Idaho
County Fair Features:
Photo courtesy of Kelly Turney: Idaho County 4-H Ambassadors 2019 are (back row, L-R) Caity Johnson, Dani Sonnen and Colby Canaday; and (front row, L-R) Paige Layman, Jessie Sonnen and Rose Sherrer. Idaho County Free Press Twenty-two years later, Idaho County 4-H Program Director, Susie Heckman, said she thoroughly appreciates the work Idaho County 4-H Ambassadors provide. “I count on them, especially during the fair,” she said. “They work hard. They are kids who lead very busy lives, yet take time to make the commitment to community service.” This year’s group consists of all young women: Rose Sherrer, Jessie Sonnen, Dani Sonnen, Caity Johnson, Paige Layman and Colby Canaday. The group started, Heckman explained, as a way to retain older 4-H kids in the local clubs. “We didn’t want to take them out of their clubs, because they are mentors and leaders in those groups and are needed there,” she said. Those who are Ambassadors must maintain membership in their chosen club(s), be a sophomore through senior in high school (public, private or home schooled), and have been a member of 4-H for at least four years. Those who qualify – up to 10 per year -- and are interested apply and interview for the extracurricular honor. “These kids are the face of what goes on in 4-H, as well as the help – the volunteers –for many county events,” Heckman said. In the past, this has included help with the Idaho County 4-H party, Kids Klub and 4-H summer camps, the recycling center, Idaho Forest Group’s annual family picnic and the Farm and Forestry Fair. They also sponsor the Green Swing 4-H dance at the fair. “And of course, they are everywhere all week long at the fair,” Heckman said. “They run errands, announce, judge – they just work everywhere and anywhere they are needed.” When fairgoers and 4-H kids see the green shirts and khaki pants, they know they can ask questions and get a professional answer. “Ambassadors provides a great leadership experience as members often go to 4-H groups and speak about the program, or are at the front of activities in the county,” Heckman said. It also helps them see, she said, what it takes to prepare for and execute a large event such as the fair. “The planning, the work – they really get a close-up view of what it takes for the fair to run and be successful,” she said. Heckman knows the kids who apply to be Ambassadors are usually the most active, involved students. “They learn to manage their time, prioritize and attend the mandatory monthly meetings,” Heckman said. And it doesn’t look too bad on scholarship and college applications, either. For information on the program, contact Heckman at 208-983-2667. 
Pam McIntire is entering her 16th year as Fair Board Secretary. Photo by Lorie Palmer. Related story on page 10. Idaho County Free Press “And this will be my 16th year as secretary/treasurer of the fair board,” she said. McIntire was a member of the Woodland 4-H Club as a youth and then she and her husband, Frank, became leaders of that very club. Their children, Daniel and Lacey, were members of the club and participated yearly in the Idaho County Fair. “In 2002, I worked with [then fair secretary] Enid Newman at the fair and then helped her get the premium checks mailed after the fair,” McIntire explained. “She gave me a notebook with all her responsibilities and contacts written down, and I relied on that until I had everything transferred to the computer.” Frank was a fair board member and chairman previous to her start, so she said she understood “a little” how the board was organized and the fair operated. Newman had copious handwritten notes, ledgers and notebooks and now McIntire has most everything computerized. While in previous years the checks following the fair were all handwritten, they are now computerized, and McIntire tries to get them all out and have the books closed no later than October. The board meets each month where McIntire presents her prepared financial statements and minutes. She also spends time recruiting volunteers for open class exhibits and helps prepare the books the ribbons placed are recorded in. “The extension staff is wonderful – from Jim Church and Susie Heckman to Jill Bruegeman, they’re all helpful and great to work with,” she said. “I have also enjoyed getting to know the fair board members and working with them. They all take on a variety of jobs and work hard to make the fair successful.” She also thanks the Idaho County Commissioners for the annual support of the fair. “They budget us in and it’s very appreciated,” she said. “We try to be very good stewards of the money provided and save a little each year for needed projects.” This year, some of those funds have helped purchase a new livestock scale and stage area (where the gazebo was formerly located). Currently, the board is saving for the addition of an ADA-accessible bathroom and showers located close to the Agee Livestock Pavilion. The McIntires’ two children are now married with children of their own: Daniel and Leslie have three children, Hope, Owen and Kane; and Lacey and husband Mat Faeth have two daughters, Reagan and Oakley. McIntire does not stay on the fairgrounds during fair week, but is available close by as she stays in a camper at Daniel and Leslie’s. “It’s a busy week for sure, and afterwards it’s even busier for me, getting things all wrapped up,” she said. “I enjoy it and don’t have plans to retire anytime soon.” 
Enid Newman served as Fair Secretary for 39 years. Enid Newman of Stites served as Idaho County Fair board secretary for 39 years prior to retiring in 2002. Enid was the eldest child of Eldrew and Sylvia Noyes Chadwick and grew up in New Plymouth. She graduated in May 1939 as salutatorian of her class. She then attended Boise Business University. She married Wayne Newman in 1945, and they spent 10 years in White Bird. In 1955, they purchased a land on Lukes Gulch outside of Stites and their sons, Darrel and Larry, attended school in Stites and then Clearwater Valley High School in Kooskia. Newman was Stites city clerk from 1966 to 1971, and was clerk in the Idaho County Assessor's Office for 25 years until she retired in 1986. For years after her retirement she worked during the busy times in the assessor's and treasurer's offices. She enjoyed her years as a 4-H Club sewing leader for many girls in the Clearwater area. In 1963, she became secretary-treasurer for the Idaho County Fair Board. She also served on the Idaho County election board for White Bird and Stites for every election from 1945 to 2010, serving many of those years as the chief judge of the Stites precinct. She died at St. Mary’s Hospital in Cottonwood at the age of 89 in 2011. 
Vintage Youth band members include Todd Marek, Kim Johnson, Beth Boehmke, Paul Boehmke, Sydney “B.J.” Walker, Wendy Lindsley and Ted Lindsley. Contributed photo. Get ready to rock out at the fair with Vintage Youth. The band will play Friday night, Aug. 16, 7 p.m. Vintage Youth is a classic rock band out of Grangeville, comprised of business professionals and self-proclaimed “rock star wannabes” reliving the good ol’ days when hair was big, guitars were loud, girls wore leopard skin tights...and so did the guys! What started a few years back in the living room as a one-time fund-raising gig has quickly grown into a group of seriously talented local musicians offering the classic rock everyone knows and loves from their misspent youths. Band members Todd Marek, Sydney (BJ) Walker, Paul Boehmke, Beth Boehmke, Kim Johnson, and Ted and Wendy Lindsley, can be found playing several gigs a year all around North Central Idaho, and in the infamous “living room” where it all began. Vintage Youth offers an eclectic mix of music that reflects the diverse tastes of the band members themselves. From Boston, Bon Jovi, and Def Leppard to CCR, Journey, the B52s and ZZ Top, there’s something sure to get everyone up on their feet and rocking. Potato bar benefit set for Erika Pepper A baked potato bar will be held Friday, Aug. 16, 4 to 7 p.m., at city park, with all proceeds to go to Cottonwood native Erika Pepper. Pepper is 24 years old and was born with a progressive genetic respiratory illness called Cystic Fibrosis. She recently received a life-saving double lung transplant at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. She spent 21 days in the ICU and will now be living in Seattle for the next few months while being monitored very closely by her transplant team. The immediate expenses that Pepper and her family are facing are costly, lifelong expenses to tend to her medical care and immunosuppressive medications. All donations will be accepted for the family. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is the premier organization providing fund-raising assistance to transplant families. For a lifetime, 100 percent of each contribution made to COTA in honor of patients helps meet transplant-related expenses, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible. Contributions for Pepper can be made online at www.COTAforErika.com |
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