THE SENTINEL REACHES 9 OUT OF 10 ADULTS IN GOLDENDALE
Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2021
Vol. 142 No. 36
$1.00
Porter West will not be stopped
JOHN LONGFELLOW
TIMBERWOLVES STRIKE: Friday night’s Goldendale High School opening football game was a triumph for the Timberwolves. Here the Wolves take down a White Salmon Bruins runner.
GHS takes home opener TAYLER BRADLEY FOR THE SENTINEL This last Friday marked the first home game for the Goldendale High School varsity football team of the 2021 season, and it was exciting for all the players, coaches, students, and the community to have a football game under the bright lights on Goldendale’s home field. The game was played against the White Salmon Bruins. The Goldendale Timberwolves took the field in true patriotic passion, carrying an American Flag to start one of America’s greatest pastimes. The team captains met in the middle of the field, did the coin toss, the referee blew his whistle, and the first kick of the game was
in play. Both teams started out strong with lots of excitement. The Timberwolves first play was actually a trick play that went for a 34-yard touchdown. This first scoring play gave the boys a boost of confidence and really pumped them up, setting the tone for the rest of the game. With the first touchdown on the books, it didn’t take long for the Timberwolves to get into the end zone again. In their first six offensive plays they scored four touchdowns. The varsity Timberwolves were on fire and made sure to hold onto that flame the whole game. The offense was able to score a total of 52 points from 8 touchdowns. They missed a few point-after kicks, but it didn’t stop them, and they know it is
something they can work on. It was a great start, something the team can carry on through the rest of the season. The defensive line also played exceptionally well, holding the Bruins to only 20 points. Quarterback Kade Bomberger had an amazing start to his season—he was able to set a school record for most touchdown passes in a game. He threw five total passes that ended in scoring a touchdown, a very cool accomplishment for a leader on the team. The first home game for the Timberwolves was a huge success and a great start to hopefully an amazing season. Their next game is Friday, September 10, in Cashmere, Washington.
CONTRIBUTED
DETERMINATION: Ten-year-old Porter West was driven by purpose: to get a shirt on a sheep. How he did it may just become the stuff of legend.
LOU MARZELES EDITOR On the front, 10-year-old Porter West’s ribbon from last month’s Klicitat County Fair just says, “Contest Winner.” But on the back, it reads, “2021 Sheepdressing, Heart of Gold Award, No Quit!” In those eight words lies a story of relentless determination to get a T-shirt on a sheep. He got the job done, but more admirable was how he did it. Just in case you’re rusty on your rodeo terminology, sheepdressing means rushing out, grabbing a sheep, putting a T-shirt on it, and getting the sheep in its T-shirt back to where it came from. It’s done in teams. But that Sunday, when the time came for the event, Porter’s team was nowhere to be found. The others in the team had a mix-up on the time. Porter stood there— briefly—wondering what to do, on this, his very first try at sheepdressing. Then it hit him, a flash of inspiration that instantly sent him into action, and off he went. He would be his own team. First stop: get a T-shirt. “I had to go back and get the shirt,” Porter recalls. He hadn’t gotten one because, without his team, no one was sure if this was going to happen. Well, one person was. So he just went and got a shirt. Get the shirt. Check. What’s item two? Oh, yeah, get on the field. Easy-peasy. Just jump over the railing. No, really. That’s exactly what Porter did. Item three: find a sheep among the dozen or so milling around minding their own business and surely unconcerned with that cute kid moving toward them. Imagine the surprise of that lucky critter chosen at quick random by Porter, who started encouraging it to slip into a nice, thoughtfully color-coordinated
shirt. That sheep is probably still talking about it back home. “Ralph, you wouldn’t believe what this kid was trying to do!” So Porter is driven by a purpose he won’t let go. Team? I don’t need no team. T-shirt? Gimme that. Sheep? Got it. Then he focused on the job at hand. “It didn’t take me that long to get the shirt on the sheep,” Porter says, “since I didn’t have to get it over the legs. ’Cause you really need two people to get over the legs.” Ah. That’s why there are teams. But hey, he was improvising here. Determination means more than just technicalities. But getting the sheep back? Not so easy. The animal just lay on the ground, not that it wouldn’t have minded getting up. But it couldn’t free its front legs. Problem. Solution? Take the shirt off. Crude, but effective. Finally free, it dashed back over to his friends, who were probably all snickering inside. Episode over. Well, not quite. Judges mulled over the extraordinary spectacle. It didn’t really have a straightforward fit in the rulebooks. But extraordinary it was, and it needed an extraordinary message. It came in the form of a “Heart of Gold” award. That’s something to remember for a lifetime. Does Porter have a message of his own for other kids? Absolutely. “Just don’t give up,” he says.
It hit him, a flash of inspiration that sent him into action.
GOLDENDALE POLICE FACEBOOK PAGE
CLEAN UP IN THE WINE AISLE: A trio of brazen robbers broke the glass door at Holcomb’s Market last week, as one photograph from the store’s security camera shows. They bolted in, grabbed handfuls of things that didn’t belong to them, and bolted back out. No word at press time on the suspects’ apprehension
Domestic Violence offender apprehended A man violating a Domestic Violence No Contact order was apprehended by Goldende Police Sunday after a police dog was released and bit him. At about 9:12 a.m. that day, Sergeant Mike Smith responded to a report of Joey Russell being at a residence in the 800 block of South Schuster, making threats of hurting his wife. There was a valid Domestic Violence No Contact Order in effect at the time, which legally prohibited Russell from being at his wife’s residence and making any contact with her; she is the listed protected person. The incident occurred at the apartment complex in the same 800 block of South Schuster. The suspect was positively identified as Russell. The victim gave Sergeant Smith permission to go inside her residence to look for Russell. The door was found to be locked from a lock that could only be accessed from inside the residence. Law enforcement officers from the
Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office, including their K9 unit, and the Washington State Patrol arrived for backup to assist Smith. The front door was forced open by a door ram, and Smith loudly announced multiple times “Police” and instructed Russell he was under arrest and to come out of the residence. Russell did not respond. The K9 Deputy announced multiple times for Russell to come out or the K9 would be deployed. Russell again did not respond. A search of the residence main floor, attic, and crawl space under the residence was made. The crawl space was the last area to be searched. The K9 officer announced again multiple times for Russell to come out or the K9 would be deployed, and he would be bitten. Russell again did not respond to any of the commands. The K9 was deployed, and Russell was located by the K9 in the crawl space. The K9 did bite Russell, causing injuries to his left ear, shoulder, and arm. Russell
GOLDENDALE POLICE FACEBOOK PAGE
Joey Russell.
was interviewed by the K9 Deputy. Russell admitted he heard all the commands to come out before being bitten by the K9. He said he did not respond because he did not want to go to jail. Russell was apprehended and medics were immediately dispatched to the residence. He was transported to the hospital by medics for treatment. Criminal charges for Violation of the DV No Contact Order and Resisting Arrest were requested to be filed against Russell.