It was good to hear that residents of our neighboring community of Trout Lake can now breathe a sigh of relief that some of the homes over there are no longer under a Level 3 evacuation order and the other areas of Trout Lake are no longer under Level 2 warning. Many of our Glenwood residents have homes in or bordering forested lands over here and have concerns regarding how to prepare if a large fire begins near their homes and property. The following important information was provided by Glenwood resident Mary Scott:
Neighborhood members are interested in creating a Fire Adapted Community group in order to gather resources for strengthening Glenwood from forest fires. The new group welcomes all members of the community who would like to participate in the safety of our community under fire conditions. Our next meeting will be in September. To get on the mailing list, contact Rebecca Koski at 310- 985-4443. The September meeting date, time and location was to be announced by Sept 1.Â
The Mt. Adams Resource Stewards, a non-profit organization home-based in Glenwood, has volunteered to meet individually with Glenwood residents to do home and property assessments and to help families create property that can better withstand forest fires. Home wildfire risk assessments will involve a staff member from Mt. Adams Resource Stewards (MARS) meeting you at your property for 30-45 minutes to identify potential wildfire risk factors on and around your home. This service is provided free of charge, and assessment findings are for your information only (they are not reported anywhere, and you are not obligated to take any actions). Sign up at forms.gle/bbnDSXxmbPhwWcvK9. The Fire Adapted Community group is also working on a micro grant to fund a community project that will strengthen against spread of fire in the valley. They welcome all community input.
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Our county fair is over now and everyone is busy with school and fall activities, but I do want to share some of the fair results. Several Glenwood kids had 4-H projects at the fair so it was a lot of work but a lot of fun. Anthony Avila received Reserve Champion Market Swine. Way to go, Anthony. The other 4-H kids came home with lots of blue ribbons and good sales of their animals at the end. Little kids Natalie Miller (age 5) and her little sister Haylee (almost 3) showed pigs and got bags full of goodies for their efforts.
There were many other Glenwood entries in fine arts, crafts, knitting, crocheting, and photography. I didn’t get a list of all those from our community who entered, but have to brag about our Glenwood resident Anni Stumpf, who received an Outstanding ribbon for one of her photos of an otter at the mill pond, and blues on her many other photos. She received top of show for a knitted afghan and exquisite knitted lace shawl. She also received outstanding awards for a knitted sweater coat and some of her photographs. Carole Johnson’s beautiful quilt also received Top of Show this year, another very well-deserved honor. Our community may be very small but we have a lot of great talent and high achievers here. Little Natalie Miller received a blue ribbon for her wonderful painting of a sunflower.
Among all the cowgirls and cowboys who competed in the county events, two are cowgirls who also keep our Glenwood school up and running smoothly. Toni Thiele Troh, the Glenwood School Administrative Assistant, competed in team penning with her father, Dale Thiele and sister Kristin Chambers, who are well known here in Glenwood. In another combination of Thieles, Toni’s dad, brother Mike, and nephew Kane placed first in the penning. That was three generations of Thieles and Toni has huge reasons to be proud.Â
Jaecee Hoctor, the school Business Manager, competed in the adult division in Western Games and received the reserve champion award. Her daughter Jocee, a freshman, received reserve champion in her age division, and her daughter Jentry, a fifth grader, placed third in her age group. Jaecee also competed in ranch sorting.
The Hoctor cowgirls competed in the family penning in various team combinations. Jentry teamed with John, Aubrey, and little Pacen Stephens in the penning and placed in the top eight. The Stephens family also teamed with Bailey Rickman and won first place in penning I should add, Pacen Stephens is only two years old but he was an awesome little cowboy out there, loving every minute. This was the first of many county fair competitions for that little guy.
On Friday night, Jocee Hoctor teamed with her parents and Johnny Stephens in the 4-on-2 branding. This was Jocee’s first year in that event. Despite first year nerves, they made it to the finals, finishing in the top six. That busy cowgirl then had to load her horses and head to Milton-Freewater with her dad to compete in her junior rodeo both Saturday and Sunday. She reported that things went well in her events for both days there. As if the week and weekend weren’t full enough, there’s no rest for the weary. Jocee began high school volleyball practice on Monday on the Klickwood team coached by her mom, Jaecee. That is one busy family, for sure. Keeping it all in the family, I wanted to mention, Jocee’s and Jentry’s grandpa, Joe Davitt, served as arena superintendent during the horse classes and received a special award for his willingness to take on an important job.
It was fun to see soon-to-be-married Jonathon Throop and Jennifer Kennedy, teamed with Joe Neipp, in the team penning. I did see Emma Patterson and Joslyn Arnold out there in some of the events, too. I know I’m probably missing many others who competed in county events, and I apologize for leaving anyone out.
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Part 2 of this column will appear in the Sept. 11 edition.
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Mary Pierce writes about the community of Glenwood every other week in Columbia Gorge News. Please send any news items to gmpierce09@gmail.com.
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