Small town mayor has many jobs

(JULY 20, 2019) Oregon has many small towns. Mitchell one of the small towns in Wheeler County. It has only 125 residents.

People in small towns often do many jobs. For example, Patrick Farrell is the mayor. But he is also the school bus driver and a pastor. He is a barber and the owner of a local hostel, too. (A hostel is like a hotel.)

“Everybody has to wear a lot of hats,” Farrell told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “A town of this size has to provide the same amount of services that a big city does.”

Farrell and his wife began the hostel in 2016. The location is good because many bicyclists travel through Mitchell. They come to visit the nearby Painted Hills and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. They often need a place to stay. Sometimes they need a haircut. That is how Farrell became a barber, too.

He thinks being a school bus driver is another way to connect with the community.

“There’s so many opportunities to share life together in a small town because everybody does 10 different things,” he said.