FROM PAGE ONE
including police, Grande
Ronde Hospital, school dis-
tricts and fire departments
to put on events.
The youth council, com-
posed of teenagers from
school districts throughout
Union County, works
directly with middle and
high school students to
create messaging that peers
will respond to.
Wortman worked
closely with programs like
“Reward and Remind,’’
where under-age high
school students would go
into convenience stores
and attempt to purchase
tobacco. If the clerk did
not ask for identification,
their store would be sent a
letter from the Youth Coa-
lition reminding it that it
is illegal to sell tobacco in
Oregon to anyone under
18. Stores where identifi-
cation was requested were
sent letters commending
them for adhering to the
state law.
The program was pop-
ular with program students.
“The kids loved it,” said
Sheryln Roberts, a member
of UCSCC’s executive
committee.
Roberts credits Wortman
with doing an excellent job
of making the members of
the youth council under-
stand that they did not have
to be involved in drugs and
alcohol to have a good time,
a message the students con-
veyed to peers when they
conducted anti-substance
abuse projects at Union
County schools.
Wortman did an excel-
lent job putting students
in leadership positions for
Youth Coalition projects,
placements that brought out
the best in them, Roberts
said.
“This built kids up,
boosting their self esteem,”
she said.
Roberts said it was easy
for Wortman to make con-
nections with young people.
“Robin enjoyed kids and
make the trip to D.C. and
attended the related meet-
ings in December with a
cast and crutches. She was
very determined to follow
through on any commit-
ment she made,” Mansveld
said.
Members of Wort-
man’s family were a
common sight at the events
she helped put on, often
assisting her.
“She always included
her family in her work,”
Nickens said. “She was
a huge advocate for the
family.”
Wortman was the
guiding light of the Union
County Safe Commu-
nities Coalition but she
never referred to herself at
its leader and did not like
being referred to as such.
This reflected her deep col-
laborative spirit.
“She excelled at making
everyone feel that they
were part of a group and a
team,” Nickens said. “She
would never say it was my
project. She was commu-
nity minded that way.”
Not surprisingly,
Wortman was not one to
seek the spotlight — she
felt strongly about others
getting credit for their con-
tributions, Nickens said.
Sometimes this meant
Wortman’s contribu-
tions were sometimes
overlooked.
“There were many times
that she should have been
in the limelight, but she
stepped back when she
really should have gotten
the recognition,” Nickens
said.
Wortman dodged the
spotlight even though she
was good at articulating
UCSCC’s mission.
“She was a great com-
municator, she drew people
into the coalition,” Chris-
topher said. “She was defi-
nitely amazing and defi-
nitely an inspiration.”
A celebration of life cer-
emony for Wortman will
be conducted from 10 a.m.
to noon on Saturday, Aug.
20, in Wallowa at its senior
center.
Contributed Photo
Robin Wortman, far right, walks with friends at the old 12-hour Drug Free Relay at La Grande High School’s
track about six years ago. Wortman, of Wallowa, a former 4-H leader and a former director of the Union
County Safe Communities Coalition, died last week of natural causes at the age of 59.
EOU
Continued from Page A1
products company based
in Wilsonville. Insko was
appointed Eastern’s 12th
president in 2015 after more
than 20 years as an execu-
tive at Boise Cascade.
During its retreat, the
board also engaged with
area and regional business
leaders, local representa-
tives and regional stake-
holders to discuss the uni-
versity’s role in business,
industry and education in
the area. The board hosted
several panels made up of
educational and business
leaders during the two-day
retreat. They also hosted
a public reception where
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alumni and community
members were able to share
their stories with trustees.
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ated what we know to be
true here in Eastern Oregon
— we are in this together,”
Chaves said. “We need to
continue working with each
other to increase access
to higher education for
everyone in the region.”
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Carrying on without a
carnival
Four carnival businesses
across the region went out
of business during the pan-
demic, and the fair has not
had a carnival the last two
years. Gover-Shaw noted
that for the businesses left,
the Union County Fair
simply isn’t a big enough
event.
“If we don’t have 25,000
people overall, we’re not
going to be able to get a
carnival to come to our
event,” she said.
Last year, the fair worked
with Bubble Fun to provide
inflatable bounce houses,
obstacle courses, bungee
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Bubble Fun did not return
this year due to operating
expenses and distance.
According to Gov-
er-Shaw, the fair board is
already working on ways to
incorporate more activities
for kids during next year’s
fair, like a climbing wall
and a mechanical bull. Still,
even without a carnival, the
fair increased its attendance
in the last two years.
Although the carnival
may be a fan favorite
among fair attendees, Gov-
er-Shaw noted that the car-
nival rides and activities
have, in the past, actually
brought about unwanted
behavior at the yearly fam-
ily-friendly event.
Back to work
For Gover-Shaw and the
fair board, they’re already
back to the grindstone. The
team already has a theme
picked out for next year’s
fair — “Boots, Jeans and
American Dreams.” In the
next few weeks it will get to
work on the new premium
book to make improve-
ments from suggestions
they received this year.
Fair Board President
Jamie Jo Haddock high-
lighted in an email the
values at the heart of each
year’s fair.
“Fairs are the cele-
bration of our rural life.
They are a time to come
together, socialize, and
highlight what our com-
munity members have
been doing the last year,”
she wrote.
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When it came to finding
entertainment for this
year’s fair, Gover-Shaw
said it wasn’t as difficult to
find entertainers to fill the
nightly slots on the fair-
grounds’ small and large
stages.
This year’s musical
lineup included many local
groups and performers
from outside the region,
including The Wasteland
Kings, Countryfied, Ripple
Effect, Brewer’s Grade and
Tiller’s Folly — a Cana-
dian group that celebrated
its 25th anniversary this
year. Gover-Shaw said
she heard compliments
throughout the week on
the strength of this year’s
performers.
Two years removed
from the pandemic, the fair
was mostly back to busi-
ness as usual, with the
help of sponsors and con-
tinued improvements to the
fairgrounds.
Although the fair has
had sponsors in the past,
this is the first year that it
implemented a three-tiered
sponsorship system —
champion, reserve cham-
pion and blue ribbon. Upon
arriving at the fairgrounds
this year, patrons were
greeted with signs naming
each one, including Bar-
reto, D&B Supply, Granite
View Foot and Ankle and
Tap That Growlers.
“It’s definitely not pos-
sible without those spon-
sors,” Gover-Shaw said of
the sponsors’ in-kind and
cash contributions.
Gover-Shaw said that
all but two vendor spots in
their Mount Fanny Exhibit
Hall were filled. For many
family businesses that
might not have a store-
front, the fair offers them a
yearly opportunity to sell
their wares. She noted that
these booths would have
been full had a few ven-
dors not come down with
COVID-19 before arriving
at the fair.
The fair board worked
throughout the year to
make improvements to the
fairgrounds in prepara-
tion for the four-day event.
In collaboration with La
Grande Drywall, ACE
and Elgin Electric, the
board replaced the kitchen
ceiling in the Mount Emily
Exhibit Hall — the 4-H
building — and gave the
hall a fresh coat of paint.
Behlen Manfucaturing
donated around 30 stock
tanks to the fair, which
the La Grande Lion’s
Club filled with colorful
pansies and petunias
donated by the Imbler FFA
greenhouse.
’S
WITH A HOME STANDBY GENERATOR
Attractions and
entertainment
shannon golden/The Observer
Fair goers gather to watch the “Over the Hill” showmanship award,
hosted by the Eastern Oregon Jackpot, on the evening of Aug. 4,
2022.
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outages today
Ken Patterson, the fair’s
auction chair and barn
superintendent, said that
during the annual sale,
139 sellers showed their
market livestock to pro-
spective buyers. The auc-
tion brought in $82,000
more overall than last year,
rounding out at $378,000.
The fair board included
a new event this year
called “Over the Hill” an
event sponsored by the
Eastern Oregon Jackpot
where young fair partici-
pants could nominate older
family and friends to show
their animals.
This was also the first
year that auction attendees
could purchase market
animals and donate them
to schools in the Grande
Ronde Valley — including
schools in Cove, Elgin, La
Grande, Imbler and Union.
According to Patterson,
five beef and four pigs
were donated. Schools that
received donations simply
had to cover the cutting
and wrapping costs.
“It was super neat to
see animals raised by kids
go back to students in the
area,” Patterson said.
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shannon golden/The Observer
A crowd gathers to watch the Union County Fair parade on Adams Avenue Aug. 5, 2022.
2
Continued from Page A1
made it fun for them,” she
said.
Wortman found her-
self in the role of an edu-
cator for not only young
people but also parents
while serving as the Union
County Safe Communi-
ties Coalition’s coordinator.
Roberts noted that when
she was hired it was legal in
Oregon for parents to pro-
vide alcohol to their chil-
dren in their homes.
To counteract this,
Wortman helped the
UCSCC conduct informa-
tion campaigns to inform
parents about how alcohol
can affect brain develop-
ment in children and teen-
agers. Speakers about youth
drinking were brought in
and information about its
detrimental impact was
provided throughout the
community.
Wortman was able to
tackle many responsibil-
ities and projects at once
because of her meticulous
attention to planning.
“She was so organized.
She always had every detail
covered no matter what.
She had every bullet point
written down — even
the most minute detail,”
said Billie-Jo Nickens, a
member of the executive
committee of the UCSCC.
Wortman was also
known for working long
hours. She attended all of
the events and activities run
by the UCSCC, including
its 12-hour Drug Free Relay
at the La Grande High
School track, an event that
evolved into an annual run
at the Mount Emily Recre-
ation Area.
“She was not an 8 to
5 employee, she attended
all of the extra activities,”
said Tracy Christopher, a
member of UCSCC’s exec-
utive committee.
Wortman would not even
let health issues sideline
her. Mansveld noted that
in 2016, the UCSCC leader
broke her ankle shortly
before a work-related trip to
Washington, D.C.
“She was such a trooper
that she managed to
TH
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