Girls Cross Country Enterprise, Oregon 2nd at state Wallowa.com Issue No. 30 November 9, 2016 $1 VETERANS DAY ELECTION RESULTS: The Chieftain went to press Tuesday afternoon before fi nal election re- sults had been tallied, but you can fi nd results online at Wallowa.com. Judge dismisses property lawsuit Court favors Enterprise in fight over electrical line By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Lorien and Dustin James of Enterprise did not get the jury trial they hoped for. U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown adopted the recom- mendation of a lower judge and summarily dismissed their suit against Enterprise, Wallowa County and numerous individu- als. The Jameses fi rst brought the suit last May after a months-long negotiation that began in the spring of 2014 about how and where to run a residential electri- cal line to the couples’ Eggleson Lane property outside of Enter- prise. Named in the suit were: The city of Enterprise, Wallowa County, Wallowa County Build- ing Inspector John Lindstrom, City Administrator Michele Young, Public Works Director Ronnie Neal, up to fi ve unnamed John Does and up to fi ve un- named Jane Does. In the suit, the couple alleged: • Their right to due process was violated in that they were deprived of their property rights when Lindstrom issued a stop- work order. • Their due-process rights were violated by issuance of the stop-work order. • Due process rights were vi- olated in that the Jameses did not get prior notice, a hearing or an opportunity to contest the stop- work order. • Due-process rights were vi- olated when the city, county, et al acted to prevent the couple from developing their land without a fi nding that they had violated any applicable laws, regulations or building codes. • The defendants acted to- gether to deprive the plaintiffs of their property rights (racketeer- ing). • There was negligence on the part of the defendants, which caused damage to the couple. See LAWSUIT, Page A10 IT TAKES A HERO Meet Gayle Stockdale, a Wallowa County WWII vet who served with distinction in Europe Courtes y Courtesy of Gay Stockdale Gayle Stockdale upon his graduation from the New Mexico Military Institute in 1939. of Gay S tockdale Gayle Stockdale proudly wears his new captain’s bars he’s receiving from a major general on the battlefields of WWII Italy. H E WAS THE EPITOME OF A TRUE A MERICAN HERO — NOT ONLY TO HIS COUNTRY , BUT TO HIS COMMUNITY . H E WAS A REMARKABLE MAN .” By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain “T here were giants in the earth in those days ... mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” Thus in Genesis 6:4, the Bible describes men of a different day, a different time. Men to be revered. It could well describe “The Greatest Generation”: men and women who cut their teeth on the bitter bread of the Great Depression and fol- lowed those dark years by gritting those same teeth while nearly singlehandedly winning World War II and returning home to foster years of unparalleled eco- nomic prosperity in the greatest nation on earth. As can be expected, Wallowa County committed its share of heroes to the cause. In WWII, one Gayle Stockdale served with particular merit with the 752nd tank battalion of the 5th Army Di- vision, which saw some of the heaviest fi ghting in Italy during the war’s fi nal year. But extraordinary men are made, not born, and Stockdale’s formative years played a large role in this man who remained a hero until the end of his days. Born in Dayville in 1919, Stockdale moved with his family to Enterprise in 1932. A year later, the family sent the young man to New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, N.M. There he pur- sued his love of horses, becoming a star polo player and captain of the equestrian jumping team. At age 16, the blue-eyed lad with coal-black hair spent his school summers as a wilderness guide in the Wallowas for the Flying Arrow, a local packing outfi t owned by Ralph Watson. See VETERAN, Page A8 Deadly infections haunt hospitals Wallowa Memorial fares well in 2015 statewide report By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Oregon hospitals still have work to do in preventing dangerous in- fections like Clostridium Diffi cile (C. diff.) and Methicillin-resistant Straphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a recently released Oregon Health Association report. The good news locally is that Wallowa Memorial Hospital is able to report that in 2015 they had zero incidences of most bacterial infections associated with a hos- pital stay and just one case of the most dangerous, . In part, that’s because Wallowa Memorial does not have a neonatal or adult intensive care unit, where other infections are most likely. Additionally, the hospital is able to isolate all cases of bacterial infection. “We put patients with all kinds of infections in isolation,” said Stacey Karvoski, infection con- trol and employee health nurse for Wallowa Memorial. “Larger hos- pitals do this for C. diff. patients, but we are able to do it for many infections.” Concern over these deadly in- fections remains high. According to the U.S. Depart- ment of Health and Human Ser- vices, about one in 25 patients hos- pitalized nationwide will develop a health care associated infection. A 2011 Center for Disease Con- trol study revealed that of 722,000 health care associated infections reported in U.S. acute-care hospi- tals, about 75,000 patients died. See REPORT, Page A10 Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain CNA Missy Campbell prepares to enter an isolation room at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. Missy is wearing personal protective gear that will protect her breathing, clothing and skin from any bacterial transfer.