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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain wallowa.com News February 18, 2015 A9 GRANDI: Sabbatical begins June 1 BOND: Levy to go on May ballot Continued from Page A1 LQJ XS ZLWK ORWV RI LGHDV´ Grandi said. multi-tasking requirement, Grandi also spoke of the and I’m really struggling to mixed blessing of taking time keep pace right now. I’m hop- off. “I like my patients a lot, ing by taking a year off that and many of them are my I can step away, get re-ener- friends. It’s going to be dif- JL]HGDQG¿JXUHRXWKRZ,¿W ¿FXOW WR OHW JR WDNLQJ FDUH RI LQWRWKHQHZV\VWHP´ WKHP´ 6KH DGGHG WKH IULHQGV With the ongoing demands she told of the sabbatical con- of the job, Grandi hasn’t sat gratulated her on the choice. down to come up with a spe- Grandi voiced some con- FL¿F WRGR OLVW RQFH KHU VDE- cerns about the current ap- batical starts. “All I know proach to physician recruit- is that June 1, I’m going to ment to the area. Citing the spend three months with my year-long search to replace daughter and my husband. the recently retired Dr. Sie- From there, I anticipate com- be, Grandi said the concerted effort to recruit physicians into the area no longer exists. “They’ve kind of slacked off on that. We’ve gotten some really fabulous people with- out having to work at it. We need to be working to bring in more physicians or nurse practitioner PAs into our com- munity. It takes more than the KRVSLWDODQGWKHGRFWRU¶VRI¿FH WRUHFUXLWSHRSOHLQWRWKHDUHD´ Grandi said. The doctor intends to play a part in the physician recruit- ment process during her time off. “I want this community to thrive, and I want Winding Waters and Wallowa Moun- tain Medical to thrive. I feel that without a thriving medical system that we’ll have a lot of jobs lost and a lot of people who won’t live here because WKH\QHHGFDUH´*UDQGLVDLG Grandi wanted to allay any fears that she plans to leave the community and said she is “generally physically and PHQWDOO\ ZHOO´ 6KH DVVHUWV “I’m making a good choice for me at a good time. I’ll proba- bly be in practice another 15- 20 years as a physician. We have no desire to leave the FRPPXQLW\7KLVLVRXUKRPH´ Continued from Page A1 accountability protocol. “Un- til I see a face and know their Approximately $800,000 experience and background in of the levy’s $2 million total public works it’s going to be covers the interest payments a tough sell — and I want our on the bond as well as street VWUHHWV¿[HG´%LQJKDPVDLG Bingham also suggested maintenance. The $1.2 million plan ap- making a street repair plan/ plies a triple chip-seal to the accountability chart simple 66 percent of the city’s streets enough for citizens to examine that are rated in poor condi- and understand. “You want vi- tion. Sands projected a 10-20 VXDODFFRXQWDELOLW\´VKHVDLG Councilor Teresa Sajonia year lifespan for the repairs. He added that most of the af- made a motion to put the levy, fected streets could see repair based on the 746 tax lots, on this year if voters pass the the May ballot. Councilor Liza Butts provided a second. levy in May. The council discussed the The motion passed unani- willing to help with editing of YLVLWRU WUDI¿F LQ (QWHUSULVH city’s need to set up account- mously. Sands expressed optimism voice recordings. and by the time the grant ability protocols to maintain Landmarks commissioners that began it runs out in two the integrity of Joseph streets after the step forward. “I think have tentatively named the years, it’s likely that the city UHJDUGOHVVRIZKRLVLQRI¿FH this is a realistic package that free-to-use service the His- will then pick up the cost or in public works. Joseph res- the majority of people can get toric Enterprise Audio Tour to keep the service going. ident Kathy Bingham doubted EHKLQG ,W¶V JRLQJ WR ¿[ RXU and the service already has Young said she won’t be at the levy would pass even at streets at the most reasonable a phone number, 1-541-224- all surprised if other public only $5 per month if the coun- FRVWDQGPRVWSHRSOHFDQ¿WLW 8015. entities, such as the county, cil showed no public works LQWRWKHLUEXGJHWV´ Young said the audio ser- decide to climb aboard at vice uses the technical frame- that time. ZRUN IURP D SULYDWH ¿UP “If it works well, it could Don't have enough garbage Guide by Cell. become much bigger than to go on service, but &LW\ RI¿FLDOV H[SHFW WKH just Enterprise, is what we’re need a place to dump it? free audio tour to increase WKLQNLQJ´<RXQJVDLG TOURS: Narratives will be an all-hours service Continued from Page A1 ¿FH6+32$OUHDG\DQXP- ber of people who either own or manage a historic building in Enterprise are planning to UHFRUGQDUUDWLYHV2QHUHFRUG- ing, for the Enterprise Public Library, has been ready for a couple of weeks. Young says several audio ¿OHV VKRXOG EHFRPH DFFHVVL- ble on the City of Enterprise website probably during March, and the city will en- courage members of the pub- lic to listen to the narratives and provide feedback that could help guide future re- cording efforts. Young advised the Land- marks Commission at its Feb. 12 meeting that recordings need to be made in a quiet environment — meaning with no one talking or producing other audible distractions in the background. Rudger said the local ra- dio station, KWVR, may be $XWKRU8UUHDKDVDI¿QLW\IRU:DOORZD&RXQW\ By S.F. Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Luis Alberto Urrea, a multi- award-winning author and fea- tured writer of 2015’s Big Read, visited the area as the honored guest and speaker at the Big Read Finale at Hurricane Creek Grange Hall on Feb. 8. Though residing in Evansville, Ill., and traveling widely as an author, the Wallowa Valley holds a spe- cial place in the author’s heart. ³5LFK :DQGVFKQHLGHU FXU- rent Josephy Center library di- UHFWRULQYLWHGXVRXWKHUHPDQ\ PDQ\\HDUVDJR,WKLQNRXU¿UVW visit was in ’97, so we’ve come EDFNHYHUVLQFH´8UUHDVDLG A frequent visitor, Urrea loses no time singing the ar- ea’s praises. “It’s heaven, man. I always tell people that when the apocalypse comes, dude, I’m headed for Joseph. It feels sacred to me, and it’s a beauti- ful place and the spirit is really ZRQGHUIXO´8UUHDVDLG A Mexican-American who grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, Urrea’s books often deal with Hispanic issues, and he says that although he notes a low Hispanic population locally, many residents espouse cu- riosity about, and are open to discussing even sensitive issues such as immigration. “Some places I go, people are really worked up and even angry, but it’s never felt that way around here. I’ve always found it a very neighborly and FRQJHQLDOSODFHWRFRPH´8U- rea said. Far from merely using the area as a vacation spot, Urrea often works through his periodic visits. “Last summer I brought much of my family, and we rented one of the houses at Fish- trap for an extra week. I spent a lot of time working. This is the place. The sound of the river and the beauty help me work on my VWXII´KHVDLG Urrea added with a laugh that the mountains and Arrow- head Chocolates proved distrac- tions to writing at times. S.F. Tool/Chieftain An animated public speaker, Urrea makes a point during his Feb. 8 public talk. 2QH RI 8UUHD¶V DZDUGZLQ- QLQJ QRQ¿FWLRQ ERRNV ³'HY- LO¶V +LJKZD\´ VHULRXVO\ H[- amined immigration and U.S. border policy. Asked what he’d change about border policy, Ur- rea thought seriously a moment before shaking his head, saying, Wallowa County “If I could answer that well, I’d be president. I’ve been studying this for a long time. I think per- haps a policy in Washington of a little more honesty — it’s no great shock to people in Wal- lowa Couny that Washington’s a OLWWOHµKLQFN\¶´ 2YHULQÀDWHGUKHWRULFRQERWK sides of the debate also contrib- utes to misinformation about the issue. He suggested interested people examine Title 8 of federal law to gain greater understanding of the statutes. He also suggest- ed the war on drugs plays a large role in the average citizen’s per- ception of border issues. Urrea said that looking at the amount of income some states amass from border security could change some people’s per- ceptions of the issue. “The state of Texas is making many, many more billions of dollars than they’re spending on immigra- tion problems. I think American citizens are within their rights to look at their government and ask them to give a clear accounting RIZKDW¶VJRLQJRQ´8UUHDVDLG For the moment, Urrea in- tends to keep writing, teaching and learning. “This point in my life is an ongoing education, and when I write my books, I report back to everybody what I’ve found out. The more I look, the PRUH,¿QGRXW´WKHDXWKRUVDLG There is no job too big or small! Give us a call at 541.426.6072 EE FR tudent S k e e W e of th Cody Irish Enterprise High School Cody Irish has a cumulative GPA of 3.31. Cody is a two year Spanish student and has taken AP Literature and Composition. He is currently enrolled in Pre-Calculus and is taking College English from the University of Idaho. Thank you Cody for representing EHS well. The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools. Catch the Bus! Ask about our new rideshare program or check it out on the web at www.drivelessconnect.com For all your construction needs: – Custom built frame & log structures – All sizes of remodel jobs – Custom decks & railings Dump your garbage at our office 418 SE Alamo St, Enterprise during office hours! Pay for the first (541) 426-3492 nine and the tenth one is FREE! One punch per can or bag. Any questions please call our office. Transportation Services Wallowa County Public Transportation (541) 426-3840 • www.NEOTransit.org • Intercity Transportation to La Grande Monday and Thursday Weekly ~ Cost $5.00 each way. Free access for veterans medical appointments in La Grande. • Mealsite Bus ~ providing transportation to Senior Center for lunch Cost $1.00 round trip. • Tuesday and Thursday Shopping Bus provides transportation for shopping and errands throughout Wallowa County ~ Cost $3.00 from Wallowa/Joseph, $2.00 Enterprise only. C OMMUNITY C ONNECTION OF W ALLOWA C OUNTY HEALTH LINE Wallowa County Aviation Banquet On Saturday, February 21st , the Wallowa County Pilots Association and the Chief Joseph Flying Club are hosting an aviation banquet at Lear's Restaurant in Enterprise. Open to the public. Featuring a slide presentation of two of our members’, Brad Stephens and Nick Reid, recent trip to Alaska in their airplanes. 519 W. North Street, Enterprise 541.426.3413 Mon-Thurs 9 to Noon/1-5pm; Fri. 9-1 3 dinner choices: Stuffed Rock Cornish Hen, $12 Chicken Cordon Blue, $12 Pork Prime Rib, $14 or you can order off of Lear's menu. Specializing in Anti-Aging Skin Therapy Customized Facials Waxing Services, Brow Sculpting Body Polish-Back Facials High-Perfomance Products 541-398-0759 | Located @ beecrowbee 01 Main Joseph No tickets are needed, you will pay after your dinner. Business meeting at 5 PM to discuss the upcoming fly-in breakfast. No host social hour at 6 PM. Dinner served at 7 PM. If you have any questions, please call Bill Ables or Tim Locke at 263-1327 or 263-0470.