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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com December 23, 2015 A3 ‘Fish guy’ settles in as Joseph librarian By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Eric Shoudel was looking for a job that was a little more social than his former jobs in ¿sheries when he applied to be the new librarian in Jo- seph. One might not think of the librarian as a social butterÀy, but compared to being “kind of locked away in a little re- search room in ¿sheries,” it’s practically living in the mid- dle of the street. “I’m looking forward to being more in touch with people who live in the com- munity,” Shoudel said. Shoudel started the job in mid-November after Ge- neene Kingsford wrapped up 22 years as librarian. Kingsford left some big shoes to ¿ll. “Geneene knew collection development and her collec- tion in that tiny library is ev- ery bit as good as the one in Enterprise,” said Enterprise Librarian Denine Rauten- strauch. “She did an awesome job and I’m going to miss her horribly. Her summer read- ing program was done on her Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Joseph’s new librarian Eric Shoudel, 43, enjoys finding information for a patron. own time, 100 percent volun- teer. They paid her to be there 20 hours a week and she put in 40 for sure.” After just a few weeks on the job, Shoudel is still ¿nd- ing his feet — let alone ¿lling big shoes — but he intends to make his mark. Shoudel came to the coun- ty “chasing a permanent job with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife back in 2010,” he said. After three years with ODFW he moved to Nez Perce Fisheries for another two years. Now he’s made the transition to librar- ian. That switch might not seem like a logical progres- sion, but Shoudel doesn’t see it as a leap. He’s has been a bookworm all his life and al- ways liked libraries, he said. “It’s not a stretch,” he said. “Also, I’ve worked in a lot of databases and done computer stuff and I guess that would be my main Tuali¿cation for the (library) job.” That technical savvy is coming in handy. Computers are an essential tool for to- day’s libraries — interlibrary loaning, ordering, managing subscriptions, purchasing, etc. And the city wanted a tech-savvy person who could help out customers who came in to use the three computers available to the public. Shoudel, 43, is a single man with no other responsi- bilities, so he’s able to meet his basic needs with part- time position for the time be- ing. He’ll be looking for oth- er part-time work in his off hours, and says he got a lot of brewery e[perience in Hood River and will be looking at doing some night cellaring for a local brewery. The Joseph library is only open from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Satur- day, though there are some fun scheduled activities that take place in the library after school for grades 1-4; Mandy James of Enterprise supervis- es those activities. During regular hours Shoudel does a booming business in local books about the county and best-sellers by famous authors. “Those are really, really popular,” he said. And, of course, every- one has their favorite author and wants to read their way through that author’s full cat- alog. Patrons also can take part in all of the same fun events going on in Enterprise, in- cluding Battle of the Books and getting ready for The Big Read. This year’s Big Read is Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” Shoudel also has four copies of another good Wild- er book — “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” — available. Oil competes with biomass costs for Enterprise School District By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain It’s a good thing the En- terprise School District spent $100,000 replacing their oil heater back in 2010 — a re- liable fuel source for the bio- mass system has proven to be hard to come by. The issues the district faces, in addition to proper storage, are trucking fees and regular delivery. “I still haven’t got a con- tract on biomass,” ESD Super- intendent Brad Royse said at the Dec. 7 school board meet- ing. “I’m still working, still con¿dent we will get a con- tract on that. The number one thing they’re stating is what they’ve stated for two years — we need storage on site.” The school board and ad- ministration have had “lots and lots of discussions” as to how to address the lack of storage, but so far have not identi¿ed a plan that doesn’t involve a bond issue, Royse said. $ Tuick ¿[ discussed in the past was simply storing the wood chip fuel in a semi-trail- er, but other companies have attempted that and had the fuel freeze into a solid block and then e[pand and damage the truck trailer. “Fuel has got to be inside, and it’s got to be heated,” said Royse. Two other issues are reg- ular delivery and the cost of transport. “I’ve had three meetings (with engineers) since the start of the year and we’ve still got nothing,” Royse said. /ocal biomass was e[- pected to be readily avail- able at the time the plant was installed in 2008, but de- velopment of a reliable and economical source has been slower than e[pected. However, Royse was able to report that at least one new source of woody biomass has been located in La Grande and that the district will be e[peri- menting with the new compa- ny’s product soon. When in full operation, in- cluding loan payments on the biomass plant and building, the system costs the school district $106,594 per year, ac- cording to Royse. That e[pen- diture is e[pected to continue until 2024. When the proMect was ¿rst developed in 2007 engineers from McKinstry Company e[pected the district to realize dramatic savings by switching to biomass. Based on 2007 energy consumption and oil prices — according to McK- instry’s audit — Enterprise School District was paying appro[imately $147,900 per year when oil cost $2.90/gal- lon and predicted the district would save nearly $100,000 per year by making the switch. The district never re- alized those kinds of savings. The district now pays ap- pro[imately $2.15 per gallon for oil fuel. Both the Grant County Re- gional Airport and the Blue Mountain Hospital installed systems in 2011. The hospi- tal system cost $411,000 and was proMected to save appro[- imately $50,000 per year in heating costs. Since then John Day’s Prairie City School and Grant Union Junior High/Senior High School (2012) also have switched to biomass heating. k This is Gabriel Connolly's e e W e th f o first year at Enterprise Sev- t n e t S ud enth-Day Adventist School where he is currently in 7th grade. Gabriel enjoys soccer, science and working with sound systems. He is recognized this month for his excellent academic work that consistently places Gabriel Connolly him on the Honor Roll. Enterprise Seventh-Day Thank You Thank you to everyone who sent flowers, cards and well wishes. Special thanks to the Wallowa Valley Senior Living Center for the years of kindness & care. Adventist School The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. 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