Fair Court Keeps Busy

DAYTON - The Columbia County Fair Court has had its work cut out for its four local girls this summer keeping extra busy attending local fairs and events and spreading the word of Columbia County's best.

The court consists of three freshmen from Dayton High School, Sierra Smith, Mor- gan Fatheree and Bryeanna Myrick and one sophomore from Waitsburg High School, Emma Philbrook.

Smith enjoys horseback rid- ing in her free time and said she was excited to participate in the Columbia County Fair to spend time with her friends and help represent her community.

Fatheree is a cheerleader for Dayton High School and can be spotted braving the chilly Fri- day night air on top of a cheer box at Dayton football games. She also hopes to spend time with friends on the court and at the fair while representing her town.

Myrick likes to barrel race and hopes that her time on the court will help her improve her public speaking abilities.

Philbrook writes novels in her free time and said even though she isn't technically a resident of Columbia County, she is proud to belong in the hospital district and she looks for- ward to representing that part of the Touchet Valley community.

All four girls started with said this was their first time be- ing part of the fair court or do- ing anything like it. The court was busy every weekend for a while this summer, Philbrook said. But because they don't have horses, they don't do as many events, Smith said. The girls do have an elaborate float they ride in local parades.

"So we just go and wave," Philbrook said.

Getting selected to be part of the court was half of the challenge for the girls. While Philbrook said she thought the competition wasn't as difficult as she had expected it to be, the other three weren't as comfort- able with the challenge.

"We had to give essay- length speeches," Smith said.

As if the challenge of writing the speech wasn't difficult enough, Myrick said she had another challenge during the presentation.

"I forgot half of my speech," Myrick said.

But now that the court has settled into the routine of the fairs, all of the challenges are worth it.

Philbrook said she was happy the court went to the Walla Walla County Fair last weekend, which is the oldest fair in the state of Washington, according to the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce website.

The girls said they are even more excited for the Columbia County Fair this weekend.

"We're going to be in the dunk tank," Smith said.

The other members of the court didn't share all of Smith's enthusiasm for the dunk tank, but Smith said she is happy to represent the court if they don't want to get wet.

The Columbia County Fair is Sept. 7, 8 and 9 at the Co- lumbia County Fairgrounds. Events start at 6 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 7 with a free fair breakfast with paid admission at the gate and officially end at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9.

(See the Fair Schedule On Page 15.)