Tour by air, then on to the fair

Dino Rossi visits Columbia Basin

GRANT COUNTY - Ask Dino Rossi his favorite fair food, and he won't stop at one.

"Onion burgers, corn dogs … Scones were always a big one, and those are great," said the candidate for the 2008 state governor race.

Rossi also enjoys corn-on-the-cob dipped in butter and covered in salt.

On Saturday, Rossi toured the Columbia Basin by plane and then visited the Grant County Fair to meet voters.

Grant County Republican Party Chair Tom Dent and Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District Secretary-Manager Darvin Fales met Rossi in Pasco. They boarded a small plane for an intimate tour of the Columbia Basin Project.

"It's remarkable," Rossi said of the project. "Especially that this was put together so long ago."

Fales said his role in the tour was to educate Rossi and

familiarize him with the Columbia Basin. The Columbia Basin Project started in 1933 when Grand Coulee Dam was under construction, Fales said.

"We've come a long way since then," Fales said.

He said the project needs help to continue operating and to grow.

Approximately 670,000 of one million acres intended for development have been developed, Fales noted.

Fales showed Rossi a map of the Columbia Basin Project, which includes three irrigation districts: the Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District, the East Irrigation District and the South Irrigation District.

He spoke to Rossi about the need for an alternative feed route into Potholes Reservoir, preferably through Upper Crab Creek. He also spoke about the need to stop declining aquifer levels at the Odessa Sub-Area Aquifer.

Rossi saw several areas including the first block ever developed in the Columbia Basin, Moses Lake, Dry Falls, Upper Crab Creek, Quincy, Ephrata, Soap Lake and Warden.

Fales pointed out an area where canals must be enlarged to get water to the land south of Interstate 90. The Bureau of Reclamation estimated the enlargement would cost $33 million, while irrigation personnel estimate it will cost closer to $25 million, he said.

As the plane flew over acres of farmland, Dent commented the farmers are suffering.

"They'll get to the point they don't have water," he said.

After the tour, the plane landed in Moses Lake in time for Rossi to visit the fair.

Rossi related memories of visiting the fair as a youth.

"It was always kind of the highlight of the year, when we all got to go to the fair, and ride the rides, do all of those various things that we would do," Rossi said.

The youngest of seven, Rossi said his mom and dad took him, his siblings and their friends to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Wash. Sometimes they would visit the Puyallup Fair.

Rossi saved money for the fair by taking a bus with other youth to Marysville to pick strawberries. He also earned money by riding his bike five miles to the golf course to collect lost golf balls. He earned $30 a weekend reselling the golf balls.

Then, he'd spend his hard-earned money at the fair.

His favorite ride at the fair as a youth was the Roundup.