Download - Wheat Life

WL
PROFILES
He continually fought to help rural hospitals survive
and provide critical health care for residents in sparsely
populated towns and counties in his district.
Barr was known for standing up for rural school
districts, sometimes raising the ire of the Washington
Education Association (WEA) teachers’ union.
“I was so frustrated fighting the WEA, because they
simply didn’t care about the smaller school districts,” said
Barr. “I also defended the cause of parents’ rights to home
school their children. Our work definitely helped to save
home schooling in the state of Washington by creating a
competitive atmosphere.
“One of the WEA presidents was headquartered in
Spokane, and she told the local newspaper that I was the
worst legislator serving in Olympia,” noted Barr. “She had
no idea what an incredible boost that gave to my popularity
with my constituents. She couldn’t have done me a
bigger favor in a rural legislative district, the largest in the
state.”
Incongruously, one of the legislative accomplishments
that Barr was most proud of turned out to be somewhat of
a disaster.
“When a bill was passed increasing the tax on cigarettes,
I added an amendment that allotted 10 percent of those
funds for nonpoint pollution work that would go to the
conservation districts all over the state. Their work is very
important, and there was always a shortage of money for
important projects.
“I must admit, I didn’t anticipate what lengths the
Department of Ecology would go to in their efforts to grab
that money,” said Barr. “Nonpoint pollution had always
been related specifically to agriculture. But they changed
some rules and definitions and took all those funds away.
The conservation districts never received a single dime.”
There were some lighter moments in the legislature.
Barr was known as a farmer with large landholdings, and
the 7th district was the largest in the state. When he was
elected in 1979, there was only one traffic light in his entire
district.
One fellow House Member in particular, Rod Chandler,
often teased Barr about the rural nature and the size of his
district. Chandler served an urban district in the Seattle
area and was a polished speaker. On several occasions, he
had joked that Barr owned his entire eastern Washington
district. One day, various potential redistricting maps
were being shown and commented upon. A proposed new
7th District map was put on the big screen. It was an oddshaped
district extending from the Idaho border clear over
to the border of Chelan County.
Barr was asked his opinion of it, and he responded,
“That would be fine with me, I’d only have to buy 50 more
acres to own the district.” Pandemonium broke loose in
the chamber for some time.
Barr has been blessed with two happy marriages. He is
now in the third decade of his marriage to Dollie, whom
he met during his first term in the house when he was
meeting with his constituents in Colville.
Deciding he wanted to spend more time with her, Barr
hired Dollie as the secretary for his Olympia office. His
plan worked out well; they were married within a year.
Barr fondly remembers the years with his first wife,
Evelyn. She was giving of her time, having earned a home
economics degree in college and serving as a notorious 4H
leader for many years.
When she was stricken with cancer in 1979, they discussed
what to do with her share of the farm which had
been built up to 3,500 acres of wheat land, over 10,000
acres of pasture and several farm units in the Columbia
Basin.
They decided to donate her half of their property to two
entities. One half went to the 4H Foundation, and the other
half was donated to Whitworth University in Spokane
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
$
$
$
$ it’s
$
$
human nature
$
$
$ to
$
$
$ resist change
$
$
Make the change. Maximize Profits.
Growers who are serious about
maximizing profits work with the
agronomists at NuChem, season...
after season... after season............
P.O. Box 603
Pullman, WA 99163
(509) 334-2591
1-800-272-8882
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
36 WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012