(STAFF REPORTS/Chewelah Independent)

Could we move the holiday to the end of the month…

October 31 will no longer be the official date of Halloween if some petitioners get their way.

According to an article from ABC News, as of July 25, more than 60,000 people have already signed an online Change.org petition to move the celebration of Halloween to the last Saturday in October rather than on the 31st. That number has since jumped to more than 106,000 signatures.

The Halloween & Costume Association, who started the petition, was aiming for 75,000 signatures (now updated to 150,000), ABC News said, citing a move could create a “Safer, Longer, Stress-Free Celebration.”

About 3,800 injuries occur each year as a result of Halloween, and about 70% of trick-or-treaters go unaccompanied by their parents, according to the Halloween & Costume Association, ABC News said. More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

The Spokane Northstars picked up one win at the State AAA Legion State Tourney in Bellingham over the weekend. (Angie Sweat photo)

FINISHING SEASON: Northstars travel to Bellingham to play state’s best, defeat Wenatchee Valley Apple Packers…

The Spokane Northstars did not come home from the state American Legion AAA Tournament empty-handed. They returned with a 2-1 win over the Wenatchee Valley Apple Packers that will linger longer than their two losses to Bellingham and Port Angeles. Although their season came to an abrupt ending with Monday’s second loss in the double-elimination state finale, the Northstars won 25 games over the summer and molded a baseball brotherhood that will endure for many more seasons.

With the score tied at one run apiece in the top of the sixth inning with two outs, Stars third baseman Justin Jones hit a ground ball to the Packer shortstop and had to dive into first base to avoid the tag on an errant throw that took the first baseman off the bag. Andrew Sweat then hammered a double into the left field gap that plated Jones to score the winning run.

“JJ scored all the way from first base and slid into home plate ahead of the tag,” said Coach Eric Krausz. More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

Sam Triplett throws a pitch for the Chewelah 49ers during the AA Legion District Tournament. (Brandon Hansen photo)

BOWING OUT: Chewelah AA squad with plenty of young players shows mountains of improvement during summer season…

A four-run lead going into Mead’s final at-bat wasn’t enough for Chewelah last Saturday as the Panthers scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to steal the Forty-Niners’ ticket to the state tournament. The 11-10 loss brought an unexpected end to a Cinderella season for the Niners, who became a serious league contender during the second half of the season that included an eight-game winning streak.

Chewelah ran out of veteran pitchers in the late innings. Jake Jeanneret threw the first five and one-third innings and left the mound with a 9-6 lead. After that, the rookie Niner bullpen surrendered six runs over the next two innings to absorb the lethal loss. Chewelah had doubled-up Mead 8-4 earlier in the tournament. More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

The Spokane Northstars celebrate their district championship after defeating the Shadle Park Shockers on Sunday. (Colin Haffner photo)

BELLINGHAM BOUND: Chewelah, Colville and Selkirk-laden AAA Legion squad wins district championship…

The Spokane Northstars kept the potential tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the final inning as they held on to defeat the Shadle Park Shockers 5-4 in the championship game of the Spokane American Legion AAA District Tournament on Sunday. First baseman Zak Kubik gloved a fly ball for the concluding out, leaving the two Shocker runners stranded.

With the score tied at four runs apiece going into the last inning, Carl Oman hit a sacrifice fly that brought Broc Houser home with the winning run. Houser had doubled and gone to third base on a wild pitch to be in position to tag up and score the game changer on Oman’s fly ball into centerfield.

“I’m super proud of what these guys have accomplished,” said Coach Eric Krausz. “They are definitely peaking at the right time. These guys are selfless. They have a team mentality. Everyone puts the team first. Everyone contributes to the team. That has been the thing that has made us so successful.”

With the win, the Northstars earned the district’s number one seed into the upcoming state tournament. Shadle Park also got its state ticket punched, along with Mt. Spokane and the Spokane Bandits, as they earned the Spokane district’s other three entries into the state finale.

This year’s state AAA tournament will be held in Bellingham and Anacortes. It will be a 16-team double-elimination event on July 27 through August 1.

The title game stayed close from start to finish, with the Northstars remaining one run ahead through most of the seven innings. Shadle Park knotted the score twice, but the Stars always scored the go-ahead run. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

The Sara Brown Band has become a draw in Stevens County and beyond with Sara’s unique style and her band’s distinct act. (K.S. Brooks photo)

BEHIND THE MUSIC: Passion fuels area artists a lot more than the money…

The music is part of the attraction to Chataqua, with a wide variety of acts both locally and from out of the area. Some you might recognize, as these touring musicians will end up performing at other establishments, venues and festivals.

While the lights are bright, you might even find a new favorite band that you end up following on social media, but the truth still remains that most indie artists have to find alternative forms of income to supplement their musical aspirations.

“Most musicians have multiple jobs,” Sara Brown of the Sara Brown Band said. “The dream for many of us musicians is to be able to eventually cover all of our financial needs by making music.”
Chewelah musician Craig McQuain is under no ideas of grandeur when it comes to making money for music. He picks and chooses his gigs as it matches up with the rest of his family life.
“I am lucky to be able to pick and choose,” McQuain said. “If it was my only source of income, I would be on the street every day looking for more gigs.” More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

Springdale will play a 1B football schedule this year and remain an Independent within leagues and classification, although considered technically a 2B school. (File photo)

Former AD Dodge moves to position at Liberty…

Kyle Dodge has resigned his positions as athletic director and wrestling coach at Mary Walker High School in Springdale and has been hired as the athletic director of the Liberty School District in Spangle.

“Liberty started phoning me back in May when they learned that their athletic director was resigning at the end of the school year,” said Dodge. “I accepted the job because Liberty is a strong athletic contender in the 2B ranks, while Springdale will probably be dropping to the 1B classification soon because of its steadily decreasing enrollment. And, I live in Spokane, so it is a shorter drive for me to go to Liberty than it was to drive up to Springdale.”

According to Dodge, Springdale will continue to play an independent sports schedule through the 2019-20 school year. The Chargers will play eight-man football against 1B teams and a mixed schedule against 1B and 2B teams in other sports.

More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Kaden Krouse is turning heads as fullback, getting some “among the top fantasy football high school players in the state.”

Chewelah being touted a top 4 team if they can survive regular season schedule…

Chewelah hasn’t played a football game this year but they’re already getting respect from the west side of the mountains. The 2B football team made the widest improvement out of nearly any team last year when they made an emergency drop down from the 1A classification. Going from a 1-2 win team from previous years, the Cougars advanced to the State 2B quarterfinals. 

The Lewis County-based “Let’s Take About It” produced by the Chronicle in Centralia brought members of the WIAA seeding committee to talk about what teams they were watching.  

“Chewelah is a team I would absolutely put in the final four,” Ryland Spencer, writer for Cascadia Preps and 247Sports said. Spencer is a member of the WIAA 2B seeding committee.

While the podcast largely focused on the west side, Stevens County got plenty of love when trying to figure out what this fall’s postseason might look like. Chewelah recently released its football schedule and it is … very difficult … a point not lost on the seeding committee. More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

The Spokane Northstars sent some love over the Chataqua weekend, sporting these wristbands in honor of the Mike Carpenter Memorial Tournament. (Courtesy photo)

LOOKING FORWARD: Legion squad looking to soar in district tourney…

AAA American Legion teams need to have a full stable of starting pitchers and a bullpen full of relief pitchers when they compete in a tournament in which they play five or six games over a four-day weekend. Some teams are able to fortify their roster with enough chuckers to fill the schedule through Sunday’s final games. Some may not, depending on how many games they have to play.

The Spokane Northstars came up short in Kennewick last Sunday. They had to remove Carl Oman’s catcher’s gear and put him on the mound to finish that afternoon’s final game. Hopefully, Oman will be able to continue wearing his mask, chest protector, and shin guards this weekend when area AAA teams meet for the district championship.

Spokane’s six AAA American Legion teams will gather at Jackson Field on the Shadle Park High School campus to decide the district’s four entries into the upcoming state tournament. The Northstars have been seeded fourth in the four-day event and will open play on Friday evening at 5 p.m. against the Mt. Spokane Wild, a team they have defeated twice during the league season.

Considering all of the tournaments the Northstars have competed in this summer in Oregon, Montana and Washington, they should have the experience to earn one of those four tickets to the state finale. That is, if pitching can hold up through Sunday. More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

Jake Jeanneret celebrates a run against Mead during AA Legion action. (Brandon Hansen photo)

BATS CONTINUE TO BE HOT: 49ers look like they’ve struck gold heading into postseason…

Exhausted Chewelah bats did not get their second wind until the sixth inning at Colville on Friday. After thumping 33 hits in wins over Cheney and Mead earlier in the week, fatigued Niner bats recuperated through the first five innings against the Indians. By that time, the home team had built a 7-0 lead, leaving Chewelah only two at-bats to close the gap, which they almost accomplished.

The Niners scored five runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to narrow the Colville lead to 9-8, but they left the tying and go-ahead runs on the base as the late rally fell short.

“We were just one hit away from winning at Colville,” said Coach Tom Skok. “We had runners on base. We just didn’t get the hit we needed.
“Everything seems to be coming together at just the right time for us. Both our pitching and hitting have really improved.” More