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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
PROFILES WL as part of a living trust. Since that time, Barr has continued the same philanthropic approach to his life. Being charitable can have a high cost. Barr had been assured by his accountant and his lawyer that the donation would qualify as a nontaxable charitable gift. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) did not agree. Because Barr had retained the capability to use the land until his death, the IRS ruled that he had to pay up front for potential future earnings. He was ordered to pay $600,000 in taxes and interest. Quality Offering You Can quality Count you On can For depend Over 50 on: Years Farm Storage ! Hopper Bottom Bins Grain Bin Accessories Water Storage Tanks ! Aeration Systems Handling Equipment www.SCAFCO.com “That decision bothers me to this day,” said Barr. “But maybe I’ve had the last laugh after all, because I doubt they expected me to live this long.” Barr helped the Rainbow Girls’ organization when they asked for his assistance in the 1960s. “They told me they needed to buy some rural property that wasn’t too far out of the way, and they didn’t want any water or any snakes,” said Barr. “I gave them 30 acres of land between Sprague and Edwall. They built a house on the property and used it for their activities for years.” AG-TEQ, INC. TECHNOLOGY BASED AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS AG-TEQ, INC. is a provider of Connected Farm! AG-TEQ provides solutions covering all aspects of precision agriculture throughout the Northwest. Dealer Info Farm Storage • Hopper Bottom Bins Grain Handling Equipment • Grain Bin Accessories Water Storage Tanks • Aeration Systems By offering a wide range of products and services, AG-TEQ is able to supply the tools necessary to be successful in today’s farming industry. SERVICES - RTK Markout - EC Field Mapping - Yield/VRA Mapping SOLUTIONS - Guidance - Application - Autosteer Steel Buildings • Equipment Storage Warehouse Structures • Steel Studs Rock Steel Structures, Inc. Kralman Steel Structures, Inc. Moses Lake, WA Milton-Freewater, OR Scott Rock Norm Kralman 509-764-9700 541-938-7390 scott@rocksteel.com norm@kralmansteel.com AG-TEQ, INC. 105 E 2nd PO Box 977 The Dalles, OR 97058 541-298-6277 www.ag-teq.com AG-TEQ SUPPLY is now open. Come see us at 105 E 2nd in The Dalles, OR. We’re open Monday- Friday, 8:00-5:00. WHEAT LIFE JANUARY 2012 37
Page 1 and 2: W L HEAT IFE The official publicati
Page 3 and 4: WAWG President’s Perspective 2 WA
Page 5 and 6: Why in-pLace BeTTer coVeraGe. incre
Page 7 and 8: TIME FOR A LITTLE PAYBACK This just
Page 9 and 10: DC agenda set Washington’s wheat
Page 11 and 12: CUTTNG CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY YOU
Page 13 and 14: Quality Fuels & Lubricants Prompt,
Page 15 and 16: Transition Planning - Asset Protect
Page 17 and 18: Industry, work, character, honesty,
Page 19 and 20: POLICY MATTERS WL Jetties at top of
Page 21 and 22: The Washington, D.C., hand FEATURE
Page 23 and 24: MACHINING • FABRICATION • REPAI
Page 25 and 26: 2011/12 Senate Committees Senate Ag
Page 27 and 28: WL FEATURE Global Demand, Local Imp
Page 29 and 30: WL FEATURE Where does our fertilize
Page 31 and 32: At the Wheat Marketing Center in Po
Page 33: PROFILES WL “I decided that in li
Page 37 and 38: and were driven to get the job done
Page 39 and 40: WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION Apply h
Page 41 and 42: WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION WL WGC
Page 43 and 44: WL WGC REPORTS EPORTS RWASHINGTON G
Page 45 and 46: WL WGC REPORTS WASHINGTON GRAIN COM
Page 47 and 48: WL WGC REPORTS $MARTPHONES FARMERS
Page 51 and 52: WL WGC REPORTS Belt tightening at F
Page 53 and 54: WL WGC REPORTS Table 1. Worksheet f
Page 57 and 58: WIDE WORLD OF WHEAT Photo by ANDREW
Page 59 and 60: WL FEATURE Getting the word out A c
Page 61 and 62: WL FEATURE Mitchell & Lewis Co. Dur
Page 63 and 64: WL FEATURE Raising the roof on an o
Page 65 and 66: WL FEATURE project. The use of the
Page 67 and 68: Your wheat life... Two-year-old Jac
Page 69: CIH-PF-02 Advertiser Index A & L Su

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