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558 N. Main St.,
Prineville, OR 97754
Phone: 541.447.6205 |
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| Saturday is a workday at the fairgrounds |
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 | | Editorial cartoon by Ron Raasch | | Things at the Crook County Fairgrounds won't be the same after the community gets together Saturday for a day of cleanup and painting |
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We have been writing a great deal recently in the Central Oregonian about the effort to fix up the fairgrounds so that the community can all be proud of it again. The years have not been kind to the 50-year old facility and there has not been the money available to do all the necessary upkeep and upgrades.
Between the facilities becoming somewhat rundown and the fact that Deschutes County built a bigger, fancier fairgrounds just down the road the bookings at the Crook County facility have declined and Prineville has ended up loosing some major events, like the Bull Bash.
In an effort to turn the situation around a group of local citizens recently organized a tour of the facility to become aware of what needed to be done.
Seeing the disrepair and deferred maintenance they went to work and with the help of the fair board created a fairgrounds advisory board to help insure that the needed maintenance was done and that facility was given a second chance.
The advisory board which consists of Sheryl Rhoden, Katie Duffield, Brett Nelson, Rick Becerra, Mark Stafford, Barry Groff, Jackie Warren, John Rhoden, and Scott Smith have pledged to make sure the work gets done. Then they put their time, skills and equipment to work to make it happen.
One of the first efforts made by the group was to communicate regularly with the current fairgrounds management and the fair board to prioritize the projects. The advisory committee and the fair board then met with the country budget committee and the court and obtained $320,000 in funding to make most of the basic improvements, including a new water line and a fencing upgrade along with many other badly needed improvements.
Unfortunately most of those funds will not be available until after July 1, when the next budget year starts.
In an editorial about a month ago I suggested the community get together and do a major clean-up, fix-up and paint-up. Little did I know that suggestion was already in the works and the event is planned for this Saturday, April 20, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In preparation for the workday, Jackie and Jeff Warren are spending three days working with a group of youngsters from COIC to power wash the buildings, so that they can be painted. A group also met earlier this week and selected a new color scheme for the buildings.
Along with the cleaning and painting there is lots of heavy work like pulling out stumps, digging trenches, tearing out old fences and moving dirt. B&S Logging and Groff farms have generously donated a number of pieces of heavy equipment, with operators, to do much of that kind of work. (I'm told to have it done commercially would cost more than $40,000.)
What they really need now is for the community to come to the fairgrounds on Saturday to help get the revitalization started. There is lots of basic work like raking, weeding, painting and hauling off junk that needs to be done and they need bodies of all ages and all sizes to get that started.
Bring your rake and your gloves and come to the fairgrounds for the day or for a few hours. Several local businesses and organizations have already put together work crews to tackle specific projects but there is a lot to be done. Lunch will be provided for the volunteers and the weather forecast is for high temperatures near 60 degrees - perfect for working at the fairgrounds.
The fairgrounds advisory board, the fair board and the county court need your help. It's not often that citizens get a chance to come together to make a big difference with just a few hours work. If you have questions contact Sheryl Rhoden at Wells Fargo Mortgage (447-8633), but better yet just show up ready to work on Saturday. |
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