10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015 Fair: 4-H teaches children responsibility, how to deal with failure Continued from Page 1A leadership club and is a cham- pionship poultry showman this year. Interest in art Jimenez doesn’t only show animals. He also submitted sev- eral pieces of artwork, a pair of soccer-themed pajamas he’d made and a horticulture project featuring three succulents. Many of his pieces received purple rib- bons. He uses different mediums to create art. One of his friends went to Washington, D.C., brought back a style of spray paint art and shared it with Jimenez and their other friends. Jimenez creates planetary art- work this way, vivid planets on a black background spotted with stars. He also does pen art. One such piece depicts a blue Lam- borghini – the car, not the sheep. Another piece shows his favorite soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid. Jimenez enjoys his projects, but his favorite part of the fair is spending time with his friends. It is the time of year he gets to see his friends the most. Goats can be hard to walk It was 10-year-old Emily 5DVPXVVHQ¶V¿UVW\HDUDWWKHIDLU showing animals. The Warrenton Grade School student showed dairy goats. While waiting for her show- manship competition Friday, Rasmussen witnessed a goat give birth at the fairgrounds. As she watched, she made sure a little girl next to her could see. She takes care of Jacob, Beth- any and Gretchen. Gretchen is her favorite, even if she’s hard to walk. “I love her and I love how she acts,” Rasmussen said. Her favorite part is spending time with the goats. Rasmussen leased the trio from her 4-H leader, Gina Jasper. Rasmussen is really good with the animals and willing to spend a lot of time with them, Jasper said. She is always willing to clean the pen. Rasmussen lives in the city, so taking care of Jasper’s animals helps her see what farm life is all about. Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Juan Jimenez, left, talks with John Clement, right, while working with his sheep at the Clatsop County Fair. If Rasmussen is new to the game, Jasper is a seasoned ex- pert. She has been leading 4-H for about 25 years. “I love it, it’s the best thing,” Jasper said. Dealing with failure, death Through 4-H, Jasper said, children learn about responsibil- ity and dealing with failure. Sometimes they do not match the judge’s preference, some- times their animals do not behave Port: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this’ Continued from Page 1A Extraordinary twists Over the past few months, the dispute between the Port and Smithart over control of the Riv- erwalk Inn has taken several ex- traordinary twists, with a revolv- ing cast elbowing for position. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Smithart said after a court appearance in the case Friday. Smithart, who had fallen be- hind on payments to the Port, the city and county, said he is still prepared to hand over man- agement of the hotel. He would like the new operator to keep his staff of workers, who have been running the hotel during the controversy. Both the Port Commission and Smithart had agreed in June to assign the remaining two years of Smithart’s lease to Ganesh Sonpatki, of the Param Hotel Group in Portland, who intended to operate the proper- ty as a budget hotel. Sonpatki prevented from now evicting” Smithart. Any losses or damages, Hen- rie contends, are the result of the Port’s negligence in failing to execute the Port Commission’s directive to assign the lease to Sonpatki. Along with Sonpatki, two other suitors are interested in taking over the Riverwalk Inn. William Orr, a Seattle busi- nessman who grew up in As- toria, has formed a partnership with Chester Trabucco — the developer behind the Hotel El- liott — and others to upgrade the hotel as part of a marina village redevelopment. Mark Hollander, the presi- dent of Hollander Hospitality of Bellingham, Wash., is inter- ‘Unclean hands’ ested in bringing a Marriott to ,QDOHJDO¿OLQJ)ULGD\LQWKH Astoria. Hollander has talked eviction case, Damon Henrie, a about a short-term manage- Beaverton attorney for Smithart, ment agreement with the Port argues that the Port’s failure to operate the hotel while nego- to assign the lease to Sonpatki tiating a long-term deal to rede- shows the Port has “acted with velop 6 acres the Port holds in unclean hands and should be Uniontown. had agreed to pay off more than $350,000 of Smithart’s public debts. But the lease was not as- signed to Sonpatki before it was terminated by the Port. Colin Hunter, a Portland attorney for Sonpatki, said the holdup was because the assignment did not include a provision of the lease that would have given Sonpatki the option to renew for another ¿YH\HDUV “The Port promised to assign Param Hotel Group the remain- ing two years on the lease plus D¿YH\HDUH[WHQVLRQWKDW¶VFRQ- tained in the lease,” Hunter said. “That’s what the Port promised and that’s what we think the Port should be held to.” — whatever the challenge, they still do their best. Then there is the market ele- ment. Jasper starts out by informing the 4-H students that many of the animals they have will go to mar- ket. Sometimes, children want to keep their animals, but she shows them how big those animals can get. “It’s really emotional for them because they spend a lot of quality time with their animals, especially at fair,” Jasper said. Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Emily Rasmussen competes in the goat showmanship competition at the Clatsop County Fair. LNG: Oregon LNG has brushed off other adverse rulings brushed off other adverse rulings against the project, At an interagency meet- which involves an 87-mile ing in 2009, the Army Corps pipeline from Washington raised concerns that the proj- state through Columbia, Til- ect could intersect with dikes lamook and Clatsop counties and levees on the easement to an export terminal in War- DQG FRQÀLFW ZLWK WKH GLVSRV- renton. al of dredge spoils. Oregon In April, the state Land LNG, in a declaration to the Use Board of Appeals up- court, said the company had held Clatsop County’s 2013 not been aware prior to that decision to deny a permit meeting that the Army Corps for a portion of the pipeline. would assert any interest in Oregon LNG responded by the land. saying the company would Oregon LNG sued the continue to pursue the proj- Army Corps over the issue ect, downplaying the impor- last August. tance of local review. An attorney for Oregon Local, state and federal LNG could not be reached for agencies are examining dif- comment on the magistrate ferent aspects of the project. MXGJH¶V ¿QGLQJV RU ZKHWKHU The Federal Energy Reg- the company would appeal. ulatory Commission has VDLGWKH¿QDOHQYLURQPHQWDO Brushed off impact statement could be adverse rulings completed by next Febru- Oregon LNG has ary. Continued from Page 1A Critics celebrate (QYLURQPHQWDOLVWV ¿VK- ermen and many residents in Warrenton and Astoria have EHHQ¿JKWLQJWRVWRSWKHSURM- ect, warning that the pipeline and terminal could pose safety and environmental risks. Critics have celebrated every potential setback for Oregon LNG as victories that could doom the project. “The corps vigorously de- fended this lawsuit to protect a valuable public property right and the court got it right,” Miles Johnson, a clean water attorney for Columbia River- keeper, a Hood River-based environmental group, said in a statement. Johnson said the ruling “could spell the end to Oregon LNG’s 10-year effort to site one of the most destructive, danger- ous projects we’ve ever seen pro- posed on the Columbia River.” Miethe: Her 2015 softball season began back in March at Warrenton High School Continued from Page 1A As it turned out, Miethe was the team’s leading hitter in Ten- QHVVHHDVVKH¿QLVKHGWKHWRXU- nament 5-for-9 at the plate, with DGRXEOHWULSOH¿YHUXQVVFRUHG and three RBIs. For the summer season, Miethe was second on the Stealth in batting average (.500) and runs scored. ,Q 7KXUVGD\¶V ¿QDO ORVV she had a run-scoring triple and scored on a wild pitch. “I adjusted really well to the pitching,” Miethe said. “There were a few girls who threw a ton of rise balls. We got a few hits off them. “We got a lot better during the season,” she said. “It was hard for me going from a small community like Warrenton to a large community. But it was a lot of fun, I got a lot better and JDLQHGPRUHFRQ¿GHQFH´ Miethe’s 2015 softball VHDVRQ RI¿FLDOO\ EHJDQ EDFN in March, at Warrenton High School. Miethe was the start- ing catcher for the Warriors, DQG PDGH WKH ¿UVW WHDP DOO league team as a sophomore. She was also honorable mention all-state. Watched college softball World Series From there, she joined up with the Stealth — but not be- fore making a trip to Oklaho- ma City to watch the NCAA college softball World Series. Once there, “I loved it. I had so much fun,” she said. “I met one of my favorite play- ers (Louisiana State Univer- sity’s Bailey Landry),” and also touched base with former University of Arizona and USA national team pitcher Jennie Finch. “She was real sweet and very nice,” Miethe said. Miethe then took up some odd jobs to raise funds for her trip to nationals, then arrived in Tennessee a few days be- fore the tournament, so her mom — Warrenton coach 9`HU;HNNHY[5\YZL *YP[PJHS*HYL