North Douglas herald., January 01, 2024, Image 1

January 2024
Vol #2 Issue #1
Celebrating the 2023 Holiday Season
Santa’s sleigh on Exclusively Bridal’s
Float at the Drain City Light Parade.
Kids get to Meet with Santa and get a
photo op at the Drain Civic Center
The City of Drain Tree Lighting Cer-
emony, compliments of the Chamber
The Gingerbread House building
Contest inside the Drain Civic Center
Christmas in Historic Downtown Oakland
City Updates from Mayor Bette Keehley on Page 4
North Douglas Fair
Can the Fair Remain in Drain?
Story by Rusty Savage
Editorial........3
City Desk......5
Community....6
Business.......4
Crossword.....5
Weather..........5
Entertainment..7
Classifieds......7
The North Douglas County Fair is the longest
running County fair in the state of Oregon. 2024
will be the 102nd continuous year. Not many
people know that. Jim Beard from Drain does.
Not that he’s that old but he has been integrally
involved for many years. It is with some concern
and frustration that he says, though it has been
held in Drain for all this time, it may have to
move to another location.
Jim is a member of the North Douglas
Fair Board and is intimately familiar with the
complexities of operating in a small community
with dwindling populations, visitors and
resources. Over his years of participation, he
says, the Board has learned to bend with the
times and adjust the scope and extent of events
and activities as well as thinking “outside the
box” whenever possible.
It takes a lot of participation and volunteering
to make the details hash into a cohesive and
viable community extravaganza, suitable to
make the fair a celebration worthwhile. It’s a
lot of effort and partners are needed in addition
to volunteers and venders. Partners the Fair has
worked with in the past have been the cities of
Yoncalla, Drain and Elkton among others. There
are, basically, three communities in the North
Douglas Fair realm of influence. Drain, where
it has traditionally been held over the years,
Yoncalla and Elkton. It’s true that Elkton has a
celebration with the Umpqua Days Festival and
Yoncalla has an excellent Rodeo, but they do still
continue to support the Fair.
The City of Drain has, in years past,
been a major supporter but according to
Board members including a former Board
Chairperson, the support varies depending on
the attitudes of the city officials in each term.
Several members of the Fair Board have
expressed that it is just the nature of the business
to judge the tenor of those officials when
bargaining for the city of Drain’s participation.
And it is that state of contention that seems
Continued on Page 4
Photos, courtesy Bonnie Pyles
State of the City
City of Sutherlin, Oregon
December 21, 2023
The City of
Sutherlin, Oregon, is in the midst of a
modern day renaissance. By definition,
the word renaissance, which comes from
the French, means rebirth. It teaches us the
power of looking to the past for insights and
inspiration in dealing with today’s issues.
This is a time of change, the growth of
commerce and exploring ways to address
current challenges.
In a recent statement from Jerry
Gillham, City Manager, “the four projects
that began in 2016-2018 and were truly
transformational areas, include 1. Ford’s
Pond Recreational Reserve, 2. The Central
Park Splash Pad, 3. Central Avenue
reconstruction and paving from Ford’s
Pond to the east side city limits, 4. The
addition of the holiday lighting on Central
Avenue. I use the word transformational
because these have not only transformed our
community image, but it also affected the
attitude about ourselves and the motivation
to improve the livability of our city. In
response, we looked across the landscape
of other cities’ urban renewal efforts and
sought to learn how best to implement
Continued on Page 6