W HAT ’ S THE LINK BETWEEN THIS J OHN W AYNE
PRINT AND E NTERPRISE POLICE DOGS ?
see page A12
www.wallowa.com
Enterprise, Oregon
January 7, 2015
$1
NRAC chair gets tough on forest plan
Dunn refuses to mince words when
it comes to defending county assets
By Rocky Wilson
Wallowa County Chieftain
A longtime opponent of
U.S. Forest Service prac-
tices in Wallowa County is
livid about the approximate-
ly 1,400-page document the
Forest Service is pushing as
the new forest plan for the
Wallowa-Whitman,
Mal-
heur, and Umatilla National
Forests.
And Bruce Dunn, the
Dunn
Roberts
only chairman the Wallowa
County Natural Resourc-
es Advisory Committee
(NRAC) has had since its
inception nearly 25 years
ago, has made a New Year’s
resolution to abandon what
he terms “political correct-
ness” and now is speaking
from the gut in defense of
assets located within the
county.
His words sound harsh,
and he doesn’t care.
While apprising the
Wallowa County Board of
Commissioners about a sig-
nificant “invitation only”
meeting to be held Thurs-
day, Jan. 8, in Pendleton
regarding the Blue Moun-
tains Forest Plan Revision
that’s been 14 years in the
making, Dunn said, “I’m
concerned about the agen-
da.” In the body of that
two-page, one-day agenda
described as a “Blue Moun-
tains Forest Supervisors
and Partners Meeting,” the
words “engagement” and
“engage” are repeated a to-
tal of 19 times.
See DUNN, Page A7
Locals
keep
basket
custom
alive
By Rocky Wilson
Wallowa County Chieftain
The retirement of the Har-
YH\ (OYHV ¿UH DW WKH (QWHU
prise Elks Lodge, and a late
start might have slowed the
2014 Elks Christmas Basket
program, but overshadow-
ing the fact that a few less
Christmas baskets of food
and presents were delivered
this Christmas season was the
boundless support from the
community to keep the valued
tradition alive.
Donnie Rynearson, Elks
Lodge treasurer, said sizable
donations came from a mul-
titude of sources. The Elks
did not have to pull from cash
reserves to cover any expens-
es, he added, and the future
of what some think could be
a 60-year-old program no lon-
ger is in jeopardy.
“The large donations were
overwhelming” and “we’ll
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were among statements made
this week by the treasurer
who not long earlier had guar-
anteed a Christmas Basket
program in 2014, but did not
know if the program would
last another year.
In addition to receiving
a $2,000 gift from Wallowa
County’s video lottery fund,
three locals handed over
checks of $1,000, and other
gifts in the $500 and $250
range.
See BASKETS, Page A7
C HIEFTAIN
WA L L O WA
C O U N T Y
Wallowa County’s
Newspaper Since 1884
Rich Rautenstrauch/Chieftain
Although winter dramatically slows overnight stays at the Flying Arrow Resort, located at Wallowa Lake, owner Ron Woodin, pictured here, says nine
of the 37 cabins he either owns or manages remain open year-around.
THE BUSINESS OF
WINTER
Sales drop during season for most, but some thrive
By Rocky Wilson
Wallowa County Chieftain
I
t’s an indisputable fact that
business lags in Wallowa
County during the winter
months, yet that seasonal
slowdown is not all-inclusive.
At Enterprise Flower
Shop, the only local exclusively
ÀRUDORXWOHWWKHZLQWHUPRQWKV
bring higher-than-average sales,
and a Mexican restaurant in En-
WHUSULVHUHSRUWVQRÀXFWXDWLRQVLQ
business, January through Decem-
ber.
Darlene Johnson, owner of the
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Valentine’s Day and Christmas,
her biggest and third-biggest sales
times of the year (Mother’s Day in
the spring being No. 2), arrive in
the winter months and her highest
annual sales come during that cold
season.
See WINTER, Page A7
Rocky Wilson/Chieftain
When Kathy and Dave Nelson
opened Pit Stop BBQ in Wallowa
during Memorial Day weekend 2014
their plan was to keep the drive-
thru business open year around.
A lack of business forced them to
post this sign in early December.
2014 IN REVIEW
Volume 132 Issue No. 38
© 2015 EO Media Group
Year brought changes, challenges
Fires, elections,
wolves just some
of the county’s
top concerns
By Rob Ruth
Wallowa County Chieftain
More sparring with the
Forest Service, a turning-point
election for state legislature,
and a small town’s massive
¿UH GRZQWRZQ DUH RQO\ WKUHH
among numerous events that
stand out in a quick review of
the news stories reported in
Wallowa County during 2014.
The year here got off to an
auspicious start as the New
Year’s morning Polar Plunge
at Wallowa Lake drew a re-
cord turnout for the annual
event. An estimated 60 peo-
Chieftain file photo
Chieftain file photo
Flames leap high into the sky Saturday, Feb. 8, in downtown
Lostine.
ple actually took the deep-
chilled dip while dozens of
others looked on. Thankfully,
although the Jan. 1 air tem-
perature was relatively mild,
winter wasn’t short-changing
the local area as evidenced by
near-normal numbers for the
Bronze sculptor Dick Cross, who unveiled his life-sized
statue of a motorcycle and rider during the 2014 Thunder
Run.
local snowpack in 2014, a sto-
ry in itself as nearly the rest of
the Northwest suffered badly
for lack of snow.
Winter conditions could
have been an issue on Feb.
WKH GD\ D ¿UH LQ /RVWLQH¶V
South Fork Grange Hall
building got completely out
of control.
See REVIEW, Page A3