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Think ahead, if you will, to hot August days and balmy August nights and all the fun that goes with them, the very fun you’re not having this mean blustery, early spring. Think, for a moment, about the Union County Fair and what a warm, feel-good time you have every time you go.
It’s not just the food or the carnival or the live entertainment that comes to mind, nor is it just the livestock exhibits, the 4-H competitions, the quilt show, the art show or the talent contest.
The fair is the sum of its parts. Taken altogether, it is a yearly shared experience full of sights and sounds and smells completely out of the humdrum ordinary, a laid-back gathering of the whole community in the height of gorgeous shirt-sleeve weather.
Wonderful as the fair is, it’s easy to take it for granted. Keeping it on its feet year after year, decade after decade, is a complex undertaking.
Everyday folks don’t give it much thought, but the truth is, when it comes to putting on a fair, there are difficulties and challenges to be met. There is a constant need for upkeep and improvement.
A recent decision by the La Grande City Council will go a long way toward assuring survival of our grand August event for many years to come. By a unanimous vote, the council decided to annex the portion of the fairgrounds that falls within the city’s urban growth boundary.
Someday, hopefully in the near future, the fairgrounds will be able to do away with its aging septic system and connect to the city’s water and sewer system. Food court, restroom and 4-H facilities will all be upgraded.
Make no mistake, fairgoers. There is a dire need. As Union County Fair Board President Val Stockhoff recently noted, the current system can’t even handle the addition of a dishwasher in the 4-H kitchen.
The board still has a way to go before it can implement the infrastructure changes. Money’s the bugaboo, of course. To extend a line from the fairgrounds to the city sewer and water system will cost an estimated $427,000.
The Friends of the Fair Foundation hopes to meet that price with help from a grant from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. Here’s hoping the OECDD sees the grant application in a favorable light.
The fair has a history stretching almost back to the founding of Union County itself. It moved to its current location in the 1940s, after the closure of the Bowman Hicks mill. Maintenance workers do what they can to keep the place up, but the time has come for new infrastructure.
The Union County Fair Board, the Friends of the Fair Foundation and the City of La Grande deserve some applause for recognizing the need, and working together to change things for the better.
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Opinion 
