Portland kids learn what it’s
like to live in our rural county.
-- page A10
www.wallowa.com
Enterprise, Oregon
April 22, 2015
$1
Joseph, WCSO enjoy stable relationship
Sheriff’s office contracts with neighboring town for 60 hours a week
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Rich Rautenstrauch/Chieftain
Wallowa County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Reeves patrols in
Joseph Monday afternoon.
Motel tax
awards a
letdown
As the City of Enterprise
tries to decide whether to
continue to have a city po-
lice department, one city in
Wallowa County already has
long experience contracting
for patrolling services from
the Wallowa County Sheriff’s
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Dennis Sands, Joseph’s
mayor, said the City of Joseph
has contracted with WCSO
for as long as he can remem-
ber. Sands says the extra ser-
vice comes at a price that Jo-
seph is willing to pay.
The agreement provides
Joseph 60 hours of patrol
coverage per week, about 1.5
full-time deputies’ worth. This
costs Joseph about $9,500 per
month, or about $114,000 an-
nually, and includes not only
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vehicle maintenance. Wallowa
County foots an additional
$38,000 as part of normal ser-
vices.
Sands said WCSO runs
over hours at times, particu-
larly in summer, but does not
charge for the overages. Pa-
trolling costs increase slightly
each year, and this year WCSO
is negotiating with the union
that represents the deputies.
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
Brett Greenshields practices
prior to the Eastern Oregon
District FFA Ag Mechanics
Contest at Treasure Valley
Community
College
in
Ontario.
Greenshields
helped his team take first in
the beginning category and
won an individual 10th place.
By Kathleen Ellyn
Schools’
welders
awash in
awards
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — It was
hard to get a second to mo-
tions to deny awards when the
spring cycle motel tax awards
were handed out at the April
13 meeting of Enterprise City
Council.
“I feel like a bad guy,” said a
downcast councilor Laura Mill-
er as she announced the award
committee recommendations.
“In all the years of city
council this is the least amount
we’ve ever granted,” said May-
or Steve Lear.
Nevertheless, decisions had
to be made and the awards
committee looked hard at the
scorecards before making their
recommendations. In the end,
Joseph Mountain Jubilee, Al-
penfest, Enterprise Elks and
Wallowa Valley Golf had to be
denied entirely.
The winners from the paltry
pot got approximately half of
what they asked for: the Court-
house Concert Series, $1,000;
Enterprise Farmers Market,
$750; Bowlby Bash, $1,000;
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Hells Canyon Mule Days,
$1,000; Maxville Heritage,
$200; Mountain High Broncs
and Bulls, $500; Wallowa Land
Trust, $200; and Wallowa Re-
sources, $250.
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
LADIES OF
THE COURT
See AWARDS, Page A9
C HIEFTAIN
C O U N T Y
Wallowa County’s
Newspaper Since 1884
Volume 133 Issue No. 1
© 2015 EO Media Group
See CONTRACT, Page A9
‘I really want to do this, and the public speaking is
something I’ve always loved, and it’s a passion.’
‘I feel like a bad
guy,’ councilor
says; winners
got half of what
they asked for
WA L L O WA
“It’ll be up a little, but wheth-
er we want to pay that much, I
don’t know,” Sands said.
Sands said the city negoti-
ates its contract with WCSO;
it’s not a “take-it-or-leave-it
deal.” He said Joseph usually
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WCSO around the time the
city starts its budgeting pro-
cess in May.
Steve Tool/Chieftain
Two princesses and newly crowned queen, Addie Kilgore. From left: Marli Tracy-Mallory, Kilgore, Jesse-Ellen
Woodhead.
ADDIE KILGORE CROWNED
AS CJD RODEO QUEEN
By Steve Tool
I
Wallowa County Chieftain
t’s year 70 for the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo,
and while the rodeo itself doesn’t take place
until the last week in July, it’s not a rodeo
without a queen.
This year’s coronation dinner took place on
the evening of April 18 at the Joseph Community
Center. The dinner followed on the heels of the
year’s second competition of the year for the CJD
crown, held at the Harley Tucker Memorial Ro-
deo Grounds.
Jesse-Ellen Woodhead, Marli Tracy-Mal-
lory and Addie Kilgore competed for the ti-
tle. Judges graded the contestants on their
horseback riding skills as well as rodeo
ticket sales and public speaking. The an-
nouncement of the winner took place at
the coronation dinner.
Tickets to the dinner sold out and the com-
munity center was packed with attendants.
Along with the queen coronation, the event
featured the announcement of the CJD Parade
Grand Marshal, Judy Bothum, who was se-
lected for her continuous support of the CJD
rodeo, and role of designer for the rodeo
court.
Diane Witherrite was selected as the re-
cipient of the John Justin Standard of the
West award. Only 100 of the approximately
675 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Associa-
tion-sanctioned rodeos receive the award.
Witherrite received the award for her
volunteer work with the rodeo.
See QUEEN, Page A8
Steve Tool/Chieftain
Marli Tracy-Mallory ridin’ the rail
during the April 18 competition
for queen of the CJD Rodeo.
Enterprise and Wallowa
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welding teams at the Eastern
Oregon District Ag Mechanics
Contest held at Treasure Valley
Community College in Ontar-
io last Wednesday and they
covered the county in glory.
Eight teams — from Enter-
prise, Wallowa, Embler, Elgin,
Union, North Powder, Pine Ea-
gle and Baker — dropped their
welding hoods and leaned in to
weld their best beads.
The six-man beginning
team from Enterprise won the
eight-team competition, with
Ethan Birkmaier also winning
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of 27. Chris Bathke was 8th
overall and Brett Greenshields
was 10th.
Birkmaier brought home
some loot as well, winning an
auto-darkening helmet, gloves
and safety glasses donated by
Norco. Chris Bathke and Brett
Greenshields also took home
safety glasses and gloves from
Norco.
Wallowa High’s beginning
team was right behind, win-
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Greenhand team of Michael
Diggins, Ricky Prince, Kolby
Moore, Ryan Hafer and C.J.
Horn. Diggins also took home
a second place High Individu-
al Award. All members of the
Greenhand team are 7th and
8th graders in the Discovery
FFA program. Jeremy Mc-
Culloch, WHS ag instructor
and FFA advisor, was really
pleased with the young team,
especially because they are
competing against freshmen
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mores.
North Powder won the
advanced competition, with
the Enterprise four-man ad-
vanced team coming in 5th, in
a hard-fought contest where
unexpected tests challenged
the competitors. In the end
the gap between 1st and 5th
place was only 12 points. En-
terprise’s Sonny Galli brought
home an 8th High Individual
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itors.
See WELDERS, Page A9