HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2024
Vol. 145 No. 30
$1.00
Where’s the Fair Premium Book? LOU MARZELES EDITOR Judging by the number of people coming into The Sentinel office asking about the Fair Premium Book (FPB) recently, a lot of people are still unaware that the Klickitat County Fair Board is doing the book on its own this year—in a manner of speaking— and at its own expense. This is after 80 years of The Sentinel producing the book for the board at zero cost to the board. Actually, there is no physical FPB this year at all. The board only has fair information online— not even an electronic version of the FPB—and there are multiple reports from people saying they could not find even that information easily on the board’s website. Instead, anyone wanting to find it is advised to try to reach someone on the Contact Us page, as our Glenwood News columnist Mary Pierce reports this week (see page A5). None of the dozens of people who came to The Sentinel office or called in the past two weeks asking for the FPB had any idea where to get the needed information. And all said they preferred
KLICKITAT COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
EVACUATIONS: Level 2 and 3 evacuations were still in effect near Bickleton at press time from the Big Horn Fire.
FILE PHOTO
NO PRINT BOOK THIS YEAR: For the first time in 80 years, there is no print Fair Premium Book this year. Above, last year’s, produced by The Sentinel. a print edition to seeing it only online. According to fair board financial documents, the board has paid between $7,500 and $10,000 to contractor Kacie Bane’s company, Visual Verve, for the “book” and website work. Those payments have come through the board’s county budget from taxpayer funds. A detailed story on the board’s
decision ran in The Sentinel on May 29 this year (https://tinyurl. com/nfpb3rjr). Here is a general summary of what happened: In late summer of 2023, fair board members indicated to The Sentinel they would not use the newspaper to do the FPB in 2024. Their ostensible reason was to provide electronic access to the book, despite the fact that The
See FPB page A8
CONTRIBUTED
LASTING LEGACY: Ada Ruth Whitmore stands in front of a picture of her late husband, Lawrence. The Whitmore family continues to operate the popular Whoop-N-Holler Museum in Bickleton.
Whoop-N-Holler Museum remains a unique experience JORDAN MAYBERRY FOR THE SENTINEL “The rolling hills and surrounding farmland give no clue to the cache of curios, antiques, and fine artifacts the Whitmores have collected over the years,” writes Bob Elmer in a piece that encapsulates the almost mystical air around the hidden treasures of the Whoop-N-Holler museum. Hidden away in a generational ranch 11 miles outside of Roosevelt and Bickleton, a larger-thanlife experience is open to visitors with a curiosity for local history. (As of yesterday, the museum was in a Level 3 evacuation zone for the Big Horn Fire but not in immediate danger.) The Whitmore family has deep roots, extending over a century, in Bickleton and the surrounding area. As the years progressed and the family grew, they preserved their possessions and accepted donations from friends and associates. Whether tools, appliances, scrapbooks, or vehicles, the Whitmore family not only retained these valued pieces of history but also made a point to care for these treasures. The museum earned its name, “Whoop-N-Holler,” coined
as a term of endearment “after the antics of the now grown Whitmore children,” as Bob Elmer describes. Since the beginning of summer, the Whitmore children and heirs to the collection, David and Debbie Whitmore, have been working diligently to maintain and expand the museum, continuing the life’s work set forth by their parents, Lawrence and Ada Ruth Whitmore. The museum offers a vast range of curiosities—a 1900 Fairview school house, volumes of antique phonographs, vintage musical instruments, artifacts from local native tribes, but among the most prominent among displays in the Whoop-N-Holler museum is one of the largest vintage auto collections in the state, assembled by the late Lawrence Whitmore. This collection consists of personal vehicles, tractors, and even a horse-drawn hearse sled, sourced from within the family and donations from associates. While the automobile collection was being assembled, Ada Ruth Whitmore focused on her passion: an archive of local historical documents compiled in a building on the museum property. “My mom’s goal in life was community his-
tory,” David Whitmore shared. Stored in shelves of volumes in a trailer, Ada Ruth collected local history of Bickleton and the surrounding towns, which includes binders full of newspaper clippings, obituaries, and historical documents. The archive is open to inquirers, offering residents with family roots in Eastern Klickitat County a treasure trove of information about their heritage. “If people want to search out their ancestors from this area, if we got it, they are more than welcome to come here and search out the information, but we do not loan the books out,” David added. The museum has become a labor of love for the family. “Work on the property isn’t going to end,” David explained. With the ownership transfer, David and Debbie have started placing new buildings with unique themes, still a work in progress. Despite the already sprawling collection open to the public, there is more to be seen, with storage of yet-tobe-presented antiques and curios behind the scenes. “We have a 53foot boxcar, full of items yet to be put on display,” David said. The Whitmores envision a visitor experience that involves rotating
See Museum page A8
Big Horn Fire continues to prompt evacuations Yesterday the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office stated it had issued Level 3, Level 2, and Level 1 evacuation notices to county residents in areas east of East Road near Bickleton due to a fast-moving wildfire, now called the Big Horn Fire. The towns of Bickleton (to the north) and Roosevelt (to the southwest) are not impacted by the evacuation notices. The fire is moving to the east towards the community of Alderdale. Fire personnel from throughout Klickitat County are on
scene assisting the Bickleton Fire Department. A request was made and approved by the State of Washington to activate state mobilization for additional resources and fire management. The implementation of a fire management team will take place as the resources arrive. Reminder: if you are in a Level 3 evacuation area, it means “Go Now.” The Sentinel has continuing breaking new information on the fire on its home page (www. GoldendaleSentinel.com).
All county departments will take cards RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL Klickitat County residents face a welcome change in their dealings with county departments, following a policy decision made at the July 16 meeting of the Klickitat County Commission. Commissioner Dan Christopher brought up a subject that he said he’d been raising to no avail for the past three and a half years. “We’re living in the Stone Age,” he said. “[This county] needs to update its policy and procedures to move into the century we’re currently in... Why the heck does all but one of the county departments not accept credit cards?” He called the current situation, requiring people to drive from wherever they are in the far-flung county to Goldendale to pay application fees, as “ridiculous.” He moved that the board sign a resolution requiring county departments to set up a process to take credit cards. This time, the other two commissioners voted with him. No word on when the transition will take place, but that convenience is on its way. Human Resources Director Robb Van Cleave gave an update on the status of the jail. He reported that the final transfer resolution is nearly complete and that he was getting assistance with the financial aspects from the county’s auditor, treasurer,
and fiscal manager. In regard to the search for a jail manager, he said he would bring a request to next week’s meeting to hire a professional recruitment agency. In response to a request from jail staff for more communication, he received permission from the union to inform jail staff directly, which otherwise is considered an unfair labor practice. That has made things easier, he said. Some things cannot be done until the department has been created, but he outlined a long list of what he called the mechanics of transferring oversight for the jail from the Sheriff’s Office to a new Department of Corrections that had to be done prior to transfer. “Another big issue that I’ve run into,” he said, “is establishing a new what they call ORI number—an ORiginating agency Identifier. We cannot operate a jail under any circumstance without having an ORI number for the new Department of Corrections.” Research shows that an ORI is a nine-digit number required to deal with the FBI, whether it’s having them conduct a background check or obtaining fingerprint supplies and training aids. Currently, the jail policies are with Lexipol, a private company that provides policy manuals, training bulletins, and consulting services to law enforcement
See County page A8