Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2015)
DEVIN OLSEN A FLY FISHING WORLD MEDALIST. PAGE A9 www.wallowa.com Enterprise, Oregon July 8, 2015 $1 Plan afoot to keep historic lodge local ‘I welcome this development enthusiastically’ By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain A group of local investors is interested in preserving the history and ambiance of Wal- lowa Lake Lodge by keeping it in the family — so to speak. Private investors have be- gun to gather into a group, coalescing around the lead- ership of the nonpro¿ t group Wallowology in Joseph. Wallowology is an educa- tional project of Eastern Ore- gon Legacy Land Funds, and is dedicated to a mission of supporting the preservation of natural resources through education. The Lodge, says Wal- lowology Director James PATRIOTISM ON PARADE Red, white and blue rule the day P blue. There were slightly fewer entries in the popular community parade since scheduling conÀ icts kept sev- eral usual entries out of the running, but there was no shortage of patriotic spirit on the parade route and the Wallowa County Thunder Motorcy- cle Club made up the difference with three times the riders as last year. The City Choice Award for an C HIEFTAIN WA L L O WA See LODGE, Page A7 Wyden defends TPP at town hall meeting By Steve Tool Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain entry, and check for $200, went to Kevin’s Tire Shop. First place in the adult division and a check for $150 went to Bill Henke’s festive mule pack. Second place in the adult division and a check for $100 went to the Wallowa County Thunder Motorcy- cle Club. Third place went to the VFW Enterprise Post. Fourth place went to Peggy Gen- tle and Ann Marie Scott, two ladies who have been walking together since 1999. venue; connect local groups like Wallowa Resources and The Nature Conservancy with events at the lodge,” he said. Wallowa County Chieftain Little Karly Woods on her patriotic (and very patient) horse took second place in the children’s division of the parade entries at the 2015 Wallowa City 4th of July Parade. eople in Wallowa got their patriotism on in a big way over the 4th of July and even mules wore red, white and Monteith, is the perfect set- ting for an educational expe- rience in preservation. “The interest is both in the lodge and the land around the lodge — to keep the lodge as is and be more an educational Montana and Lilee Post mixed their cultures by taking their two horses Hawaiian with their Hot Hulas on Horses entry and won the children’s division. Karly Woods’ horse wore a patri- otic hat and took second place. Wallowa Library Kids’ “Every Hero has a Story” entry took third. Safe Kids Northwest Oregon La Grande Group took fourth. Community Bank’s Most Patri- otic Award went to Wallowa River RV Park and their ¿ sherman’s de- light À oat. JOSEPH — Despite the competing allure of balmy weather on a holiday weekend, a crowd ¿ led into the Josephy Center to attend a town hall meeting featuring Oregon’s senior U.S. Senator, Democrat Ron Wyden. County commis- sioners Mike Hayward and Susan Roberts attended the town hall, as did Joseph Mayor Dennis Sands. The town hall is part of a promise Wyden made to Or- egonians to hold meetings in each county of the state every year. Wyden was also doing his part to promote the “Seven Wonders of Oregon” tourism campaign. The Wallowas are one of the Seven Wonders. Wyden, dressed casually in white shirt and jeans, an- swered questions on subjects as diverse as logging, health care, the Trans Paci¿ c Part- nership and Trade Promotion Authority (“fast-track”). Wyden opened the meeting by saying he applauded the community’s appreciation of veterans, noting the new “We Honor Veterans” sign outside of Joseph. After a brief report by a U.S. Forest Service of¿ - cial on the Dennis Creek Fire in Union County, Wyden talk- ed about legislation that he and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo have proposed to pay for the very largest ¿ res through federal disaster funding rather than borrowing from ¿ re preven- tion funds. One question from the À oor came from Bruce Dunn of the county’s Natural Resources Advisory Committee. Dunn asked about a bill designed to expedite timber sales and cur- tail lawsuits by environmen- tal groups. Although Wyden voiced support for harvesting more timber from federal Steve Tool/Chieftain Sen. Ron Wyden listens to a question from an audience member at a town hall meeting held at the Josephy Center on July 3. lands, he indicated he did not approve of some of the pro- posed restrictions to curtail lawsuits. Jean Falbo of Joseph asked Wyden about the cost of med- ication under the Medicare program and restrictions on using collective bargaining to lower prices, and the import of medication from Canada (Canadians pay less for U.S.- made medication than Ameri- cans do). Falbo also asked if the TPP bill would promote overseas companies manu- facturing medication, some- thing she questioned. Wyden replied he’s been at the forefront of easing restrictions on collective bargaining for medication as well as re-importation of medication from Canada and other countries. See WYDEN, Page A7 C O U N T Y Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884 Volume 133 Issue No. 12 © 2015 EO Media Group County OKs tram-area development Corporation plans to create 16 residential, 4 commercial lots By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain The Wallowa Lake Tram- way Corporation has received approval from the county planning commission to begin to develop its property at the foot of the tram. Formal ap- proval is expected July 28. Bill Whittemore of La Grande and Mike Lockhart of Joseph own the corporation and were represented by re- tired engineer Steve Anderson of Anderson Consulting Ser- vices of La Grande. Preliminary plans showed subdivision of the property into 20 building lots ranging in size but not less than 7,500 square feet each. The proper- ty lies to the north and east of the lower Tram Terminal and just behind the old Edelweiss Building. The preliminary plat of the subdivision showed an inten- tion to create 16 residential/ recreational lots positioned Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftainw Overflow parking for the tram at the head of the lake with the old Edelweiss building in the background. around circular courts on the upper portion of the property and four commercial and rec- reational use lots near High- way 82. The property is zoned Re- sort Commercial Recreation, and is open to residential de- velopment, according to Wal- lowa County Planner Harold Black. Sewer and water services are provided by the Wallowa Lake County Service District, electrical service is provided by Paci¿ c Power and Light, and telephone and cable ser- vices are provided by Frontier Communications and Crystal Broadband Networks. The in- tent of the owners is to place all of these service lines under- ground. The owners intend to begin improvements on what they are calling “South Lake Terrace” in 2016, provided all legal hur- dles have been cleared. Persons with legal interest may still appeal the planning commission’s decision, in which case the issue goes to the board of commissioners. Several individuals with legal interests have already made concerns known. The planning commission received letters of concern from Mark Thornberg, owner of nearby Matterhorn Village; Duane and Jane Wiggins, local property owners; and heard an oral com- plaint from Joe and Rita Ehrler of Joseph. Their concerns, in a nut- shell, were related to ambiance and parking. “We owned that property for 50 years at one time and own property either side of it and we’d like it to stay the same,” Duane Wiggins said. See LOTS, Page A7 Bowlby Bash Saturday ENTERPRISE — It’s time for Bowlby Bash, this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Enterprise. The Bowlby Bash Soap Box Derby is just part of the fun. Enterprise’s Main Street will be closed to auto traf¿ c and event goers will have the entire downtown district to ex- plore. There will be sidewalk shopping, vendors, exhibitors, artists and artisans along the street and the Wallowa County Farmers’ Market will be open. Local restaurants and food booths will be cook- ing-up those good ol’ favor- ites. There will be demon- strations from the early pioneering days to pres- ent-day activities in Wal- lowa County. Art demonstrations are scheduled and sidewalk chalk art is encouraged. See BOWLBY, Page A7