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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com May 6, 2015 A9 MONEY: Schools, agencies get funds from harvested timber Continued from Page A1 Daniel Hauser, poli- cy specialist for the County Road Program for the Asso- ciation of Oregon Counties warned counties that the num- bers were “very much esti- mates, as there are a variety of unanswered questions still in play. The payments can swing by over $8 million (statewide) over the next two years based on these unanswered ques- WLRQVDVLJQL¿FDQWYDULDWLRQ´ The exact breakdown of where the money goes with- in the county, and how much each agency and school will receive will be published as soon as it is are available. SRS money comes from timber harvested on U.S. For- est Service land with some additional funds from the Bureau of Land Management and is designed to help rural communities that relied on timber harvest for economic stability. Senator Wyden co-wrote the SRS program in 2000 with HOMAN: New super will stay on as AD Continued from Page A1 perience with preparing him for the superintendent role. At SOU, Homan earned “It was a natural step into ad- his bachelor’s degree in his- ministration experience, inter- tory and a master’s degree in acting with coaches, working elementary education. with parents — it was a good Homan returned to Wal- ¿W´+RPDQLQWHQGVWRVWD\RQ lowa County and taught two as the school’s AD. years of elementary school Homan said he’s had his eye starting in 1999, before re- on an administration position locating with his wife, JCS for some time, preparing him- teacher Beth Homan, to Rock- self for its eventuality by work- away Beach on the Oregon LQJWRZDUGDFHUWL¿FDWLRQLQDG- coast. The couple returned to ministration through Concordia the Wallowa Valley about 10 University in Portland where he years ago. REWDLQHG FHUWL¿FDWLRQ LQ Homan’s interest in be- After Shirley announced her re- coming athletic director tirement plans, Homan applied stemmed from a lifelong in- for the job. terest in athletics. “I played A number of other candi- baseball, football, basketball dates applied as well. “The and golf when I went to Enter- VFKRROGLVWULFWKLUHGD¿UPLQ prise. I’ve always coached, as Pendleton to do the search. well. When Jason Crenshaw, They narrowed it down to a our last AD, left, this opportu- list of a few candidates and nity presented itself and I took handed it over to the school LW´+RPDQVDLG+LVFRDFKLQJ board, who chose who they experience includes basket- ZDQWHGWRLQWHUYLHZ´+RPDQ ball, football and golf. said. He credited his AD ex- That part of the hiring process was very intense, as Homan recounted answering questions from parents, stu- dents and teachers before the school board interview, after which he was subjected to more questions from commu- nity members, more teachers and parents. Neither Superin- tendent Shirley nor Sherri Kil- gore, Joseph Charter School’s principal, were part of the pro- cess. The school board hired Ho- man that same day, on March 17. “It’s the same day we got keys to our house. We’d just got back from training in Port- land that morning and taught school until three. I did the interviews, and the board chair FDOOHGODWHUWKDWHYHQLQJ´+R- man said. The July start for Homan doesn’t hold any surprises as Homan has no large changes planned. As one of the JCS directors Homan spent several years working on budgets with Shirley, who prepared him well for his position. “We’ve done a lot together since I was hired, and we’re working on the tran- sitioning now. She’s been a lot RIKHOS´+RPDQVDLG Principal Kilgore remarked, “Lance has served many roles in our district: teacher, coach, athletic director and is one of the charter school directors. Lance has worked closely with Rhonda Shirley, over the last two years while completing his admin license so he knows ¿UVWKDQG ZK\ ¿QDQFLDO GHFL- sions were made and both the history and future of the bud- get because of that time spent ZLWK5KRQGD´ Greg Brink, chairman of the JCS board, is happy with the hiring. “Lance offers a lot of longevity to the position. Many of the candidates were close to retirement. Lance KDV GRQH D WHUUL¿F MRE IRU WKH school so far. We’re happy to have him on board and this is a great opportunity for him and XV´ STUDY: Alternate heating options explored Continued from Page A1 ¿QGLQJV WR GHWHUPLQH LI WKH SODQVUHSUHVHQWDEHQH¿WWRWKH “My thinking is, a mind is city and residents. like a parachute; it only works Lear wants the evaluation to ZKHQ LW¶V RSHQ´ /HDU VDLG EHEDVHGRQ¿QDQFLDOUHDOLW\KH “I’m not sure this will work, said. “I want to keep it real sim- but I don’t want to look back SOH´ /HDU VDLG ³,I ZH VSHQG LQ ¿YH \HDUV DQG VD\ µ:RZ say, $1,000 in heating can we GLGZHPLVVDQRSSRUWXQLW\¶´ VDYH;"´ Once the plans are com- Councilors are aware that plete, Enterprise City Council other small cities have bene- will be able to evaluate the ¿WHG IURP &RKHVLYH :LOG¿UH Strategy grants and are moving toward biomass heating in a big way, Lear said, citing John Day’s installation of boilers at both the Grant County Regional Airport and the Blue Mountain Hospital in 2011. The hospital system cost $411,000 and was projected to save approximate- ly $50,000 per year in heating costs. Since then John Day’s Prairie City School and Grant Union Junior High/Senior High School (2012) have also gone to biomass heating. Since the 2013 study, Wal- lowa County’s nearest source of biomass fuel, Integrated Bio- mass Resources, in Wallowa, has made numerous improve- ments and strengthened its abil- ity to provide different variet- ies of fuel to meet the needs of biomass conversions. LATTA: Older Americans need variety of services Continued from Page A4 At the heart of the legisla- tion is the goal of promoting self-determination and inde- pendence. The programs created by the Older Americans Act in- clude the National Eldercare Locater Service; support ser- vices such as Transportation, Homecare, Legal Aid, and Adult Daycare; nutrition pro- grams like the Senior Centers (meal sites) and Home Deliv- ered Meals; Respite Care and Education; Health Promotion; the Aging and Disability Re- source Centers (ADRC); em- ployment opportunities for older adults (the Title V pro- gram); and programs which protect elders from abuse and violation of their rights, such as the Long Term Care Om- budsman and Adult Protective Services. Although older individuals may receive services under other federal programs such as SNAP (Food Stamps), Medicare, and Medicaid, the Older Americans Act is con- sidered to be the major vehi- cle for the organization and delivery of social, health, and nutrition programs for senior citizens and their caregivers. Its wide array of programs are managed at the community level through a national net- work. In Oregon, there are 17 Area Agencies on Aging, and Community Connection of Northeast Oregon manages the programs for Union, Bak- er, and Wallowa counties. As we celebrate its 50th anniversary, let’s remember that the Older Americans Act serves millions of citizens in every community, honoring them with services that play a key role in maintaining their independence, health, and well-being. Pam Latta serves Union and Wallowa counties as a Transition Coordinator as- sisting elders and persons with disabilities when they en- ter or leave nursing facilities. She has worked in various ca- pacities for Aging and People with Disabilities for the past 31 years. then-Sen. Larry Craig, R-Ida- ho. It amended the original 1908 Forest Service County payments program to bet- WHU UHÀHFW WKH QHHGV RI UXUDO counties that had been reliant on timber money. The program has faced funding problems ever since, expiring in 2007 to be rein- stated in 2008, and expiring again in 2014. The reautho- rization retroactively restores funding for 2014 and carries that through 2015. ACCESS: Construction prompts entrance closure Continued from Page A1 WKDWDFFHVV´$FNOH\VDLG This includes negotiations Kathleen Ackley, executive for property owned by The director of Wallowa Land Trust, Ronald C Yanke Family Trust, which is part of the Wallowa which owns about 60 percent of Lake Moraines Partnership the East Moraine (1,791 acres) (WLMP), said many moraine and is looking to sell or develop hikers are surprised when they the property. “We’re not neces- learn that nearly all the East Mo- sarily in the business of prevent- raine is private property and that ing people from exercising their hiking trails on the moraine are right to build on their property, used by the public at the forbear- but we’d like to provide them ance of property owners. “Part with opportunities to do some- of the problem is that people WKLQJ HOVH ZLWK WKHLU SURSHUW\´ have historically trespassed and Ackley said. The moraines partnership assumed a sense of community is currently in the running for RZQHUVKLS´$FNOH\VDLG The Ham family plans to a grant of $3 million from the eventually donate about 70 per- U.S. Land and Water Conser- cent of the property outright to vation Fund, which would aid Wallowa Land Trust, Ackley in the purchase and subsequent said. The WLMP is currently protection of a large portion of negotiating with multiple mo- the East Moraine. The no-trespassing sign will raine property owners to lay out D VSHFL¿F WUDLOSDWK DORQJ WKH not hinder the yearly “Into the moraine and protect the scenic :DOORZDV´PRUDLQHKLNH3DUWLF- view. “So folks can walk from ipants will simply use a different Iwetemlaykin and walk along access trail, as moraine land- the moraine crest. They can do it owners generously allow access now, trespassing, but we want to to their property, according to ensure that the public legally has Wallowa Land Trust. JOIN US THIS SUMMER Yq ,.qM WREN Camping, July 6-9, $200 6-7th graders, limited to 10 kids WREN Backpacking, July 26-August 1, $250 8-10th graders, limited to 9 kids WREN Explorers, August 10-13 & August 17-20, $175/week 2nd-5th graders, limited to 15 kids per week To enroll, contact: Amy Busch, 541.426.8053 x22 amy@wallowaresources.org wallowaresources.org Are you confused by the letters you have received from the state about your Oregon Health Plan (OHP) insurance? We can Help! Contact Winding Waters Clinic at 541-426-4502 or visit us at 603 Medical Parkway in Enterprise and ask to speak to one of our Application Assisters 8am-5pm Monday-Friday Come Celebrate Mother’s Day with Sunday Brunch or our New Dinner Specials! Open 11am-10pm, Wed-Sun HIGHWAY 82, LOSTINE 541-569-2246 Stay Connected On Facebook Grand Opening Celebration! Friday, May 8th Come celebrate with us at our new location! 501 W North St, Enterprise $1.00 Kid Scoop Cones All Day! $1.00 OFF a Large Pizza Open 10-8 Mon-Thurs • 10-9 Friday • 11-9 Sat • 11-8 Sun