A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
UMATILLA COUNTY FAIR
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Lucas and Tammy Wagner
named 2022 grand marshals
By BEN LONERGAN
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The room
erupted with applause as Umatilla
County Fair Board Chair Steve
Wallace announced Tammy and
Lucas Wagner as the 2022 grand
marshals during the fair’s annual
appreciation dinner Saturday, Jan.
29, at the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center, Hermiston.
“We chose this year’s winners
from a long list of deserving
people,” Wallace said.
Tam my Wag ner, who’s
husband Lucas was not present,
was escorted to the stage by her
son Andy Wagner, who recently
joined the fair board. According
to Tammy, Lucas was unable to
attend the event as he is pursuing
his captain’s license in Alaska.
“Thank you everyone for
this, I really did not know that I
was getting this,” she said as she
accepted the award. “Otherwise I
would have made my husband be
here.”
Tammy Wagner, a long time
fair volunteer, was instrumental
in founding the Fun at the Fair
Day Camp for youths in 2012.
The camp, originally meant as a
place for the children of vendors
and other workers at the fair to
have fun while their parents were
working, has been opened up to all
members of the community.
Lucas Wagner served as chair
of the Umatilla County Fair Board
as well as numerous other volun-
teer roles over the years.
In addition to announcing the
grand marshals, the fair cele-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Tammy Wagner, escorted by her son Andy Wagner, left, accepts her
and her husband Lucas Wagner’s award as the 2022 grand marshals of
the Umatilla County Fair during the Umatilla County Fair Appreciation
Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, at the Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center, Hermiston.
brated its plans to move past the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 with
the theme “Moo-ving Forward
Together.”
The fair bid farewell to outgoing
court princesses Brielle Youncs,
Madaline White, Alexis Bowen
and Keeva Hoston and welcomed
princesses Kylie Temple, 17, and
Ashlynn Cutburth, 15, to the 2022
court.
The girls are students at Herm-
iston High School, Temple is a
junior and Cutburth is a freshman.
As the fair looked back on
2021, it announced Umatilla
Electric Cooperative as the 2021
Business Partner of the Year. And
Dennis Doherty and Judy Bracher
were honored as the 2021 Male
and Female Volunteers of the Year.
Doherty began his involvement
in the fair in 1951 as a child in 4H
and has continued to be involved
as a volunteer around the fair since.
“I enjoy it just as much today as
I did then,” he said. “Maybe more.
Who knows?”
Bracher is a longtime volun-
teer at the fair who said she can
usually be found around the home
economics displays, but added she
usually makes her way to every
corner of the fair throughout the
week.
“The fair is absolutely in my
heart,” she said. “It has been since
I was nine-years-old, it’s pretty
special to me so wherever I can be
a part of it, I’m there.”
Dairy Heifer Program kicks off 4th year
East Oregonian
BOARDMAN — Twelve
Morrow County 4-H students and
their families started a new jour-
ney Friday, Jan. 28, as they picked
up dairy heifers from Threemile
Canyon Farms to raise for eight
months.
The Dairy Heifer Program,
started in 2019, loans heifers to
4-H students, who care for and
learn responsible animal manage-
ment practices from Threemile
Canyon Farms veterinarians and
nutritionists throughout the year,
according to a press release.
Dr. Jeff Wendler, Threemile’s
director of Livestock Operations,
created and operates the program
in collaboration with Morrow
County OSU Extension Service
and Morrow County 4-H.
“This program has been so
rewarding for myself and everyone
involved from Threemile Canyon
Farms,” Wendler said in the
release. “The parents and students
have been wonderful to work with
and we are proud to partner with
OSU and Morrow County 4-H to
teach the next generation about the
dairy industry.”
Students interview before
entering the program, and once
selected work closely with
Threemile staff on animal welfare,
AWS seeks
scholarship applicants
Amazon Web Services recently
announced it is accepting applica-
tions for the 2022 AWS InCommu-
nities Scholarship Program. High
school seniors in Umatilla and
Morrow counties,
including Nixy-
aawii Community
School, are eligible
to apply.
A t o t a l of
$100,000 in schol-
arships is available
to students enroll-
Pacheco
ing in courses such
as electrical and electronic engi-
neering, computer science, arti-
fi cial intelligence, biochemistry,
software engineering, physics and
more. The deadline to apply is
March 29. For the application and
additional information, visit learn-
more.scholarsapply.org/awsincom-
munities.
The scholarship program off ers
grants to students in designated
districts of Oregon, California,
Ohio and Virginia who plan to
pursue a STEM-related subject
at a higher education institu-
tion. The AWS InCommunities
Program exists to make a posi-
tive impact through communi-
ty-based programs, specifi cally in
the regions where AWS builds and
operates its global infrastructure.
America Pacheco, a 2021
Riverside High School graduate,
is using an AWS scholarship to
attend Oregon State University.
She is studying computer science
with an emphasis on cybersecurity.
In an AWS press release, Pacheco
said she only recently discovered
her passion for technology.
“Growing up, I didn’t see many
women in tech careers,” she said.
“I never thought of myself doing
anything STEM-related until I got
to high school.”
Although she’s studying across
the state in Corvallis, Pacheco
said she wants to return to East-
ern Oregon and give back to her
community in the future.
For more information about
AWS, visit www.aboutamazon.com.
Dixie State
honor roll includes
Hermiston students
Grace McCarthy/Threemile Canyon Farms
From left, K.C. Anderson of Heppner, Sierra Simmons of Irrigon and Au-
nika Partlow of Boardman prepare to take their dairy heifers home Fri-
day, Jan. 28, 2022, from Threemile Canyon Farms for the annual Dairy
Heifer Program.
grooming and sportsmanship.
Throughout the program, there
are several vet checks and heifer
weigh-ins, culminating in August,
when participants show their
animals at the Morrow County
Fair, competing in showmanship,
conformation and herdsmanship.
Lisa Wedam’s daughter Isabel
has participated in the program for
three years, according to the press
release, and said it’s a wonderful
opportunity to watch the youths
grow and learn about their heifers.
Claire Lindsay, a first-year
participant, said in the release
she’s very excited to be in the
program.
“This is my fi rst time show-
ing in 4-H, and I’m super excited
to start working with my heifer,
named Milk Dud,” Lindsay said.
Since the program started, 46
4-H’ers have participated, includ-
ing the latest dozen. After the
Morrow County Fair, the heifers
are returned to Threemile and
added back into the herd.
ST. GEORGE, Utah — A pair
of local students were included on
the fall 2021 semester honor roll at
Dixie State University.
Landon Jones and Makena
Royer, both of Hermiston, were
among the 2,627 students to earn
the recognition. Students must
complete at least 15 credits with a
minimum GPA of 3.5 to be eligible
for the list.
Founded In 1911 in St. George,
Utah, Dixie State is a public insti-
tution offering more than 200
academic programs. For more infor-
mation, visit www.dixie.edu.
BMCF announces
scholarship
opportunities
WALLA WALLA — The Blue
Mountain Community Foundation
scholarship program now is accept-
ing applications for the 2022-23
academic year.
High school seniors or graduates
of high schools in Umatilla County,
as well as Walla Walla, Columbia
and Garfi eld counties in Washing-
ton, are eligible for the scholarships.
In addition, adult students who have
lived in one of the four counties for
at least three years may apply.
Scholarships are available for
undergraduate and graduate level
study at any accredited college,
trade school, or community
college within the United States.
By completing the 2022 Common
Application, students are considered
for up to 53 scholarships.
The deadline to apply is March
7. The application and additional
information is available at www.
bluemountainfoundation.org. For
questions, contact Liz McClure,
scholarships manager, at liz@
bluemountainfoundation.org or
509-529-4371.
Blue Mountain Community
Foundation started in 1984 based
and became one of more than 750
community foundations in the
United States. Since its inception,
the foundation has received and
grown assets to exceed $60 million
in 401 charitable funds that benefi t
the community.
Irrigon water meeting
fl ows with information
IRRIGON — A general member-
ship meeting of the Irrigon Water
Users will provide information to
both new landowners and longtime
members of the community.
The meeting is Thursday, Feb.
3, 6 p.m. at Stokes Landing Senior
Center, 195 N.W. Opal Place, Irri-
gon. People also are invited to bring
questions.
The West Extension Irrigation
District will discuss how the water
district works, with such topics
as water rights, how to know how
much water you are using, how to
set up payment arrangements for
your bill and how development
in Irrigon will impact landown-
ers. For more information, contact
Lisa Baum, administrative services
manager, at 541-922-3814 or lisa@
westextension.com.
Firefi ghters
take on stair climb
to fi ght cancer
HERMISTON — Umatilla
County Fire District No. 1 is near-
ing its goal of raising $10,000
for the 31st Annual Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society Firefighter
Stairclimb.
The climb takes place March 13
at the Columbia Center in Seattle.
This is the world’s largest on-air
stair climb competition, according
to the fi re district. More than 2,000
career, volunteer or retired fi refi ght-
ers participate, donning their gear to
ascend 69 fl oors — 788 vertical feet
—via 1,356 stair steps.
The fi re district in a post on its
Facebook page reported this will be
the 13th year of members participat-
ing in the event. Since then, local
fi refi ghters have raised more than
$152,000 in this event, and the Fire-
fi ghter Stairclimb itself has raised
more than $20 million since start-
ing in 1991.
To help Umatilla County Fire
District No. 1 reach its goal, you can
donate at its team page, bit.ly/3ns-
mxY4.
— EO Media Group
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