NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Counties prepare for a
different kind of fair week
Door-to-door COVID-19
testing in Hermiston
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
The tests will be available July 25 and 26 and
participants can expect to get results in 10 days
Fair week will look a lot
different for most counties
this year, but local youths
will still have an opportunity
to show off their hard work.
“We put together the best
event we could for the kids,”
Umatilla County Fair Coor-
dinator Angie McNalley
said.
Public events for the
Umatilla County Fair —
including the parade, con-
certs and rides — are can-
celed due to the pandemic,
but exhibitors will be able
to drop off static entries for
judging, and 4-H and FFA
students can bring their ani-
mal to the fairgrounds for
an appointment with a live
judge.
Fair week is Aug. 11-15.
McNalley said it was diffi -
cult, early in the pandemic,
to know what things might
look like by August, but
the fair board put together a
subcommittee and they got
to work to fi gure out what
opportunities they could
safely provide for 4-H and
FFA students.
“We’re in regular talks
with county commissioners
and the health department,”
she said.
There will be a sched-
ule for exhibitors to be able
to leave their static entries,
such as produce and crafts,
at the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center the week
before fair week offi cially
starts. Entries will be judged
and photographed, with pho-
tos posted online for brows-
ing at the start of fair week.
There will also be a
schedule for youths to be
able to show their livestock
to a judge in person on the
fairgrounds, without an
audience present. They will
drop off their animals the
night before, with the fair
board taking responsibil-
ity for feeding the livestock
on-site until the animal’s
owner comes back the next
day for showmanship. After-
ward, a professional pho-
tographer will take a photo
of the student with their
animal.
The photos will be used
for the Youth Livestock
Auction, which in 2019
raised $610,000. McNal-
ley said some of the auc-
tion’s usual buyers will be
on site, spaced 6 feet apart
with masks on, while other
people can watch a lives-
treamed video of the auction
and place bids online.
She said some people
have made comments mis-
takenly assuming that the
fair will have twice as much
money to work with in 2021,
but that’s not how it works.
The fair pays for itself
through ticket sales, vendors
and other revenue that won’t
be coming in this year.
“Our money is made
from the fair,” she said.
To cover the costs asso-
ciated with the Youth Live-
stock Auction and judging
this year, McNalley said
some businesses have still
been willing to be a sponsor,
knowing that this year their
sponsorship is basically a
“straight donation of love”
and won’t come with the
usual free tickets and level
of exposure to thousands of
fairgoers.
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan, File
Blair Bracher, 13, ties up his cow in the livestock barn during
the Umatilla County Fair in August 2019.
“I’ve always known this
is a giving community, and
now I’m seeing people who
have been affected, and their
business has been affected
(by COVID-19), and they’re
still giving,” she said.
McNalley said people
can look on the Umatilla
County Fair’s social media
pages for additional updates
as fair week approaches.
During fair week, the Uma-
tilla County Fair Court will
also be posting videos to
get people excited about the
online exhibits and auction.
McNalley said the fair
court, grand marshals, vol-
unteers of the year and busi-
ness of the year have all
been invited to continue to
represent the fair in 2021
since they haven’t had much
of an opportunity to do so
this year.
Morrow County Fair making
changes in 2020
The Morrow County
Fair will also be reducing
its usual celebration due to
COVID-19.
Ann Jones, secretary for
the fair, said 4-H and FFA
youths will be able to come
to the fairgrounds for a
time slot to show their ani-
mal during fair week, Aug.
18-22. Students will also
be able to contribute static
entries to the usual 4-H cat-
egories, including cooking
and fashion.
“It will look a lot differ-
ent than we’re used to,” she
said.
That Saturday, Aug. 22,
will feature an online-only
auction.
Jones said more specifi c
details, including a link to
the auction, will be posted
on the fair’s website and
social media pages when
fair week gets closer.
Farm-City Pro Rodeo
canceled for fi rst time
The Farm-City Pro
Rodeo canceled its annual
rodeo for the fi rst time since
it began in 1988.
The rodeo, which usually
takes place in the arena next
to the fairgrounds during
the Umatilla County Fair,
announced in May that the
board was canceling the
2020 fair, after Gov. Kate
Brown announced that gath-
erings of more than 250 peo-
ple would not be allowed
in the state until at least
September.
“In the meantime, make
sure you grab a bottle of our
Chute 8 Whiskey and Vodka
and help us count down the
days until August 11-14th,
2021, when we can see all
our fans again!” the board of
directors wrote.
Despite the rodeo’s can-
cellation, the Farm-City
Open will still take place
on Aug. 12. The annual golf
tournament, organized by
the rodeo and Sherrell Chev-
rolet of Hermiston, raises
money for scholarships for
students who participate in
rodeo.
Organizer Kevin Fisher
said the tournament at Big
River Golf Course in Uma-
tilla has been adjusted to
maintain social distancing.
This year people will regis-
ter ahead of the event instead
of in person, and will be able
to form their own teams
instead of being assigned a
group.
Health experts from
Oregon State University
will be conducting door-
to-door COVID-19 testing
in Hermiston on Saturday,
July 25, and Sunday, July
26.
According to a news
release from the city of
Hermiston, the trained
fi eld staff will have Oregon
State University and Ore-
gon Health Authority cre-
dentials and will be visiting
randomly selected homes
throughout the weekend.
All residents of each home
selected will be given the
opportunity to voluntarily
participate in the study,
which is designed to gather
broader data about the
spread of COVID-19 in a
community.
Participants will be
asked to sign a consent form
and answer a few ques-
tions, then will be asked
to swab the inside of their
nose in their home while
the fi eld staff waits outside
for them to place the sam-
ple outside their front door
for collection.
The project is known as
Team-Based Rapid Assess-
ment of Community Level
Coronavirus
Epidemics
(TRACE) and acts in coor-
dination with OSU, OHA,
and Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health. The team has
previously conducted stud-
ies in Bend, Corvallis and
Newport.
According to the news
release, results will be sent
to participants by email
or mail in about 10 days.
The information will also
be used by researchers to
get a better idea of how
prevalent COVID-19 is in
Hermiston.
ONLINE
“TRACE and this week-
end’s event are not affi li-
ated with the city of Herm-
iston, and no city resources
are being used in this
effort,” the city stated. “The
city is sharing this informa-
tion to help improve partic-
ipation and the validity of
the results.”
For more information,
visit https://trace.oregon-
state.edu.
Hermiston had two
new worksites on Oregon
Health Authority’s weekly
list of workplace outbreaks
of COVID-19, released
each Wednesday.
To protect privacy, OHA
only names worksites with
30 or more employees,
where at least fi ve cases
have been linked to the site.
The case count includes
employees who tested pos-
itive, and close contacts of
employees who plausibly
could have contracted the
virus from the employee,
given the timeline of symp-
toms for both parties.
According to the July
15 report, the Hermiston
Walmart Distribution Cen-
ter has had 15 cases linked
to it, with the investigation
into the cases starting on
June 30. Marlette Homes
had fi ve cases linked to
it, with an investigation
started July 8.
In response to a ques-
tion about how Walmart
was handling the outbreak
at its distribution center, the
company sent a video of
Walmart’s executive vice
president of Supply Chain,
Greg Smith, explaining
To learn more, go to
https://trace.oregon-
state.edu
safety measures the com-
pany takes to protect distri-
bution center workers from
COVID-19. Those mea-
sures include temperature
checks for everyone enter-
ing the center, masks, sani-
tation and social distancing.
Marlette sent an emailed
statement that once they
learn an employee tested
positive, they notify all
team members at that loca-
tion, and instruct those
who had close contact with
the person to follow CDC
guidelines for close con-
tacts. The company said it
also has general safety pro-
tocols in place, including
daily temperature screen-
ings, sanitation and face
coverings.
“We wish our team
members a quick recov-
ery,” the email stated. “We
will continue to keep our
team informed as we learn
more about the current
cases.”
As of July 21, Uma-
tilla County Public Health
reported 11 deaths and
1,348 confi rmed cases of
COVID-19. Fourteen Uma-
tilla County residents were
hospitalized with COVID-
19 as of July 21.
The county’s ninth and
11th deaths both took place
in Regency Hermiston
Nursing and Rehabilitation
Center, according to a news
release from UCo Health
on July 21. The county did
not provide information
about the 10th death.
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