The INDEPENDENT, December 16, 2010 Page 7 Business Notes Fultz still doing well against younger bodybuilders Terry Fultz, Vernonia’s resi- dent bodybuilder and owner/ operator of Terry’s Gym, has just completed the 2010 body building season. Fultz started dieting in May. In 2009, he worked on “cuts” and “striations” to get really “ripped”, dieting down from 189 to 153 pounds, but felt he did not leave enough time for skin his age to tighten up before competition started. This year, he targeted fat loss only, and started the competitive year at 177 pounds with good skin and muscularity. On August 7 at the Northern Gold’s Classic, in Tacoma, Fultz coasted to a first place finish. On September 18, confident at 175 pounds, he entered both the Over 50 Masters Class and the Open Mens Class, at the Night of Champions competi- tion. After a long day of compe- tition, Fultz again took first place in the Masters. Facing the Open Mens, where the next oldest competi- tor was 29, Fultz was thinking, “I hope I make the top five.” That evening at the awards cer- emony, when the top five in Open Mens Middle Weight were called, the last name called was…“Terry Fultz from Vernonia, Oregon.” Next they called out the order from fifth to first; Fultz was not fifth, not fourth, not third… “In second place, at a remarkable 63- years old (audience gasps), Terry Fultz!” Then the master of ceremonies announced, “What you have just witnessed was history in the making. This is the first time any competitor over 60-years-old has even placed in the Open Mens, much less taken second place at this show.” He continued, “We have never seen anything like this, or him, and we may never see this again!” Fultz was more than thrilled, he says he was stunned. Next, at 173 pounds, he again double entered at the N.W. Championships. Tired and drained after dieting and training for seven months, Fultz said to himself, “every year the competition gets better, and I just get older.” Still, he again won the Masters. With seven competitors in the Open Mens, and the oldest (besides Fultz) being 23, Fultz took home a fourth place trophy and thought, “Not bad, considering I gave up 40 years.” So, what did Fultz consider the highlight of the season and possibly his entire career? Sur- prisingly, it wasn’t even his own results. Fultz said that training Collin Moeller, who at 18-years- old won the Teenage World Championship, was the high- light. Considering the number of trainers, coaches, and com- petitors, Fultz asked, “How many of them can say; I pro- duced a world champion?” Moeller was just 13 when he starting training with Fultz. The 2010 season is over, but Fultz is already looking forward to next season. He sends, “warm regards to all the sup- port from Terry’s Gym members and our entire community.” Terry’s Gym is a complete co-ed gym facility, located at 16720 Noakes Rd., Vernonia. Call 503-901-1705 to join or for more information about avail- able services. Terry Fultz’s dedicated approach to nutrition and training continue to earn him bodybuilding trophies at age 63. Disaster aid for county farmers Columbia County farmers are eligible for disaster assis- tance from the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture (USDA) for potential losses from last spring’s excessive rain and low temperatures. USDA Secretary Tom Vil- sack approved a disaster dec- laration request from Multnom- ah and Clackamas Counties, on December 8, for damage to crops from low temperatures that occurred between April 1 through July 4, 2010. Due to the way the USDA disaster declaration process works, farmers in counties contiguous to these counties are also eligi- ble, making the declaration ap- plicable to Columbia County. This declaration opens up certain types of assistance for farmers, according to Derek White with Columbia County Emergency Management. “Farmers here are able to apply for disaster assistance from the Farm Service Agency. That as- sistance, if the applicant is eli- gible, ranges from emergency loans to supplemental revenue assistance payments”, White explained. Farmers have until August 8, 2011, to apply. Assistance ap- plications must be filed at the nearest Farm Service Agency (FSA) office, which is the Washington County FSA, 1080 SW Baseline, Suite B2, Hills- boro, OR 97123. For questions about the pro- gram, call the Washington County FSA office at 503-648- 3174. For more information, see the Columbia County Emergency Management blog at http://columbiacountyem. blogspot.com . Keep the Holidays Happy Don’t Drink and Drive