A4
Opinion
wallowa.com
August 8, 2018
Wallowa County Chieftain
One good
reason to
expand the fair
T
his week, we are in the middle of the Wallowa County
Fair run. There are a number of events and activities on
the schedule. Make plans this week to get over to the
fairgrounds and see what’s going on.
Our editorial page this week has a bit of a county fair
theme with this column, Sen. Bill Hansell’s column and Scott
Hathorn’s letter to the editor.
I echo Scott’s sentiments and appreciate Bill’s recollec-
tions of the highlights of most county fairs, although not Wal-
lowa County’s production.
For Bill, the not-to-be-missed for was elephant ears. For
me, it was Indian fry bread.
There are a lot of opportunities for the fair to progress.
I know many on the fair board respond with “who is
going to do all that work?” That is a legitimate question. The
answer is volunteers. Create the vision, and volunteers will
materialize. It’s kind of my paraphrase of “if you build it, he
will come.”
No one is criticizing the fair board. What we are saying
is perhaps it’s time to step to the plate and create a county
fair that would
attract folks
who could
help pay for
the upkeep of
the fairgrounds
Paul Wahl
and other
nice-to-haves.
Several
people have
expressed to me their surprise that the fair was not able to
keep up with routine maintenance but had never put out a
plea for help.
I can only answer for the Rotary Club of Wallowa County,
but I can say we were never contacted. Our club is filled with
guys with time on their hands who would enjoy being part of
a work team to improve the fair grounds. No one asked.
This isn’t the first time this has happened. It’s almost as
though there’s an aversion to putting out a plea for volunteers
to keep us from losing one more thing on that long list that
begins with the Enterprise swimming pool.
Maybe it’s a turf thing. Maybe it’s a control thing. I hav-
en’t really figured that out, but it’s particularly annoying to a
newspaper editor.
We have never turned down an organization that has come
to us and said “do a story letting your readers know we have
a problem.” And when we have, people have responded. I can
cite a number of examples from the past year.
Scott mentions the carnival, another thing the county has
lost over the years. Carnivals aren’t as prevalent as they once
were. I checked on the Oregon Association of County Fairs
website. There are five carnival vendors listed, three of them
in Oregon. Seems to me one of them would be willing to
make the trek over the hill.
You need only look as far as Chief Joseph Days to see the
impact an army of volunteers can make on an event. Their
200 volunteers attract upward of 30,000 people into the
county over five days. So let’s say the fair only utilizes 100
volunteers. Could we attract 15,000 people? That would be a
dandy start.
Here’s my final thought on the matter. Everyone I know in
the agricultural sector of our county tells me that telling their
story is becoming more important as the threats to our way of
life grow.
What better way than to bring together folks not engaged
in ranching or farming and clue them in on the importance of
agriculture and its role in feeding the world?
That opportunity alone should be enough to get everyone
on board with being part of an expanded county fair.
See you at the fair.
WAHL TO WALL
A
s I was preparing to participate
in the 2018 Umatilla County Fair
Parade, it occurred to me what
a unique and special institution county
fairs are. All 36 Oregon Counties have
a fair, including Wallowa and the other
six counties I represent in State Senate
District 29.
Each year Oregonians gather together
to showcase and celebrate at County
Fairs across our state. There is some-
thing for everyone at these gatherings,
which were first held before statehood in
the mid-1800s.
I have been attending county fairs
for decades, as a participant, specta-
tor and parent. In my 30 years serving
as a county commissioner, I came to an
entirely new appreciation for what these
fairs mean to our way of life and their
importance.
What makes most county fairs so
special and attractive? Let me share my
reasons, in no particular order except for
the first. My top 10 reasons why county
fairs are special.
1. Elephant ears, corn dogs, and ice
cream! It doesn’t get any better than
this!
2. Something for everyone. It doesn’t
matter whether you are young or old.
This is one reason why in 2017, more
than 1.5 million guests attended fairs in
Oregon.
3. Showcasing achievement. Last
year, according to the Oregon Fairs
Association, there were more than
58,000 4-H and FFA exhibits. Add to
this figure over 46,000 adult, and 22,000
youth exhibits, and you have thousands
GUEST
COLUMN
State Sen. Bill Hansell
COUNTY FAIRS ARE A
BRIDGE. THEY BRIDGE
GENERATIONS, URBAN-
RURAL, ETHNIC
BACKGROUNDS,
POLITICS, REGIONS
AND SO MUCH MORE.’
of Oregonians showcasing their talents
and achievements.
4. Parade. Everyone loves a parade,
and the county fair parade is always a
fun one.
5. Volunteers make it happen. Every
fair has a hard-working fair board and
hundreds of volunteers. Many fair board
members take their vacations to live in a
trailer on the fairgrounds.
And as far as I know, they receive
not a dime for their services. In fact,
Phone: 541-776-4646. Fax:
541-779-0204.
Pending Bills: For infor-
mation on bills in Congress,
Phone: 202-225-1772.
SALEM
Gov. Kate Brown, D —
160 State Capitol, Salem
97310. Phone: 503-378-4582.
Fax: 503-378-8970. Web site:
www.governor.state.or.us/gov-
ernor.html.
Oregon Legislature —
State Capitol, Salem, 97310.
Phone: (503) 986-1180. Web
site: www. leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution
and Oregon Revised Statutes).
State Rep. Greg Bar-
reto, R-Cove (District: 58) —
Room H-384, State Capitol,
900 Court St. N.E., Salem OR
97301. Phone: 503-986-1458.
E-mail: rep.gregbarreto@state.
or.us. Web site: http://www.ore-
gonlegislature.gov/barreto
State Sen. Bill Hansell R
— (District 29) Room S-423,
State Capitol, Salem 97301.
Phone: 503-986-1729. E-mail:
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us.
Web site: www.oregonlegisla-
ture.gov/hansell.
Oregon Legislative Infor-
mation — (For updates
on bills, services, capitol or
messages for legislators)
— 800-332-2313.
I just read the letter about dumping the
Wallowa County “bed tax bump.” Very
reasonable.
Obviously, the maintenance and oper-
ation of the fair grounds should be shoul-
dered by the entire county populous, not
preponderantly by the local hospitality
industry, which is apparently considered
“low hanging fruit” by some of our county
commissioners.
Then I read the Wallowa County Fair
schedule of events that appears to be heav-
ily weighted toward 4-H and FFA activities,
which are a good foundation but not much
to rouse or attract the rest of the county who
aren’t FFA or livestock enthusiasts.
So, here are a few ideas that have been
deployed by various successful county
fairs.
• Where’s the entertainment that would
attract a broader audience to see the 4-H
and FFA exhibits and generate revenues?
• Where’s the fun of the midway car-
nival, the Ferris wheel, “carni” games and
food venders?
As an aside. Chief Joseph Days just
hasn’t been nearly as much fun since it
lost the carnival.
• And where are the music venues for
generating revenues from a different seg-
ment of the community and attract tourists
from a field that could bolster the county’s
economy during an otherwise “lull” in its
event calendar?
• And why not throw in the excitement
of a demolition derby such as what the fair
LETTERS to the EDITOR
used to have?
• Why isn’t a rodeo coordinated with
the fair?
• And how about a farm equipment
expo to show off the latest farm and irri-
gation equipment and present information
about obtaining grant monies to under-
write such modernization?
It seems to me that county fair has
an opportunity to make a much greater
contribution to the county at large while
simultaneously inviting tourism dollars.
Scott Hathorn
Joseph
Not everyone wants
wolves dead and gone
The Chieftain’s story about the year’s
first livestock predation by the Harl Butte
pack last week does a disservice to its read-
ers. There is more than just one voice, and
that inimical to wolves, in Wallowa County.
Commissioner Todd Nash, known for
his uncompromising opposition to wolves
anywhere in cow country, never ceases call-
ing for slaughtering wolves for even a small
number of stock predations.
He says the state needs to do its part (kill
wolves) if we’re going to achieve coexis-
tence with wolves and ranchers.
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
M eMber O regOn n ewspaper p ublishers a ssOciatiOn
Published every Wednesday by: EO Media Group
VOLUME 134
for most board members, it costs them
money to serve. They are hardwork-
ing and their contributions make county
fairs happen.
6. Fairs are a gathering place. I have
many lifelong friendships and memories
that began in 4-H and FFA at fairs.
7. Heritage and culture. Our county
fairs provide the venue to express and
keep alive our heritage and culture, both
past, present and future.
8. Entertainment. Wow! I have
enjoyed big names like the Oakridge
Boys and The Charlie Daniels Band.
There is daily entertainment, and local
groups on the stages at county fairs. All
for the price of an admission ticket.
9. The carnival and rides. I have
to admit when it comes to rides or
games of skill, I’m not much of a par-
ticipant. Rides and elephant ears don’t
go together for me, and I’ll choose the
“ears” every time. I do like to watch.
10. County fairs are a bridge. They
bridge generations, urban-rural, ethnic
backgrounds, politics, regions and so
much more.
I encourage you to make plans to
attend the Wallowa County Fair this
week.
State Sen. Bill Hansell is a huge sup-
porter of county fairs, and has exhibited
both as a youth and adult. He even took
home a blue ribbon for his water-color
painting at the Umatilla County Fair. All
six of the Hansell children were livestock
exhibitors, which helped pay for their
college educations. He and his wife Mar-
garet reside in Athena.
County fair could be so much more
WHERE TO WRITE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20500;
Phone-comments: 202-
456-1111; Switchboard:
202-456-1414.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden,
D — 516 Hart Senate Office
Building, Washington D.C.
20510. Phone: 202-224-
5244. E-mail: wayne_kinney@
wyden.senate.gov Web site:
http://wyden.senate.gov Fax:
202-228-2717.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley,
D — 313 Hart Senate Office
Building, Washington D.C.
20510. Phone: 202-224-3753.
E-mail: senator@merkley.sen-
ate.gov. Fax: 202-228-3997.
Oregon offices include One
World Trade Center, 121 S.W.
Salmon St., Suite 1250, Port-
land, OR 97204; and 310 S.E.
Second St., Suite 105, Pend-
leton, OR 97801. Phone: 503-
326-3386; 541-278-1129. Fax:
503-326-2990.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden,
R — (Second District) 1404
Longworth Building, Wash-
ington D.C. 20515. Phone:
202-225-6730. No direct
e-mail because of spam. Web
site: www.walden.house.gov
Fax: 202-225-5774. Med-
ford office: 14 North Central,
Suite 112, Medford, OR 97501.
County fairs are a terrific tradition
USPS No. 665-100
P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore.
Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921
Contents copyright © 2018. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
Publisher
Editor
Reporter
Reporter
Newsroom assistant
Ad sales consultant
Office manager
Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com
Paul Wahl, editor@wallowa.com
Stephen Tool, steve@wallowa.com
Kathleen Ellyn, kellyn@wallowa.com
editor@wallowa.com
Jennifer Powell, jpowell@wallowa.com
Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com
He is implying that Oregon hasn’t made
huge efforts to accommodate the livestock
industry by providing full compensation
for dead or injured stock, providing gener-
ous funding for the use of nonlethal deter-
rents and compensating for cattle missing at
the fall round-up. Commissioner Nash bene-
fits from all these programs. All at tax-payer
expense.
When wolves and cattle mix on pub-
lic lands, there will be some stock preda-
tion, especially of undersized, sick or injured
stock, and an ODFW investigation will sel-
dom discover whether an animal was sick or
injured before being attacked.
The 225-pound two-month old calf taken
by the Harl Butte pack was a very tempting
target, not much bigger than a wolf. A basic
management practice is to calve in Janu-
ary and February so calves are large when
released into wolf territory on public land,
something this rancher didn’t do.
Those ranchers who like Nash are inces-
santly calling for the extermination of
wolves should themselves do their part and
actually make a serious effort to adapt their
management practices to wolf presence.
Ranchers in Oregon and the West are doing
this successfully.
Oregonians overwhelmingly support
wolves and are paying to help the livestock
industry cope. Nash and his friends should
adjust to this reality and stop viewing their
fellow citizens and state with contempt.
Wally Sykes
Joseph
Periodical Postage Paid at Enterprise and additional mailing offices
Subscription rates (includes online access)
Wallowa County
Out-of-County
1 Year
$40.00
$57.00
Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery
See the Wallowa County
Chieftain on the Internet
Wallowa.com
facebook.com/Wallowa
twitter.com/wcchieftain
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to
Wallowa County Chieftain
P.O. Box 338
Enterprise, OR 97828