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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2021)
INSIDE UPGRADES AT UNION GAS STATION NEARLY COMPLETE | October 14, 2021 BUSINESS & AG LIFE, B1 $1.50 THURSDAY EDITION Grant to address domestic violence La Grande Police, Shelter From the Storm receive funds from 3-year grant By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer LA GRANDE — Local entities in La Grande recently received a crucial grant addressing domestic violence in the area, fi lling what would be a major void had the grant not been renewed. The La Grande Police Department and local non- profi t Shelter From the Storm are recipients of an Offi ce on Violence Against Women rural grant, which allows both organiza- tions to fi ll a staff position directly related to domestic violence response. “If it was not for this grant, we could not have the resources to have this position,” La Grande Police Chief Gary Bell said. “We’ve Bell enjoyed that funding to have the posi- tion and we will be able to continue pro- viding those Landa services in the community.” The OVW grant directly provides for the La Grande Police Department’s ability to employ a special vic- tims detective, who works specifi cally in domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and other interper- sonal crimes. The grant is renewable on a three-year cycle. According to Bell, the department will be able to better provide important services, due to the grant’s renewal. “The position has greatly improved our ability to respond to these off enses,” he said. Shelter From the Storm, a nonprofi t organization in La Grande with a mis- sion of helping victims of See, Grant/Page A5 Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Katie Frenyea, of Nez Perce Tribal Fisheries, left foreground, describes the wetlands that are part of the restoration work of the Wallowa River on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, at the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland Project. The river’s excavated side channels will help restore native plants and give native fi sh a place to spawn. Restoration and reconciliation Hundreds gather for blessing ceremony at Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland Project By BILL BRADSHAW Wallowa County Chieftain WALLOWA — It wasn’t the regular Tamkaliks celebration but, in some ways, it was more. A couple hundred people gathered at the Nez Perce Wallowa Home- land Project the second weekend of October to commemorate and bless a restoration project 10 years in the making and share memories of past celebrations. For decades, the former wet- lands where the Homeland Project is had been turned into farm or pastureland. In the 1950s and the 1970s, bulldozers were brought in to change the land- scape so it would not fl ood, according to Montana Pagano who, with Katie Frenyea, led a tour of the restoration project Sat- urday, Oct. 9. Pagano and Frenyea have been two of the instrumental workers in developing the project to restore the river to its nat- ural state on behalf of Nez Perce Tribal Fisheries. The meandering movement of the Wallowa River in its natural state made it diffi cult — if not impossible — to farm or graze the land between the river and Tick Hill, which overlooks the Homeland Project and where the Tamkaliks dance arbor stands today. The townsite also was sus- ceptible to the seasonal whims of the river. “They couldn’t have built Wallowa there because the river moved around — I’m talking 150 years ago — so in order to put a townsite there and be confi dent it wasn’t going to fl ood, they had to channelize the river,” said Angela Bombaci, executive director of the Homeland Project. “So they tacked it against the hill like this out of the way of the town. ... But now we’re trying to undo some of it for the sake of the salmon.” But, she assured, the resto- ration work only will aff ect the north side of the river, not the town side. “Oh, gosh, no,” she said of any future risk of fl ood. “We’re actu- ally helping because we’re taking away the fl ood pressure so it has a place to go over here instead of Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Nez Perce and Umatilla tribal members participate in a blessing and song for the Wallowa River restoration work Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, at the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland Project. area because it’s a release point for fl oodwater.” As Bombaci, Pagano and Frenyea explained, there are three side channels that branch off the main river, fl ood the wetlands and merge to rejoin the river a quar- ter-mile downstream. “The three branches of the side channels are in place and all that’s left is the overseeding of the ground that was torn up from construction,” Bombaci said. “Now we sit back and watch nature do her thing for the ben- efi t of lamprey, salmon and other anadromous fi sh.” Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Jeremy Wolf, vice chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees, and a friend observe where the Wallowa River joins an excavated side channel on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. The work is part of a 10-year restoration project near Wallowa. wanting to go into the town if, for some reason, there ever was a fl ood risk.” The channelizing of the river inadvertently destroyed critical fi sh and plant habitat, which the project aims to restore. “The point is you want fl ooding in it,” Bombaci said. “That’s natural and it’s good. All the things that were done were INDEX Business & Ag.......B1 Classified ...............B2 Comics ....................B5 Crossword .............B2 Dear Abby .............B6 WEATHER Horoscope .............B2 Local........................A2 Lottery ....................A2 Obituaries ..............A3 Opinion ..................A4 SATURDAY Records ..................A3 Spiritual Life..........A6 Sports .....................A8 State ..................... A10 Sudoku ...................B5 not good for habitat. They were good for farmers and ranchers, but not good for fi sh or plants that need a wetland, so basically, we returned that area to wet- land. Sometimes it will be really wet; sometimes it will be less wet depending on the level of the river. When the river gets higher, more water will come into it. Actually, it’s helpful for the whole Full forecast on the back of B section Tonight Friday 36 LOW 63/40 An evening shower Warmer THE SUDDEN FLIGHT OF THE GROUSE A celebration Although the weekend’s events were not the traditional Tamka- liks, they were held at the site of the annual celebration and fea- tured many memories of the 30-year-old event. “This isn’t Tamkaliks. This place is sometimes referred to as Tamkaliks, but the event today is a blessing of our side channel,” Bombaci said. “There will be some drums and some dancing, but it’s not nearly the production See, Blessing/Page A5 CONTACT US 541-963-3161 Issue 121 3 sections, 36 pages La Grande, Oregon Email story ideas to news@lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page A4. Online at lagrandeobserver.com
