[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                 IN RECOGNITION OF STU AND BETHEL DOPF

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I speak about some people who, through the 
way they lived their lives, have been very important, not only to me, 
but to their entire community. I am talking about Stu and Bethel Dopf 
of Cambridge, ID.
  Stu Dopf passed away in 2001, and just recently, on January 17, 2005, 
he was joined in Heaven by his wife of 63 years. When I read of Mrs. 
Dopf's passing, fond memories flooded my mind from my time growing up 
in Washington County, where Cambridge is located. I have only good 
things to remember about Mr. and Mrs. Dopf and the family they raised 
from my very first experiences with them.
  For more than 40 years, the Dopfs worked together to publish a small 
weekly newspaper known as the Upper Country News-Reporter. It was 
printed on newsprint, but I have no doubt in my mind that this paper 
represented and still does the very fabric of that community. The paper 
plays that role because the Dopfs wanted it that way, and made sure it 
happened.
  I believe my first experience with Stu Dopf was almost 50 years ago 
at the Washington County Fair in Cambridge. I was in 4-H and had 
entered fat calves to be judged at the fair. Now, to some reporters or 
newspaper editors, livestock judging at a county fair may not seem like 
much of an assignment. But Stu understood the community in which he 
lived, and the farm and ranch families that made it a closely-knit 
community. People were interested in the activities and accomplishments 
of their neighbors, and no achievement was too small to report.
  After that, any time I had some news or any stories about my 4-H or 
FFA activities, or public speaking contests, I knew I could stop by the 
News-Reporter office, where the Dopfs would be certain to listen. More 
often than not, those stories would show up somewhere on the pages of 
the next issue. Later, when I made my decision to run for office for 
the first time, for a seat in the Idaho State Senate, I went to the 
Dopfs to ask if they would print the pocket brochure for my campaign. 
Their sons, Alan and Don, had just started a printing business the year 
before, so it was an easy choice for me to go there.
  Throughout my life, whether in the activities of my younger days, my 
endeavors in the legislature, or my time in the U.S. House and Senate, 
Stu Dopf always provided a fair, unbiased account in the News-Reporter. 
He always gave me a fair opportunity to make my point. Continuing Stu's 
example, the editors generously include each weekly column I write in 
the paper, and I am truly grateful.
  Even after they retired, the influence of Mr. and Mrs. Dopf remained 
at the News-Reporter. Their children have carried on the same brand of 
community reporting, and this is why I continue to subscribe to the 
paper and read and enjoy it every week.
  The Dopfs took pride in Cambridge and Washington County, and they 
loved it down to the smallest details. They took a special interest in 
the youth of the area, including articles and pictures of local high 
school sporting events, essay contest winners, invitations to baby 
showers, and as I mentioned, 4-H and FFA news.
  They were great community people, and they were great people in their 
community. The Dopfs were a big reason I had such a positive experience 
growing up in rural Washington County. It is people like them who make 
Cambridge, Midvale, Weiser, and other small towns across Idaho great 
places to live. I'm sure they are resting peacefully in Heaven.

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