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The Othello Outlook – Thursday, October 8, 2009

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Soccer: Forty-five minutes into the contest, Othello held a 5 – 2 lead continued from page A1

Othello 2, Prosser 1 Othello struck early last Saturday at Greyhound Stadium in Prosser on Lindsay Garza’s league leading 16th goal six minutes into the first half.

Garza’s goal was the result of a great pass by midfielder Alexis Martinez who also leads the CWAC with eight assists.

“The girls started out really well,” McDonald said.

Ten minutes later Martinez scored her sixth goal of the season on a great run up the left side of the field and a crossed ball assist by midfielder Marissa Martinez.

She made a great move on a Prosser defender to shoot and score, adding to Othello’s lead.

The half ended Othello 2, Prosser 0.

“We controlled the whole first half with dominance and were enjoying the success against a great team like Prosser,” coach Marinez said.

In the second half, Prosser made the adjustment and changed their formation to a 4-3-3 to put more pressure on the Huskie defense.

Othello midfielder Stephanie Tolley marked Prosser’s top scoring forward Helen Peterson in the second half, which Photo by Eric LaFontaine

Ali LaFontaine, Moses Lake, competed in the Oktoberfest half-marathon Oct. 3 in Leavenworth. LaFontaine finished 45th in her out of 117 runners in her age group and in the top 45 percent of competitors (just under 1200 total). It was her first half-marathon and longest race of her career.

Cross Country: Richland Invitational continued from page A1

Volleyball

M eet t he h uskies

engagements, were led by senior Karina Martinez.

Martinez finished with a final time of 25:49 and a 21stplace finish.

“One of Karina’s goals is to keep up with Christine and try to maintain her pace. She really pushes her,” Martinez said. “For not having Christine there, Karina ran really well.”

Junior Yesenia Roman finished 31st, helping the girls to an overall fifth-place finish.

The Huskies will travel to

Ellensburg today for a CWAC League dual meet with Wapato and Ellensburg and to the Richland Invitational Oct. 10.

The Invite will host 53 high schools across the state and is a two loop course, on mostly grass, with a one big hill on each loop.

“I’m excited to see how the kids do,” Martinez finished.

made it difficult for Prosser to create scoring opportunities.

Several minutes into the half, Peterson was able to sneak behind the defense and score her 13th goal of the season, cutting Othello’s lead to 2-1.

Peterson is second in scoring in the CWAC, behind only Othello’s Garza.

As Prosser began creating more scoring opportunities in the second half, McDonald make the defensive adjustment.

“With the score close 2-1, I had the girls play more defensive than offensive,” McDonald said. “And Allesha (Reyes) did a great job and made some awesome saves.”

Reyes, the Huskie’s phenomenal freshman goalie, made three one-on-one stops against Prosser’s high scoring forwards late in the second half to hold on for the win.

Reyes is one of the top goal keepers in the CWAC with three shutouts and an average of only one and a half goals allowed a game.

Othello’s 2-1 win improved their record to 6-1 and kept their hold on the CWAC North’s top spot.

Othello 8, Wapato 4 Prior to the win at Prosser, the Huskies defeated the Wapato Wolves 8-4 on Sept. 29 at Huskie Stadium in Othello.

Sophomore forward Vanessa McDonald scored her fourth goal of the year within two minutes of the opening whistle on an Alexis Martinez assist.

McDonald would score twice on the day and add an assist.

Four minutes later, Othello would score again on an unassisted Lindsay Garza strike.

Garza would add goals two and three by the end of the first half.

Forty minutes in, Othello held a 5-2 lead and Garza already had her second hattrick of the season.

To open the second half, Garza struck again within four minutes with her fourth goal of the day off a great assist by junior midfielder Marissa Martinez.

Othello increased their lead to 7-2 when McDonald scored her second goal on a slick Alexis Martinez pass with less than 17 minutes remaining in regulation.

Martinez would total three assists on the day.

“If I have Alexis or Vanessa

up, that really compliments Lindsay,” McDonald said. “If I push them back to the midfield because I push Daisy (Salgado) back, there’s really nobody who can complement Lindsay.”

With a comfortable five goal lead, McDonald went to his bench.

“I told the girls at halftime, let’s get up and let the JV girls who came up and supported you get in there and play,” he said.

Junior Varsity goalie Ana Ramos relieved Reyes and made four saves and allowed only two last minute goals.

Reyes made 13 stops on the day and allowed only one goal.

Huskie defensive player Tiffany Martinez, now playing forward, scored Othello’s eighth and final goal with five minutes left giving Othello a six-goal lead.

Despite the Wolves push and two late goals, the Huskies defeated Wapato 8-4.

“They looked a lot better than they did against Connell,” Martinez said. “We’re still working on possession and carrying the ball, the girls are getting better … and we’re getting out of the injury phase.”

Volleyball: Yvonne Garza had 31 assists in the match against the Mustangs continued from page A1

18 assists between the two of them, Garza with 10 and Parris with eight.

Libero Eden Garza provided exceptional defense in the back row with 20 digs.

The loss at East Valley follows a tough five-set loss to the Prosser Mustangs at Tagarres Gym the Tuesday prior.

“It wasn’t our strongest game (against Prosser),” Spurbeck said.

“We came out kind of dead.”

Othello controlled the offensive attack in the first set and established the defensive tone early.

The Huskies took an early lead with Walker and Eden Garza serving and Mollotte providing the offensive power.

Othello never allowed Prosser within three points,

winning 25-22.

“There were definitely some bright points,” Spurbeck said.

“Kylee went off on them and had a good game.”

Mollotte ended the night with a game-high 29 kills and two aces.

Prosser took sets two and three, 22-25 and 23-25.

In both matches, Othello and Prosser remained within three to four points the entire set and swapped leads at least a dozen times.

“The passing wasn’t real good,” Spurbeck said. “It has to be on in order to make everything else work.”

Yvonne Garza had a tremendous game with 31 assists, while freshman Mikayla Parris added eight.

Othello came out hungry in the fourth set but quickly drizzled after Prosser built a 0-7 lead.

A deep strike by Mollotte finally put the Huskies on the board 1-7.

Mollotte wasn’t finished there and continued aggressive hitting and superb defense.

With Walker serving and Othello’s momentum building, Spohr hit a cross court strike to tie the score 16-16 and eventually take their first lead of the match.

Holding a one point lead 2524, Prosser’s forced error on Yvonne Garza’s serve gave the Huskies the set point, 26-24.

Walker played a well-balanced game with four kills and three aces.

With the score tied 2-2, the fifth match began something like the fourth as Prosser built an early 0-6 lead.

The Huskies never came within four points of Prosser, eventually losing 9-15 and the game 2-3.

“As a team, we were kind of in a lull,” Spurbeck said. “But we’ll take it and use it ... and we’re peaking at the end and that’s what I want to see.”

Eden Garza led Othello with five digs, freshman Natilee Ruiz added six kills and junior Brenda Rodriguez had five kills and two service aces.

Following the consecutive losses, the lady Huskies will host back-to-back home games against Grandview, Oct. 6, and Wapato, Oct. 8.

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OthellO POlice Saturday, Aug. 8 3:50 a.m., a traffic stop was made on a vehicle for driving on the shoulder. Both passengers, Esteban M. RiveraValle, 41, Othello, and David Reyes-Escobar, 34, Othello, were issued infractions for an open container in the vehicle.

Reyes-Escobar was arrested for an Adams County warrant and transported to the county jail.

3:50 a.m., a traffic stop was made on a vehicle for driving on the shoulder. Silviano Torres-Garcia, 20, Othello, was arrested for driving without a valid driver’s license, first degree, without identification.

3:50 a.m., a traffic stop was made on a vehicle for driving westbound in the eastbound lane of travel. Pedro Sanchez-Ramos, 33, Othello, was found to be driving under the influence of alcohol.

Sanchez-Ramos was arrested on an Adams County warrant and transported to the county jail for driving while license suspended, second degree.

10:37 a.m., gang-related graffiti was found in the 300 block of Juniper on two sheds in the south alley. The graffiti was in blue and black spray paint and read “F13.” The damage is estimated to be $20.

11:22 a.m., gang-related graffiti was found in the 200 block of Elm Street, north alley. The graffiti was blue and black spray paint and read “F13.” The damage is estimated to be $15.

4:03 p.m., a silver Chevy Impala hit two trucks in the 600 block of South Fourth Avenue.

Ramon Cantu, 37, Othello, was identified as the driver and was contacted in the 1300 block of East Fir Street while getting out of a silver Chevy Impala. Cantu was found to be under the influence of intoxicants and was issued a citation for an open alcohol container, driving under the influence of alcohol and hit-and-run unattended.

38, Othello, reported the glass on the east side door of the Golden Fountain restaurant, 640 East Main Street, had been smashed. A cash register, piggy bank and cash were taken. Estimated cost of repair and loss was $630.

10:49 a.m., graffiti was reported on the south side of the CHS building, 1296 South Broadway Avenue. “MLS,” “Florencia” and “F13” were painted on the south side of the building. Estimated cost of repair is $40.

11:50 p.m., Loren Dennison, 57, Othello reported a two-vehicle collision in the 200 block of East Cedar Street. An investigation revealed that Jesus Trujillo, 75, Othello, was driving a 1992 Buick Regal and hit the driver’s side door of a white 2001 Ford F250 owned by the City of Othello. Estimated cost of damage is $800.

4:45 p.m., a 30-year-old male attempted to cash a money order at the post office that was found to have been altered.

Wednesday, August 5 8:14 a.m., Lyle Stoltman, 52, Othello, reported graffiti at the Conservation District building, 449 East Cedar Street. “F13,” “MLF” and “Reaper” were painted on the back door with black paint.

9:22 a.m., Kristina Ortiz, 31, Othello, was arrested for internal theft of household items at Wal-Mart valued over $250.

Ortiz was transported to the Othello jail where she was photographed and fingerprinted.

The case will be forwarded to the Adams County prosecutor.

12:02 p.m., Diana Borba, 26, Othello, was arrested in the 400 block of South 10th Avenue on an Adams County warrant for driving while license suspended, third degree. Borba posted a $250 bail and was released.

11:54 p.m., officers responded to a report of two subjects fighting in the parking lot at 1235 South First Avenue. Two males were contacted about the assault and neither wanted to press charges. Adrian Montes, Friday, August 7 1:21 p.m., Jose Zapata, 38, 18, had been drinking and was Othello, reported his 12-year- cited for minor in consumption old son ran away from home of alcohol. in the 100 block of North AdAms cOunty 10th Avenue on Aug. 3. Zapsheriff ata reported his son was last seen wearing black shorts, a Saturday, Aug. 8 white T-top and a red shirt.

2:53 p.m., deputies received a 9:37 p.m., a verbal domesreport of litter in the area of South tic was reported in the 100 Lyda Lane, Linda Lake, that had block of North 10th Avenue. A been left behind by fishermen.

34-year-old male and a 40-year7:22 p.m., a juvenile was old female were contacted. cited at Highway 26 and Booker 7 p.m., Tomas Trinidad Lopez, Road for no valid drivers license, 22, Othello, was arrested in the speeding and no insurance.

200 block of East Juniper Street 11:35 p.m., a subject was arfollowing a collision. Lopez had rested in the 200 block of West been driving a silver 2001 Kia Highway 26 for three counts of Rio and struck a parked vehicle. harassment and third-degree Lopez was booked into Adams driving with a suspended license.

County Jail on charges of DUI, hitand-run unattended, two counts Friday, Aug. 7 of fourth degree assault and at7:34 a.m., a female was tempted escape, third degree. arrested in the 200 block of West Bench for second-deThursday, August 6 9:28 a.m., Ruijan Chen, gree malicious mischief.

10:15 a.m., a woman in

the 200 block of West Hatton said someone broke her kitchen window.

11 a.m., a female was arrested in the 300 block of South Reynolds for an Adams County warrant.

11:15 a.m., a resident in the 200 block of West Bench said his hydrant was damaged.

The Othello Outlook – Thursday, August 13, 2009

also caught two other vehicles on fire.

9:15 a.m., an adult male was arrested in the 600 block of South Taylor for third-degree driving with a suspended license and failure to obey an officer. He was also cited for no proof of insurance.

9:37 a.m., a resident in the 700 block of South Coulter Thursday, Aug. 6 said someone has been tak7:32 a.m., sheep were in ing his newspaper. the roadway in the 100 block 3:01 p.m., a stolen vehicle of South Hi-Lo Drive. was located in the 600 block of South Danielle.

Wednesday, Aug. 5 district cOurt 7:41 p.m., a subject was arrested in the 600 block of South Monday, August 3 Andes for multiple warrants.

Dale Jay Keper, 30, Othello, 9:05 p.m., a resident in the 800 block of South High- speeding, 65+ mph in a 50 way 24 said two kids tipped mph zone, $196.

Kimberly D. Woolaver, 28, over his garbage can.

Kennewick, speeding, 71 mph 11:24 p.m., a male subject was arrested at Highway 26 in a 60 mph zone, no valid and South Taylor for DUI. He driver’s license with identifiwas also cited for speeding cation, no insurance, $433.

Jeronima Montemayor Gartoo fast for conditions and passing in a no passing zone. za, 25, Othello, speeding, 45 mph in a 35 mph zone, $113.

Rubenia Alvarado Perez, Tuesday, Aug. 4 32, Othello, speeding, 70 mph 9:17 p.m., an adult male was arrested in the 100 block of in a 55 mph zone, $196.

South First for third-degree drivFriday, July 31 ing with a suspended license. He Abner Valez, 19, Othello, was also cited for driving with switched plates, no proof of in- speeding, 90 mph in a 60 mph zone, $247. surance and expired tabs.

Adelene Accaraz, 20, Othello, speeding, 45+ mph in a Monday, Aug. 3 8:02 a.m., a male subject was 35 mph zone, $124.

Daniel Ray Jordan, 43, Othelarrested at Highway 24, milepost 79, for operating a vehicle with a lo, not wearing seatbelt, $124. valid drivers license. sPike in trAffic 11:56 a.m., a male subject fAtAlities at Othello Community Hospital cOncerns WsP said he was assaulted at the fairgrounds in Grant County.

Washington State Patrol 12:46 p.m., a resident in the troopers are urging motor600 block of South Saddle said ists to make better choices she and her father had money and hopefully, stem a recent stolen from their home. spike in highway fatalities.

12:53 p.m., fire units locatLast weekend, troopers reed suspicious items in a field in sponded to six major collithe 200 block of West Mountain sions in which a total of 10 View Lane. At the south end of people died. It was the deadthe field that had been burned liest weekend of 2009. was a small pile of burnt items “This loss of life is of great that included Sudafed, Adekon concern to me,” Chief John R. Ampule and Sinitar.

Batiste, Washington State Pa3:25 p.m., a subject was trol, said. “And we do not want arrested at First and Highway it repeated this weekend.”

26 for three Adams County Three of the 10 people warrants. killed were not wearing their 4:56 p.m., a resident in seatbelts. Alcohol was involved the 600 block of South Saddle in three of the collisions. said someone stole his mail Additional contributing facand mailbox. Deputies investors to the collisions were tigating the scene said it apspeed, aggressive driving and peared the mailbox had been driver inattention. hit as there were tire tracks “All of the contributing facleading to the post, which tors were choices made by was on the ground. The box the vehicle drivers,” Batiste was located about 15 yards said. “We hope others will from the post in the field. learn from these tragedies The mail was in the box. and make better choices.”

8:16 p.m., an adult male The six collisions occurred was arrested at Highway 26 in all parts of the state – and Booker Road for secondthree in Yakima County and degree driving with a susone each in Thurston, Lincoln pended license. He was also and Snohomish counties. cited for speeding.

Three of the collisions were 8:44 p.m., a collision occurred one-vehicle collisions, one inon South McKinney Road. volved four vehicles and two involved two vehicles.

Sunday, Aug. 2 The weather was not a fac3:31 a.m., a vehicle was tor as the roadways were on fire in the 800 block of bare and dry. Two of the colSouth Taylor Road. The fire lisions occurred at night and

the rest were between noon and 8:30 p.m.

The weather forecast for this weekend is for mild temperatures with a possibility of rain. “Because we have had no rain recently, when it does come, some roadways may be slick,” Batiste said. “Watch your speed and following distances. Give yourself enough room to maneuver if an emergency arises.”

Batiste said when a driver gets behind the wheel or grabs onto the handlebars of a motorcycle, they are the one making the decisions.

“The WSP is asking you to make wise choices because wrong decisions could result in collisions, which could cost your life or the life of an innocent party,” he said.

“Please drive safely.”

drive hAmmered, get nAiled: Busting the

myths Of imPAired driving

Extra DUI patrols are out on Grant County roadways in search of impaired drivers through Sept. 7.

Participating in this summer’s Drive Hammered, Get Nailed enforcement campaign are the Ephrata and Quincy Police Departments, the Grant County Sheriffs Office and the Washington State Patrol, with the support of the Central Basin Traffic Safety Task Force.

There are numerous myths surrounding impaired driving, chief of which is that one must have consumed alcohol in order to be arrested for DUI. Drivers can become impaired by the use of illegal, prescription and even over-the-counter drugs or some combination of these, with or without the presence of alcohol.

Other myths about impaired driving: False: You can sober up quickly by drinking coffee, taking a cold shower or consuming an energy drink.

Truth: Only time will sober you up. It typically takes about one hour for each drink that has been consumed.

False: It’s OK to drive impaired if you are only going a short distance. Truth: It is never safe to drive under the influence.

False: My doctor wouldn’t have prescribed the medicine if it wasn’t safe to drive while taking it. Truth: Prescription medications can impair you.

If the bottle indicates that it is not safe to operate heavy machinery, you should not drive after taking that medication.

False: I can’t be arrested for DUI if I am under a .08.

Truth: You can be arrested for DUI if your ability to drive is affected by any substance, regardless of your blood alcohol content (BAC).

All of these and many more myths are untrue, yet recognizing and identifying the source of impairment can be complicated.

Today, there is a statewide network of specially trained law enforcement officers able to identify drivers who are under the influence of illegal, prescription and-or over-the-counter drugs. They are called Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) and they are trained extensively about the differing effects of drugs andor alcohol on the body.

DRE Deputy Josh Sainsbury, of the Grant County Sheriffs Office, stopped a vehicle in which the driver said he was only taking anti-depressant medication as prescribed. He was showing all the signs of impairment and although he was sure he had passed all the field sobriety tests, he had not.

The driver was listening to the radio and was continually changing the channel, while speaking with heavily slurred speech that was not understandable. He finally admitted to smoking marijuana he had found in a dumpster when he was dumpster diving and he was arrested for DUI. DRE Trooper Chris Lloyd, WSP Moses Lake detachment, recalled an early experience after becoming a DRE. Lloyd stopped a driver after he had bounced his car off of 14 parked cars. Lloyd said he looked as though he was highly impaired by alcohol but had no alcohol in his system. However, the driver had recently filled his prescription of Ambien and had become impaired by taking it.

The driver thought he was OK to drive because he was prescribed the medication, but he was arrested for DUI. In Washington state, the DRE program and toxicology testing are resulting in better identification of the effects of drugs on drivers.

Between 1998 and 2007, drug-involved traffic deaths increased by 150 percent. During this time, the number of deceased drivers tested for drugs increased by 60 percent.

It is also important to emphasize that any law enforcement officer can arrest a driver suspected of DUI. Impaired driving is the leading cause of traffic deaths in Washington.

Last year, impaired drivers contributed to the deaths of almost half of the 522 people who died on Washington’s roadways.

The 233 impaired driverinvolved deaths in 2008 represent a decrease of 40 fatalities compared to the previous five-year average.

Nationally, there were almost 13,000 people killed by impaired drivers during 2007. Those preventable deaths represent an average of one person being killed every 40 minutes in the United States.

For additional information about the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, visit wtsc.wa.gov.

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The Othello Outlook – Thursday, October 22, 2009

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The cooling of hunting fever?

By Jim Pearson

Neither dust, nor rain, nor snow nor hail prevented Tom Perry and me from our appointment in Wyoming. We left at 5 a.m. on Oct. 4 and east of Othello, we hit a dust storm.

Before we shut down the Ford in Billings, Mont., 11 and a half hours later, we hit all that other bad stuff.

The next morning, snow plows did their gig on I-90, as we crossed the Little Bighorn River and I heard bugles. I always do. Then we came to the battlefield near the town of Garryowen. The town took its name from the unofficial marching song of the 7th U.S. Cavalry under the command of George Armstrong Custer, the man responsible for the deaths of so many of his men there in the place the Indians called Greasy Grass — arrogant, conceited and, until then, extremely lucky — Custer. I don’t feel sorry for him, but his men deserved a better leader.

The next day, Tom and I went hunting with Mickey Thunder Hawk, the greatgrandnephew of Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse was at the Bighorn with chiefs Gall and Sitting Bull that ill-fated day in

1876 when Custer told his Indian scouts they didn’t know what they were talking about when they told him the grass had been eaten down in one night by 3,000 Indian ponies.

When Custer proceeded, the scouts turned back. They lived. Custer died.

Mickey is the main man on the large cattle ranch where we hunted mule deer and antelope. The deer are healthy and their numbers are growing, thanks in some measure to the solar-power-assisted windmills that pump water to troughs throughout the thousands of acres.

Ken Ford, brother-in-law to the ranch owner, told us deer numbers are increasing since water is being piped to more and more places. And the gray partridge (commonly called “Hungarians”) numbers are at an all-time high.

Slick, wet ranch roads caused the old Suburban to slither down muddy roads as greasy gumbo balled up on the tires. Later that morning, Tom shot a large four-by-three deer in the company of three other smaller bucks.

The next day, I looked at a magnificent four-by-four through the crosshairs for sev-

eral minutes before I said, “Go away, buck. Live another day.”

That night at dinner, I remarked that in an earlier time, I would have pulled the trigger and shouted “thank you” to the hunting gods. I had no explanation to offer.

Maybe I was growing soft.

Maybe I had shot my allotted number of deer. Maybe God apportions deer to hunters and once that number has been reached, God turns the hunter soft. Maybe.

The next day, Tom went with Rusty, a taxidermist who also guides in the fall. They would look for antelope while Mickey and I went after my deer.

At 8:30, Mickey and I looked at several deer, four of them shootable bucks, but the best one, a large four-by-three, was 257 yards away, browsing at the bottom of a draw.

I didn’t want to drag that deer back up the steep hillside and I said so.

When Mickey said, “No problem. I can drive around and get very close,” I shot and the buck dropped. I asked if I should walk down to the deer so he could spot me easily after he drove three miles around the ridge tops and down a steep hillside in order

to reach the spot. He said that wasn’t necessary.

He drove that old Chevy to within 50 yards of the deer.

Amazing! I’m certain the moguls at General Motors never intended a Suburban to be used in that manner.

After the pictures were taken, I carried the camera, heart and liver back while Mickey easily skidded the deer downhill in the snowslickened grass.

At 10:15, on the way back to the ranch, I shot a ho-hum antelope and my Wyoming hunt was over for 2009. Both were one-shot kills thanks to a superbly accurate Winchester model 70 .300 short magnum using handloaded 150-grain Barnes Triple Shock bullets.

Using the magnum may have been overkill, but the shot placement and the bullet construction made for very little meat destruction. I have taken five head of big game thus far with that bullet and I have yet to recover one, even though one bullet didn’t exit a California boar I slammed in the shoulder. We left that bullet in the gut pile, I suppose.

I had intended to shoot a Thompson-Center Pro Hunter in 25-06, but it wasn’t shooting

Photo by Jim Pearson

Mickey Thunder Hawk holds the antlers of the four-by-three-point mule deer the author shot at 257 yards down a steep slope.

accurately so I went to a backup rifle. The Winchester shoots two inches high at 100 yards whether the barrel is clean or dirty, hot or cold. Maybe next year, it will be the 25-06.

Of course, I might just take

the Thompson-Center with a 3006 Bergara barrel and leave the 25-06 at home. I’m playing with 130-grain Triple Shocks in the -06 and they’re shooting well.

I guess the hunting fever hasn’t cooled after all.

Tree protection tips for Urban & Community Forestry Month

By Chuck Turley, Washington State Forester Washington State Department of Natural Resources

It’s fall and as trees prepare for the winter stages of their growth cycles, it’s a good time to think about whether to trim trees on your property. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a big investment in trees and so do you. To protect your investment, DNR cautions against ‘topping’ a tree. Topping is cutting major branches back to stubs or removing more than half of the leafy crown of a tree.

Even if you live on a small

lot, your trees probably add value to your property from 7 to 25 percent, say many arborists and insurance appraisers. ‘Topping’ can reduce a tree’s visual appeal, as well its value and health.

Topping stresses trees. Removing half or more of a tree’s leaf-bearing branches temporarily starves the tree. The tree tries to make up for a sudden, large loss of leaves by sprouting shoots below each major cut. The tree becomes stressed and more vulnerable to damaging insects and disease.

Topping causes decay.

Whacking off branches indiscriminately leaves long stubs

where branches once grew.

These stubs are wounds that the tree cannot close, giving decay organisms a route into the remaining branches.

Topping is a hazard. When large parts of a tree are removed, the tree will grow new shoots as quickly as possible.

These new shoots grow fast but are never as sturdy as the original branches. After a few years, these spindly sprouts grow longer but are still fragile and easily broken in the wind. The result is more danger to people, vehicles and structures than if the tree had been left alone.

Topping costs more in the long run. A topped tree will

likely need pruning much sooner than if the job had been done correctly in the first place. The money you save by topping a tree is spent several times over on additional trimming.

Pruning a large tree is a hard and dangerous job for the average homeowner. Look for a tree care company with an experienced arborist on staff and preferably one who is certified with one of the major national arborist organizations, such as the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), which is widely recognized as the industry’s standard. Ask for the trimmer’s proof of insurance. Get

references and call them.

Think twice about services that want to remove a large part of the leafy area of your trees. ‘Heading,’ ‘tipping’ or ‘rounding over’ are all terms for topping. Find a certified arborist in your area by visiting the regional chapter of the ISA online at www.pnwisa.org.

Most homeowners don’t intend to hack up their trees.

Usually, they are concerned about a tree growing too large for their urban lot. By turning to an inexperienced or inept tree trimmer, they often end up with a mess. If a tree is truly too large for your lot or poses a hazard to you, neigh-

bors or utilities, it may have to be removed and replaced with a smaller-growing species more suitable to the site.

DNR staffs a Community and Urban Forestry Program that advises private landowners and communities about tree health. We can share tips on how you and your community can be good stewards of the trees around you in your town and in your yard. Contact us by calling (360) 902-1703 or (800)532-TREE. Our e-mail is urban_forestery@dnr.wa.gov.

Find more online at www.dnr. wa.gov/ResearchScience/Topics/ UrbanForestry/Pages/rp_urban_ commandurbanforestry.aspx.

Grant helps Northwest potato farmers go green Washington State University entomologist Bill Snyder has received a $2.05 million USDA grant to help potato farmers reduce their use of insecticides in the Pacific Northwest.

“Currently, potato farmers are between a rock and a hard place,” Snyder said. “They are going to have to learn to produce a blemish-free crop while at the same time using very few pesticides.”

On the one hand, Snyder said, even slight insect or disease damage to potatoes can lead to an entire crop being rejected by a processor. On the other hand, large buyers of potato products have begun to require farmers to

pass “Sustainability Audits” demonstrating that they are using as few pesticides as possible.

The USDA Risk Avoidance and Mitigation grant allows Snyder and his multi-disciplinary research and extension team to investigate low-spray techniques for managing insects that transmit plant pathogens, as well as other insect pests of potato.

“Potato growers in Washington and the Pacific Northwest produce the highest yields in the world,” said Andy Jensen, Director of Research for the Washington State Potato Commission.

“The region leads in potato production for both the fresh market and for processing. Potatoes con-

tribute $9 billion dollars a year to the U.S. economy.”

In recent years, potato growers have faced mounting pressure from major buyers to accelerate their adoption of ‘green’ approaches to pest management.

“Potato production is affected by numerous pests and pathogens and the proposed research effort brings together scientists from across disciplines, organizations and state lines,” Hanu Pappu, chair of the WSU Department of Plant Pathology and a co-principal investigator on the grant, said. “This is another example of the leadership role played by WSU researchers in building research and extension

teams to address and solve complex agricultural issues.”

Snyder and his team are using a three-tiered research and education approach to deal with pest control in potato.

The first tier involves developing a multi-state sampling network to detect aphids and leafhoppers and their associated plant pathogens, so that farmers know precisely when their fields are at risk of attack.

Then, sprays can be carefully timed to hit the pests when they are most vulnerable.

In the second tier, the team will develop a detailed understanding of which beneficial predatory insects are contributing to natural

pest control.

They will do this by searching for the DNA of pests in the stomachs of predatory insects collected from potato fields.

“It’s a little like an episode of ‘CSI,’ but here we’re using DNA to track down which good bugs have killed which bad bugs,” Snyder said.

The third tier involves developing an improved understanding of how growers decide when and where to apply pesticides and also creating the means for growers to analyze the economic effectiveness of new low-spray strategies.

“Of course, none of this will work if growers can’t turn a healthy profit,” Snyder said.

Results and integrated pest management recommendations will be disseminated to growers through an innovative extension program that emphasizes handson learning and in-field demonstration, in addition to Web and print publications.

The principal investigators on the RAMP grant include entomologists, virologists, extension educators, economists and sociologists from WSU, the University of Idaho, Oregon State University and the USDA-ARS. The research will be directed by an advisory panel of industry representatives including the potato commissions of Oregon, Idaho and Washington.

Sunny Farms Fruit Market 2050 Main Street — Near Wal-Mart GET FARM FRESH PRODUCE ALL WEEK!

We still have plenty of pumpkins, squash and apples to offer you!

Last Day for the Season will be Oct. 31 Thank you for all your business — we look forward to seeing you next year!

NEW HOURS

Monday – Friday Sunday

10 am –5:30 pm 1 pm – 5:30 pm

Bring this coupon into our market and get

Apples for 60¢/lb. limit 10 lbs.

Valid through October 31, 2009