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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2017)
Wallowa County Chieftain wallowa.com Community March 15, 2017 A3 Prune fruit trees for a better harvest By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Left to right: Karen Coppin, member of the foundation board; and Kate Loftus andBob Williams members of the original ribbon cutters when the hospital was dedicated, cut the cake for the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Hospital Dedication. Celebrating a decade of care A look back at Wallowa Memorial Hospital’s growth By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain The low-key celebration of Wallowa Memorial Hos- pital’s 10th anniversary fea- tured a wall of posters that documented the many im- provements made over the years. Key in these improve- ments was building the new hospital a decade ago. Current hospital director Larry Davy remembers what a step forward the new facil- ity was. Davy took over as CEO in 2001 at a time when the hospital had just seven days operating cash on hand and was more than $200,000 in debt. Wallowa County resi- dents who remember that time are still amazed that the hospital was able to climb out of debt and erect a new building in just six years. The hard work of hospital administrators and the gen- erosity of local individuals was key to the turnaround. Their efforts through the hospital auxiliary, the Cir- cle 100 Club, the Men’s 100 Club, the annual banquet and auction and many other avenues have continued to bring technical and care ad- vantages to the hospital. The hospital is currently involved in: • The recruiting and re- tention of a team of phy- sicians from top medical schools. • The expansion of the rehabilitation clinic from two to fi ve full time physi- cal therapists, two personal therapy assistants, an oc- cupational therapist and an aquatic therapy program. • The development and expansion of an outpatient clinic to provide chemother- apy and increase visits by oncologist Seymour Bron- stein. • The addition of tele- medicine capabilities, so that specialists can confer- ence with local physicians and see their patients via telemedicine robots. • The expansion of gen- eral surgery, with Kenneth Rose and orthopedic sur- geon Adrian Davis. • Investment in a 64 slice CT scan, new bone densi- ty scanner and soon a 3-D mammography machine. • A full-service laborato- ry and full-service pharmacy on site. • Birthing suites with room to accommodate dads and families. • A newborn incubator for transport of patients. M EETING The Circle 100 Club meets just once a year. This year existing and potential members are invited to the Wallowa Memorial Hospital Conference Room on March 16 at 4:30 p.m. for a social time, snacks, and a meeting to decide how to spend the money. Bring your check for $100 made out to WVHCF. If you are unable to attend but would like to join, send your check for $100 to P.O. Box 53, Enterprise, OR 97828. You may also join the Circle 100 with a friend and split the cost 50/50. Please RSVP to the Foundation at 541- 426-1913. • Stress echocardiogram technology. • New beds. It’s time for fruit tree care and a good pruning can mean a bumper crop of those apples, cherries or pears. “We recommend fruit tree pruning after all the hard freezes are over, early March, defi nitely before bud swell,” said Eric Sinclair of Sinclair Brothers tree care of Enter- prise. “We’ve been doing it for the last two weeks.” By pruning the tree in ear- ly March, two important issues are addressed: The wounds created by the cuts aren’t exposed to ex- treme temperatures and the tree is still dormant. Pruning and shaping the tree means that when it comes awake in the spring it will put its energy into healing wounds and producing fruit, rather than putting out sprouts that can overtake the canopy. Making the canopy umbrel- la-shaped and open improves the ability of fruit trees to put out produce. In fact, even in two-year apple trees, which generally put out one year of bumper crop and one av- erage year, a properly pruned and cared for tree can put out quality crops year after year. “Fruit production depends more on the weather,” said Sinclair. “If we get a late frost it will knock out a lot of the production. Last year we had a really mild spring and we had a bumper crop. People had so much fruit, branches were breaking.” Bryan Walker of Executive Tree Care of Joseph agrees. “My wife’s grandmother has an old two-year tree that puts out good crops every year. It just depends on weather, your prun- ing and care,” he said. Fruit trees are hardy, the tree professionals said, and prun- ing that would shock the sys- tem of a deciduous tree or an evergreen can be undertaken. An apple tree, for instance, can be topped and reduced on the main trunk by six feet each year, Sinclair said. In rare cases the tree may be reduced in height by 10 feet. “Topping is not recommend- ed for any tree except for a fruit tree,” Sinclair said. “It’s an historic and accept- ed practice for fruit trees. It may even be recommended.” Many fruit trees can stand a pruning of 30 percent of their volume. “In a fruit tree you want to take all the vertical suck- ers off and bring it down to where it is an umbrella ... to where you can pick it off an orchard ladder or from the ground,” said Walker. Sinclair agrees. “There’s actually an old saying that ‘your fruit tree should be the height of your ladder,’” he said. Other trees can be pruned pretty much any time and many deciduous trees are pruned after they leaf, as this makes identifying dead or sick branches easy. The cost of having a profes- sional prune your tree varies, because each tree is different “I have to look at it to see what kind of pruning I’ll have to do,” said Walker. “The fi rst pruning is usually a lit- tle more costly, but after that it’s maintenance. I try to show the homeowner how to do the maintenance,” said Walker. “We do free estimates,” said Sinclair. “I’ll come talk trees with everybody for nothing.” HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY Aldon, Eddy, Dad & Grandpa J A WE ALL LOVE YOU W eek W e h t f o t n e d Stu Madison Isley is a Madison Isley ENTERPRISE SDA SCHOOL second grader at the Enterprise SDA School. She has a passion for learning and excels in math and reading. Madison is always willing to help the younger students with their work and her sunny disposition makes her a joyful part of our school! Proudly sponsored by I found Dad’s remote in the fridge again. …I’m beginning to get worried. IT’S NOT LIKE HIM. Joseph 432-9050 Enterprise 426-4511 Wallowa 886-9151 The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools. This week’s athlete of the week is Kale Ferguson, who attends Joseph Charter School as a sixth grader. Ferguson, 12, plays on the school’s sixth-grade basketball team. Although only competing in basketball for a year, Ferguson is already making large strides in the game through his dedication to the sport. Ferguson also competes in football, wrestling and baseball. Proudly Sponsored By: Eastern Oregon’s Full Service Propane Supplier 201 E. Hwy 82, Enterprise 541-426-0320 www.edstaub.com Kale Ferguson WE CAN HELP. Call us with questions about aging and Alzheimer’s. 1-855-ORE-ADRC HelpForAlz.org OREGON DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM