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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2019)
NEWS Wallowa.com Wednesday, August 7, 2019 A15 Back Country Bash keeps crowd on its feet By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Courtesy photo/Jerry Hayes JUST A LITTLE FENDER BENDER — The Hayes Brothers famed racing car, no. 22, after a July 20 wreck at the Yakima Speedway in Yakima, Wash. Driver James Hayes severely broke his arm in the accident after being rear- ended at about 100 mph and possibly suff ered a hit from another car. The crash knocked the Hayes brothers, Jerry and James, out for the racing season. Crash, injury puts Hayes Bros. racing out for the season By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain A fi rst-lap crash on July 20 in Yakima, Washington, severely broke the arm of driver James Hayes, dam- aged the car and left his brother, Jerry, and mechanic Brian Finch, plenty of time to prepare for next season. The team had been plagued by minor repair and fund- ing issues during the 2019 season and had been unable to complete a race thus far. “We were pretty excited about the track,” Jerry Hayes said. It’s a good, half-mile track and it’s a pretty fast track. We didn’t fi nish the fi rst lap before we got run into and wrecked.” Hayes said it was aggra- vating because it wasn’t their team’s fault, but noth- ing could be done about it. The team uses their prac- tice time to determine how to set the gears for the race, and they started out pretty close. Time ran out during their fi nal adjustment, which left the car a little on the slow side. When the race started, offi cials inverted the fi eld, which means the fastest cars started in the rear of the pack. The Hayes team started toward the front. A rookie driver with a fast car got impatient, according to Hayes. About three quarters of the way down the back stretch, with speeds of 100 mph plus, the rookie driver plowed into the rear end of the Hayes car. As James Hayes struggled to keep the car under control, it appeared another car hit the front of Hayes’ car. which the team believes proba- bly crunched the rack-and- pinion steering and fl ung Hayes’ arm into the inside roll cage, shattering his arm. “It was so quick, James didn’t even really know what had happened,” Jerry Hayes said. The car skid- ded into the infi eld which caused a “red fl ag” to stop the race and clean up the track. Jerry Hayes attempted to contact his brother via radio to see if the car was still driveable but got no response. Several minutes later the driver replied that he needed help. “It was not good,” Hayes said. James was taken to the emergency room at a Yakima hospi- tal . James was released at about 3:30 a.m. “It was bad,” Hayes said. His brother’s arm was shattered with bone frag- ments all over. Surgery put the bones back together along with a long plate and about a dozen screws. The car isn’t totaled by any means although the nose was mostly torn off, so it had to be taped back into position. The frame is bent and broken in one place. Team mechanic Brian Finch said that the the car suffered surprisingly little damage. Even the radiator remains intact. With the loss of James as driver for the remaining three races of the season, the team is hanging it up. “We’re in the middle of a bad funding year, so we’re calling it done for the year, and we’ll see what happens,” Hayes said. Last season, the Hayes team had their best year yet and hoped this season for a fi nish in the fi ve or six in the Northwest PRO4 Racing circuit. The team missed one race due to funding concerns and a seal failure at an earlier race led to the team dropping from that race as well. “We thought we got rid of the bugs last year, but this year it’s been gremlin after gremlin after grem- lin,” Hayes said. “It doesn’t make for a fun season; I can tell you that.” The Back Country Bash, an Americana-themed musi- cal event, took place at the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo grounds on August 2-3. The third annual extravaganza expanded to an additional day from earlier incarna- tions and featured more than two new bands. The opening show on Fri- day, Aug. 2, was a sold-out event that took place in the Thunder Room at the Rodeo grounds. Local favorites The Bart Budwig Band opened the show with a rocking set of Budwig originals that kept the crowd on its feet, many kicking up their heels in what little room was available. Guitar hero Darrell Brann made a sur- prise appearance, burning off a fi ery solo, to which the crowd responded raucously. The main act, Shane Smith and the Saints, came out in a blaze of glory and quickly launched into a burning set of high-energy music that defi ed genre description. Armed with a Gibson J-45, Smith and band took the crowd on a musical adventure that fea- tured amazing Celtic-infl u- enced fi ddle and four-part harmonies that would have done Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young proud. The band sprinkled liberal cuts from its new album, Hail Mary, that had the crowd in near bliss. Hours later, the concert/ dance ended with both band and audience having left it all out on the stage and the dance fl oor. The main event on the following day brought out a large crowd to the fair- grounds. The remaining bands, starting with Mike and the Moonpies made a tremendous run through the late afternoon and evening hours, keeping the crowd entertained through the end of the event. Mike and the Moonpies, a Texas roadhouse band in the best possible way, came out swinging from their heels, fresh from recording their latest album: Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold at the Beatles’ famed Abbey Road studio. Bandleader Mike Har- meier can sing about any- thing from roadhouse country to the semi-country- politan fl avor of the band’s latest album. BCB fans let Harmeier and the band know how much they appreciate a little diversity. Micky and the Motor- cars followed with a set far removed from the yodeling days of Muzzie Braun and the Little Braun Brothers, Micky Braun’s initial foray The Nature Conservancy Donates Bull and Buck Tags to Local Charities The Nature Conservancy is currently seeking applications from Wallowa County charitable organizations or conservation groups interested in receiving a Landowner Preference Tag (LOP) for Bull Elk or Buck Deer on the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve property for the 2020 season. Each year The Nature Conservancy donates LOP tags to qualified local organizations. Since 2002, this program has raised over $560,000 to support charitable organizations and conservation partners. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of community members and ranked based on the following considerations: the benefit to the community; the marketing plan for raising funds with the LOP tags; and the ability to use the tags to leverage additional funds or support. Interested organizations may request an application from Chad Dotson by e-mail (chad.dotson@tnc.org) or phone (541-231-1455). The application deadline is August 19th, 2019. Photos by Steve Tool/Chieftain Shane Smith, rocks out with his band, The Saints, as the opening act of the 2019 Back Country Bash. Smith, whose Thunder Room appearance was sold out, probably got as much audience adulation as anyone who played the rodeo arena on the following day. IT’S COOL TO BE PARKER — McCollum that is, who was obviously enjoying himself as he listened to the roars of approval from the fans at Back Country Bash on Aug. 3. into the world of music. With an updated sound, Braun has carved out a prominent place in the music world. Parker McCollum has YouTube videos with mil- lions of viewings. If he didn’t have any fans here in Wallowa County, he sure does now, judging by the reaction to his show. Look- ing like he spends a lot of time in the gym, McCollum and his band came out with a roar and wall of sound that saw no one standing close to the JBL speakers on each end of the stage. Even with the greet- ings afforded the previous bands, the crowd had plenty of fi re left for headliners, the Randy Rogers Band. Rog- ers, who looks the very part of a country singer from Texas that he is. Country with a rock fl air, that is. Apparently, Rogers’ undergraduate Mass Com- munication Public Relations degree paid off for the singer as he had no problem getting his message across to the audience, helped by a num- ber of songs from his latest album, Hellbent. Audience member Greg Rhodes, who has attended all three BCB shows, called the show tremendous and said a number of people poured into the arena once Rogers took the stage. “The music was good — wonderful music,” Rhodes said. “I really enjoyed him. You can tell he’s on the brink of stardom, his voice was that good.” All in all, Rhodes said he enjoyed the BCB experience. “You couldn’t ask for a better show,” Rhodes said. “I don’t have complaint one.” “We took our daughter to Dr. Allen on several occasions, and we were extremely happy with the care we received…” -Enterprise Mom Dr. Allen is a family practice physician and doctor of osteopathic medicine. Call Dr. Allen to schedule your appointment today! 541-426-7900 Mountain View Medical Group 603 Medical Parkway (next to Wallowa Memorial Hospital) Enterprise, Oregon 97828 We treat you like family 601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org Wallowa Memorial Hospital is aQ equal opportunity Hmployer and provider Things are Really Hopping at The Lodge – and We're Hiring! E st. 1923 Openings at the front desk, kitchen, dining room, and housekeeping. 541-432-9821 906 S. River Street Enterprise, Oregon 97828 60060 Wallowa Lake Highway • Wallowa Lake, Oregon wallowalake.com
