Wallowa County Chieftain
News
wallowa.com
County gears up for
Christmas giving
Homecoming for new offi cer
By Kathleen Ellyn
Chieftain Archives
Andrea Butterfield and
classmates help make
Christmas
for
needy
families in Wallowa County
by helping pack Christmas
Baskets for the annual Elks
Christmas Basket program
last year.
lowa County Chieftain (and
in this issue as well) or pick
up a form at Community Con-
nection, Wallowa Food City,
city of Enterprise and Build-
ing Healthy Families. Fill out
the forms completely, and
turn the form in by Wednes-
day, Nov. 23. The forms also
are available at Enterprise
City Hall and the Sheriff’s
Offi ce and may be turned in
at either location, or mailed to
Enterprise Elks, P.O. Box K,
Enterprise, OR 97828.
Individuals in need who
have not already been con-
tacted may make contact
themselves by calling Randy
Morgan at 541-263-0327 be-
fore Friday, Dec. 2.
Anyone is welcome to
come down and help with de-
liveries.
Baskets of groceries will
be wrapped and loaded for
delivery at Cloverleaf Hall
beginning Wednesday, Dec.
21 and delivered on Friday,
Dec. 23. Please contact Ran-
dy Morgan to volunteer.
Information also is avail-
able on the “Tree of Giving
and Elks Christmas Basket”
Facebook page.
Monetary donations are
also welcomed, as the Elks
purchase the turkeys and
chickens they include in the
baskets and often supplement
donations if not enough of a
particular item has been donat-
ed. Individuals who would like
to make monetary donations to
the program may send a check
to: Elks Christmas Basket Pro-
gram, BPOE 1829, P.O. Box
K, Enterprise, OR 97828.
Enterprise Police Depart-
ment has a new offi cer in Ja-
cob Curtis, a local man and
Enterprise High School grad-
uate, class of 2013. He’s the
son of Roger Curtis, owner
of Mountain Auto Repair in
Enterprise.
During his high school
career he was a three-year
starting lineman on the foot-
ball team who participated
in the FFA Leadership Pro-
gram, learned ag mechanics
and won an American Degree
— the highest honor an FFA
student can achieve. He also
worked on the Dawson Ranch
and in his dad’s auto repair
shop for fi ve years.
Since leaving high school,
the energetic Curtis has been
preparing himself for a career
as a policeman.
“I’ve always wanted to
go into law enforcement,” he
said. “I’ve always looked up
to police offi cers; we had a
lot of friends who were law
enforcement offi cers. The de-
sire to be a police offi cer was
behind my college choices.
And, I wanted to come home
to Enterprise.”
Those college choices in-
cluded working toward his
degree in sociology at East-
ern Oregon University and
serving in the Reserve Offi -
cer Training Corps (ROTC).
He also worked a traditional
Wallowa County starter job
for young men — pulling
green chain at the Elgin mill.
He said he’s happy to be in
a position to fulfi ll his top two
life goals: coming back to En-
terprise and serving his com-
munity as a police offi cer.
In Oregon a new offi cer
must be hired before he or she
can attend the police acade-
my, which Curtis will do in
February.
In the meantime he’s been
“learning the ropes” with
Enterprise Police Chief Joel
Fish.
Fish hired Curtis out of
a pool of fi ve applicants —
most from Wallowa County
Lines of Credit
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
The Casebourn family of Joseph (mom Elizabeth, Gemma, 5, and Ryan, 1) meets new
Enterprise police officer Jacob Curtis as everyone enjoys “Trunk or Treat” on Halloween
Night in downtown Enterprise.
— because Curtis impressed
him during the interview pro-
cess.
“He interviewed well and
we liked his thinking pro-
cess,” Fish said. “Some of
his life decisions impressed
me, too. Going to college fac-
tored in, as well as the Army
ROTC. There were multiple
factors that made him stand
out.”
In the week that he’s been
on duty, Curtis says he’s
learned that “there’s a lot that
you have to know. There’s a
lot that goes into it. You have
to be able to read people and
understand what’s going on
in situations.”
Chief Fish, he said, has
been testing him a little as
they go and “keeping me
thinking about what’s hap-
pening and what should hap-
pen.”
That’s just what he should
be doing, said Fish.
“He’s realized the amount
he has to learn and he’s ready
to go forward and I’m happy
with my decision,” Fish said.
“We’re doing great so far.”
Curtis said he’s feeling
comfortable with his choic-
es, looking forward to mak-
ing a home in Enterprise for
himself and his two Labrador
dogs, Trigger and Daisy.
“I’m looking forward to
a career in my hometown in
an honest trade, doing some-
thing I’ve always wanted to
do,” he said.
Births
A daughter,
Stella Yvonne
Perren
was born October 14, 2016
in Enterprise to Matthew
and JoAnna Perren of
Enterprise. Grandparents
are Ginger and Tim Patton,
Christina Girtz and
Brian Perren.
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Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa County is gear-
ing up to make sure all res-
idents have a Christmas to
remember.
Once again the Enterprise
Elks (BPOE 1829) is partner-
ing with more than a dozen
local organizations to make
sure those in need will have
a good Christmas meal and
presents. The last piece of the
equation is the generosity of
Wallowa County residents.
Many residents involved in
organizations — from 4-H to
FCCLA to VFW and Granges
— already are gearing up and
contributing to the Christmas
Basket Program through food
drives and will be involved in
gift-wrapping and delivery of
the goodies.
Randy Morgan is this
year’s chairman for the Elk’s
Christmas Basket Program,
which provides the baskets
(boxes) containing the basic
ingredients for a Christmas
dinner.
At the same time the sec-
ond arm of the program, the
Tree of Giving project, gets
underway. City of Enterprise
offi ce employees Michele
Young and Lacey McQuead,
along with Department of
Youth Services employees
Mandy Decker and Amy
Stangel, organize that part of
the program.
The names of children up
to age 17 and seniors who
are living alone are collected
and put on the Tree of Giving
Christmas Tree at Enterprise
Flower Shop, 112 S. River
St. in Enterprise. The Tree of
Giving will be set up on Mon-
day, Nov. 7.
This year all children from
the same family will be listed
on one tag. The names and
ages of the children and se-
niors (not their real names)
along with gift suggestions
are written on the tree orna-
ments.
Anyone can select a fam-
ily tag and provide a gift or
gifts. Your gift should be un-
wrapped and in a gift bag with
the appropriate name attached
to the gift. The last day to
get your present to the tree is
Tuesday, Dec. 13.
To receive a basket of
food, look for the form that
appeared in last week’s Wal-
November 2, 2016
Greg Walden:
DELIVERING FOR OREGON
Ag & Commercial Real Estate
Enterprise Branch
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Member FDIC
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and Benefits They Have Earned
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to Our Public Lands
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Spending and Debt
Vote Greg Walden for Congress
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