Merry Christmas 2009 from Pullman

2009, Pianist Paul Henning thrilled Bishop Place audience in Pullman

With his grandfather and parents proudly looking on from the front row, pianist Paul Henning entertained and thrilled the audience filling the Bishop Place Independent Living Social Room on Dec. 22, 2009, during “An Evening of Music.”

The grandson of Greg Neill, Bishop Place resident, his parents are Carolee and William Armfield of Pullman

Henning grew up in Pullman and is an alum of Washington State University and Pullman High School. He also studied at USC.

He lives in Los Angeles scoring orchestrations for films, working on orchestral arrangements, playing the piano and violin and more.

For his biographical information, visit here.

............

Story from Dec. 26, 2015, below about Paul Henning. Although it says he was born in Pullman, that's not the case. He was born in Spokane. Grew up in Pullman. Link to his bio info here:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377418/bio

Pullman-born musician helped score new Star Wars 

Staff of three kept digital record updated as John Williams created, revised

By Associated Press, Dec 26, 2015

PULLMAN — A Pullman native and Washington State University grad helped create the new Star Wars score with Academy Award-winning composer-conductor John Williams.

Paul Henning tells The Moscow-Pullman Daily News that working with Williams to create the musical score for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was a long but gratifying experience.

It was hard to keep up with Williams, 83, who still works daily, said Henning.

Henning, who now lives in Los Angeles, was one of three people entering each handwritten note and musician’s performance direction into a laptop computer using electronic keyboards.

Williams is considered by most the best modern composer of film scores. Along with the Star Wars films, he also created the music for “Jaws,” “Superman,” “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial” and all of the Indiana Jones films.

Hearing those scores had a major influence on Henning.

“He’s a genius,” said Henning, 39. Williams is “a perfectionist and very exacting. He revises extensively.”

Williams’ initial pencil sketches of each composition undergo revisions using red ink, then in green ink. Later revisions have pieces of paper containing new material taped on older sketches.

“It’s comforting to see someone, even at his level, know that he could do better,” Henning said.

The seventh episode of Star Wars required about a year of musical work. Williams wrote more than 150 pieces of music for the movie, about half of which were used, Henning said.

After the score was worked and reworked, heavy re-editing of the film required the music to be revised to fit visual sequences. 

Director J.J. Abrams is also known as a perfectionist, Henning said.

Final work on the music was completed by Thanksgiving.

“I couldn’t tell people what I was doing in connection to the film until it was done,” he said. “Everything related to it was shrouded in secrecy.”

Henning was able to watch the pieces performed by an orchestra in Los Angeles. Williams also did much of the conducting.

He’ll be working again with Williams on scoring the upcoming film “The BFG,” which stands for Big Friendly Giant.

Henning started playing the piano at age 9 and took up the violin during his teens. He is also a composer-arranger, violinist and concertmaster for the Golden State Pops Orchestra. He continued performing as a violinist during the time he was working on Star Wars.

He returned to Pullman to visit relatives during the holidays. His first solo album, “Breaking Through,” is expected to be released next year.

 

Bishop Place at WSU Cougar Basketball

“And Leave the Driving to Us” was a slogan used by Greyhound Bus Lines. It applicable to Bishop Place’s bus, too.

During Washington State University men’s and women’s home basketball seasons, the Bishop bus treks from southeast Klemgard Street, up Stadium Way to WSU Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum so Bishop Place residents can watch and cheer on the Cougar basketball teams playing on Friel Court.

Why drive? Through all kinds of weather, the Bishop bus takes you from home at Bishop Place, has a great next to the Colsieum parking place, and takes you home after the game.

Here are photos from one of those trips -- afternoon of Dec. 13, 2009 -- when Bill Dolph drove the bus. Jack Dorman, Warren Wayenberg and his son, Rick Wayenberg, and photographer Tim Marsh were the riders. They cheered on the Cougar women’s team in a game versus the University of Portland.

No matter whether the WSU basketball teams win or lose, their fans are loyal. As Bill Dolph says, “Go, Cougs!”

River of Palouse in Pullman, December 2009

Palouse River in downtown Pullman, Wash. Partly frozen, 11 December 2009. Not partly frozen, 2 December 2009.

River of Palouse in Pullman in December 2009

Palouse River in downtown Pullman, Wash. Left: Partly frozen, 11 December 2009. Right: Not partly frozen, 2 December 2009. Hmmm, does this remind you of a song?

Snowless Saturday, Snowy Sunday

Washington State University’s last home football game of the 2009 season (Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009) versus Oregon State was played in cool and breezy weather. No snow. But, the next morning (Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009), these photos showing the inside and outside of WSU’s Martin Stadium show different weather.

Cockermouth flooding ~ Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune Saturday 21 Nov 2009

Nebraska Cornhusker magnet

'Save the Bug' appeared in 11/21/09 Moscow Pullman Daily News

Pullman's first Christmas Cruise (2009)

Pullman scenes of 18 Nov 2009

Ride the 'happy train'

This ad ran in the Nov. 3, 1964, and Oct. 25, 1965, editions

of theSpokane, Wash., Spokesman-Review daily newspaper.

Pullman mural controversy fizzles into happy ending

Background information, supplementing the story below: Moscow’s Corner Club, which opened in 1948, is on North Main Street in Moscow, Idaho. Moscow is about 7 miles or so from Pullman. Patrick Siler is a Washington State University fine art professor emeritus. The downtown Pullman Mural is at Pine Street Plaza, on part of one side of the building (on Pullman’s East Main Street) which originally housed J.C. Penney and, later, Ken Vogel Clothing. Currently the building is the home to Lily Bee’s consignment shop.

Photos taken 11/13/09 by PULLMAN :: Cup of the Palouse

Pullman mural controversy fizzles into happy ending

Committee decides 'Corner Club' doesn't promote Moscow business, can stay in painting

By Yesenia Amaro
Moscow Pullman Daily News staff writer
Friday, November 13, 2009

The words "Corner Club" on a mural in downtown Pullman will not be removed.

The city's Lodging Tax Advisory Committee had been concerned the words - which also are the name of a Moscow bar - promoted Moscow business, which was against the terms of a grant that will help pay for equipment artist Patrick Siler used to create the mural.

The committee earlier this month reminded the Pullman Arts Commission, which applied for the grant, that the $1,375 grant wouldn't come through if the words weren't removed.

However, the committee changed its mind at its Tuesday meeting after listening to a presentation made by members of the arts commission. Committee Chairwoman Ann Heath said committee members viewed the actual mural that was painted on the wall of the building and concluded the words didn't have to be removed.

"All things considered, we just decided that there is no promotion of the Moscow business going on" in the mural, she said.

The committee sent the arts commission a grant award letter in mid-June that included a condition indicating the words "Corner Club" needed to be removed from the mural.

The committee voted Tuesday to remove that condition from the grant award letter and made the decision to award the grant, Heath said.

She said when committee members sent the letter, they had looked at a picture of how the mural was going to look.

"In that drawing the words were much more prominent, much more pronounced, than what was actually painted on the wall," she said. "When you look at how the mural is actually painted on the wall ... it is simply not that obvious, so we concluded that the mural does not promote the (Moscow) Corner Club business."

Commission chairwoman Anna-Maria Shannon said "things worked out beautifully."

"That was our hope all along," she said.

Shannon said she is now working with the city "to make sure that we get the money paid out."

She said after she submits the information and receipts, the city will reimburse the business owners who covered the cost of a scissor lift so Siler could paint the mural on their building.

Siler, who also is a arts commission member, helped with a presentation on the mural Tuesday.

"We basically presented the idea that the painting really favors Pullman ..." he said. "That we really had Pullman in the best interest throughout the whole project."
He said members of the both groups were able to discuss the issue in a very civilized manner.

"It was a good meeting ..." he said. "We were really happy with the outcome."

Siler said the owners of the business on which the mural is painted will be reimbursed for about half of the $2,800 they spent on the mural. He said the other $1,400 went toward the purchase of paint and other materials.

He said he also spent about $2,100 of his own money to purchase other materials.

Great Northern Railway, 1960 radio ad

Signs of Pullman

9/28/09

9/27/09

A Brief History of Palouse Lentil Farming

A Brief History of Palouse Lentil FarmingThe name Palouse is generally thought to be derived from the Sehaptin (Indian) word, "palus", meaning something sticking down in the water. Their main village was located at the confluence of the Palouse and Snake Rivers and the something sticking down in the water was a large rock. (The Palouse Indians believed the rock was the solidified heart of Beaver. The Nez Perce believed the rock to be the canoe of Coyote - both were important symbols in their religions.) Another theory is that Palouse may have come from the French word "pelouse" meaning a lawn or green.

Above right is photo of an 8 1/2 x 11 handout provided to those visiting the Whitman County Historical Society tent at the 2009 National Lentil Festival.

For thousands of years, humans have prospered in this bountiful Palouse region. Some of North America's earliest records have been uncovered in the nearby basalt canyons of the Snake River. This seemingly tranquil landscape belies a past of large-scale lava flows, volcanic eruptions, glacial climates and several floods of a magnitude unrivaled on this planet.

The gently rolling, dune-like hills that characterize the Palouse are composed of a silty, wind-blown deposit called loess. The source of the Palouse loess has been traced to both volcanic ash from the Cascades and "glacial flour" from glaciers to the north. Loess forms nearly 10% of the earth's land surface. Many of the world's richest agricultural areas are located in loess deposits including parts of the Mississippi Valley as well as large parts of Asia and central Europe.

Dry peas, lentils and chickpeas (garbanzos), all members of the legume family, were first cultivated over 20,000 years ago. In Thailand, peas have been discovered in caves dating back more than 11,000 years. Egyptian tombs contained lentils to sustain the dead on their journey to the afterlife. Lentils, Lens culinaris, were widely planted and utilized during Biblical times.

Lentils found their way to the fertile Palouse in 1916 when J. J. Wagner obtained seed from Europe, through a local Seventh-Day Adventist pastor, and planted two rows on his land in Farmington, Washington. The 1917 crop was sold at 9 1/4 * per pound netting $130. (Current price is ~ cwt. $16.00 or 16* per pound.) Seventh-Day Adventists are generally vegetarians. Lentils, being high in protein, folate and fiber are an important part of vegetarian diets. In countries where protein sources are scarce, lentils may be used to provide essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein). When eaten together with corn, rice, wheat, barley or oats, lentils help provide the complete protein needed for life.

By 1936, Palouse lentil production was up to 250 acres and the crop was sold to the Washburn-Wilson Company of Moscow, Idaho. By 1937, the first commercial acreage of lentils was established on the Palouse. A major advance in lentil harvest came in 1941 when a combine was first used for threshing and cleaning. Before that, it had all been done by hand. Today, lentils grown in Washington and Idaho account for over 95% of the US production. The Palouse area is also known for its wheat, barley, dry pea and chickpea (garbanzo) production.

*For further information on this subject,, please contact: Whitman County Historical Society, Dry Pea and Lentil Commission, USDA and ARS, Pullman Chamber of Commerce, Neill Public Library.

Washington's 2009-10 Junior Miss chosen in Pullman

Niina Al-Hassan, first runner-up, Pullman,

and Lara Roche’, second runner-up, Clarkston.

........................................

Mattie Bergeson, Moses Lake's Junior Miss, is Washington's Junior Miss for 2009-10. The Moses Lake High School senior was selected Saturday (Aug. 1, 2009) during the 52nd annual program held at Washington State University's Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum in Pullman.

Twenty-two high school seniors-to-be from across Washington performed to a theater audience filled with families and friends during the program's final competition. More than $8,400 in college scholarships and awards were shared among the Junior Misses.

.......................................

Kelsey Moser, Colton, scholarship and spirit winner (left) with Junior Miss Mattie Bergeson, Moses Lake.

..................................

Bergeson received a $4,000 cash scholarship with her title. In addition, she won $200 scholarships in the fitness, self expression, and talent judging categories, and a $300 scholarship for overall spirit. For her talent she performed a fast-paced clogging routine. Bergeson will go on to compete in America's Junior Miss National Finals in Mobile, Ala., next summer. She plans to attend Brigham Young University and study business. Her parents are Brett and Janet Bergeson of Moses Lake.

The first runner-up, Pullman's Junior Miss Niina Al-Hassan, received a $1,250 scholarship. She also won a $200 scholarship in the judges’ interview category. Clarkston's Junior Miss, Lara Roche’, was the second runner-up. She received a $750 scholarship, as well as a $ 200 scholarship in the scholastic category.

Receiving the overall $500 scholastic award was Colton's Junior Miss, Kelsey Moser, who also received a $300 spirit award.

Other preliminary awards of $200 went to Asotin’s Junior Miss,Anjela Uhlenkott, in fitness; Connell/North Franklin’s Junior Miss, Sarah McGary, in self expression; and Kettle Falls’ Junior Miss, Jadyn Young, in talent. Colfax’ Junior Miss, Heather Harder, earned a $200 scholarship in the scholastic category while Spokane’s Junior Miss, Jade Heidinger, received a $200 scholarship in the interview category.

.................

Heather Harder, Colfax, in Junior Miss promotional photo emphasizing 2009 program's "Beach Party" theme.
...................

Also competing in the program for 2009-10 were Kaityn Mullett of Valleyford, Christie Francis of Leavenworth, Lexi Peterson of Mattawa, Emily Herman of Ellensburg, Katie Siewert of Buckley, Katrina Werlinger of Royal City, Briana White of Ritzville, Marlee Andrews of Grandview, Susan Reider of Davenport, Jaime Dienst of Omak, Nancy Xiao of Carnation, Karissa Posey of Kalama, and Tiffany Yeates of Quincy.

.......................

Anjela Uhlenkott, Asotin

......................

Washington's Junior Miss scholarship program is an official preliminary of America's Junior Miss (AJM), the oldest and largest scholarship program for high school senior girls. The nonprofit program's goal is to honor young women who excel and encourage them to obtain a college education and assume roles of leadership in their communities and professions. Since 1958, the program has helped more than 700,000 young women obtain education and scholarship opportunities.

During the past 52 years, AJM has awarded nearly $90 million in cash scholarships to Junior Miss participants in programs across the nation. In addition, almost 200 colleges and universities offer scholarships to Junior Miss participants, including Washington State University.

Polina Carlson of Leavenworth represented Washington during the 2009 competition.

National sponsors of America’s Junior Miss include the City of Mobile and Mobile County. National category sponsors are: Alabama Power, Encore Rehabilitation, Mobile Gas, Regions Bank, and the Bobo Baker Scholarship Fund. The 53nd annual America’s Junior Miss National Finals will be in Mobile, Alabama, in June 26, 27 and 28, 2010.

Pullman High School track resurfacing

Note: The resurfacing work by Atlas Track & Tennis of Tualatin, Ore., started about Aug. 26. All photos on this page -- except the "TRACK CLOSED for RESURFACING" sign -- were taken the morning of Sept. 1, 2009.

This photo shows the track -- lane lines yet to be painted -- during the Ellensburg, Wash., at Pullman High varsity football game on Sept. 4, 2009.

http://www.dnews.com//story/local/43701/

Moscow Pullman Daily News
July 20, 2009

Officials move ahead with track project at Pullman High School

Project will cost nearly $70,000
By Yesenia Amaro, Daily News staff writer
Posted on: Thursday, July 30, 2009

-----
QUICKREAD

WHAT HAPPENED: The Pullman School Board approved a nearly $70,000 high school track project.

WHAT IT MEANS: The $70,000 will be taken out of the district's current $150,000 capital projects fund.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Resurfacing will begin next month.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: The track's condition presents safety issues.
-----
The Pullman School District will spend nearly $70,000 to repair the high school track.

The Pullman School Board gave district officials the approval to move forward with the project during a special board meeting Wednesday afternoon.

District officials decided to put the project on hold in December because of the poor economy and the anticipation of state budget cuts. However, the district has enough money for the project.

Executive Director of Support Services Dan Hornfelt said the district has $150,000 in its 2008-09 capital projects fund. The total cost for the track's resurfacing and painting would be around $64,575, and the projected cost to raise the surrounding surfaces on the track would be anywhere from $4,000 to $5,000.

"We have dollars available to do this," Hornfelt told the board.

He said there are safety issues with the conditions of the track.

"We have a track that has been in very poor conditions," he told the board. "To be honest with you, there are some safety issues, and we are pretty concerned about that."
Superintendent Paul Sturm said the track is in a really bad shape.

"I can't believe we have been getting away with it for as long as we have," he told the board.

The project also will patch sink holes and fill existing cracks, Hornfelt said.

School board member Susan Weed said the price is reasonable.

She said district officials would be setting themselves up for liability issues if the track is not repaired.

"This is a lot cheaper then being sued..." she said. "Trust me, you don't want anybody breaking a leg."

Sturm said the district paid a little more than $100,000 to complete a similar project at the Lincoln Middle School track a few years ago.

School board member Karl Johanson said he supports the project.

But he said he believes there is a policy in place that indicates the board and district officials have to try to maintain $300,000 in the capital projects fund or have to come up with goals to reach that amount.

By completing such a project the district will only have abut $80,000 left in its capital projects fund.

"I just wanted to remind the board that we have that obligation," Johanson said.
Sturm and Hornfelt said they will check the specific language in the policy.

Oregon-based company Atlas Track and Tennis will begin to resurface the track Aug. 10. Hornfelt said the entire project is expected to be completed by the end of September.

He said after the project is completed, the anticipated life for the track would be seven years.
"We would be doing these again in seven years, " he told the board.

Sturm said it would be a good guess that in seven years district officials would need to redo the track's asphalt as well.

Seattle Times July 2009 ~ Bob "Voice of the Cougars" Robertson

Above from July 2009 Seattle Times sportscaster series

--Rare meeting of five of the area's top sportscasters: Seated at bottom is Bob Robertson. In the second row, from left are, Kevin Calabro, Dave Niehaus and Bob Rondeau. At top is Steve Raible.

--Bob Rondeau, left, sportscaster for the University of Washington, and Bob Robertson, sportscaster for Washington State University. Photographed at Husky Stadium on Tuesday, July 14, 2009.

--1984: Bob Robertson, a Washington State University broadcaster.

Bob Robertson

Edited from WSU 2008 Football Media Guide

Hall of fame announcer Bob Robertson Sr. is in his 42nd season calling
Cougar football action. When Cougar fans gather and talk about Saturday
afternoons in the fall on the Palouse, football and Robertson just naturally
become part of the conversation.

The long-time Cougar broadcaster began his association with WSU
football in 1964 and with the exception of a three-year period in 1969-71,
he’s been calling the Cougar action ever since.

Robertson’s peers have selected him Washington Sportscaster of the Year
12 times, validating what Cougar fans have known for years - he is simply
the best. In 1995 he was named the State Broadcaster of the Year.

Robertson was inducted into both the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame and
the Inland Empire Hall of Fame in 2001-02, and in August 2004 received
the prestigious Chris Schenkel Award at ceremonies held at the College
Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. At the same time he became the
first broadcaster west of the Mississippi to be inducted into the College
Football Hall of Fame - broadcaster division. He is also a member of the
Pierce County Hall of Fame.

Bob’s association with WSU runs deeper than just football broadcasts.
For 23 years he was the voice of Cougar Basketball, including several NCAA
tournament teams. In 1978-79, he was named WSU’s Dad of the Year and
he also worked with the WSU Cougar Club on the west side in the 1980’s.

Robertson was born in Fullerton, Calif., during spring training of the
Seattle Indians of the Pacific Coast League. At the time his father was a
player for the Seattle club.

After graduating from Blaine (Wash.) High School, he attended Western
Washington University in Bellingham, where he launched his broadcasting
career. His first broadcasting exposure came as a young actor for the
Canadian Broadcasting Company in Vancouver, B.C., then bloomed while
attending college.

In 1948 Robertson signed to play professional baseball, but a year later
gave up playing to become the voice of the Wenatchee Chiefs of the
Western International League, his first full-time broadcasting opportunity.
Among his many accomplishments, Robertson has:

• Spent 25 years calling Pacific Coast League baseball in Seattle and
Tacoma;

• Broadcast professional soccer in Seattle, Tacoma and Portland; he was
Washington’s Soccer Man of the Year in 1983;

• Broadcast hockey, boxing, wrestling and hydroplane races

• Had his “cup of coffee” in major league baseball, broadcasting some
Seattle Mariner games in the late 1990’s

• Served as television sports anchor in the Seattle market for 25 years,
including time with KSTW (called KTNT 1956-70, then KSTW 1976-83)
and KMO, which later became KTVW and is now KCPQ

• Currently voice of the Spokane Indians baseball team and Pacific
Lutheran University basketball;

• Served as the television voice of Notre Dame football and basketball for
two years in the 1950’s.

This fall Bob and wife Joanne celebrate their 57th anniversary. They have
four children, Hugh, Janna, John and Rebecca, and seven grandchildren.

The Robertson’s have resided in Tacoma since 1950, with the exception of
his stint with Notre Dame.

As much as Robertson is part of Cougar Football Saturday, so is his closing
broadcast signature, "Always be a good sport, be a good sport all ways,"

Links to stories/info from in Seattle Times July 2009 about sportscasters, including Bob Robertson :

Here ...and... here ...also here

Map in Sunset magazine slights Pullman

July 30, 2009

TO:
Sunset magazine
readersletters@sunset.com


The comment below regards the Aug. 2009 issue of Sunset magazine and the “48 hours in Moscow, Idaho” sidebar to “Fun on the farm. For a dose of nature, a couple of ardent urbanites head for the golden hills of Idaho” on pages 25 and 26.

POSTED AT http://pullman-cupofpalouse.blogspot.com/


The map with “48 hours in Moscow, Idaho” (August, page 27) has a slight. The “From Spokane” text provides driving directions through Pullman, Wash., on the way to Moscow. But, the map pretends Pullman, 8 miles from Moscow, isn’t there. Like Moscow, Pullman provides lots to do in 48 hours. For instance, on your way to Moscow on Aug. 21-23, stop in Pullman and enjoy activities of the 21st annual National Lentil Festival (http://www.lentilfest.com/).

Sue Hinz, member of Comets Track Club of Pullman, featured in page 1 photo of The Olympian daily newspaper, Olympia, Wash.

Photo on front of Saturday 25 July 2009 sports sections of The Olympian daily newspaper of Olympia, Wash. Photo cutline reads:

Sue Hinz, 61, of Pullman, winds up to throw Friday in the Washington State Senior Games hammer competition at SMU.

(SMU = St. Martin's University in Lacey, Wash.)

Accompanying photo and cutline was this story:

Throwing their weight around - Senior games: Weight events draw athletes who are tuning up for other senior track competitions

By Meg Wochnick, Olympian,Olympia, Wash., Saturday, July 25, 2009

LACEY, Wash. – Gary Gish didn’t need much motivation when looking to try something new.

At 69, Gish, from Portland, wanted to do as many events as he could during this weekend’s 2009 Washington State Senior Games, and get back into the competitive spirit of sports.

For the past 10 years, he’s dealt with several health issues that resulted in surgeries. Just two months ago, he received two stents in his heart.

None of that is slowing him down, however.

"And (tonight), when I get done, I’ll go to the hospital, then head home," Gish said jokingly. "I’ll be halfway dead by the time I get done with these events."

First up for Gish and nearly 30 others was Friday’s hammer, weight and super weight competitions, which kicked off the track and field portion of the Games at Saint Martin’s University. They were three of eight scheduled events for Gish this weekend. The others include billiards, shot put, discus, javelin and softball throw.

"It’s something to do," Gish said. "I’ve never thrown these things."

The hammer throw is in its fourth year at the Senior Games, but its first year at Saint Martin’s. The prior three years, the weight events were held at the hammer cage behind Tiger Stadium in Centralia. SMU’s newly christened cage was built earlier this year and is home to the Saints’ throwers in track and field.

The competitions Friday included nearly 30 athletes – 19 of them men – many of them from out of state. Interest in the hammer has grown since it became a Senior Games event in 2006.

"The women are all the same, but the men, two-thirds of them are from California," said Fran Melzer, 70, who won the women’s hammer competition in her age group with a series-best throw of 85 feet, 9 inches.

For some, Friday’s competition was a tuneup for the weeks to come. The National Senior Games will be Aug. 1-15 in the San Francisco Bay area.

"We have about 300-plus of our participants going down to the Bay Area to compete (at nationals)," said Jack Kiley, president of the Puget Sound Senior Games.

Olympia’s Debbie Dohrmann, 59, is one of many South Sound athletes who will be making the trip to nationals. She will compete in five events – the hammer throw, discus, shot put, javelin and 100-meter dash. She finished first in her age group at Friday’s hammer competition with a best throw of 78-4.

"I’m glad it’s finally worked out," Dorhmann said about getting the opportunity to compete at nationals.

George Mathews, 66, of Hayden Lake, Idaho, wowed the spectators and other participants with his monstrous throws in his second year at the Senior Games. He is just days from taking off for Finland to compete in the World Masters Track and Field Championships, Tuesday through Aug. 8, in the hammer throw.

"It’ll be a lot of fun," Mathews said.

Among the most popular Senior Games events are track and field (Tumwater District Stadium) today; softball (Mason County Recreation Area) today and swimming (Briggs YMCA) and cycling (The Lodge at Jubilee) Sunday.

Sue Hinz, member of Comets Track Club of Pullman, featured in page 1 photo of The Olympian daily newspaper, Olympia, Wash.

Photo on front of Saturday 25 July 2009 sports sections of The Olympian daily newspaper of Olympia, Wash. Photo cutline reads:

Sue Hinz, 61, of Pullman, winds up to throw Friday in the Washington State Senior Games hammer competition at SMU.

(SMU = St. Martin's University in Lacey, Wash.)

Accompanying photo and cutline was this story:

Throwing their weight around - Senior games: Weight events draw athletes who are tuning up for other senior track competitions

By Meg Wochnick, Olympian,Olympia, Wash., Saturday, July 25, 2009

LACEY, Wash. – Gary Gish didn’t need much motivation when looking to try something new.

At 69, Gish, from Portland, wanted to do as many events as he could during this weekend’s 2009 Washington State Senior Games, and get back into the competitive spirit of sports.

For the past 10 years, he’s dealt with several health issues that resulted in surgeries. Just two months ago, he received two stents in his heart.

None of that is slowing him down, however.

"And (tonight), when I get done, I’ll go to the hospital, then head home," Gish said jokingly. "I’ll be halfway dead by the time I get done with these events."

First up for Gish and nearly 30 others was Friday’s hammer, weight and super weight competitions, which kicked off the track and field portion of the Games at Saint Martin’s University. They were three of eight scheduled events for Gish this weekend. The others include billiards, shot put, discus, javelin and softball throw.

"It’s something to do," Gish said. "I’ve never thrown these things."

The hammer throw is in its fourth year at the Senior Games, but its first year at Saint Martin’s. The prior three years, the weight events were held at the hammer cage behind Tiger Stadium in Centralia. SMU’s newly christened cage was built earlier this year and is home to the Saints’ throwers in track and field.

The competitions Friday included nearly 30 athletes – 19 of them men – many of them from out of state. Interest in the hammer has grown since it became a Senior Games event in 2006.

"The women are all the same, but the men, two-thirds of them are from California," said Fran Melzer, 70, who won the women’s hammer competition in her age group with a series-best throw of 85 feet, 9 inches.

For some, Friday’s competition was a tuneup for the weeks to come. The National Senior Games will be Aug. 1-15 in the San Francisco Bay area.

"We have about 300-plus of our participants going down to the Bay Area to compete (at nationals)," said Jack Kiley, president of the Puget Sound Senior Games.

Olympia’s Debbie Dohrmann, 59, is one of many South Sound athletes who will be making the trip to nationals. She will compete in five events – the hammer throw, discus, shot put, javelin and 100-meter dash. She finished first in her age group at Friday’s hammer competition with a best throw of 78-4.

"I’m glad it’s finally worked out," Dorhmann said about getting the opportunity to compete at nationals.

George Mathews, 66, of Hayden Lake, Idaho, wowed the spectators and other participants with his monstrous throws in his second year at the Senior Games. He is just days from taking off for Finland to compete in the World Masters Track and Field Championships, Tuesday through Aug. 8, in the hammer throw.

"It’ll be a lot of fun," Mathews said.

Among the most popular Senior Games events are track and field (Tumwater District Stadium) today; softball (Mason County Recreation Area) today and swimming (Briggs YMCA) and cycling (The Lodge at Jubilee) Sunday.