| Idaho
County Fair is this week
The 80th anniversary Idaho County Fair kicked off this week with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 20. The 4-H Dog Show and the 4-H Rabbit Show both get underway at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The 4-H Poultry Show starts at 1 p.m. The above 3 events are all in the Vernon Agee Pavilion. At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday is the Pigtail Contest in the Schmidt Building. At 7 p.m. Wednesday is the 4-H Fashion Show. Starting at 8:30 a.m. Thursday is the 4-H and FFA Fitting and Showing Livestock Contest. From 2:30 to 5:30 Smiles the Clown will be on the fairgrounds entertaining the youngsters. The Cattle Association Beef Barbecue, which used to be Thursday at 5 p.m. has been moved to Saturday at noon. At 7 p.m. is the Two Minute Talent Show in the Schmidt Building. Friday at 8:30 the 4-H and FFA Livestock Judging Contest will be held. At 9:30 a.m. the 4-H and FFA Livestock Quality judging will be held. At 11 a.m. LifeFlight will have a demonstration at the Prairie football field. At 1 p.m. the 4-H Horse Fitting and Showing Contest will be held. After all livestock judging is done the 4-H Showmanship Round Robin Contest will be held. From 4 to 7 p.m. the Prairie Booster Club will have their Potato Bar at the City Park. From 5 to 7 p.m. “Beargrass” will be performing. At 7 p.m. the Royalty Evening will be held with the 2015 Idaho County Fair Royalty being crowned. After the Royalty Crowning the annual 4-H Green Swing Dance will be held in the Agee Livestock Pavilion. Saturday at 10 a.m. the Idaho County Fair Parade will be held. Lineup is at The Hangout. At noon the 4-H awards will be given out at the Agee Livestock Pavilion. From noon to 2 p.m. the Idaho/Lewis County Cattlemen’s Beef Barbecue will be held in the grassy area near the Gazebo. At 1 p.m. the 4-H Market Livestock Sale will be held in the Agee Pavilion. At 3:30 p.m. the exhibit buildings close and from 4 to 6 p.m. exhibits can be checked out. We hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy the Fair. Pratts are Grand Marshals Idaho County Free Press "I don't think there is anywhere better than here," smiled Chuck. "I know there's nowhere I would rather be." Chuck and Jane Pratt are the 2014 Idaho County Fair grand marshals. "It's an honor and very humbling," Jane said. "There are so many wonderful volunteers who help make the fair successful. We have just had small parts along the way." Chuck was born in Cottonwood to Albert and Cora Pratt and as a child moved to the home area on the river where they now live. Part of the ranch land has been in the Pratt family for more than 108 years. Jane was born in Montana and raised in Grangeville by parents Ed and Zona Chedsey who owned the Idaho Motel. The couple met in high school when Chuck was a senior and Jane was a freshman. They have now been married 50 years. "It has gone so fast," Jane shook her head. "Time flies when you're working and raising a family," Chuck added. The Pratts have two sons, Shaun, who now lives in Boise and works for Hewlett Packard, and Chad, who runs the cattle ranch now. Both boys grew up in 4-H and participating in the fair - but the Pratt involvement goes back further than that. "I took sewing one year - but I was more of an outdoor girl," smiled Jane. "And I used to show in the open class livestock when they did that," Chuck said. Jane also helped run the livestock sale for a decade. "We always go over to the fair, even when we no longer had kids or grandkids there," Jane said. "We enjoy it." Aside from the full-time job of ranching throughout the years, Chuck has also served on a number of boards including the fair board, Syringa Hospital, Union Warehouse and the local and state Cattleman's associations. Jane keeps all the books for the ranch and previously worked as the secretary at Clearwater Valley High School. The couple belongs to the Christian Reformed Church in Grangeville. "My main love is working outside - whether it's with the cattle or in the garden or yard," Jane said. However, even outside has its limits for her. "I am certainly not wild about picking rocks out of the field," she laughed. "The rest of the ranch life I love." One of the many things that has changed on the ranch during the years, Chuck said, is the ability to get around and check on the cows. "We do it all by four-wheeler now and it's so much quicker and efficient," he said. "We don't even have a horse on the place anymore." "I love four-wheeling," added Jane. "You get to see so much, cover so much territory." The Pratts have five grandchildren, the youngest now in eighth grade, and have spent many years traveling to sporting events. "We're mini-trippers - just overnight is enough," smiled Chuck. "But we love to see the kids and have been fortunate enough to see the oldest four in state championships of various types, which was pretty unique." Though many areas of farming and ranching have changed, one thing in the Pratt's life, aside from their family, has remained a constant: "We have great neighbors," they said. "We have been so fortunate to be blessed by wonderful neighbors throughout the years," Chuck said. "That has really restored my faith in humanity many times." 
Jane and Chuck Pratt are the grand marshals for the 2014 Idaho County Fair. Photo by Lorie Palmer of the Idaho County Free Press. 212 Market animals this year There are 212 4H/FFA market animals entered at the Idaho County Fair this year. That is down 24 from last year. There are 101 Market Swine, 89 Market Lambs and 22 Market Steers. That’s 14 fewer swine, 4 fewer lambs and 1 fewer steer than last year. The market livestock sale starts at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, August 23. Beef Barbecue to be Saturday The Idaho Lewis County Cattle Association will be hosting their annual Idaho County Fair BBQ on Saturday August 23rd in the grassy area by the gazebo. We will be serving our delicious menu of Tri tip, roasted potatoes, coleslaw and a roll. The sides will be prepared by A Taste of Art owned by Stephanie Duclos. BBQ hours are from noon until after the sale is over and all the buyers have filled their plates. A BIG thank you to Dennis and Brent Rowland from Cottonwood Livestock for providing meal tickets to all the buyers. Potato Bar at the Fair Sponsored by the Prairie Booster Club the annual Potato Bar will be held on Friday, August 23rd during the Idaho County Fair. For $5 you can load your baker potato with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, chili, cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon bits and ranch dressing. This fundraiser provides Prairie students many services and activities. We appreciate your support and thank you for your support and we hope that we can continue to count on you to help us with the many worthwhile activities. The Potato Bar will be held at the Cabana in the City Park from 4 pm until 7 pm. LifeFlight hosting tours Friday of the Fair Life Flight will be hosting tours of their helicopter on Friday, August 22nd. The helicopter will be landing on the open area above the Prairie football field around 11:00 and will stay for approximately two hours. The time of course depends on if the helicopter gets called out for an emergency. This is a great time to take a close look at the helicopter and ask the crew any questions you may have. Skydiving during the Fair ITS ON !!!!! Paul at SKYDOWN SKYDIVING has committed to come up and provide tandem jump skydiving at the Cottonwood Airport on Thursday and Friday of the IDAHO COUNTY FAIR !! (Aug 21 and 22) Right now I've got 26 people who've committed to dive, and there are a few experienced divers who are working directly with Skydown for sport jumps as well. Denise with SKYDOWN will be contacting the folks who've already committed to arrange schedules and times for their jumps. They also encourage the public to come out and watch your friends and neighbors skydive, it is quite exciting to see. We will be at the Cottonwood Airport, on Airport Road just East of Cottonwood. The plane will take off and the skydivers will land at the airport. We have the use of Denis Duman's hanger, large blue building on the West end of the airport, for registration and assembly. If ANYONE is interested or has ANY questions, please feel free to contact DENISE at SKYDOWN SKYDIVING at (208)-455-2359. If you are wanting to register for a jump, and haven't called in yet, there is still plenty of room, the cost is $225 for a 13,000 foot view of a large part of Idaho County, and an adrenalin filled trip back to the Camas Prairie. Call Denise and let her schedule you in !! Prairie League to have booth at the Fair The Prairie League girls will have a booth at the Idaho County Fair where they will be holding a school supply drive for St. Mary’s Hospital and will also be collecting diapers and baby wipes for the Hope Centers of Grangeville and Kamiah. For the Hope Center they are asking for diaper sizes 4, 5 and 6. Smaller ones are not needed at this time. Prairie League is made up of girls from Prairie High School with Jennifer Heitman as advisor. Ali Hoene is the president. Natasha Gimmeson is vice-president. Sydney Glimp is secretary and Kellie Heitman is the student council representative. Kiss the Pig Contestants 
Kiss the Pig contestants this year are Idaho County high school principals. From left are C.V. principal Randall Miskin, Prairie principal Carrie Nygaard and Grangeville principal Steve Higgins. Find the Citizen Washington Focus 4-H booth to vote. Funds help pay for the student’s trip to Washington, D.C. 
Shown above are the Idaho County 4-H Ambassadors Back from left are Brandi Gehring, Lauren Alfrey, Rachel Mager, Savannah Thanstrom and Sarah Davis. Front from left are Kelly Turney and Wyatt Thanstrom. Photo courtesy Schlader Photography. Idaho County Free Press In 1997 the Idaho County 4-H Ambassador Program as initiated to retain older youth in 4-H. Now in its 16th year the program continues to grow and Idaho County 4-H teens. Each year, no more than 10 Idaho County 4-H members who have been in 4-H for at least four years and are a sophomore, junior or senior in high school apply, are interviewed and selected for the program. The Ambassador year begins in November with a training conference which emphasizes public speaking and leadership skills. Monthly meetings then begin to take place where members work on public presentations and a variety of community projects. Many members attend various 4-H meetings where they speak to clubs about the program and additional topics. The Ambassadors also help plan and carry out the county 4-H activities for the year including the Idaho County 4-H Penny Arcade, the 4-H Day Camp, Spring Show and the Idaho County Fair. “This is a very viable group with the very important job of representing the 4-H program as a whole,” said Idaho County 4-H Program Director Susie Heckman. “They are also invaluable at the fair where they set up for events, assist judges, present awards and generally help wherever they are needed.” The Ambassador program is not a 4-H club. Each of the Ambassadors must maintain membership in his/her 4-H club where they attend meetings and work on projects. This year’s members include Brandi Gehring (Cottonwood), Lauren Alfrey (Cottonwood), Rachel Mager (Grangeville), Savannah Thanstrom (Grangeville), Sarah Davis (Kooskia-Kamiah), Kelly Turney (White Bird) and Wyatt Thanstrom (Grangeville). For details on the Idaho County 4-H Ambassadors program call Heckman at 983-2267. 
Idaho County 4-H Mod Squad members 2014 are (top, L-R) Matea Wilson (grade 9), Macenzie Farris (7), Bella Klapprich (7), Kayla Creutzberg (9); and (front, L-R) Hailey Russell (8); and Micaela Farris (7). Mod Squad is a group of seventh through ninth graders who participate in this community service program through the 4-H office. Free Press photo by Lorie Palmer. Younger students who are interested in one becoming an Idaho County 4-H Ambassador have a chance to first experience a little of what the line-up is about. “MOD Squad offers a chance for younger students to participate in some of the same type of community service activities,” explained Idaho County 4-H Program Director Susie Heckman. Kids who are entering seventh, eighth or ninth grade are invited to join the MOD Squad program each year. This group volunteers at a variety of events as needed throughout the 4-H year. During 2014, some of these events have included the county 4-H party, day camp and Camas Prairie Preschool’s end-of-year carnival. MOD Squad members will also help out at the fair with some set up and clean up or in other areas as needed. This year’s members include Macenzie Farris, Kayla Creutzberg, Isabella Klapprich, Micaela Farris, Matea Wilson and Hailey Russell, all of Grangeville. 
Shown are current members of the Idaho County Fair Board. Back Row L-R Tony Schumacher, Cherlyn Pankey, Cheri Holthaus, and Mike Duclos. Front Row L-R Greg Schumacher, Karen Wisdom, Katie Marek, Pam McIntire. Contributed photo by Susie Heckman 
4-H models (and many of their mothers) on Monday morning awaiting instructions as to where they need to go to be judged. |
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