A2
Family
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Fair days ahead for Mindy Winegar
Former
volunteer turns
staff member
at the county
fairgrounds
By Nancy McCarthy
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY – When it’s
time for the Grant County Fair
and Rodeo, the phone never
stops ringing, and people al-
ways pop in at Trowbridge
Pavilion on the county fair-
grounds.
They want parking passes,
or they need to ¿ ll out entry
forms. Callers ask about reser-
vations at the county’s RV park
or inquire about setting up their
booths at the fairgrounds.
For Mindy Winegar, who
started in May as administrative
assistant for the fairgrounds and
RV park, the pace is quicker
than what she experienced as
a volunteer for the fair.
“It’s a lot different than
being a volunteer,” Winegar
said.
From the time she was a
child, Winegar, who was born
and raised in Grant County,
attended the fair. She became
The Eagle/Nancy McCarthy
Mary Weaver, left, manager of the Grant County
Fair, works with new staff member Mindy Winegar,
right, to organize the myriad tasks involving the fair.
Winegar joined the three-member fair staff in May.
a fair volunteer when her
daughter, Abby, started partic-
ipating in 4-H three years ago.
“I was at Len’s Drug
for 16 years before coming
down here to the fair,” Win-
egar said. Although she said
she enMoyed her work at the
drugstore, she thought the
fairgrounds “would be a great
place to work.”
“I really like it here,” she
said. “It’s a great team.”
Winegar works with fair
manager Mary Weaver and
groundskeeper Dusty Wil-
liams. Weaver has known
Winegar pretty much forev-
er: Winegar’s mother used to
babysit Weaver’s daughter.
“Her personality was the
key from the very beginning,”
said Weaver about hiring
Winegar after longtime staff-
er Vickie Mullin retired. “Her
work with the community
was phenomenal. I knew she
was very professional and her
head was in the right direc-
tion. She is a great asset here.”
While the Grant County
Fair may be the largest event
staged at the fairgrounds, it
isn’t the only one. At least 25
events a year – ranging from
yard sales to bull riding and a
BMW rally – are held on the
13-acre site.
But for the fair, Weaver and
Winegar stay busy organizing
vendors, gathering sponsors,
reviewing contracts, collect-
ing entries for the open class
competitions and seeking vol-
unteers.
“It’s not boring, that’s for
sure,” Winegar said. “It’s
pretty fun.”
A week before the fair,
Winegar counted 45 volun-
teers, “and we’re still looking
for more,” she said.
“We always need volun-
teers. We have to cover four
days, and we need to cover
those shifts. With three paid
employees, we can’t cover the
fair ourselves.”
“We appreciate the volun-
teers and sponsors,” Winegar
added. “The fair would not be
possible without volunteers
and sponsorship.”
To put on a quality coun-
ty fair, the team concept goes
beyond the three paid em-
ployees, noted Weaver and
Winegar. It extends to the Or-
egon State University Exten-
sion Service, 4-H and Future
Farmers of America, as well.
“We all need each other.
The community needs us, and
we need the community,” Win-
egar said.
Art winners brush the Fossil Beds landscape
Two Grant
County artists
win prizes
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
KIMBERLY – Two
Grant County residents are
winners of the Fossil Beds
National Monument’s art
contest.
Patricia Baehr-Ross, of
Mt. Vernon, won the grand
prize and $500. Her painting
of a fossil beds landscape
was made into a poster that
is being distributed at the
Thomas Condon Paleontol-
Contributed photo
Grant County residents Laurie Hueckman, left, and
Patricia Baehr-Ross stand next to their paintings
at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center after
winning prizes in the anniversary art contest. Baehr-
Ross was the grand-prize winner.
ogy Center.
Laurie Hueckman of
Prairie City won honorable
mention and $100. Other
honorable mention winners,
also awarded $100, were
Ray DeBaun of Mitchell
and Kay Larkin of Terre-
bonne. Their works of art
are featured on postcards,
available at the center.
The winners were an-
nounced during the monu-
ment’s 40th birthday party
July 25.
The birthday celebration
held at the monument com-
memorated the establish-
ment of the fossil beds as a
national monument 40 years
ago; the discovery of the
first fossils in the John Day
Basin 150 years ago; and
the 10th anniversary of the
completion of the Thomas
Condon Paleontology Cen-
ter.
A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY V ETERANS :
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
541-575-1113
24 hrs/7 days wk
debbie.ausmus@
countryfinancial.com
O BITUARY
Dorothy E. Beason
Oct. 29, 1926 – July 24, 2015
HERMISTON – Dorothy E. Beason,
88, formerly of Mt. Vernon, died July 24
in Hermiston. A celebration of life was
held July 30 at First Christian Church in
Hermiston.
Mrs. Beason was born Oct. 29, 1926,
in Ivy, Ark., to John and Annie Newton
James. The second of six children, she
was raised in Leola and Booneville, Ark.
Her father worked in construction on
the Works Progress Administration, and
her mother was a homemaker.
When she was 14, her parents moved most of the family to the
Okanagan Valley in Washington to pick apples. She attended Okana-
gan High School.
She married a timber faller, William John Stolz, with whom she
had three children, Gary, Cathy and Troy. After his service in the U.
S. Air Force and World War II ended, they lived in the Omak, Wash.,
area.
They moved to John Day for better logging work, and settled in
Mt. Vernon, where the children attended elementary and high school.
Weekends were ¿ lled with hunting, ¿ shing, waterskiing, camp-
ing and picnics.
The couple divorced in 1967. Two months later, she married
Duane Beason, who worked as a chef.
They moved to Pendleton, where they worked at the Tapadera
Lounge, her ¿ rst Mob with a paycheck. Several months later, they
moved to Pilot Rock, where they managed the RoundUp Room.
They opened and operated Beason’s Pantry in downtown Pilot
Rock until the mill closed.
They moved back to Pendleton, where they managed the Husky
Truck Stop. In 1969, they moved to Hermiston where they worked
at McCabes Restaurant before opening the Chuckwagon Drive-in
in 1970. When the building burned, they relocated up the street to
the current site of The Nickel. They kept the Chuckwagon name,
and fed locals and travelers for eight years.
They bought a motorhome and traveled throughout the Unit-
ed States before returning to Hermiston and building Beason’s
Chuckwagon Cafe in 1979.
She operated the restaurant until she retired in 2007.
She was a member of the Mt. Vernon PTA and the American
Legion Auxiliary, where she was active in Girls State. She enMoyed
crossword puzzles, sewing, cooking, ¿ shing, hunting, and support-
ing and encouraging her children.
She spent the last six years in her “happy home” at Sun Terrace.
Survivors include her children, Gary (Marilyn) Stolz, Cathy
Stolz and Troy Stolz, all of Hermiston; sister, Evelyn Jaquish of
Wenatchee, Wash., MarMorie Munsell-Forsythe of Hermiston and
Bonette Carey of White Rock, British Columbia; three grandchil-
dren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and neph-
ews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Duane Beason;
brother, Harold James; sister, Catheline Hardin; and William J.
Stolz.
Memorial contributions may be made to Vange John Memorial
Hospice’s education fund, 645 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston, OR
97838, or to a charity of one’s choice.
Arrangements are under the care of Burns Mortuary of Hermis-
ton, 685 W. Hermiston Ave., P.O. Box 289, Hermiston, OR 97838.
Charles “Chuck” Amling
Charles “Chuck” Amling, 73, of John Day, died July 30 at
Blue Mountain Hospital.
Services are pending. Arrangements are under the care of
Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd.
Did you know Grant County
Veterans Services Officer is available
to assist YOU in applying for all VA
benefits you may be entitled to?
See your Grant County Veteran Services
Officer today for more information,
located at Grant County Court House.
Open: Mon, Wed, & Fri 10 am - 4 pm,
Appointment available at other times
Call 541-575-1631
Oster Professional Group
welcomes you to the 106th Annual Grant County Fair and Rodeo
Have a great time !
W EDDINGS
Matthew and Jill Curtis
Matthew and Jill Curtis were married July 18 at Lake
Creek Camp in Logan Valley.
Brook Williams officiated. At-
tendants included Janelle Martens,
Kristy Lyons, Jenny Keith, Kayln
Burril, Lauren Andreassen, Brinley
McMullen, Jessica Mercado, Bran-
sen Keith, Dominik Sagaser, Shane
Schiemer, Chance Cruickshank,
James Keith, Devin Burril and Chris
Holsclaw.
The couple will live in John Day.
W EATHER F ORECAST
Jessica Knowles, CPA, Amy Walker, CPA, Lauri Armstrong, Barbara Hicks,
Mitch Saul, CPA, Chandra Holliday, Bob Armstrong, CPA, Anna Bass and Kyle Wood.
* Tax Preparation * Accounting * Bookkeeping * Payroll * Quickbooks *
101 NE 1st Ave., John Day, OR 97845 • 541-575-2717
Sunny
Wednesday
83/49
Sunny
Thursday
83/50
Partly
sunny
Friday
87/59
Cloudy
Saturday
81/54
Partly
sunny
Sunday
81/57
Chance
of showers
Monday
86/46
Sunny
Tuesday
84/46
L AST W EEK
J ULY 28
John Day
29
30
31 A UG . 1 2
3
81/NA 90/52 99/57 100/60 101/62 100/64 85/70
24/7 F ORECAST
A UTOMATED : 541-575-1122
R OAD CONDITIONS : 511; WWW . TRIPCHECK . COM
WWW . BLUEMOUNTAINEAGLE . COM / INFO
NOAA W EATHER R ADIO FOR J OHN D AY — 162.500 MHz