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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com October 28, 2015 A3 StDte KeDltK oI¿FLDlV vLVLt PeGLFDl FlLQLF By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain A recent three-star state rating for Winding Waters Clinic in Enterprise -- placing it among the state’s top medi- cal clinics -- prompted a visit from members of the Oregon Health Policy Board and Or- egon Health Authority earlier WKLV PRQWK 6WDWH KHDOWK RI¿- cials gathered at the clinic on Oct. 4 to hear about the staff’s experience in “on-the-ground” health system transformation. ,WZDVWKH2+3%¶V¿UVWHDVWHUQ Oregon visit. The clinic received the VWDWH¶V ¿UVW VWDU UDWLQJ DV a Patient Centered Primary Home Care Program (PCPCH) from the OHA, which is under the oversight of the OHPB. A PCPCH designation means the state recognizes the clin- ic for its commitment to pa- tient-centered care. “They approached us with the idea of this visit and asked if we would be willing to host and give them a tour of our clinic,” WWC Executive Di- rector Dr. Liz Powers said. “OHA director Lynn Sax- ton has a particular interest in rural health and Winding :DWHUV ZDV WKH ¿UVW VWDU 3&3&+ FHUWL¿HG LQ WKH VWDWH They were thrilled that this Wallowa opts out on retail pot By .DtKleeQ (llyQ Wallowa County Chieftain The City of Wallowa has been busy this fall, bringing their policies and procedures up to standard. As of the Oct. 20 regular City Council meeting, the city KDVRI¿FLDOO\RSWHGRXWRIFRQ- sidering licenses for marijuana sale or growth within city lim- its. Opting out does not change the law with regard to person- al growing and use. As of July 1, adults may grow up to four plants and eight ounces per residence. Use of medical mar- ijuana is also allowed in a city or county that has opted out. The decision was made after a town hall meeting indi- cated residents mostly favored opting out. Councilors also were up- dated on the results of their advertisement for a new city attorney. Attorney Roland Johnson, who recently acted as the city’s attorney during WKH PLOOLRQ±SOXV LPSURYH- ment of the water district, has been used by the city for vari- ous projects as an independent contractor. The city has since decided to hire a permanent legal representative. An advertisement was pub- lished and the city has received three applications. “We told (applicants) we only wanted someone to do occasional work, given how small a city we are,” said City Recorder Carol Long. Next on the agenda for the council is the long-awaited ac- tion of going out for bids for DQ DXGLWRU 7KH &3$ ¿UP RI Seydel, Lewis, Poe, Moeller & Gunderson LLC, from La Grande, has served as the city’s auditor for decades. That con- tract was regularly extended in three-year increments and signed by the mayor. Both the wisdom of hav- ing such a long-term associa- tion without going out for bids and the issue of validity of a mayor-approved agreement came up in early 2014, when WKHQFRXQFLORU .HYLQ 6LOYHUD argued that such an arrange- ment was neither wise nor val- id because the council had not been consulted. Silvera’s introduction of the issue led to considerable dis- cussion and investigation but little action until this year. The city is prepared to move forward with a call for bids. “I hope we keep the same people,” Long said. “It’s nice when you get familiar with someone. But the League of Or- egon Cities thinks you should go out for bids every few years and I’ve been here nine years and we’ve never done it, so I guess it’s time.” Courtesy of Megan Bowen Dr. Liz Powers of Winding Waters Clinic (second from right) poses with community partner members and members of the Oregon Health Policy Board and the Oregon Health Authority on Oct. 4. The state agencies visited the award-winning clinic to better understand how rural clinics integrate with the communities they serve. distinction came to a frontier clinic and wanted to hear how we made that happen and see ¿UVWKDQG WKH JUHDW WKLQJV ZH do here.” WWC Chief Operations 2I¿FHU .HOL &KULVWPDQ VDLG the clinic’s community part- nerships are one of the reasons IRU LWV VXFFHVV DQG VWDU UDW- ing. Christman said it’s im- portant for the clinic to partner with other service providers and community groups for the health of all community members. Although the clin- ic has a number of partners, both Building Healthy Fami- lies and The Wallowa County Center for Wellness are the current primary partners. “We have different visions, but we see the same people,” Christman said. “Building Healthy Families saw the need for more developmental screening so they come here and do their screening. The same with the Center for Well- ness. They have a behavioral coach right here in the clinic.” Other community partner- ships include Wallowa Valley Network of Care, Local Com- munity Advisory Council, Wallowa Memorial Hospital and Enterprise School Dis- trict. During the visit Powers shared a brief history of the clinic and representatives from community partners discussed the history and progression of their collaborations with Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision meetings continue District 58 the past 20 years. Rep. Greg “(NRAC member and Barreto, OSU Extension Agent) John Discussions about the c o u n t y Williams and I will be do- Blue Mountains Forest Plan c o m m i s - ing that wordsmithing with a Revision have been sched- sioners Su- small group of policy writers uled for other counties in the san Roberts this winter,” Laverty said. ¿UVWWZRZHHNVRI1RYHPEHU and Mike The new meetings are di- The content and presenta- H a y w a r d , vided into impact groups: tion of these discussions will and mem- • 6-9 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Ar- Laverty be the same as the discussion bers of the mory in La Grande: Discus- held in Wallowa County on c o u n t y ’ s sions of access and wilderness July 20. National Resource Advisory on the Wallowa-Whitman Na- The Forest Service is sim- Committee (NRAC). tional Forest ply picking up where it left At that meeting Laver- • 6-9 p.m. Nov. 4 at Hep- off during the summer, said ty assured Wallowa County pner City Hall: Livestock Maura Laverty, Range Pro- permittees that some “word- grazing on the Umatilla gram Manager for the Wal- smithing” would be done to • 6-9 p.m. Nov. 9 at the lowa-Whitman and Umatilla change the tone of the doc- Armory in Baker City: Blue Zone. XPHQW WR EHWWHU UHÀHFW KRZ Mountains Forest Plan, Baker “Fire season interrupted grazing practices and science County and Wallowa-Whit- our outreach,” Laverty said. related to it had changed over man “We’re picking it up again to try and reach Union and Bak- er counties now. The infor- mation we gathered in Wal- lowa County has not been acted on yet. We will wait XQWLO ZH KDYH ¿QLVKHG JDWK- ering all of the information from other counties.” Tom Montoya, Wal- lowa-Whitman National Forest supervisor, Sabrina Stabler, team leader for the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision, and Laverty met with more than two dozen Wallowa County grazing per- mittees July 20 in Enterprise. That meeting also was www.LesSchwab.com attended by Oregon House 802 NW 1 st • Enterprise • 541.426.3139 By .DtKleeQ (llyQ Wallowa County Chieftain • 6-9 p.m. Nov. 10 at North Fork John Day Ranger District in Ukiah: Grazing on the Umatilla and Malheur • 6-9 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Armory in La Grande: Scale of restoration on the Wal- lowa-Whitman National For- est and Umatilla the clinic. Afterward, Powers gave a WWC tour with the clinic staff each sharing their part in their team-based health care model. “I think they were im- pressed,” Powers said, add- ing that she hoped the visit would inform state health policy moving forward, as red tape still hinders the clinic’s transformation process. “The OHPB has some leverage to make needed policy changes that can support what we do here,” she said. Megan Bowen, site visi- tor for the PCPHC program, said the group was impressed with the clinic and added that Power’s observations did not fall on deaf ears. “The Oregon Health Policy Board members and OHA leadership walked away from the visit to Wind- ing Waters with a newfound understanding of the challeng- es that providers, patients and clinics face in rural areas. “This visit will help to im- prove channels of communi- cation between OHA, OHPB and rural Oregon in order to achieve continued transfor- mation of the health system, share success stories and im- prove opportunities for new partnerships going forward.” Thank You , Wallowa County merchants Thanks so much for decorating our little towns. So pretty during all the holidays. I love the wagon this Halloween – a good place for a family photo. Your work is so appreciated! Sue Peart, Enterprise 800 S. River St., Enterprise, OR Mon-Fri 9:00-5:30 Sat 9:00-12:00 541-426-9228 1606 Portland St., La Grande, OR Mon-Fri 9:00-5:30 Sat 9:00-2:00 541-963-6033 www.CarpetOneEnterprise.com Attention Parents of K-4th Graders! Our Annual l Holiday Design Contest Co Is On! Designs Due At Local Branches By 11/03/15 Winner Gets $125 Plus Other Perks! Holiday Design Contest Winner Last Y ear: Mattelynn Moon of Hermiston, OR. Now Accepting New Patients! Call Today for An Appointment 541.426.7900 Dr. Kirsten Caine Dr. Emily Sheahan Nurse Practitioner Traci Frye Mountain View Medical Clinic New Enterprise Location! 603 Medical Parkway Adjacent to the hospital Pick Up Entry Forms ms At Y Your o our Local Branch or visit us online! W Wallowa allowa 202 N Storie St Enterprise 300 NW 1st St Joseph 609 N Main St Wallowa Memorial Hospital is an equal opportunity employer and provider. www .communitybanknet.com Member FDIC