By 2025, just four years from now, national and state data point toward 77 percent of those 31 regions seeing fewer than 50 fish return.
“It just emphasizes the need to breach the lower four Snake River dams,” says Elliott Moffett, a board member of Nimiipuu (the Nez Perce name for themselves) Protecting the Environment, a nonprofit that works on environmental restoration and education for youth. “They’re just such pools of death for our fish.”
One of the major issues politicians opposed to dam breaching often mention is that the reservoirs enable barging of grain and lumber all the way from Lewiston to the Pacific Ocean.
But Julian Matthews, a co-founding member of Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, doesn’t think people realize that the tribe and individual tribal members like him would also be impacted by farming changes.
“The tribe has a lot of land leased out to nonIndian farmers,” Matthews says. “We also will be impacted by the changes to barging.”
Tribal members who farm and tribal members who lease out their land in exchange for a
share of that year’s crop would both be affected by costs to ship that grain by another method to market, Matthews says. But Matthews, Moffett and many others are trying to convey a sense of urgency to decisionmakers as the fish can’t wait for many more years of studies and negotiations. “Someone has to take a stand,” Moffett says. “We just need to get to the business at hand, which is breaching the four lower Snake dams, and we need the leadership to lead us that way.” Federal and state agencies have tried other methods of helping, including loading juvenile fish onto barges or trucks to take the trek downstream. “We’re putting fish on trucks so we can put wheat on the river,” says Sam Mace, Inland Northwest director of Save Our Wild Salmon, with an air of disbelief. “Especially this year, with the backdrop of this summer and knowing that the fish have had a rough time, I think our senators and elected leaders are feeling that sense of urgency.” But everyone is waiting to see which elected leaders will take action, Mace says. So far, one of the only congressmen to promote breaching the dams is U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, a Republican from Idaho. But his plan has yet to receive support from congressional delegations in Washington and Oregon. “We just need to get to the business at hand, which is breaching the four lower Snake dams, and we need the leadership to lead us that way.” “We’re all waiting to see, ‘OK, what is your plan?’” Mace says. “We don’t have 10 more years to figure this out.” Mace says for the fish to have the best chance, the region needs, in the next year, a plan for breaching, alternate methods for grain transportation and funding. When looking at what true recovery would mean, fish and wildlife agencies look to the wild runs, not hatchery fish, says Stephen Pfeiffer, a conservation associate with Idaho Rivers United, which works to restore healthy fish runs. “Our wild fish are on the threshold of extinction, and that’s especially evident when you look at the last 60 years or so of collapse,” Pfeiffer says. “The window is closing on these populations being able to withstand climate warming.” A key answer could lie right in the very central Idaho areas that have seen fish all but disappear. With higher elevation and cooler temperatures, several rivers in that area could provide the cool refuge anadromous fish need, so long as they can get there, Pfeiffer says. “The environment of the mainstem Columbia and Snake rivers, exacerbated by the dams, is so inhospitable the concern is these fish won’t be able to migrate back to Idaho,” he says. “The good news is … central Idaho, which still has this incredibly intact system of high elevation rivers and streams, is modeled to withstand a lot of the climate warming impacts.” n samanthaw@inlander.com
MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Fox Presents THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND
Sat, Sept. 11, 8pm Spokane Symphony Masterworks 1 THE RETURN OF THE SYMPHONY Sat, Sept. 18, 8pm •Sun, Sept. 19, 3pm
Live Nation Presents ASHLEY McBRYDE: THIS TOWN TALKS TOUR
Thurs, Sept. 23, 8pm Spokane Symphony Masterworks 2 BEETHOVEN’S SOUL Sat, Oct. 9, 8pm • Sun, Oct. 10, 3pm
Fox Presents WALT WAGNER TRIO
Fri, Oct. 22, 8pm Spokane Symphony Masterworks 3 POINTS NORTH Sat, Nov. 13, 8pm•Sun, Nov. 14, 3pm
ALTON BROWN: BEYOND THE EATS
Tues, Nov. 23, 7:30pm Spokane Symphony with State Street Ballet THE NUTCRACKER BALLET Thurs, Dec. 2, - Sun, Dec. 5 Spokane Symphony HOLIDAY POPS WITH THE SWEEPLINGS Sat, Dec. 18, 8pm • Sun, Dec. 19, 2pm
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Choose any 5 concerts from the 2021-2022 Masterworks and Pops. Details at Spokanesymphony.org
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THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND SAT, SEPT. 11 8PM
It’s not too early to think about….
Spokane Symphony
THE NUTCRACKER
TICKETS FOR THIS INW FAVORITE GO FAST!
THURS, DEC. 2 - SUN, DEC. 5
NEWS | HEALTH Another Shot
It’s no vaccine, but monoclonal antibody treatments can prevent severe COVID-19. Why is it so hard to find in the Inland Northwest?
BY WILSON CRISCIONE
Last year, former president Donald Trump called monoclonal antibodies a “cure” for COVID-19 and vowed to make them available for all Americans. After all, they were part of Trump’s own treatment that helped him recover from a serious case.
Today, monoclonal antibody treatments may not be some miracle cure, but they are authorized by the FDA for emergency use, and Regeneron’s REGEN-COV antibody cocktail has worked against the delta variant. In Florida, more than 30,000 treatments have been administered at state-run sites, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Across the Wasington border in Idaho, Kootenai Health has been offering monoclonal antibody treatments since November, and last week Gov. Brad Little launched more antibody treatment centers.
But in Washington, the treatments remain scarce.
Only 1,260 doses had been used by providers as of July, state health department officials tell the Inlander, though they note that data might be incomplete. That’s out of 5,000 doses that have been sent to the state overall.
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, the Inland Northwest region’s largest hospital, is not currently offering monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19, although there are plans to do so soon, according to a spokesperson. MultiCare has only recently started to offer REGEN-COV for a small group of patients, a spokesperson says.
The lack of use has puzzled some health experts like Bob Lutz, COVID-19 medical adviser for the state and the former Spokane regional health officer.
“Vaccination is always our first and foremost recommendation,” Lutz tells the Inlander. “But in case you get a breakthrough infection, or you haven’t been vaccinated for some reason, well, there is a treatment.”
Last month, he made an urgent request to medical providers in the state: Consider the REGEN-COV treatment for COVID-19. Right now, he says, people who are eligible for the treatment aren’t able to receive it, only because health care systems aren’t providing it.
“The reality is that we’re not seeing it as widely used as we want to see it,” Lutz says.
WHY THE DELAY?
Monoclonal antibodies are proteins made in a laboratory that, when administered by an injection or IV infusion, stimulate the immune system to help fight COVID-19. The treatments only work in a brief window after infection or after exposure in order to prevent more serious illness. When used that way in clinical trials, REGENCOV reduced hospitalizations by up to 70 percent, research has shown.
Monoclonal antibodies have been approved by the FDA for emergency use since November.
So why are hospital systems just now starting to offer them?
Providence refused to offer any explanation when asked by the Inlander. But Lutz thinks it’s partly because until recently the evidence wasn’t overwhelming that the treatment worked. While there were some positive signs in the spring, it wasn’t until this summer that the National Institutes of Health outwardly recommended the treatment. But health experts remained more focused on a more effective preventative measure: vaccines. The vaccines have been shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by 95 percent. They also reduce the risk of getting infected and spreading the virus to others. “We will always focus on prevention, because vaccines prevent disease and prevent severe disease,” Lutz says. Still, he argues that treatment options should be available, too. He says he recently spoke with someone who lives near Seattle who had a breakthrough infection and would have qualified for the monoclonal antibody treatment, but he couldn’t find one.
Jennifer Tyler, administrator at Tumwater Family Practice Clinic near Olympia, says for a while there was a feeling that focusing on treatment options instead of vaccinations was a political statement. She didn’t want to be leading the clinic giving people something as experimental as, say, a horse dewormer.
“We had to do research — is this something experimental like Ivermectin? Is this in that category? ” Tyler says. “It’s not. It is a real treatment.”
There are other logistical reasons, too. Until June, the treatments could only be administered through an IV. Only certain medical personnel could do that.
“That was more complicated than what most of our staff could handle and are able to handle,” she says.
Once REGEN-COV became available through injection, that was a game-changer. Her medical assistants can give injections, just like they do for vaccines. Now, the Tumwater clinic is among a select few locations in Washington offering the treatment.
“Why is it not more widely available? I don’t know,” Tyler says. “I do know that everybody in health care is overwhelmed.”
Indeed, the reality of the pandemic on medical staffing has played a role. Health care systems may be reluctant — or simply unable — to dedicate time and staffing to these treatments when the hospital is overwhelmed.
That’s what happened at Kootenai Health recently, says chief physician executive Karen Cabell. While they’ve offered monoclonal antibody treatment since November, Kootenai Health had to pause the clinic in early August because they needed space for the influx of COVID patients. Only last week were they able to open the clinic again, as part of the on-campus field hospital dedicated to the COVID patient surge.
The priority, health officials stress, remains vaccination.
“This therapy can be extremely effective, but it’s not a replacement for vaccination,” Cabell says. “We encourage the community to get vaccinated to break the virus’s
Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody cocktail can be effective against the delta variant.
chain of transmission. We see the evidence every day in our hospital that the vaccine is both safe and effective.”
ASK YOUR DOCTOR
The Washington Department of Health wants patients all over the state to have access to monoclonal antibody treatments. Right now, patients are eligible if they are 12 or older and are at high risk of serious COVID-19 illness that could cause hospitalization or death.
Being “high risk” can mean you’re 65 or older, obese, or pregnant, or have diabetes or other underlying conditions. Lutz hopes that as interest in this treatment picks up and health care systems see that there’s a legitimate treatment option, everyone who falls into the high risk category can have access to it if they ask. In some cases, a person can get the treatment before even testing positive for the virus, as long as they were exposed to it.
The REGEN-COV treatments are free, too — though patients may first want to check whether their insurance covers a clinic’s administration fee.
“There should be no limiting factor in preventing somebody who meets the criteria for administration to receive this,” Lutz says.
But will patients seek out the treatments?
Tyler, at the Tumwater clinic, says that if people are worried about the vaccine, some may have similar fears about the REGEN-COV treatment. The injection itself is a significantly larger dose of medicine, and if it’s not administered through an IV, it’s administered through four injections at the same time. Patients then need to stick around for an hour to make sure they don’t have a reaction, though reactions are rare.
Tyler guesses that some vaccine-refusers may falsely think they won’t get COVID, and then when they do get sick, they may jump at the opportunity for a treatment.
A person like that would have been better off being vaccinated in the first place, Lutz says. The monoclonal antibody treatments should simply be seen as another weapon, he says.
“Now, at least, we have something else in our quiver,” Lutz says. n
Live Lounge Entertainment
Rewind
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE 8:30 PM – 12:30 AM Rock out with Rewind at the Nighthawk Lounge! This classic rock band from Spokane consists of members Mike Locati, Derek Davis, and Jim Robison.
Loose Gazoonz
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD & SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH NIGHTHAWK LOUNGE 8:30 PM – 12:30 AM Join us at the Nighthawk Lounge as we welcome the talented, Loose Gazoonz! From Eddie Rabit to Bruno Mars, they’ll be covering all of your favorite hits!
Kosh
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH CHINOOK LOUNGE 6 PM – 9 PM Come on down to the Chinook Lounge and enjoy Kosh’s beautiful blend of contemporary and classic sounds.
Visit cdacasino.com to see the full lounge entertainment lineup.
WELCOME HOME.
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Top Jimmy Lake brings his Eastern Washington bona fides to the land of the Purple and Gold BY TED S. McGREGOR JR. D on van Lierop had a problem. Although he finally wrangled his first Greater Spokane League basketball head coaching job in the fall of 1993, now he needed players to round out his North Central High School roster. “I was teaching at Ferris at the time, so I didn’t know anybody at NC,” van Lierop recalls. “I did know we could use some more athletes.” So he started hanging around when the football team would come in to lift weights. Finally, he asked one of the assistant coaches, Bill Shepherd. “Hey Bill, anybody out there who hasn’t played basketball who might want to?” Shepherd didn’t even think about it, answering immediately. “You need to talk to Jimmy.” Dawg “Who’s Jimmy,” van Lierop called out as Shepherd walked by. “Jimmy Lake.” O f course, college football knows all about Jimmy Lake now. He’s the scrappy overachiever who played his way into a football scholarship at Eastern Washington University. Then became the defensive-minded up-and-coming assistant football coach at his alma mater. Tough enough to withstand a Jon Gruden grilling to win an NFL assistant job. Insightful enough to choose to leave the NFL to join the staff of innovator Chris Peterson at Boise State. And, most recently, great enough at his job to be promoted to Top Dawg, aka head coach of the University of Washington Huskies. Not bad for a kid from North Central in Spokane, which is located in Eastern Washington. The location is only pertinent because some find that Seattle, in particular, and the West Side in general can be, let’s say, dismissive toward the Dry Side of the state. So, Western Washington, Seattle and Husky fans everywhere, guess what? Jimmy Lake and his Eastern Washington bona fides are at your service. You’re welcome.
...continued on page 16
Jimmy Lake at the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 21, 2019. He had been named UW head coach two weeks earlier, making it the final game for his mentor Chris Petersen, who chose to step away from coaching.
SCOTT EKLUND PHOTO/RED BOX PICTURES
Of course Jimmy Lake joined van Lierop’s squad. Despite the sport being new to him, he was soon starting and voted team captain.
“Every game, I’d just put him on the other team’s best player,” recalls van Lierop. “He’d just get down in that stance — he loved playing defense.”
Lake made an impression, not just for the way he played, but for the kind of kid he was, says van Lierop.
“To be new to a sport, then be elected captain by your teammates, those qualities are why he is where he is right now.”
Van Lierop later became head coach at Ferris, where he led the Saxons to back-to-back undefeated seasons. When van Lierop and his wife, Amy, had their second child, Reece, the middle name came easy: James.
Basketball was just part of the story at North Central. Lake was a great center fielder in baseball and a safety in football — key defensive positions. In both cases, he played alongside his twin brother, Jayson, who played left field and was the other safety on defense.
He impressed his coaches at every stop, but in recollecting Jimmy Lake they often talk about things besides his physical skills.
“Here is the first thing I have to say about Jimmy,” says Tim Rypien, who was his football and baseball coach and has taught and coached at North Central for 31 years. “He’s been my favorite kid, by far, that I’ve ever coached.”
Rypien has been around big-time sports his whole life, as a pro baseball prospect himself, brother to Super Bowl MVP Mark, and father to Boise State quarterback and current Denver Bronco Brett.
“One day I remember thinking Jimmy was going to be a coach,” Rypien recalls. “He was just different — so mature for his age, he absorbed everything. Everything you said, he just would look you straight in the eye and listen. He was quiet but intense.”
Turns out, Jimmy Lake was listening. Just days before the 2021 UW kickoff against the University of Montana, Lake took a break between practices to reflect on his Spokane and Cheney days. He remembers one day in particular, during football practice at North Central.
“Coaches would always say to hustle, and that really
Jimmy Lake (28) and his brothers Jayson (18) and Justin (22). The boys took up football while living on the Clark Air Base in the Philippines (left). After a last-possible-minute scholarship offer, Jimmy Lake became an Eag (right) — starting at strong safety and serving as co-captain. Right after graduating, he started his coaching in Cheney, staying for five more years (center). COURTESY OF JULIE CLARK AND EWU ATHLETICS PHOTOS
helped me,” Lake recalls. “One day, freshman year, I remember winning all the conditioning drills, you know, using my hustle. And Coach Rypien noticed. He pulled me aside and told me, ‘If you keep up that work ethic, you can accomplish anything in life.’
“That,” Lake says, “has stuck with me ever since. There are a lot of memories like that from North Central.”
There are tastes that have stuck with him, too: “Every time I see a Zip’s, I think of the fries — that has to be the best tartar sauce in the world,” he says with a laugh. “Pizza Pipeline, that was another one, we’d all go down there for slices all the time.”
Another really big thing happened at North Central; it’s where Lake first met Michele Taylor — now his wife, and mother of their three kids. (Michele has a twin, too — a sister.)
Lake’s focus made him one of the top students in the school as well. For two years, he was the student assistant to Mick Miller, then an administrator at NC and now an assistant superintendent at ESD 101. Essentially, he was helping Miller manage school logistics.
“He spent an hour with me every day for two years,” says Miller. “He did a lot of tasks for me in activities, in the athletic department. You couldn’t not like Jimmy Lake. He had just this incredible smile.
“But,” Miller adds, echoing what others confirm, “before you talk about Jimmy, you have to talk about the entire Lake family. The brothers, his mom. They were all just terrific.”
Lake’s mom, Julie Clark, still beams about all her kids — successful in whatever path they chose. Jayson is a boat dealer in Clearwater, Florida. Cory, the oldest brother, worked for Nike and is now a brand manager in California for Pelican recreational gear. Justin, their cousin who was adopted by the Lake family and raised as their son, is an electrician in Spokane. She was their biggest superfan every step of the way. ...continued on page 18
FROM NC TO UW: JIMMY’S JOURNEY
1992-95
NORTH CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL & BASEBALL Young Jimmy Lake was coached by Jerry McCullough, Tim Rypien and Don Van Lierop, among others.
1995-98
EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL, STRONG SAFETY Won a scholarship after getting noticed for his strong play during the East-West All-Star Summer Classic and practices in Spokane; played strong safety all four years for Head Coach Mike Kramer, logging 160 tackles, three sacks and an interception; got hurt and missed the last half of his senior year; was teammates with current EWU Head Coach Aaron Best. finished his degree, Lake helped coach student athletes he had just finished playing with the year before.
2000-03
EWU ASSISTANT COACH, DEFENSE Almost hired to a full-time position by Bobby Brett and Brett Sports, but instead took an offer from new EWU Head Coach Paul Wulff, who replaced Kramer and later led the Cougs for four seasons; Lake coached both linebackers and defensive backs.
2004
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH Went to work for Head Coach Keith Gilbertson in one of the worst Husky seasons ever (1-10); moving from the Spokane/Cheney area for the first time in his adult life, Lake was impressed with Seattle, as was his wife, Michele.
2005
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH After Gilbertson resigned, Lake was on his own looking for a new job; after almost taking a job at Idaho State, he got hired by his old mentor Mike Kramer to go to Bozeman; Pete Kwiatkowski, whom Lake knew from EWU, was on the Bobcat staff, too, and they’d coach together again later at both Boise State and UW.
2006-07
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS ASSISTANT COACH, DEFENSIVE BACKS Hired by one of the NFL’s most intense characters, Jon Gruden, who had won a Super Bowl three years earlier; shared the sidelines with Gruden and fellow coaching greats Raheem Morris, Monte Kiffin and Gus Bradley; Lake was younger than star player Ronde Barber when he helped coach him.
2008
DETROIT LIONS DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH His first shot at running an NFL defensive backfield came in the Motor City under Rod Marinelli, but the team went 0-16 and he was out of football for a year afterwards.
2010-11
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH With his old colleague Raheem Morris now the head coach, Lake went back to Tampa Bay as the leader of the D-backs; after a 4-12 season in 2011, Morris, Lake and other coaches were let go.
2012-13
BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH Jumped back into college football under the highly successful Head Coach Chris Petersen, who had been with the Broncos since 2001; in Boise, he started his coaching partnership with Bob Gregory, also a Spokane/ Eastern Washington native (Gonzaga Prep Class of ’82).
2014-PRESENT
UW HEAD COACH Petersen was hired by UW and brought almost his entire coaching staff with him, including Lake, Kwiatkowski (now defensive coordinator at the University of Texas), Gregory (now DC at UW) and Jonathan Smith (now head coach at Oregon State); Lake went from defensive backs coach to co-defensive coordinator to defensive coordinator. In 2019, just after Petersen announced he was stepping down and only days before turning 43, Lake was named head coach of the University of Washington Huskies. — TED S. McGREGOR JR.
Jimmy Lake’s long and winding road from North Central High led to being hired as head coach at the University of Washington on Dec. 2, 2019. At the announcement, he was joined by his former boss and mentor Chris Petersen and his current boss, UW Director of Athletics Jennifer Cohen. SCOTT EKLUND PHOTO/RED BOX PICTURES
“One time, I was late to a game out at Albi, coming home from a business trip,” Julie recalls from her North Spokane home. “After the game, I told Jimmy and Jayson that I didn’t arrive until the third quarter, and they said, ‘Yeah, we know, we could hear you yelling when you got here.’”
Jimmy and Jayson went to kindergarten at Fairchild Air Force Base, where their dad, Leon Lake, was stationed. After that, the family embarked on an international adventure, with four years at a NATO base in Turkey and four more at an American base in the Philippines. Julie jumped right in, coaching the swim team in Turkey. The boys started tackle football in the Philippines — they even got to choose their team name: The Seahawks.
“With all our moving, we had to meet friends very, very quickly,” recalls Jimmy Lake. “We had to integrate into a new area. That has helped me to this day with recruiting, with building relationships, talking to families and forging these new relationships quickly.
“Looking back on it, for sure I’m extremely grateful to live in a country like the United States of America,” he adds. “We learned so much. It’s a big world, very diverse and extraordinary. The cultures that are out there around the world and how beautiful they are.”
The family moved back to Spokane in May of 1990, just before Jimmy and Jayson would enter the eighth grade at Salk Middle School. Leon, a chief master sergeant, was still active-duty Air Force, but the family decided to put down roots for the kids’ benefit. He’d continue his hectic travel schedule out of Spokane, serving his country but missing many of their games along the way.
Julie says Spokane was a great place for her family to land, but it took some getting used to.
“It’s not as diverse as we saw in the services, and that was something we needed to get used to,” she says. “I had a mixed-race marriage; my family is mixed race. But we never had any problems. I can’t say enough about North Central. It was fabulous.”
The adjustments could be funny, too. One day near the end of their year at Salk Middle School, the twins came home excited.
“Mom, Mom, we need our passports!”
The family was used to needing passports as they toured around different countries when they lived overseas.
“Why? What’s going on?” Julie asked.
“We’re going across the border… They gave us tickets… We’re going to Silverwood!”
The Lakes were a busy couple. Leon was on the road a lot, sent to bases all over the world, even serving a full tour stationed in South Korea, a hot spot where his family was not allowed to follow. Julie became a nurse, and later went into public administration, via militaryprovided college courses. She shuttled the kids around to sports, keeping them squared away with schoolwork, all while she was making new friends across the North Side.
“They grew up in a house where we were both serious about our jobs, about our careers, and about getting our education,” Julie recalls. “And after all our travel, they grew up knowing they had a different worldview, too.”
But they had a terrible secret, too.
“Leon wanted to be a pilot, and of course the Air Force gives rigorous physicals for that,” recalls Clark. “They found a congenital heart defect, and they told us he wouldn’t live past 40. We found out when we were still in our 20s.”
In 2000, while on a Department of Defense assignment, Leon Lake’s diagnosis finally caught up with him at the age of 53.
“We lived with that for so long, but that didn’t make it any easier,” says Julie. “When it happened, it was a shock.”
Leon Lake did outlive his doctors’ prediction by more than a decade; his son’s coaching career had just barely started.
“My dad had a huge impact on me,” says Lake. “A lot of the things I do today, at home and at my job, are because of him. He was very organized, very disciplined, very detailed. He was an extremely hard worker and always made sure his family was in good shape.”
Julie later married Jerry Lee Clark, who died in 2017. She’s retired now but continues volunteering at the VA in Spokane while looking after her sprawling family. She’s excited to make the trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Husky game Sept. 11 — one of the biggest road games in recent UW football history.
At the end of 1995, after high school graduation, Jimmy Lake was all set to play football at Western Washington University, even winning a couple academic scholarships. Then opportunity came knocking, and the legend of Jimmy Lake kicked into gear. ...continued on page 20
BRAGGING RIGHTS
With a little help from local football historians Paul Sorensen and Howie Stalwick, we delve into which side of the Cascade Curtain is producing the best football coaches
IN THE NATURAL RIVALRY between the two Washingtons, it’s easy to argue about which side of the state produces better players. Right there in that 1995 East-West All-Star Summer Classic, you could go make a good case for either side, with Peter Sirmon (Wenatchee) and Randy Jones (Ferris, Spokane) repping Eastern Washington, while Damon Huard and Dane Looker (both from Puyallup) led the West’s roster.
But what about a debate over which side is producing better coaches? Now that Eastern Washington’s own JIMMY LAKE has ascended to the pinnacle of the profession, it’s worth a look.
Western Washington has produced some legendary coaches, like Seattle native DON CORYELL, who was so pass-happy his offenses were known as “Air Coryell.” And DENNIS ERICKSON of Everett won two national championships at the University of Miami. In fact, the Everett/ Snohomish area has been remarkably fertile, having also produced MIKE PRICE, KEITH GILBERTSON, TOM CABLE and JIM LAMBRIGHT. Tacoma has been catching up lately, with both AARON BEST (current EWU head coach) and BEAU BALDWIN (current Cal Poly head coach) coming out of Curtis High School.
But we’ve got our legends over here, too, even if they’re from the early days of the sport. RAY FLAHERTY played and coached at Gonzaga University, later in the pros (where some say he invented the screen pass), and is in the Hall of Fame. Another Hall of Famer, TURK EDWARDS from Clarkston, played at Washington State College and led the Washington Football Team in D.C. for 17 years after World War II.
Like Lake, there are a lot of currently active football coaches at the college and pro levels from Eastern Washington making a big mark on the sport, including: KELLLEN MOORE (Prosser, Dallas Cowboys); JEFF SCHMEDDING (University High, Spokane, Auburn); PETER SIRMON (Wenatchee, Cal); BOB GREGORY (Gonzaga Prep, Spokane, UW); J.C. SHERRITT (Pullman, Cal Poly); SCOTT LINEHAN (Sunnyside, Mizzou); CHRIS TORMEY (Gonzaga Prep, Spokane, Ottawa Redblacks); and ETI ENA (Inchelium, EWU, whose brothers Justin and Packy are also successful coaches).
Other coaches of note from the Dry Side include Blaine Bennett (Walla Walla); Shorty Bennett (North Central, Spokane, and Blaine’s dad); Jerry Williams (North Central, Spokane); Mike Kramer (Colton); Ty Gregorak (West Valley, Spokane); Dan Cozzetto (Gonzaga Prep, Spokane); Bill Diedrick Jr. (North Central, Spokane); Zack Bruce (University High, Spokane); and Jody Sears (Pullman).
— TED S. McGREGOR JR.
We know this is a partial list. If we missed your favorite Eastern Washington-bred coach, share their name at editor@inlander.com, including where they’re from and where they have coached, and we’ll add it to this list that will live on inlander.com for future reference.
Jimmy Lake leading the cheer after a 44-27 victory over Arizona in an empty Husky Stadium on Nov. 21, 2020. “I’m really excited about this team,” says Lake, looking ahead to the start of the 2021 season against Montana. “We’re unified, and now we just have to go show Husky Nation — and the whole nation.” LINDSEY WASSON PHOTO/RED BOX PICTURES
The East-West Summer Classic — Washington state’s high school football all-star game — was going to be in Spokane. North Central football was not on anybody’s radar that season, so even though Lake was a great player, he’d have to watch from the stands like everybody else. Then, a couple guys had to drop out — one for basic training before starting at West Point, the other after a nasty mountain bike spill. Lake got the call to join the East squad.
“The first thing I remember is the practices,” says Lake of that week. “Ken Emmil, the coach at Colville, was one of the assistants, and he was the one who saw how physical I was, and how I was picking up everything very quickly. That was how the ball began to roll for me.”
In fact, during the game itself, Lake deflected what looked sure to be a touchdown pass between Brock Huard and Dane Looker, both soon to become Husky greats.
EWU Head Coach Mike Kramer had one scholarship to offer at the time, and he was hanging around the practices, even though most players were already committed to a college program.
“I remember, we were sitting around just before dinner one night,” says Kramer, “and Ken comes up to me and says, ‘Hey man, there’s this guy from Spokane you guys should get.’”
“And I said, ‘Yeah, we are trying to get that kid, the one from U-High.’
“And he said, ‘No, not that kid!’
And I said, ‘Who?’
“Jimmy Lake!”
“I remember later, up in my house on Skyview Drive, I dug up his phone number, talked to his mom, then spent an hour sitting on my kitchen floor talking to Jimmy. I gave him my best pitch and, sight unseen, I offered him right there.”
Lake’s plans changed. Bellingham was out; Cheney was in. He’d spend the next nine years on the West Plains, cutting his teeth as a player and a coach.
Current EWU Head Coach Aaron Best played with and coached with Lake at Eastern. He believes that he and Lake were both prototypical Eags — overlooked players with something to prove.
“I know Jimmy was like that here,” says Best. “We had that same type of mindset. We studied more. Our football IQ had to be higher. We were nastier. We exceeded in a lot of the things we could control. You just tend to roll your sleeves up that much higher.”
“Jimmy was driven,” says the now-retired Kramer, who hired him as a grad assistant just after his playing days. “And that’s the lifeblood of Eastern, players who are driven.”
“Part of what all of Eastern Washington is about in athletics is we have the underdog mentality,” says Keith Osso, now sports director at KXLY-TV but who represented Spokane’s West Valley for the East in that 1995 all-star game. “When we do get our chance, we want to prove it. And that’s Jimmy Lake, too.”
College and professional football coaching is one of those scrums of a career path, like Ivy Leaguers clawing and scratching their way to the top of Wall Street. It’s a game of Survivor, where you can be voted off the island after a lopsided ball happens to bounce the wrong way. Many want to reach the top of the heap, for there lies success, fame and fortune. But there’s not much room up that high.
Lake has had a lot of success, being an architect of some truly great defensive teams over the years. But at every fork in the road, he made the most of the opportunities that came his way. When he had the chance at an assistant coaching job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they flew him down for an interview. His mom recalls even helping him with the PowerPoint he was going to present, like he was back in 10th grade doing a science project. He was greeted by the intimidating sight of the entire coaching staff staring at him, led by the notorious Jon Gruden. He got through only part of his PowerPoint before they all got up and left the room. The coaches came back in, perhaps getting the same feeling old Mike Kramer got on his kitchen floor that night.
They offered him the job on the spot.
But physics tells us there are both ups and downs. When the head coach you work for stumbles, most of the time you’re going down, too. When Lake jumped at the chance to move from EWU to an assistant coaching job at the University of Washington under Keith Gilbertson, going 1-10 was not part of the plan. Later, he coached under Rod Marinelli at the Detroit Lions; the team won all its preseason games, then went 0-16. Lake was out of coaching for a year after that.
“Coaches get fired,” says Kramer, “and it’s not because they’ve personally done anything wrong. It’s a gut-wrenching experience. You never, ever lose the feel of that. It’s just that in America, we value winning.”
In fact, Lake lost three NFL jobs before he went back to college to work for — and learn from — Chris Petersen at Boise State. That was the turning point that led him back to Seattle, where Petersen was hired in 2014 and brought his coaching staff with him.
“Those tough moments have been what shaped me into who I am today,” Lake reflects. “Having to fight through adversity and climb through some really tough spots has formed my mentality and the way I go about my business every day. And there will be setbacks in the future, and those experiences will help me respond better — and help our team.”
“You’d think Jimmy wouldn’t fit in a world where it’s so often just about the flash,” says his old football and baseball coach Tim Rypien, “but he does. What Jimmy has, he has the ability to command the room and, at the same time have incredible personal relationships. He’s genuine.”
For proof, Rypien says that when his son Brett got a chance to start a game for the Broncos last year — and lead his team to a win — Lake was the first person to text him congratulations. And Tim and Julie’s son didn’t even play for Lake.
“He’s just the same old Jimmy,” adds Aaron Best, his old teammate who knew him way before he became coaching’s next big thing. “But now he just does it with a whistle around his neck instead of a helmet on his head.” n
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ted S. McGregor Jr. is the publisher of the Inlander. He’s a Husky, too — Class of 1987. The first home game he attended as a freshman was the 25-24, last-minute UW win over the Michigan Wolverines.
Max Borghi WSU ATHLETICS PHOTO
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY COUGARS EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY EAGLES
THE BIG STORY With the announcement of the Pac-12’s shortened 2020 season, many Coug fans were worried that seven games weren’t enough to showcase new head coach Nick Rolovich’s system. As it turned out, the Cougs only ended up playing four of those seven games, due to COVID outbreaks. The Cougs only won one game last season, at Oregon State. After a disappointing season, Nick Rolovich and company will look to tighten up the loose ends and minimize any distractions outside of football… except that Nick Rolovich’s personal health is shaping up to be the storyline of the season. As the highest-paid employee at a school where students and staff must adhere to vaccination requirements, Rolovich first refused a vaccination, and now (as of press time) isn’t really saying what he’ll do. Unless this gets solved, every broadcast will spend as much time on Rolovich’s reluctance as on the student athletes trying to win games. In other news, the Cougs need to fully implement the run-and-shoot scheme, but it took most of the summer to name a starting quarterback. If the QB position is solid, and with many seniors returning for a final season after an extra year of eligibility was granted by the Pac-12, the deep, experienced Cougs should be poised for a big rebound. PLAYERS TO WATCH After head coach and professional coffee cooler Mike Leach and his air-raid offense fled to Mississippi State, running back MAX BORGHI seemed poised for a bigger role last season. But injuries struck and Borghi only played one game in his junior season. A healthy Borghi should command the WSU offense — racking up stats on handoffs, tosses, screen passes and in slot receiver looks, potentially playing his way into the NFL. Speedster TRAVELL HARRIS, entering his senior season, should help extend the offense vertically and make his mark on punt and kick returns. THE BIG GAME To start Pac-12 play, the Cougs will take on the preseason-ranked No. 24 USC Trojans at Martin Stadium in a nationally televised game on Sept. 18. An upset win would bring some serious momentum for the Cougs in Rolovich’s first full season, with key winnable games at Utah and California immediately following. BEST ROAD TRIP The Apple Cup is typically a great game for Coug fans, but given Seattle’s weather in late November and the Cougars recent struggles in the matchup — losing each of the last seven years while never eclipsing 17 points — how about a trip down to Tempe? Escape the coming Inland Northwest chill on Oct. 30 for what should be a great game against the preseason-ranked No. 23 Sun Devils. — JAY McGREGOR THE BIG PICTURE Last spring, star quarterback Eric Barriere put on a show, passing for 2,439 yards and 19 touchdowns on a 61.8 percent completion rate. His stellar performance led him to be the runner-up to the most prestigious award in the FCS, the Walter Payton Award, losing by only six votes. It also led to speculation he might transfer to a bigger program. In a press conference, Barriere made his intentions clear: “I want to finish out [at Eastern]. I’m a loyal person.” Eastern will seek to redeem last year’s firstround playoff exit, with 11 seniors returning due to the extra year of eligibility afforded by the COVID-19 pandemic. And with the Big Sky rule that a canceled game due to a COVID outbreak is a forfeit for the team with the outbreak — success also rests upon adhering to the safety measures. PLAYERS TO WATCH ERIC BARRIERE is that guy. There is a strong chance Barriere takes home the Walter Payton Award for best FCS player after this season. Despite going off last season, Head Coach Aaron Best sees an improved player this season. “I think the best ball he’s ever played for us was in the [first full scrimmage of summer camp]. There’s just a legitimate confidence about him now.” Outside of Barriere, Eastern has three more preseason All-Big Sky picks. 6-foot-4 redshirt senior wide receiver TALOLO LIMU-JONES got a nod after averaging 108.4 receiving yards per game in the abridged season. Also a redshirt senior, offensive tackle TRISTEN TAYLOR was selected after receiving All-Big Sky honors for the fourth year in a row and giving Barriere ample time in the pocket to lead the offense. The final preseason All-Big Sky pick was defensive end MITCHELL JOHNSON, who threatens constant pressure to opposing quarterbacks.
THE BIG GAME
Homecoming is always a big game for fans and players, but it’s rarely a big game on its own. This year, it’s different. Eastern will face off against Weber State (Oct. 23), the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky. Not only would an Eastern loss spoil Homecoming, but it would also jeopardize their hopes of reaching the FCS tournament.
BEST ROAD TRIP For an ex-
cuse to go to Vegas, fans planning ahead circled the season opener at UNLV tonight, on Thursday, Sept. 2 — one of the first college football games of the season.
Eastern has a legit chance to upset the D-1 Rebels, with Barriere leading their high-octane offense. — JAY McGREGOR
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UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO VANDALS
THE BIG STORY Last spring, Idaho started off the shortened FCS season strong, with a win against Eastern Washington. But injuries and COVID found their way in, leading Idaho to win just one of their final five games. Idaho lost standout linebacker Christian Elliss to the NFL, and the preseason Big Sky coaches and media polls predict Idaho to finish just eighth in the Big Sky. Coming off a disappointing season, coach Paul Petrino is likely on the hot seat. Idaho’s quarterback situation may be confounding: In last season’s secondto-last game, running back Zach Borisch converted to play quarterback, rushing for an impressive 205 yards in the new role. Throughout the condensed six-game season, Idaho managed to have four different players assume quarterback duties, each with a different play style. The race for starting quarterback is said to be between graduate Mike Beaudry and freshman CJ Jordan. Petrino also hopes to give Borisch snaps as an option-style quarterback. With a progressive, two-quarterback offense and a solid defense, this Idaho team should be fun.
PLAYERS TO WATCH With standout linebacker Christian Elliss signing as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings this past spring, inside linebacker TRE WALKER is poised to be the backbone of the Vandal defense. And Walker’s more than qualified: He earned five All-America honors and was unanimously voted to First-Team All-Big Sky, despite playing in just four games in last year’s sixgame season. Walker also led the Big Sky in tackles per game, with a whopping 13.5 — and was nominated as this year’s preseason Big Sky Defensive MVP. Also watch out for WR HAYDEN HATTEN, who averaged over 100 receiving yards per game last season, despite the uncertainties at quarterback. And linebacker CHARLES AKANNO should have a good showing this fall, after racking up two sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in six games last season. THE BIG GAME The battle on the red turf. Idaho has taken two of the last three matchups against rival Eastern Washington. Winning this Oct. 16 matchup wouldn’t only give them bragging rights, it would serve as momentum to finish the season strong — especially with key late-season matchups such as Montana State (Nov. 13) and Idaho State (Nov. 20), both crucial for making it to the FCS tournament.
BEST ROAD TRIP For fans
looking for an intense road trip, the end-of-season “Battle of the Domes” against Idaho State in Pocatello on Nov. 20 could be the game that determines whether the Vandals make or miss the FCS tournament. — JAY McGREGOR THE BIG STORY Whitworth managed to squeeze four football games in this past spring, winning all of them by significant margins, averaging over 40 points per game. Fall 2021 will mark a return to normal conference play, where Head Coach Rod Sandberg has flourished, racking up a 51-14 record since taking over in 2014, even winning the Northwest Conference Championship in 2018. Sandberg and the Pirates will seek to add another championship to the books, with many key players and personnel returning, along with several Spokane-area entering freshmen. PLAYERS TO WATCH Monroe, Washington native, JAEDYN PREWITT assumed quarterback duties this past season, passing for a whopping 1,074 yards, 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions in just four games. Look for the 6-5 Prewitt to build on that effort for his senior season. His favorite target, ETHAN PELOQUIN, will also seek to build on last year’s strong season, where he had seven touchdowns in only four games. On the defensive side, cornerback BRYCE HORNBECK had an impressive three interceptions in four games, including one that went for a touchdown.
THE BIG GAME As with most years for Whitworth, Linfield College will present the biggest challenge. Whitworth will have to bus to McMinnville, Oregon, for the Oct. 9 matchup against the 2019 Northwest Conference champion wildcats. Linfield took the last matchup against Whitworth back in 2019, winning 38-31 in overtime. BEST ROAD TRIP In the last full season Whitworth competed, their smallest margin of victory was against the George Fox Bruins. Located in Newberg, Oregon — with too many vineyards and wineries to count — a trip for the Nov. 13, end-ofseason game doesn’t have to be just about football. — JAY McGREGOR
Ethan Peloquin WHITWORTH UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS PHOTO
WHITWORTH UNIVERSITY PIRATES
