(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Justin Carstens was named the new head coach of the Kettle Falls Bulldogs. (Courtesy photo)

NEW HEAD COACH: Justin Carstens has traveled a long road to become the new head coach of Kettle Falls football…

Few can claim football is their passion and walk the walk like new Kettle Falls Head Football Coach Justin Carstens.

The Kettle Falls native played football for the Bulldogs, did student coaching in Colfax while in college and, just as his coaching career began – life threw a bad pass his way.

Health issues with his kidneys cropped up and he started dialysis after a failed transplant in 2015. He was 24 and moved back to his hometown.

While going through this, Carstens has been an assistant coach for former Kettle Falls coaches Curtis Corvino and Loren Finley.

“I hope some of the kids can relate to my life story and see that it takes a good attitude, effort and determination to be successful,” Carstens said. “Life is going to give you some adversity, and it all depends on how you react to it.”

Carstens received a successful kidney transplant in October of 2019 after years or prayers and support from the community. More

(PRESS RELEASE/Eastern Washington University)

Big Sky Conference announces plans to move to eight-game spring schedule with fall non-conference games pending further review…

In the latest decision in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Big Sky Conference announced Friday (Aug. 7) that all league schools – including Eastern Washington University — will move to an eight-game schedule in early 2021. Presumably, the schedule could start as early as February.

The league’s athletic directors reached that decision on Wednesday, and it was approved by the Big Sky’s Presidents’ Council on Thursday.

Non-conference play for the conference’s football programs is still pending further review. Eastern has home non-conference games scheduled on Sept. 12 versus Western Illinois and Sept. 19 against Northern Arizona, and will be working with those schools to re-schedule as a result of the Big Sky’s decision. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

U.S. House Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Rodgers earns 51.2 percent of the vote…

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers has been in the U.S. House since 2005 and is looking strong heading into yet another general election.

McMorris Rodgers earned 51.2 percent of the vote (70,833) in a field of five candidates. Dave Wilson, a Democrat, earned 24 percent of the vote (34,066) and will be moving on to the general election.

One Republican challenge, Stephen T. Major, garnered eight percent of the vote of 11,925 votes. This means 59 percent of votes cast in the race went for Republicans. More

(PRESS RELEASE/WIAA)

The Cross Country State Championships are being moved back to early spring. (File photo)

The WIAA Executive Board continued its planning for the 2020-21 school year at the July 28 meeting and took action on a number of items regarding the scheduling of sports and activities for the upcoming year.

After the announcement that the WIAA will sanction four seasons during the July 21 meeting, the Board continued to receive feedback from member schools as well as the planning committee assembled to provide guidance on the best path for returning to high school sports in Washington. In addition to a brief summary of each of the Board’s action items below, a detailed calendar for each sport is attached to this email. The intention of the document is to provide a planning resource for member schools and their administration, however, the dates provided are tentative given the ongoing developments of COVID-19.

More

(GENO LUDWIG/Chewelah Independent)

Maddy Koler is playing for Yakima Valley Community College

Kennedy Robison (left) is now placing for the Community Colleges of Spokane. (File photos)

COLLEGE COUGS: Maddie Koler and Kennedy Robison continue to excel on the diamond…

Had the Northwest Athletic Conference softball season not been terminated before league play began, two former Chewelah Cougars would have played second base against each other. Kennedy Robison is the second baseman for the Spokane Falls Sasquatch, and Maddie Koler is the second sacker for the Yakima Valley College Yaks. Both young ladies came home when the door was slammed on their season and their schools closed because of the coronavirus.

The shortened season was probably hardest on the Spokane Falls Lady Sasquatch who got in only four games before the governor cancelled all college sports. For Kennedy, the sudden end of the season was a gloomy experience, because she was playing a new position on her team and was having success both in the field and at the plate. Over the winter, her coach had changed her position from first base to second base, and her hitting had undergone a complete makeover. More