It’s not hard to find players that can put up big numbers playing on winning teams that dominate opponents. And, lots of players can put up big numbers against weak opponents. It is much rarer to find a player who plays on a team that doesn’t have many wins, yet he consistently performs against both the good and the bad teams. One of those players is Yreka Miner Daniel Fisher.

Fisher had a slow start this season, scoring minimal points in the first four games. Then, in the fifth game against Henley, he scored 14 points. He has been in double figures every game since, except one. He scored eight points in Yreka’s 53-39 win over Bonanza.

Fisher leads Yreka in both scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg). He is second in the Northern Athletic League in rebounding and third in scoring, on a team that is 5-11 overall.

Those stats alone might be good enough to earn an Impact Player Award. However, what sealed the award for Fisher was his overtime performance in Yreka’s 63-59 win over Lassen last Friday night.

Fisher scored the first eight points of the third OT period, and eight of nine Yreka points in the period. At one point, he led Lassen 8-0 in the third OT. What’s more impressive is how he scored.

The points didn’t come on clean breakaways. They didn’t come by standing outside the arc and waiting to hit a 3-pointer. Nope, they were mostly down and dirty working man’s points in the paint. Of the eight points in the third OT, four came on put backs and three came via a 3-point play the hard way. The other was on a freebie. (more…)

She hasn’t even started her senior year at Yreka High School, but Alana Hall has already completed her senior project—an incredible trip to Uganda. Hall, the daughter of Mary Ann and Jon Hall, joined 18 other adventurers from the Mountain Christian Fellowship, based in Medford, Ore., on a 15-day journey that left San Francisco on July 4, traveled through three countries, and returned to the states on July 19.

Along the way, Hall had the opportunity to go “dune bashing” in a Toyota Land Cruiser in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and tour the headwaters of the Nile River in Uganda. The group also had a stop-over in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

While Hall had the opportunity to see many sights, the trip wasn’t about being a tourist. It was about bringing education and joy to orphaned children living in the green and lush village of Jinja, Uganda, located on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Hall and the group arrived in Jinja after a six-hour bus ride from the airport in Entebbe, Uganda. While it took them several days to get used to the 10 hour time change, it appears that it didn’t take long to form a bond with the children. That bond was one of the highlights of the trip for Hall.

“The most fun part of the trip was spending time with the Ugandan children,” said Hall.

During their time in Jinja, the Mountain Christian Fellowship team worked with the Aids Orphan Educational Training organization (AOET). According to AOET’s website, it is, “(a)n independent, indigenous, non-governmental organization with the prime mandate of providing an education—formal and/or vocational—to desperately poor, neglected and forgotten orphans whose parents have died of AIDS. AOET assists children with AIDS and widows that have lost their spouses to AIDS and most of them (are) HIV+ themselves.” (more…)

I admit it. I’m not usually as impressed by athletic proficiency in individual sports as I am in team sports. There’s something about people working together to achieve a goal that I find really appealing. However, there are exceptions. One exception is an athlete that is excellent at more than one individual event, especially if those events happen to be grueling—grueling like distance running.

When it comes to middle and long distance running, one of the best in Siskiyou County is Yreka High School junior Kevin Jorgensen. Jorgensen won the 800m and 1600m races at the Northern Athletic League championship meet, last Friday. He also finished second in the 3200m.

Jorgensen’s top time this season for the 800m is 1:58.60, second best in the North Section. He has the fourth best 1600m time in the section (4:33.06).

In the fall, Jorgensen competed in cross country, finishing fourth at the NAL championships in the 5,000m.

Personally, I have a rule about running. If there’s no ball, I’m not running. But, that doesn’t diminish my appreciation for the difficulty involved in distance running. It might be one of the few sports where you can finish last and still have accomplished something. Finishing last obviously isn’t an issue for Jorgensen, which makes him that much more impressive.

So, with that appreciation in mind, Kevin Jorgensen is an Impact Player Award winner. (more…)

It’s standard practice for high schools to require students to finish a senior project before they can graduate. The project a student chooses can cover just about anything imaginable, but generally has some value to the student’s future career plans, has a value to the community, or benefits the student’s personal growth. Tyler Moser, a student at Yreka High School, started with a senior project designed to help the youth group he belongs to, and wound up also helping another group of people in his community.

Moser’s original project was to do a fundraiser to help pay for members of the Decision Life Church 331 Youth Group to attend the Christian based DCLA Conference in Los Angeles this July. About 35,000 teens will attend the conference, which has the theme, “Be Love. Serve. Repeat.”

The fundraiser was based on collecting recyclables. Going door-to-door, Moser and other members of the group collected cans and bottles, which they brought to Yreka Transfer. Yreka Transfer kicked in an extra 10 cents per pound for the cans, and the group raised nearly $1000 for their trip.

Moser said that the motivation for his senior project was, “to give back to the youth group” that he has been a part of for three years.

During the collecting process, Moser’s mentor, Jamie Nowdesha, learned about how the collection of the pull tabs from the aluminum cans could benefit Siskiyou County residents that need dialysis.

“I went to the group and said, ‘Hey guys, let’s do this.’ They were totally for it, and just started ripping tabs. They were stoked,” said Nowdesha. (more…)

To the offense goes most of the glory. To the defense goes? Well, to the defense usually goes a pat on the back from the coach and an occasional acknowledgment from the media and fans. Yet, as the sports cliché goes, “Defense wins championships.” And, strong defense wins me as a fan.

As I was driving to the Yreka Miners semi-final soccer match against Winters, I knew I was going to issue an Impact Player Award. There was no doubt that more than one Lady Miner deserved it. I just didn’t know which one to choose.

As the game unfolded, my choice kept changing, but during the last 15 minutes or so of the match a clear choice emerged: Christina Korcek.

Christina has been a force on defense all season, but her incredible effort and willingness to sacrifice her body to preserve Yreka’s one-point lead late in the match sealed the deal. After the final whistles, Christina could hardly walk and despite the win she was too weary to muster much of a smile (until picture time).

I can’t tell you how many full speed collisions she endured, or how many times I thought she wasn’t going to get back up. What I can tell you is that Christina typifies the Lady Miner soccer tradition of maximum effort and hard-nosed defense, especially during the playoffs. (more…)

One of the most important positions on a soccer field is the center-midfielder. The center-mid needs to be able to pass, shoot, and play defense, as well as act as a “quarterback” on the field. Great conditioning is a must.

Because of its importance to both defense and offense, the center-midfielder has a major impact on how a game is played and the success of the team. For the Yreka Miners, Ross Perry plays the center-midfield position.

In Northern Athletic League play, Perry leads the Miners in goals and is second in assists, as well as third in steals. Perry takes the majority of free kicks, and penalty kicks for the Miners.

Add it all up and it equals an Impact Player Award for Yreka Miner Ross Perry.

The Impact Player Award is given on a monthly basis and goes to Siskiyou County high school athletes, male or female, that have had a significant impact on the success of their team. I select the players based on my own observations, often in consultation with the player’s coaches.

A total of four awards are given each month and are not school specific; they can go to a player at any school that Siskiyou Youth covers. Winners receive Impact T-shirts that were designed by Golden Grotto. The T-shirts and award are cosponsored by Siskiyou Youth and NorCal Classic Hits radio 102.3/101.7.

It’s no secret. For the second year in a row, Yreka Lady Miner Carrie Watson is the county’s top female high school basketball player. I’d say she’s arguably the best, but I don’t know anyone that would actually argue.

When I watch Carrie play ball, two words come to mind. “Wow,” and “Natural.” “Wow” because she exhibits basketball skills that are far beyond what most high school girls can do. To see anything comparable in Siskiyou County, you’ll need to go check out the Lady Eagles at COS.

“Natural” because nothing ever seems to be a struggle. It doesn’t matter

whether its passing, shooting, rebounding, or defense, Carrie almost always seems to be in control, and just sort of “flowing” her way through the game.

And then there are the scoring stats. Carrie, apparently tired from volleyball where she led the Northern Athletic League in kills and blocks, only dropped 30 points on Eagle Point in the season opener. That’s 30 points in the first game. (more…)

By Ray Wolf

How does a player make an impact? If you’re Manny Barragan you rush for 1322 yards. That was the highest total in the Northern Athletic League, and ninth highest in the North Section. And, if you were Barragan you’d be first on the Yreka Miners football team in TDs scored (13), and third in the NAL.

Just for good measure, you’d also average 41.26 yards when you punted, and 29.09 yards when you returned a punt, as well as 22.36 yards on kickoff returns. Combine rushing yards, return yards, and receiving yards, and you’d be just shy of 2000 total yards.

And finally, if you were Barragan, you’d also be the place kicker, and you’d be second on the team in tackles.

Barragan’s performance this season has earned him an Impact Player Award. Congratulations

The Impact Player Award is given on a monthly basis and goes to Siskiyou County high school athletes, male or female, that have had a significant impact on the success of their team. I select the players based on my own observations, often in consultation with the player’s coaches.

A total of four awards are given each month and are not school specific; they can go to a player at any school that Siskiyou Youth covers. Winners receive Impact T-shirts that were designed by Golden Grotto. The T-shirts and award are cosponsored by Siskiyou Youth and NorCal Classic Hits radio 102.3/101.7.

There are three more awards to given out this month….

YREKA – The Powder Keg Awards are given each month to Yreka High School student athletes. The Powder Kegs are chosen based on three main criteria: on-field performance, attitude, and the desire to succeed.

The female Powder Keg award winner for April is Sara Jones. Jones is the third baseman on the Lady Miners softball team. She is in the top three on the team in batting average, home runs, slugging percentage, RBI, and on-base percentage. Jones is also an excellent defensive player, who rarely commits a mental error. In addition, Jones is a team leader, who is constantly encouraging and picking up her teammates. (more…)

By Amber Fiock

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in another country, away from what you know and are used to? That’s exactly what Miss Linda Geddes of Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland has been doing for the past eight months.

Geddes switched lives with Yreka High School teacher Lynda Barnett for the 2007-08 school year, through the Fulbright Exchange Program. The two teachers exchanged houses and jobs. Both are English and drama teachers. For the past several months, Geddes has been teaching drama and sophomore English at Yreka High School.

Geddes was born September 8, 1975, and graduated from Queen’s University of Belfast with a BA in English language and literature. Her favorite parts of being a teacher are reading and talking.

“I get paid to talk about books! Perfect,” Geddes exclaimed.

She has also worked as a counselor, in retail, and in a children’s home.

Geddes chose to come to America based on the friendly atmosphere she experienced from the five times she’s visited in the past. She also feels there’s a lot to see and do. The students and YHS librarian Sandee Sanders have become Geddes’ favorite part of Yreka. (more…)