Emmons unseats O'Brian as media logging contest champion

Photo by George L. Winship, Editor

Photo by George L. Winship, Editor

Nick Emmons, a weekend sports anchor at KRCR-TV, Channel 7 in Redding unseated defending champion Ryan O'Brian of Results Radio, Q-97, at the all-media logging sports contest held shortly after noon on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at the Shasta District Fair grounds in Anderson.

In an effort to drum up local media interest in and support of the 2009 Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference, which starts Thursday and runs through Saturday, Feb. 12-14, representatives from print and broadcast media were given a free deli-sandwich luncheon, a pep talk by Logging Conference officials and then invited to compete for cash prizes donated in the winner's name to a charity of choice.

Six contestants in turn donned helmets, hearing protectors, gloves and orange canvas chaps to slice through an 18-inch log with a chainsaw, throw cans of year-old beer at an ax blade and set a metal cable equipped with a choker around a large log held horizontally off the ground at either end by small log sections.

Each portion of the event was timed, with seconds deducted from the total time for each point garnered during the beer toss.

Logging neophyte Emmons made half a dozen practice throws with the choker cable before the event actually started until he felt comfortable throwing the weighted cable end in such a fashion that it looped back under the log where he could catch it and place it into the choker set.

"I've never even thrown a beer can before," Emmons said, seemingly surprised at his own prowess. "In college I used to drink a few beers, but we never threw

Emmons' took a total of 9.95 seconds to complete the three portions of the contest. For his efforts, Emmons will have $500 donated in his name to a charity yet to be decided.

"I really did not expect to win, so I did not select a charity. There are so many charities that are deserving," Emmons told the Valley Post.

O'Brian, who won the event last year as well as in 2007, clocked in with 11.7 seconds. O'Brian's designated charity will receive $250 in his name.

Coming in third, with a time of 12.08 seconds, was weather forecaster Chita Johnson of KRCR-TV, Channel 7.