T HIS WEEK ’ S SPORTS COVERAGE STARTS ON PAGE 9
Enterprise, Oregon
Wallowa.com
Issue No. 26
October 12, 2016
$1
Sheriffs join call for drug charge reform
State law enforcement leaders seek misdemeanor charge for first-time possession
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Oregon’s law enforcement
agencies have initiated a discus-
sion regarding possible changes to
how fi rst-time, user-amount drug
possession arrests are handled.
The Oregon State Sheriffs’
Association recently released a
statement in support of reduc-
ing fi rst-time drug possession
convictions from felonies to
misdemeanors, backing similar
calls from Gov. Kate Brown,
state Attorney General Ellen F.
Rosenblum, district attorneys,
members of the state Legislature
and chiefs of police.
The statement points out that
a felony drug conviction can re-
sult in a jail sentence, probation
and limited treatment services.
Although the treatment ser-
vices are recognized as essen-
tial, Oregon justice agencies
have come to believe that felony
convictions, which create barri-
ers to housing and employment,
make it diffi cult for offenders to
return to lives as ordinary citi-
zens, even after successful drug
addiction treatment.
See DRUGS, Page A5
Wallowa County
Sheriff Rogers
DIVIDE CAMP
HEALING
ON THE HUNT
Ellen Bishop/For The Chieftain
The proposed trail would
provide
hikers
with
views of farmland and
the Wallowas as it heads
south from the Green
Valley Road crossing just
outside of Enterprise.
Poll shows
businesses
back Rail
with Trail
72 percent of
chamber voters
say they support
entire project
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Joseph Branch Rail
with Trail project recently
received a resounding vote
of confi dence in an infor-
mal poll of business own-
ers.
The results of the Wal-
lowa County Chamber of
Commerce’s fi rst online
poll of members indicates
that the overwhelming ma-
jority of the 125 members
who responded support the
Joseph Branch Rail with
Trail project. A majority of
members also support the
chamber in actively pro-
moting the project.
The six-stage Rail with
Trail project potentially
would run from Elgin to
Joseph when completed.
For now, the focus is on the
Joseph-to-Enterprise seg-
ment of the trail.
Thirty-four percent of
chamber members voted in
the online poll. Past votes
taken by mail or at meet-
ings have seen a just 5-9
percent voter involvement.
The poll closed Sept. 30
and results were published
in the chamber newsletter
shortly afterward.
See PLAN, Page A5
Courtesy of Divide Camp
Courtesy of Divide Camp
Iraq war veteran Jose Martinez bagged an elk on his second day
at Divide Camp.
Martinez brightened the lives of those he met during his week-
long stay at the camp.
Veteran personifi es triumph over adversity
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
ur country is fi lled with veterans
who need help recovering from
wounds suffered overseas or
back home. Oftentimes what is
needed are words of hope from a
fellow veteran scarred from the
same kind of wounds.
Divide Camp, a local nonprofi t devoted to
healing the physical and psychological injuries
of post-9/11 veterans through outdoor pursuits
O
recently hosted Jose Martinez, a veteran medi-
cally retired from the Army. Raised in Compton,
Calif., Martinez is no stranger to hard times and
violence. He didn’t admire the gang lifestyle
that surrounded his neighborhood, but he liked
making money.
“One coincides with the other,” Martinez
said. “Before I joined the military, I was shaking
hands with all the wrong people in the world.”
In 2010, a horrifi c street incident left him in
tears for a day. He immediately joined the Army.
“
See CAMP, Page A16
BEFORE I JOINED
THE MILITARY, I
WAS SHAKING
HANDS WITH
ALL THE WRONG
PEOPLE IN THE
WORLD.”
Jose Martinez
South Fork Grange to celebrate hall’s revival
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
After the Lostine area lost its South
Fork Grange #605 to fi re in February
2015, residents were quickly back
to work — fundraising, applying for
grants and saving for a new grange.
On Saturday, grangers will wel-
come Wallowa Countians “home”
to the new grange hall on Rosewell
Street in Lostine.
The building is still under renova-
tion but the main hall is now ready for
parties, weddings, grange meetings,
conferences and more.
“That’s the story of grange, isn’t
it?” said June Colony, secretary/trea-
surer of the grange. “It’s both a re-
membrance of the old and plans for
the new.”
The grange has a new infrastruc-
ture: heating, plumbing and other es-
sentials. But the plans for the future
include a remodeled kitchen suitable
for most any private gathering, a li-
brary for the full room of agricultural
and gardening books already donated,
a big deck out back, American Dis-
abilities Act-approved entries, a con-
tinued remodel of the (working) bath-
room, planters and graveled parking
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
An “after” shot of the inside of the
South Fork Grange.
and other projects.
“We’ve spent a lot of money on
this place, but we didn’t want to spend
down too far or move too fast,” Colo-
ny said. “We’ll start another round of
fundraising and writing for grants in
2017 for the next projects.”
First on that 2017 list is the contin-
ued remodeling of the interior: kitch-
Courtesy photo
“Before” shot.
en, bathroom, offi ces and library.
But no one wanted to wait any lon-
ger to enjoy what they already had.
See GRANGE, Page A5
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
June Colony — straight from the
farm to finish some paint projects
at the new (Lostine) South Fork
Grange — takes a short break in the
finished main hall. This Saturday is
the “Welcome Home” cider press
party at the grange.