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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com May 13, 2015 A3 Supporters start working in cemetery Rob Ruth/Chieftain Roger Hall, of Pendleton, fills rodent holes at Enterprise Cemetery on Saturday, May 9, the first of two volunteer work days scheduled there. The trailer filled with soil belongs to Hall, who brought it and other equipment from Pendleton for the work day. Meanwhile, Joseph resident Bud Sanders was in another part of the cemetery removing small rocks and other debris from a rectangular patch of bare-dirt ground where he had recently scattered grass seed. The near- est row of graves held members State funds to ¿x two Joseph streets By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH — Anyone fa- miliar with the pothole-rid- den byways that pass for streets in the city of Joseph and the equally treacherous road to get funding to repair those same streets will re- joice to know grant funding will repair two of the worst streets. According to Jo- seph mayor, Dennis Sands, the city recently received a $50,000 Special City Allot- ment grant. The grant funds street repair for cities with a population of less than 5,000. Joseph has a population between 1,000 and 1,100. The city applies for the grant yearly, and is awarded the grant every 5-6 years. Earlier this year, the city council and public works determined that both Joseph Steve Tool/Chieftain Joseph Street showing its age and need for repair. Street and 1st Street will receive repair as the grant application stipulates that streets must be in poor repair and have high-volume traf- fic. Joseph Street runs past both the city hall and library, while the 1st street portion runs by the Joseph Commu- nity Center. Sands said both streets will have a portion of their repairs done wider than the standard 22-foot width. In the case of Joseph Street, the wider width will accommo- date the farmers market as well as vendors during the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo. First Street is already wider than the standard. Joseph received two bids from road construction com- panies to do the repair work. Hampton Paving LLC re- ceived the nod from the city for its $1.88 per square foot bid. Wallowa County Public works bid $2.25 per square foot for the project. Sands said the project will start around June 1, and hopefully before the farmers market opens. He also said that the city hall is sending out letters to market and rodeo vendors inform- ing them they can no longer drive stakes in the pavement to hold tents or canopies down. “It allows water to seep down underneath the asphalt, and that’s where the problems can start,” Sands said. He added the city hasn’t heard from Hampton Paving on which street the company plans to repair first. Traf¿c delays planned between Wallowa, Joseph By Stephen Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Unless you know all the back roads between Joseph and Wallowa, expect traf¿c delays between the two cities starting June 1 and extending the following three weeks. Oregon Department of Trans- portation’s John Linder, a civil engineering specialist, said that ODOT is chip seal- ing the highway between the two towns from about MP 46 to MP 71. The project will start in Joseph and work toward Wal- lowa. ODOT prepared for the project by posting road signs in Joseph, working their way toward Wallowa. Linder said more than 100 road signs will be installed for the project. Some of the project entails removal of durable paint from the highway in both Enter- prise and Joseph and will start the week of May 18. This is because the striping in cities is very thick and does not mix with the oils in the chip seal. Linder expected that project to last about a week. ODOT says that both Wallowa and Lostine will have their cross- walks removed and redone also. “I just want people to be aware, because there will be traf¿c problems and Àaggers and whatnot during the oper- ation,” Linder said. People with businesses in both Joseph and Enterprise can probably expect a loss of store traf¿c during the two days it will take to micro-seal the road surface. “We’ll even have to block side road traf- ¿c because there won’t be traf¿c allowed for several hours. There’ll be a day of interruption for cleaning the streets another day of inter- ruption when applying the micro-seal. That’s two days in each town,” Linder said. The state is allowed to de- lay traf¿c for up to 20 min- utes and that’ll probably hap- pen on this project, according to Linder. Motorists can also expect lower posted speed limits. Local residents with drive- ways connecting to OR 82 may also experience tempo- rary impacts as the operation moves past their property. ODOT encourages travelers and local residents to slow down, be patient and plan extra travel time along this route. Are you feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Do you feel hopeless or has the joy gone out of your life? Are you struggling to make your marriage work? TIME TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR TREES! Environment friendly soil injections targets Bronze Birch Borer, Aphids, Pine Beetles, Webworms, Whitefly and more. • Free Estimate & Consultation • Disease Diagnosis • Hazardous Tree Removal • Safety Trimming • Stump Grinding condition in recent years. “I’ve traveled all over the United States and I’ve never seen a worse one.” Sanders liked what he was witnessing on Saturday, how- ever. “We’ve got a lot of love here,” he said of the volunteers. Not every helper was a local. Paula and Roger Hall, of Pend- leton, arrived Saturday with Paula’s nephew, Ethan Colvard, and Tori Bowman, both also of Pendleton, along with Roger’s two 4x4’s with trailers so the group could form a couple of small crews to transport dirt and other materials. Paula’s parents are former- ly of Wallowa County and her sister, Donna Chavez, who died at 29, is buried in the cemetery, as are other family members, surnamed Chavez, Hammack, Tippet and Prince. Roger and Paula plan to be buried there someday too. “You couldn’t ask for much more of a view,” Rog- er remarked as he gazed across the valley at the Wallowa Moun- tains. FSR 39 to close for 2 days Forest Service Road 39 aka Loop Road will be closed ap- proximately 300 feet south of the junction between FSR 39 and FSR 3915/3920 near Salt Creek Summit Snow Park on Monday, May 18, and Tuesday, May 19, to install a cattle guard. The detour will begin at the junction of Hwy 350 and Coun- ty Road 4602 (Little Sheep Creek). Travelers will then head east on Hwy 350 to the town of Imnaha, and turn right (south) on County Road 727 (upper Imnaha River Road), which becomes FSR 3955 at the Forest boundary. The detour will end at Gumboot Creek on the 39 Road. Construction continues on the southern 18 miles of FSR 39. This section will remain closed and gated until June 15 from the junction of FSR 39 and FSR 66 to Highway 86. FSR 66 is currently clear of snow and ice to Twin Lakes. Beyond Twin Lakes the road is blocked by four feet of deep snow. FSR 39 is clear of snow and ice, but is not maintained until June 15. Rocks remain in the roadway. AROUND ENTERPRISE Wallowa Mountain Quilters’ Guild MANY THANKS New members & visitors welcome – come join us! We meet the second Thursday of every month. Next meeting: to the students of Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Christman, Miss Neil, Mrs. Yanke, and Mrs. Knifong for taking part in our first annual Clean-up Enterprise event. We had so much fun! Many thanks too to the City of Enterprise and Bank of Eastern Oregon for helping direct all those eager hands! Thursday, May 14 6:30 pm. Toma’s Conference Room in Enterprise. Friday May 22 nd t 7 PM Fire in Today’s $IBOHJOH-BOETDBQF Nick Lunde Deputy IC, Oregon IIMT4 Retired USFS Fire Management Officer t)PXöSFIBTTIBQFE 8BMMPXB$PVOUSZMBOETDBQFT t)VNBOJOøVFODFT t1SFTFOUEBZöSFNBOBHFNFOU t"EBQUJOHUPDMJNBUFDIBOHF t4DFOBSJPTGPSUIF VQDPNJOHöSFTFBTPO Light Refreshments I can help! A few sessions can make a big difference. Jeff Harman, MA., LPC Professional Counseling In A Private Setting www.jharmancounseling.com To schedule an appointment call Jeff Harman (541) 426-3067 Preferred Provider for Regence Blue Cross, ODS, Cascade Centers and many other private insurance and employee assistance programs. Compassionate | Convenient | Confidential Your Health and Wellness Destination Stop in and checkout our large selection of vitamins and supplements along with all of your prescription and over the counter needs. Hours: 9 AM - 6 PM • Mon According to Linder, Highway 3 from Highway 82 out to Les Schwab will also be chip-sealed during the project. of his immediate family. “I was very angry that this wasn’t taken care of,” Sanders said, referring to the cemetery’s unwatered S res lides en how tat ion ENTERPRISE — It was suSSoseG to Ee a stUonJ ¿Ust demonstration of people’s willingness to really pitch in and help at Enterprise Cem- etery, and so it was: around 20-25 people of various ages shoveling dirt into ro- dent holes, raking, operating weed-eaters, and performing other tasks as immediately needed. Enterprise resident Judy Wortman, one of several Friends of the Enterprise Cemetery members who helped organize the Saturday, May 9, grounds cleanup day, said they hadn’t included a sign-up sheet, but the turnout was obviously good, enabling goals to be met. “We’ll get everything weed-eatered,” she said. “The main thing is to ¿ll in holes and rake and, as much as we can, weed-eating.” A second cleanup day is scheduled Saturday, May 16, be- ginning at 10 a.m. In the interim, Wortman said, Friends would be sending out letters to current and former Wallowa County residents requesting donations to the cemetery district, which will need an estimated $80,000 to $90,000 to ¿nally install an underground irrigation system. Most of the cemetery’s grounds were without water service the past four years, but service was restored a few months ago with an appropriate connection to the city water system. “We’re just proud that af- ter four years we have water in here,” Wortman said. It apparently didn’t take much coaxing to get people to attend the May 9 work session. Although most of those who took part have family members buried at Enterprise Cemetery, a few others simply thought it was important to support local friends who do. “We don’t have family here. We’re just helping,” said Julie Todd, speaking for herself and her work partner for the day, fellow Enterprise resi- dent Gail Tally. & P By Rob Ruth Wallowa County Chieftain - Fri • 541-426-7455 Give us a call today! 541-426-7455 306 W. North Street, Enterprise Marty Hamilton TREE CARE NORTH 541-432-4605 • Cell # 541-398-1925 Licensed • Insured • Bonded • #92910 Natural History Discovery Center /.BJOt+PTFQIt"DSPTTGSPN$PDPTBOE.VUJOZtXBMMPXPMPHZPSH