By Stephanie South

Students stared intently at chess boards Saturday, calculating their moves at the Region 7 Chess tournament.

Eighty students from six Canby area schools and several home school students participated in the tournament sponsored by Chess for Success and OMSI. The tournament was held at Knight Elementary School on Feb. 5.

Players ranged in ages from 6-19 and winners in each age division earned spots in the state finals to be held the first weekend in March.

"Kids were real enthusiastic about this (tournament)," said Kathy Polley, chess coach at both Knight and Eccles elementary schools. "I was excited at the number of people who came out, we had good parent support."

Polley, who is also the P.E. teacher at Knight, said chess tends to attract students with strong mental abilities, many of whom are in the school's talented and gifted program.

Polley said she was pleased to see two kindergarten students participate in the tournament this year.

"Five rounds of chess is a lot for a kindergartener," Polley said. "It takes really strong mental power."

To prepare for the competition, Polley's chess club meets weekly in the school cafeteria in November, December and January to learn chess strategies.

Polley teaches the students on a plastic roll up chess board that she tapes to the wall.

"They pick it up so quickly," she said. "It's absolutely amazing."

The K-4 division winner was Casey Powell, a home school student from Oregon City.

The top fifth-grade player was Eric Hadson of Riverside Elementary School in Milwaukie.

The top sixth-grade player was Carter Stirling from Carus Elementary School.

The top seventh-grade player was Bryan Powell, a home school student from Oregon City, and Jeremy Rogers was the eighth-grade finalist from Gladstone.

SALEM - State Rep. Kurt Schrader has filed for a third two-year term in the Oregon House.

The Canby Democrat is the first person to officially enter the May 16 Democratic primary for House District 23, which includes Canby, Charbonneau, Estacada, Sandy and part of the Mount Hood National Forest.

Schrader, 48, a veterinarian in Oregon City, is an assistant House Democratic caucus leader, and serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the House-Senate Emergency Board, the joint Budget Committee, and the SR2 Stream Restoration Committee.

Schrader said he weighed his decision on whether to run based on "positive feelings about economic development and community building" at the end of the 1999 Legislature, but was "disappointed" with partisanship among lawmakers.

"I feel in the last month or two I've been successful in reaching out (to colleagues) and am confident we'll be getting down to business in the next session," he said.

If re-elected, he said he intends to push the 2001 Legislature to link increased financing for schools to improved student performance, a policy some other states currently adhere to.

"We've got to build a good school accountability fund for K-through-12 to make sure there are opportunities" for students, teachers and schools to improve standards, he said. "I think the report card is a good first step, and we should continue with that."

Schrader also said he wants to tackle the problems of health care financing, and believes the Oregon Health Plan needs to be overhauled and redesigned. "Drug costs and mental health benefits and outreach efforts have overwhelmed funding of the plan," he said. "We need to look at it again."

He said he would also like to propose campaign finance reform, but doubts some other lawmakers will be supportive of such a bill.

"We're one of the few states that have no laws on campaign finance," he said. "We need to limit contributions so we candidates are forced to talk to the people" and not just rely on TV, newspaper and radio commercials.

In other political campaign news, Republicans Juley Gianella and Roger Beyer, and Democrat Roger Pike have filed for the Senate District 15 primary.

Incumbent state Sen. Marylin Shannon, R-Brooks, faces term limits, and has filed for the House District 38 primary, which is currently filled by Gianella, R-Aurora. Another Republican, Cliff Zauner, has also filed for the House seat.

Elsewhere, former Clackamas County District Attorney Jim O'Leary addressed the Molalla City Council and visited the Molalla Adult Community Center last Wednesday.

O'Leary, who retired in 1995 after 18 years as the county's top attorney, is challenging incumbent Terry Gustafson, former district attorney John Foote, and two former Multnomah County deputy district attorneys, Rodney Hopkinson and John Horton.

Horton hit the campaign trail in Canby last Tuesday. He spoke with the Canby Education Association, which represents school district teachers, about his plans to tackle juvenile crime and policies for crime prevention.

If none of the five district attorney candidates wins a majority of votes in the primary, a run-off election between the two candidates winning the most votes will be held in November.

George Abbott, a Clackamas County commissioner candidate from Colton, spoke at Wednesday night's meeting of the Wilsonville and Westside Jaycees.

Abbott, who runs an insurance agency in Molalla, spoke about the internal workings of the state's political system. He is challenging fellow Republican Bill Kennemer, the county commission chairman, in the primary.

Democrats Rob Kappa, Gerald Dietz and Michael Schaufler are running, too.

Elsewhere, 21-year Marion County Commissioner Randy Franke said he will not run for the 5th Congressional District U.S. House seat held by U.S. Rep.

Darlene Hooley, D-West Linn.

State House Speaker Lynn Snodgrass and State Sen. Randy Miller, R-West Linn, also reportedly said they do not intend to contest Hooley's seat. Aaron J. Hill, 25, an editor for the Oregon State Grange, has filed for the Republican primary.

The deadline to file for the May 16 primary is March 7. The general election will be held Nov. 7.

The plasma people are coming to town - and they want your blood. No, vampires are not in our midst, but your blood is still very much in demand.

The American Red Cross will hold a type O blood drive Thursday, Feb. 24, at the Canby Adult Center. Its mobile blood bank will be at the South Ivy Street center from 2:30-7:30 p.m.

Donors are actively being sought in the community. Giving blood takes about 30-45 minutes of a donor's time.

The upcoming Canby blood drive is sponsored by the Canby Adult Center, the Canby Herald and the Canby Lions Club, particularly through the efforts of member and local attorney Roxanne Scott.

"Type O is our target group, but we will accept donations from people with other blood types," Scott said.

"The reason type O is our target is because it can be given to type A or type B people, as well as type O. It's more universal."

Type O positive is the most common blood type and can be transfused to people with any positive blood type. Type O negative is known as the universal blood type because it can be transfused to people with any blood type in an emergency.

More than 53 percent of transfused blood is type O, but only 46 percent of the population has type O - therefore, it always has a high demand.

Also, people who have type O blood can only be given type O blood transfusions.

The American Red Cross reported in early January that the Pacific Northwest's supply of type O blood had fallen below emergency levels for the first time in 12 years.

Subsequent urgent blood drives saw hundreds of people answer the call to be blood donors, and the agency's red alert was soon called off.

Low blood supplies are not unusual during the Christmas holiday season, and were made worse by an influenza outbreak and increased transfusion demands.

But it remains important that blood supplies in the region are kept high.

That's because the American Red Cross' Pacific Northwest Regional Blood Services provides blood to 85 hospitals in Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

Numerous weather-related road accidents occur during the winter months, and doctors have to tend to a lot of trauma and injuries, thus necessitating a need for a good supply of blood.

In addition, cardiovascular and orthopedic operations, among many others, tend to require a lot of blood for patient transfusions.

Blood donors can donate as often as once every 56 days, the American Red Cross reports. The agency encourages anyone who is 17 or older, who weighs at least 105 pounds, and who is in good general health to donate blood.

And remember this Red Cross statistic: just one blood donation can help as many as four people live.

"I am absolutely hoping seniors will donate blood," said Canby Adult Center Director Anna Phillips.

Two home meal delivery drivers from the center have already volunteered to help staff the mobile blood bank, but other volunteers are welcome and should contact Scott or Phillips.

The South Ivy Street center for seniors has been the scene of numerous blood drives in the past. Other community and civic groups also hold occasional blood drives in the Canby area. The Canby Kiwanis Club holds its blood drives at local churches.

Recent press coverage raised questions about how much donated blood is actually discarded by blood banks. The Red Cross was upset by the tone of the coverage.

"Basically, the biggest thing is that story was not geared toward Red Cross - it was all blood banking," said Trent Ellis, a consultant in the Red Cross' donor resources office.

"The American Red Cross complies with FDA guidelines for donor eligibility.

Because these guidelines are very conservative in the interest of safety, in some cases, this may result in the deferral of donors who may otherwise be eligible."

Ellis said he did not know how much donor blood his agency discards, but said it only does so based on federal guidelines.

"Our top priority is to provide America with a safe and adequate blood supply," he said. "That's our goal."

For more information on the Canby Adult Center blood drive, call Scott at 263-7781, or Phillips at 266-2970.

For more information on giving blood, or for other blood drives, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-4483-5433).

AURORA - A Vancouver, Wash., couple took their wedding vows in a hangar and consummated their marriage in a Piper airplane on Valentine's Day.

Jim Baker and Carmen Sparks took their vows at 8 a.m. at Aurora Aviation, then swiftly boarded the airplane that contained a futon mattress and unlimited champagne.

Z100 disc jockey Dr. Doug rode along to offer live play-by-play footage of the couple's 'mile high' honeymoon.

The wedding was sponsored by Z100 radio station, which provided the tuxedos, cake, flowers, a photographer and a $1,000 ring from LaRog Jewelers.

The bride sparkled in her glittery purple and blue gown as she promised to "have and to hold her husband." After taking her vows, a Z100 disc jockey asked, "Are you sure that's the right answer?"

Sparks' 5-year-old daughter, Torie, served as flower girl and her 9-year-old son, Travis, gave his mom away.

"This is a cool wedding," Travis Sparks said.

Minister John Woodward of Vancouver performed the short ceremony. "This was a lot of fun," Woodward said, lighting a cigarette after the ceremony.

"Most weddings are like funerals," said the groom's father, Jim Baker of California. "This one's kind of nice."

Sparks' sister Marina Strous of Clackamas said the wedding reflects her sister's offbeat personality.

"This is just a typical, off-the-wall thing that Carmen does," Strous said. "You just never know with her.

"One day she called me up and said, 'I'm going to call Z100 and see if they'll marry us.' I thought she was crazy, but here we are."

A long-time Z100 listener, Sparks called the radio station last November and asked if they would sponsor her wedding. Z100 agreed and said they would marry her and her fiance on Valentine's Day as part of the Z Morning Show radio show.

"We do some crazy things at the radio station," said Z100 Promotions Director Bryan Morgan. "They're long-time listeners and they wanted this to be memorable."

Sparks' mother, Marianne Powell, said she thought the wedding was "wacky, but wonderful."

"What can I say," said Powell of Vancouver, "she's a crazy fun-loving kid."

The hangar and airplane were provided by Aurora Aviation, who removed four of the plane's six seats to make room for the mattress.

Helicopters from Channel 6 and Channel 2 news circled the airplane. Strous said she can't believe her sister agreed to a honeymoon plane ride since she is terrified of heights.

"She just said, 'I don't care, I'll do it anyway,'" Strous said. "It was between this or a skydiving wedding."