Even in a drought, fly fishing can be fun with the right steps
My Friday fishing partner, Kim, and I decided a trip to Lime Creek to fly fish for brook trout would be fun. We had not fished it in a long time and thought it would be pretty, not crowded and an easy way to catch lots of fish on dry flies.
We were right on pretty and not crowded. After enduring the Old Lime Creek Road, from the north entrance, we arrived at our usual starting point. Before I regale you with our experience, I want to present a solution to speeders in, and around, Durango. Have the city and county road engineers design, and install roads similar to Lime Creek Road. I guarantee you traffic will slow to 10 miles an hour. Back to my story.
When we arrived at Lime Creek we found it to be at an all-time slow-moving low. It appeared to be about four inches deep. In my 31 years of fly fishing professionally, I failed to remember one critical item: Durango is in a record drought. Had I remembered the Animas is at an all-time low, along with its feeder streams, Kim and I would have made a better decision.
However, we were there. The decision was made to make the most of it, and put off driving Old Lime Creek Road as long as we could. We strung our rods up with a Royal Wulff on mine, and a Royal Coachman on Kim’s. As we stepped into the water we were reminded that brook trout in 4-inches of water see and hear everything. Since we did not have Harry Potter’s invisible cloak, adjustments on our part had to be made.
When in this situation, the first thing you should do is move away from the water. Truly, any movement in water that shallow will be seen and felt by the fish.
Once you step away from the stream, note where the sun is. If it is causing your shadow to move onto the water, you won’t be catching anything.
The next item that needs to be addressed is your tippet size. I normally use a 4X or 5X-tippet. However, I soon added three feet of 6X-tippet to my leader. If you are new to fly fishing, trust me when I tell you trout can see your tippet. The longer and finer it is when fishing small shallow streams the better chance you have of catching fish.
Lastly, you want your fly to land on the water as if it were a butterfly with sunburned feet. Any splash will send the trout into their hiding places. To avoid the splash, try stopping your rod a little sooner on the forward cast. Also, a gentle roll cast works well.
After Kim and I made these adjustments, I discovered Kim’s Royal Coachman was attracting more fish than my Royal Wulff. I, of course, did not have a Coachman and Kim was upstream and unable to loan me one. I switched to a foam ant when we found a small pool that had rising trout. Using the above techniques, and casting into the shade provided by the bushes, I managed to catch lots of very weary brook trout. Not as many as Kim with her Coachman, but a respectable number.
I won’t bore you with a very memorable drive out the south end of Old Lime Creek Road, taking about an hour and half. The time lapse did allow Kim and me to decide on a game plan for the next week, that would ease the pain of this weeks forgetfulness.
The next Friday we took our float tubes and went to Lake Capote. We remembered everything. There we lost count of the number of 8 and 9-inch smallmouth bass caught. I caught all of mine on a turquoise bass popper, while Kim used a variety of flies. We both caught several 14-inch trout, and I landed a large panfish. Again, mine on the popper, with Kim still using multiple flies.
For this day, leaders, presentations, shadows, or noise, did not make any difference. Proving, with or without forgetfulness, fly fishing has a way of always being fun.
The US supreme court on Tuesday is considering state laws banning transgender athletes from school sports.
The cases were brought by trans students who challenged bans in West Virginia and Idaho barring trans girls from girls teams. The outcome could have wide-ranging implications for LGBTQ+ rights. A total of 27 states have passed sports bans targeting trans youth while more than 20 states have maintained pro-LGBTQ+ policies.
As the highest court in the US debates their rights to participate in school sports, five trans youth and their families spoke to the Guardian about the role athletics has played in their lives. The students are based in California, a state that has long had trans-inclusive policies.
The youth described the joy sports brings them and how meaningful it has been to play on teams that match their gender identity. They said sports were about community, team-building, socializing and exercising, like they are for so many youth in the US. Some expressed frustration and anxiety about the national debates focused on “fairness” in competition, saying the legal battle was about fighting for their place in society and their fundamental rights to access the same opportunities as their peers.
Here are some excerpts of their reflections.
‘Sports is my escape’
Lina Haaga, a 14-year-old Pasadena student, has played sports since age four, starting with soccer: “My entire family is very athletic,” she says. “I wasn’t particularly good at soccer, but it helped me realize what an asset sports is in my life – as a release and an escape, but also a way to connect with other people and make new friends.” A trans girl who transitioned at a young age, Lina always played on girls’ teams, eventually doing basketball, swimming, water polo, lacrosse, tennis and track.
Lina Haaga. Photograph: Courtesy Haaga family
When she has faced stressors, “sports was always a place where I could find a reprieve and just think about the ball that was ahead of me or the next step in the race,” she says.
The attacks on trans girls in athletics have taken a toll, says Lina: “The political climate has put into question my relationship with sports. Instead of it being something innocent I can just enjoy without fear of being discriminated against, I’ve had to now worry every time I step on the track or the court that somebody might disagree with my participation. That’s been really scary, because it’s started to steal something that’s precious for me – that moment of bliss.”
There are times, she says, when she has avoided games out of fear someone might object.
Her message to the supreme court? “We’re still human. We’re just kids. We’re just trying to have fun … We’re not trying to be monsters or predators or anything malevolent. We’re just trying to find connection and community.”
Lina hopes other trans kids continue to pursue athletics: “Playing sports and loving being out there on the field is in its own beautiful way an act of resistance.”
‘I defied the president’
In May, AB Hernandez, a 17-year-old track and field athlete, won first place in the high jump, first place in the triple jump, and silver in the long jump in the California state finals. It should have been a moment of pure celebration for the high schooler from Jurupa Valley, a city east of Los Angeles, but she and her mom had to worry about something else: Donald Trump’s attacks.
The US president turned AB into a media spectacle, targeting her in a social media post and claiming he was “ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow” her to compete, writing her participation was “TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN”.
Now a senior, AB says she has learned to brush aside her detractors: “People are always gonna have negative thoughts to say about you … I just had to realize I need to be comfortable with who I know I am and be comfortable in my own skin and not let anyone get under it.”
AB Hernandez stands on the field during the high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, California, on 31 May 2025. Photograph: Jae C Hong/AP
“Victory,” she adds, “meant a lot, especially after all the internet drama. To come out on top and be number one. You can’t say anything besides argue with a wall. I’m still competing … Sports is my everything.”
She was touched that standing up inspired others: “People DM’d me to say: ‘I’m so happy you’re fighting. You’re making a really big impact for our community.’ … I thought I just went out and competed, but to others, it was like a movement. I defied the president, in a way. I was like, oh my god, I did do something.”
Her mom, Neredya Hernandez, says she won’t stop defending her daughter’s rights and hopes other parents will be moved to embrace their trans kids. “My message to other parents is: support your kids and be louder. We’re unaware of how much support we have within this community until you’re actually put in a position like we were. We’re not alone.”
‘We’d have to leave the country’
While anti-trans rhetoric has generally focused on restricting trans girls, the toxic climate has also been distressing for trans boys, some parents said. Several states with bans against trans girls have included restrictions impacting trans boys, too.
One 13-year-old trans boy in the Bay Area, whose name the Guardian is withholding to protect his identity, started playing soccer at age two and now also plays basketball and baseball. “Sports is how I made friends. It’s nice you have people to lean on who have your back,” he says.
Jennifer, his mother, says her son struggled to fit in on girls’ teams before he came out as a boy at age nine, but now is embraced by the boys’ teams and coaches. If he were barred from athletics due to being trans, “we would have to leave the country,” she says. “The message the country is sending deeply and negatively impacts his feeling of belonging in his own country.”
Jennifer, who asked to go by a pseudonym to protect her son’s identity, says the supreme court case “terrifies” her: “The sports issue is so important, because it fundamentally tells us whether people believe trans people exist. Trans girls are girls and belong on girls’ teams. Trans boys are boys and they belong on boys’ teams. Full stop. Once you take the position that trans girls are not girls for the purposes of sports, you have now dehumanized them. It’s a slippery slope to taking away rights after rights after rights.”
Her son says he didn’t understand why some people were so focused on stopping children from playing on teams: “I’m just a kid that wants to play sports with my friends. I’m not special. I just want to be left alone and hopefully be successful in sports. We’re not a threat. We’re not gonna tear down the world … If the Trump administration wouldn’t let me play sports, they would basically be taking away part of me.”
‘I’m used to slurs, but I’ll keep speaking up’
Lily Norcross, a 17-year-old track athlete from California’s central coast, says she has grown accustomed to negative news articles about her participation on the girls’ team, which sometimes lead to death threats and other harassment.
“I know this sounds really sad, but I’ve grown used to people calling me slurs. The news itself doesn’t bother me as much as what it causes. After Trump was inaugurated, people were far more comfortable openly being transphobic and hating minorities,” she says. “For me, it’s important to defend the rights of trans kids … because compared to others, I’m extremely lucky. Practically my entire family is supportive. I live in California, which is very liberal. My school board and most of my teachers support me. Most people aren’t in that situation … I’m speaking up for people in places like Texas, Ohio or Florida who don’t have these opportunities.”
Lily says she also wished Democratic leaders did more to stand up for her rights, noting it felt like their stance was: “Let trans people fight for themselves.” She urges lawmakers to have more empathy: “Put yourself in [our] shoes. Imagine if somebody said your people aren’t allowed to use bathrooms or play sports. How would you feel if you were segregated from everybody else?”
‘I feel hopeless’
Leonard, a 17-year-old swimmer in the Bay Area, says it was hard to be optimistic that his rights would remain protected, even in a state like California.
“I feel hopeless. I don’t like this supreme court and I don’t think they’re going to support trans people’s ability to play sports,” says Leonard, a trans boy who is also a fencer and asked to go by a pseudonym to protect his identity. “I’m scared of the precedent it’s going to set, maybe countrywide. I’m scared of what could happen to me and my friends.”
Leonard wishes people understood how meaningful it can be for trans youth to play on teams where they belong: “It made me really, really, really, really happy to be on the boys team affirming my gender identity, affirming I was as good as any cis boy. I know that I’m a boy, but being on a boys team proves to everyone and myself that I am, in fact, a boy and this is where I’m supposed to be.”
Special Olympics aims to grow its coaching roster from 250,000 to 600,000 globally by 2030, a 140% increase over six years
The organization lost nearly half of its coaches during the COVID-19 pause in 2020, requiring substantial rebuilding efforts
A three-year Nike partnership announced in July focuses on coaching certifications, translations, and curriculum development across global markets
Nike plans to recruit 600 additional Unified sports volunteer coaches in Oregon, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Tokyo with emphasis on young women and girls
Most Special Olympics coaches are volunteers with high retention rates, as many return after their initial involvement
Rebuilding After Major Pandemic Losses
Special Olympics faced significant challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic, losing approximately 50% of its coaching workforce during the 2020 pause in activities. Since resuming operations, the organization has rebuilt steadily with coaching rosters growing roughly 10% annually.
The current global total stands at 250,000 coaches. However, officials acknowledge that reaching 600,000 by 2030 represents an ambitious target that will require strategic partnership support and sustained recruitment efforts.
Nike Partnership Focuses on Coach Development
In July, Special Olympics announced a three-year partnership with Nike centered on coach identification and training. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“Special Olympics places a lot of emphasis and importance on the role of the coach,” Special Olympics CEO David Evangelista said. “With Nike, we will be investing in making sure we have state-of-the-art coaching resources.”
The partnership will address coaching certifications and provide translations to support global expansion. Nike will also contribute to curriculum development to help coaches stay current with sport-specific training methods.
Geographic and Demographic Priorities
Nike’s recruitment efforts will target four specific markets: Oregon, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Tokyo. The company aims to recruit 600 additional Unified sports volunteer coaches in these regions.
The partnership includes a specific focus on expanding opportunities for young women and girls to participate in Unified sports programs. This demographic emphasis reflects broader industry efforts to increase female participation in youth athletics.
Building on a Longstanding Relationship
The partnership extends an existing collaboration between Nike and Special Olympics. Special Olympics Oregon has worked with Nike for nearly 20 years, including 16 years hosting the Special Olympics Oregon Youth Games at Nike World Headquarters.
More than 6,000 Nike employees have participated in Youth Games events, working with 7,600 athletes with intellectual disabilities. The volunteer retention rate remains high, with most coaches continuing their involvement after initial participation.
What This Means for Youth Sports Inclusion
The 600,000 coach target represents more than operational growth. It signals the organization’s commitment to expanding athletic opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities at a time when youth sports access remains a priority across multiple stakeholder groups.
The volunteer model presents both advantages and challenges. While high retention rates suggest strong program satisfaction, scaling to 600,000 coaches will require consistent outreach, training infrastructure, and partnership support across diverse international markets.
via: SBJ / Nike
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ST. LOUIS — The LGBTQ+ community rallied at St. Louis City Hall Monday to support the rights of trans student athletes.
This comes as the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the issue Tuesday. Two transgender athletes from Idaho and West Virginia are appealing their lower court’s decision on restrictions over transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ and women’s sports.
The cases focus on the role of Title IX’s equal protection clause and how it should be interpreted when it comes to gender and sports, according to Jesse Jones, executive director of Lavender Youth Alliance and principal consultant with Jesse Jones Education and Consulting.
“Legal experts are advising that the ruling in these cases will also have far-reaching implications for trans youth, extending to things like use of bathrooms and pronouns at school,” they said.
Approximately 27 states, including Missouri, have laws or policies restricting transgender youth from participating in sports that align with their gender identity.
During Monday’s event, organization leaders spoke against laws that hinder and ban rights for the LGBTQ+ community and expressed support for the transgender athletes.
“It takes all of us coming together to support one another, and that none of these issues we see on the news are in silos,” Jones said.
“Whether these are laws being passed to attack immigrants, transgender people, Black and Brown folks, all of us need to come together as a community, as humans, to show that we all deserve love, respect and belonging.”
The Knights of Columbus, St. Anne’s Council 10221, is sponsoring a youth basketball free-throw competition on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Shaw Gym, 75 South St., in Gorham.
The competition is open to boys and girls ages 9-14. Proof of age is required at sign-up. Registration is set for 2:30 p.m. with the competition at 3 p.m. Winners will advance to the state championship.
For more information, call Jim at 222-0744 or Ben, 436-0223.
Opportunities to volunteer
The Town Council’s Appointments Committee is seeking citizen volunteers for various boards and committees to serve three-year terms. Positions available include those on the Planning Board, Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Revolving Loan Fund, Cemetery Advisory, and Affordable Housing committees, Board of Health, Board of Assessment Review, Economic Development Corporation, Fair Hearing Board and the Baxter Memorial Library Board of Trustees.
Those interested in applying or learning more can visit the Town Clerk’s Office. To apply, complete and submit a committee volunteer application online. For more information, call the office at 222-1670 or email Town Clerk Laurie Nordfors at [email protected].
Applications will be accepted through Jan. 29. The Appointments Committee will schedule short informal interviews with applicants starting in February and the Town Council will appoint applicants at its March meeting.
Winter parking ban
Parking on any public road in Gorham or public easement between midnight and 6 a.m. until May 1, or any declared parking ban, is prohibited. Illegally parked or abandoned vehicles could be towed at the owner’s expense in addition to ticketing by police.
Cars should be removed from the street as soon as owners become aware of a snow alert. For more information, call Public Works at 222-4950.
50 years ago
The American Journal reported on Jan. 14, 1976, that the school budget was rising $182,017 more than the $2.03 million for the previous year. Instruction was the biggest increase driver at $134,932.
A player is pushed during a game of Sharks and Minnows. (Image: Joshua Huston)
Approaching the gym at Bellevue’s Highland Community Center, the familiar sounds of bouncing balls and kids calling out to each other echo down the halls. Inside the doors, more than a dozen young athletes, from grade school through high school, are rolling across the floor in specialized sports chairs — a typical practice session for the Seattle Adaptive Sports (SAS) wheelchair basketball teams.
Sports have been adapted to meet the special needs of student athletes in Greater Seattle for decades, providing opportunities for countless athletes to compete on teams and producing several current and former Paralympians. Seattle Adaptive Sports has been part of the community since the early 90’s, organizing teams that compete in sled hockey (players sit on specialized sleds low to the ice), soccer for athletes in motorized wheelchairs, goalball for visually impaired athletes, and wheelchair basketball (players propel themselves across the court and older age groups shoot on regulation hoops).
SAS teams regularly compete against programs from Tacoma, Spokane, and Portland, and travel to compete nationally.
Back at the community center, the younger athletes are wrapping up their practice session while older players are gearing up for more intensive drills. SAS runs three youth teams: varsity for ages 14 to 18, prep for kids ages eight to 13, and the Micro Sonics for players ages four to seven. Their overlapping practice times create mentoring opportunities between age groups, and many of the older players have passed down sport chairs they’ve outgrown to younger athletes.
SAS designs all its programs to be as accessible as possible and to lower or eliminate the many barriers to participation, including the significant cost of equipment, facility rental, and travel. They use grants and fundraisers — including their annual gala, coming up on March 7 — to fund scholarships for athletes and purchase and maintain equipment that can be loaned out to new members. All of this is with the goal of increasing the number of participants and growing adaptive sports locally.
Current SAS families come from as far north as Bellingham and as far south as Auburn.
Brennan Henderson, 16, attends Auburn Riverside High School and began playing wheelchair basketball just before turning seven. He is now one of the most experienced players in the program.
“I started with power soccer. I’ve tried sled hockey before, but my main sport with SAS is wheelchair basketball,” Henderson says.
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The sophomore doesn’t remember being nervous their first time on the court.
“My mom showed me videos of wheelchair basketball, so that probably helped me know what to expect,” Henderson says. “I kept turning in circles because I didn’t know how to use the chair and my arms were really impacted by cerebral palsy. Over time, I became stronger and my arms became stronger and I learned how to adapt myself to use the chair.” Henderson has not only adapted but excelled, earning “most valuable player” honors at the West Coast Championships in 2024.
Jess Thomson has watched a lot of kids like Henderson develop and find success through SAS programs. A member of the board and parent of an SAS athlete, she first introduced her son to playing sled hockey with the adult team at the Kraken Community Iceplex before becoming a founding member of SAS’s new youth team. Her son now participates in multiple sports with SAS and Thomson has seen him compete in ways that a lot of kids with disabilities aren’t able to access.
“I think one of the things that able-bodied people take for granted is the luxury of being able to compete,” explains Thomson. “Every kid in this organization has been through surgeries and procedures. These kids have grit, they are really tough.
But it’s a very different kind of toughness to learn how to compete athletically. And every person in Seattle Adaptive Sports has that opportunity,” Thomson says. “Once kids come out and try it, they wind up sticking with it because they are drawn to sports the same as anyone else.”
SAS works with new members to help orient them to the sports they are interested in. For some, like Thomson’s son, who uses forearm crutches off the court, it may be their first time in a sports chair. And with sled hockey, where able-bodied siblings are encouraged to join practices, it may be their first chance to play a sport with a family member.
Interested in becoming involved with Seattle Adaptive Sports? Contact info@seattleadaptivesports.org for more information.
In his first media availability since the trade of four-time All-Star Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh on Monday thanked Young for all he did for the franchise but said the Hawks liked the players they got back and weren’t the type of team to wait if they had a good deal.
The trade late last week, which leaked near the end of Atlanta’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday but didn’t become official until Friday, sent Young to the Washington Wizards for 34-year-old guard CJ McCollum and reserve forward Corey Kispert. Around the NBA, it was widely viewed as a salary dump to avoid Young’s $49 million player option for next season.
“If there are deals to be done, why wait, is my philosophy,” said Saleh, who replaced Landry Fields in April. “If you like something that makes a lot of sense, we’re going to do that. We just do what’s best for our organization. And, you know, I’m not one to really wait on anything like that. Trae has been so huge in our community.
“Him and (his wife) Shelby, what they’ve done, we just wish them the best. They’ve been phenomenal for our organization. (We’re) talking about a guy that’s been the face of our franchise for quite a long time. I really wish him the best, and he’s going to do some cool stuff over there, too.”
“But we like the trade, and what we did was something we really thought would help us now and in the future,” Saleh added. “The players coming back, I think they’re excellent fits with us and make a lot of sense for us, and we get deep in our rotation, too. I think you guys kind of saw a little bit of that last night (in a 124-111 win over the Golden State Warriors).”
Removing Young’s $49 million contract from next season’s books also gives the Hawks considerable offseason flexibility, including the possibility of being a cap-room team in 2026-27, and Saleh didn’t deny that was part of the trade logic.
“When we go through all the calculus of making the deal, there’s elements of the financial flexibility, the optionality, which is huge for us, but also (liking) the players we’re getting back,” Saleh said. “And just having that optionality in this current cap environment, you guys are seeing it. You guys have seen the repercussions of it and the consequences if you’re not diligent in how you spend, in your cap space.”
The emergence of young stars Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, in particular, served as catalysts for the trade. Although Young had played in only 10 games due to an early-season knee injury, the core had proven in his absence that it could still thrive.
“We’ve learned a lot about our team this year,” Saleh said. “I think you guys have to, right? Watching our group and the evolution of the guys that we have out there and the youth movement that we’ve got going on as well. I think, again, the emergence of some players on our group, and how it all fits together was really key here …. It was just the right move for us.”
“Jalen’s game has evolved so much, and he’s doing some amazing things on the court. Most importantly, I think he’s making his teammates better as well,” he added. “And that’s how we kind of look at this as like as the group grows. It’s the group, it’s not simply just one player either, right? It’s Jalen, it’s Dyson (Daniels), it’s Onyeka (Okongwu), it’s Zacch (Risacher), it’s Nickeil. We got two guys, Nickeil and Jalen, who have just made tremendous leaps, and when Dyson’s on the ball, we’ve seen that leap as well. So, again, it just comes down to what we’re seeing and how this fits the entire group rather than one person.”
Finally, Saleh wouldn’t comment on a possible extension for McCollum, whose deal expires after the season.
“We’ll see where that all goes as the season comes along, but CJ’s been awesome,” Saleh said. “He’s somebody that I think could fit here long term as well. I’m really, really excited about having him here. But yeah, I can’t really say anything about extension talks and negotiations.”
