OFF PAGE ONE
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
East Oregonian
Auction:
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While most animals had
a market value of around
$100-200, the steers saw
market values ranging from
about $1,200 to a whop-
ping $1,810 going to Brielle
Youncs of Pendleton, who
also happens to be a prin-
cess of the 2021 Umatilla
County Fair Court.
For many of the youth in
attendance, it was their first
time raising and auctioning
off their livestock. Made-
leine White, a member of
the Farm City Wranglers
from Hermiston, said the
fair was a hectic experience
for her first time. But she
said people were supportive
and helped her out.
“I got a lot of support
from a lot of different
groups,” she said.
Lillian Wald her, an
11-year-old out of Athena
who brought her two lambs
Daisy and Bo, also had
her first experience at the
auction and won a ribbon
for showmanship.
“I did a lot of work,” she
said, adding she practiced
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Chandler Sexton, left, marks Tanner Duff’s market lamb after its sale at the Umatilla County Fair Youth Livestock Auction
Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Hermiston.
with Bo a lot and worked
on his leg hair and clipping
him.
With the earnings she
made from selling her live-
stock, she said she would be
able to buy another sheep
and save up for college.
“Leading up to it (the
sale), it’s just tiring in the
morning,” said Ayrin Davis
of Hermiston. Ayrin marked
her fourth time attending
this year and said it was hard
and sad, but she will keep
coming back and is heading
to Pendleton next.
A bidding war broke out
in the balmy air as seventh
grader Quinn Duff showed
his goat named Murr. The
winner of the Grand Cham-
pion Show man r ibbon
from Milton-Freewater, the
A9
13-year-old Quinn has been
showing goats for more than
half his life, starting at 6
years old.
Raised on a 40-head farm
that also breeds horses,
Quinn has spent his life
around animals and intends
to stay with animals in
the future. He said he had
put a lot of time and effort
into Murr over the last six
months, who had a listed
market value of $259.48
going into the auction.
“At least three times a
week I would wash his legs
to get the leg hair growing
and blow them out,” he said.
Tanner Duff, Quinn’s
younger brother, also was
in the auction and won the
Reserve Grand Champion
ribbon for his own goat. He
said it felt good to compete
with his brother, who he’s
been able to practice with
and get tips, while also
competing with each other.
Tanner, who has been
showing for around four
years, said he’s sold two
goats this year, with the
first sale taking place in
Milton-Freewater.
“It’s sad,” he said, “but
I’m feeling really good.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Dorran fields bids Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, at the Umatilla County Fair Youth Livestock
Auction in Hermiston.
Quinn Duff, of Milton-Freewater, shows his grand champion
market goat Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, at the Umatilla County
Fair Youth Livestock Auction in Hermiston.
Tunes:
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Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Members of Fortaleza De Tierra Caliente perform Friday, Aug. 13, 2021, during Latino Night at
the Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston.
Lawsuit:
Relay:
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
“with his hands in the air in a surrender
position.”
The lawsuit came after an indictment
against Astarita that alleged he had lied
about firing twice at Finicum’s truck.
Oregon investigators concluded that
neither of the shots hit Finicum. Astarita
denied firing his rifle.
State troopers shot Finicum three
times after he walked away from his truck
and reached for an inner jacket pocket,
where police later said he had a loaded
9mm handgun, the investigation said.
Mosman denied the challenge to the
government’s handling of the arrests.
“Here, Plaintiffs take issue with the
FBI operation that ultimately led to Mr.
Finicum’s death. But an ‘undercover
national security operation is a textbook
example of discretionary action that
Congress meant to insulate from judicial
second-guessing,’” Mosman wrote.
An investigation by local law enforce-
ment authorities found the state police
shots that killed Finicum were justified.
A federal jury in 2018 returned not
guilty verdicts in the trial of Astar-
ita, acquitting him on making a false
statement and one count of obstruction
of justice.
While Marshall has been in
remission for four and a half
years, she said the support
from those around her is just
as important as ever, especially
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You scream, you holler, you
have a great day,” said Marshall
of learning of her remission.
“But, you know each time that
anniversary comes around —
of getting another blood test or
having to have another colonos-
copy — anything could happen,
no matter how strong your faith
is.”
For Marshall, her anniver-
sary came during the pandemic,
which meant, while she was able
to get her annual blood test, her
colonoscopy was postponed.
“Until you have that colonos-
copy,” she said, “It’s a worry.”
Even years later, Sims and
Marshall still get emotional
thinking of the experiences they
shared.
“You just keep trying to uplift
somebody else, you don’t know
what your story is going to do
Latino music alone is a vast genre that
spans continents and centuries, with
sounds ranging from modern pop and
reggaeton, which blends hip-hop and
dancehall, to sounds such as banda, bach-
ata and duranguense.
Miguel Velasco, the main Latino talent
scout for the fair for more than a decade,
looks at what groups people want to hear
and groups that have a good following,
said his son Mike. The Velascos, who
own Velascos Used Cars in Hermiston
and sponsor the event, formerly owned a
nightclub in Hermiston where the Ixtapa
Mexican Restaurant stands. Through their
contracts and connections from the night-
club, they are able to find acts for Latino
Night.
As long as it falls within their budget,
Wagner is happy to let Velasco do his thing
and pick acts he thinks are a good fit. After
reaching out to promoters, Velasco “gets
contracts, tells us what they need, how it’s
gonna work and then we’re good to go,”
Wagner said.
As for the genres they pick, “It just
for somebody,” said Sims. “Your
willingness to tell your story —
there might be that one person
out there who really needs to
hear it.”
Marshall said she was
inspired by Sims and tries to
help others and raise awareness
however she can, including
Relay for Life of Umatilla and
Morrow Counties, where she
spent Saturday, Aug. 14, listen-
ing to others stories and running
a donation campaign.
Despite lower-than-expected
turnout due to the heat and poor
air quality, Marshall and event
lead Carol Preston were happy
the event could go on at all,
adding that any opportunity to
support even a few people was
incredibly important.
Preston, an 11-year survi-
vor of breast cancer, said the
opportunity to be out in the park
and make the cause of fighting
cancer known to others meant
the event was a success, even in
low numbers.
“You just meet people that
you would never normally
meet,” said Preston. “We are
just grateful to be here for
each other.”
depends,” Mike Velasco said. “Every year
is different.”
But, he mentioned they aim to get a vari-
ety of groups and something that everyone
will like. This year’s headliner, Tierra Cali,
which is comprised of five brothers from
Michoacan, highlights the regional genre
called Tierra Caliente — the band’s name-
sake.
The genre has origins in technobanda
and heavily uses keyboards, drums and
bass. Alfa 7 is similar to Tierra Cali, said
Velasco, but it does a lot of romantic music
as well.
“They’ve been around for a long time,”
he said. “They have really good music.”
Diana Reyes, meanwhile, is a well-
known singer throughout Mexico who
performs duranguense — an upbeat
genre with a type of dance that has people
moving and spinning with partners.
Fortaleza de Tierra Caliente, the local
band from Hermiston, plays a little bit of
everything, from romantic to Tierra Cali-
ente and more, said Velasco. He mentioned
there is a reason popular Mexican songs
stay in demand here.
“You really have to make a hit in Mexi-
can music,” he said, “for it to stand the test
of time.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A Relay for Life sign sits above Roy Raley Park, Pendleton, on Satur-
day, Aug. 14, 2021, for the annual event.
Preston extended her thanks
to the volunteers, businesses
and community members that
helped put on and donate to the
event, adding that their support
is what keeps it going, even after
many Relay for Life events,
which once dotted cities across
Umatilla and Morrow counties,
have disappeared.
“We’ve had such great help
from the community,” she said.
For Preston, her motivations
for Relay for Life extend beyond
that of her own experiences and
to others fighting cancer or who
have loved ones battling cancer.
“There are survivors out there
and that helps,” she said. “That’s
what it means to be out here.”