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Former congresswoman dies in
Nevada
(Note: "Once
upon a time, the world was sweeter than we knew; everything was ours,
how happy we were then..." - from the song Once Upon A
Time, words by Lee Adams; music by Charles Strouse. There
are six photos inserted. If you cannot view them, please email and I
will send you the email with the photos attached.)
Wayne and Helen in Washington, D.C., announcing their engagement,
early 1999.
November 2006: Helen listens to beloved husband Wayne in northern
Colorado at one of the last property rights seminars they hosted.
October 2, 2006
By Brendan Riley briley@ap.org
The Associated Press
Carson City, Nevada - Helen Chenoweth-Hage, a conservative firebrand
who served three terms as an Idaho congresswoman, was killed Monday
when thrown from a car that overturned on an isolated central Nevada
highway.
A daughter, Meg Chenoweth Keenan, said her mother was a passenger in
the SUV-type vehicle that flipped just before noon Monday on State
Route 376, the main route between her Pine Creek Ranch, in Monitor
Valley, and Tonopah.
The Nevada Highway Patrol said Chenoweth-Hage, 68, was pronounced
dead at the scene. Though other family members were in the car --
including the driver, daughter-in-law Yelena Hage, 24, and
5-month-old grandson-in-law Bryan Hage -- no one else was seriously
injured.
Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Rocky Gonzalez said Chenoweth-Hage
was holding the baby and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He added both
Chenoweth-Hage and the baby were thrown from the car but the child
"miraculously" had only minor injuries.
Gonzalez said the SUV, traveling toward Tonopah, drifted off the
road to the right, swerved back to the left and then flipped as the
driver overcorrected in steering to the right in efforts to stay on
the road.
Chenoweth-Hage was killed four months after the death of her
husband, Nevada rancher Wayne Hage, who battled the federal
government for decades over public lands and private property rights
and came to epitomize the Sagebrush Rebellion in the West. Hage had
been ill and died in his sleep at age 69.
A Republican, Chenoweth-Hage was elected to Congress from Idaho in
1994 and served three two-year terms. The outspoken advocate of
smaller government and property rights chose not to run in 2000.
U.S. Rep. C.L. "Butch" Otter, who replaced Chenoweth, said
he only ran in 2000 because she opted to retire.
"What a tragedy," Otter said. "Helen was a person,
whether in her private life or in her public service, was dedicated
to principles of limited government. In every sense of her being,
she fought for the maximum individual liberty -- and the minimum in
government."
"Helen was the most amazing, gracious person I ever had the
privilege to know," her daughter said in a prepared statement.
"She was fearless in life, and I know she welcomes the
opportunity to be in the presence of God her father.
Born in Topeka, Kansas, Chenoweth-Hage grew up in Grants Pass,
Oregon, and attended Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington,
before moving to the northern Idaho timber town of Orofino, where
she worked at Northside Medical Center.
She became a well-known political name in the state when she moved
to Boise in the 1970s, serving as the executive director of the
Idaho Republican Party and becoming U.S. Rep. Steven Symms' chief of
staff.
She ran for Congress against incumbent Democrat Larry LaRocco and
gained national attention when she held "endangered salmon
bakes," serving canned salmon and ridiculing the listing of
Idaho salmon as an endangered species during fundraisers.
Chenoweth-Hage also said that salmon aren't endangered but white
males are, complained about black government helicopters harassing
ranchers, said minorities didn't like northern Idaho because it is
too cold and called for disarming federal resource enforcement
agents.
She also said she suffered from unjustified media criticism because
she was a woman and because she stood firmly for western rights,
independence and sovereignty.
During her congressional career, Chenoweth-Hage was a victim of a
"salmon pie" attack while at a field hearing on forest
health in Missoula, Montana. Randall Mark of Moscow, Idaho hit her
in the head with a "pie" made of rotten canned salmon,
forcing the meeting to adjourn for an hour while she cleaned salmon
flakes from her hair and jacket.
After the attack, the congresswoman joked, "I would like to say
that I find it amusing that they used salmon. I guess salmon must
not be endangered anymore." The stunt landed Mark in jail for
more than two months. He also got a year of probation.
She married Hage in 1999 in Meridian, Idaho, at a ceremony attended
by more than 1,000 guests. In 2000, Chenoweth-Hage considered a
possible bid for Idaho's lieutenant governor's post, but then opted
to work for a private property advocacy group in Boise.
~~~~~
Associated Press writer Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed
to this report.
Copyright 2006, Las Vegas Sun. 
Former U.S. Rep. Chenoweth-Hage dies in
Nevada car crash
October 2, 2006
Carson City, Nevada - Former U.S. Representative Helen Chenoweth-Hage
died today in a car wreck near Tonopah, Nevada, family members have
confirmed.
Chenoweth-Hage, who was elected to Congress in Idaho in 1994 and served through 2000, was 68. Her daughter, Meg Chenoweth Keenan, says Chenoweth-Hage was a passenger in this morning's one-car crash. No one else was seriously injured. Representative "Butch" Otter, the man who replaced Chenoweth, said he only ran in 2000 because she retired. Otter says, "What a tragedy. In every sense of her being, she fought for the maximum individual liberty -- and the minimum in government." Her husband, Wayne Hage, died in June after an illness. 
Helen signs a Jarbidge-to-Darby "Shovels of Solidarity for
Stewards of the Darby" shovel while Jay Zane Walley emcees the
Darby Farmland Rally, September 2, 2000, held near London, Ohio.
Former U.S. Rep. Chenoweth-Hage dies in
Nevada car crash
October 2, 2006
By Brendan Riley briley@ap.org
The Associated Press / The Las Vegas Sun
To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@lasvegassun.com
Carson City, Nevada - Former U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage died Monday in a car crash, her daughter said.
Chenoweth-Hage, a Republican who was elected to Congress from Idaho
in 1994 and served through 2000, was 68. Her daughter, Meg Chenoweth
Keenan, said Chenoweth-Hage was a passenger in the Monday morning
crash near Tonopah, Nevada. No one else was seriously injured in the
one-car crash, she said.
Chenoweth had been married since 1999 to Wayne Hage, a Nevada
rancher who came to epitomize Nevada's Sagebrush Rebellion as he
battled for decades with the federal government over public lands
and private property rights. He died in June at age 69.
Born in Topeka, Kansas, Chenoweth-Hage grew up in Grants Pass,
Oregon, and attended Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington,
before moving to the northern Idaho timber town of Orofino, where
she worked at Northside Medical Center.
She became a well-known political name in the state when she moved
to Boise in the 1970s, serving as the executive director of the
Idaho Republican Party and becoming U.S. Rep. Steven Symms' chief of
staff.
She ran for Congress against incumbent Democrat Larry LaRocco and
gained national attention when she held "endangered salmon
bakes," serving canned salmon and ridiculing the listing of
Idaho salmon as an endangered species during fundraisers.
An advocate of smaller government and property rights, Chenoweth-Hage
won the race and served a self-imposed three-term limit as a U.S.
representative.
Copyright 2006, Las Vegas Sun.
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