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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2016)
Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com July 27, 2016 Council seats up for grabs MORE PICTURES ONLINE Few applying for open city positions By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain A senior woman in full regalia prepares to compete at the 2016 Tamkaliks Pow Wow. They took a lot of ribbing from the younger dancers when they took a water break between dances, but the senior dancers put on an amazing show at the 2016 TAmkaliks Pow Wow. Color, skill, friendship on display at Tamkaliks Annual event and ceremonies celebrate tribe traditions By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain The 26th Annual Tamka- liks Pow Wow and Friendship Feast in Wallowa has ended and everyone has gone home happy. It was a laid-back and comfortable experience, with spirited dancing, singing and drumming interspersed with heartfelt traditional ceremo- nies and plenty of tradition- al food to go around for the feast. Tribes provided the elk, buffalo and salmon, and friends brought in many side dishes for the free meal. Although the new long- house on the Homeland Project Property in Wallowa is not yet fi nished and open for tours, Native Americans enjoyed a morning meeting there. “Words can’t describe the feeling we had this morning in the longhouse,” said Bill Timentwah of Nespelem, Wash. “We were thinking of the celebrations we will have for fi rst salmon, fi rst kill and, for some, a fi rst marriage.” The tribal groups also en- joyed the new bridges, which are installed on the grounds of the Homeland Project, mak- ing river crossings easier. Emcees Thomas Morn- ingowl and Fred Hill kept the crowd laughing, gen- tly teasing entrants who are well known by this time and making the non-natives feel welcome and well-informed. Young dancers also ribbed the Senior Men’s Traditional Dancers when they paused between the two dance songs to rehydrate. The Senior Men took it all with a smile. When they completed their second dance they began chanting for “more, more, more” drum- ming. The mock competition made for much laughter all around and more teasing from Hill and Morningowl. The camaraderie was pal- pable. Every competition end- ed with the participants giving each other high-fi ves at the end of the dance. This year attendees wit- nessed the falling of an eagle feather, which called for a cessation of all celebrations while the feather was honored as an emblem of a fallen war- rior and a military vets, both male and female, were chosen from attendees to be honored with gifts as tokens of appre- ciation for their service. Other honorees through- out the event included local contractors Erik Lockhart and Kirk Skovlin, both of whom worked on the longhouse. They were honored in a spe- A3 Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Shawl dancers wait for the drummers and singers to begin. Four new mayors in Wal- lowa County in the same year? It’s unlikely but cer- tainly possible as voters in the county’s four largest towns — Enterprise, Joseph, Lostine and Wallowa — have mayors whose terms end this year. City clerks report that there are few takers so far. The towns are all seeking applicants for various posi- tions and report that anyone interested in running for of- fi ce must pick up their appli- cations at city hall and submit them before Aug. 30. City clerks will deliver complet- ed applications to the county clerk on the 30th. So far only a few seats county-wide have volunteers willing to claim them. Wallowa is seeing the best result. Mayor Vikki Knifong, who has served a pair of two- year terms, is willing to serve for another two. Wallowa City Councilor Garret Lowe also is willing to come back for another four years. One new volunteer, Shawn Sealey, has applied for the seat being vacated by Councilor Lisa Mahon, who will not be running for re-election, according to City Recorder Carol Long. The very structure of city council is a question mark in Lostine. Mayor Krag Norton is fi nishing out his two-year term and “will most likely” run again, according to City Clerk Jodi Burgess. However, Norton has not fi led his intent at this point. Councilor Hub April’s four-year term also is up, and again, no formal word on whether he will apply again and no new applications at this point. There seem to be possi- ble candidates for positions in Enterprise. Mayor Steve Lear’s two-year term is up this year and although he has not yet decided if he will run again, several applications for the position have been handed out by city staff and former councilor George Hill has submitted his application for the job. Lear will fi nish out his term, he said, despite having leased his restaurant and an- nouncing plans to spend more time with grandchildren in Lewiston. “We still have our apart- ment here,” Lear said. “I’ll still be here to fi nish my term.” Three open council seats — those of Larry Christman, Bill Coffi n and Stacey Kar- voski — have not drawn for- mal applicants. Those fi nish- ing out their four-year terms have not indicated whether they will return, nor have any applications from new candi- dates been submitted. Joseph Mayor Dennis Sands, who has served two terms, has not yet formally applied for a third. Three Joseph council po- sitions also are open next year. So far only Councilor George Ballard has indicated he is willing to return. Coun- cilor Tyler Evans, who was appointed in August of 2015 to fi nish out Liza Butts’ term, has not indicated whether he will return, nor has Council- or Sharon Newell. City staff recently reported that no one has requested application packets for any open position so far. Thank You We, Kenneth Elwyn Powers’s family, wish to extend our most sincere gratitude to those who attended his service and to those who’ve extended caring thoughts and prayers. We wish to acknowledge the special comfort and care provided by Elwyn’s doctors and staff at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Steven Rueben of Kooskai, Idaho, teaches his grandson Carson Funderburg, 4, to dance. Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain A striking shawl makes another appearance at the Shawl Dance. cial ceremony and were given beautiful Pendleton blankets. Emcees made sure to thank the many local businesses and volunteers, both native and non-native, who provided food, raffl e prizes, labor and other gifts to make the Pow Wow a success. “These people give gener- ously every year,” Hill said. No details regarding prize or scholarship winners were available at press time. 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