INSIDE • Hooking kids on fi shing at Marr Pond | PAGE A8
Enterprise, Oregon
Wallowa.com
Issue No. 8
June 7, 2017
$1
County teachers safe from budget axe
State funding still iffy, but districts have
plans, brief outline of proposed budgets
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
No Wallowa County teachers will
lose their jobs this year due to budget
cuts. Several area schools are adding
both teachers and programs.
It’s budget time for the county’s
three school district, a time when
fi nancial offi cers and administrators
attempt to crunch numbers based on
their own records and expectations
most often without accurate funding
numbers from the state.
Given that situation, the schools
have come up with the following
proposed budgets.
Wallowa School District Super-
intendent Bret Uptmor intends to
run a tight ship and has trimmed the
Wallow budget by $227,000 to keep
within the expected income predict-
ed by the Department of Education,
but he’s fi guring that income low.
He’s basing his budget on the state’s
low prediction of a state budget of
$7.8 billion.
The $227,000 that was trimmed
WALLOWA
JOSEPH
came from places that don’t impact
students, he said, such as zero usage
items –– line items budgeted for in
the previous biennium that were un-
used.
Even with the cuts and a low-
ENTERPRISE
er cost for staffi ng, Wallowa’s to-
tal budget of $1,953,846 calls for
a transfer $225,000 from savings
–– though Uptmor doesn’t expect to
use that. He wants to have it in the
budget for contingencies.
FLORA SCHOOL DAYS SATURDAY
FUN TIMES IN FLORA
Violinist and violin instructor
Rebecca Lenahan provided
music of all descriptions as
part of a trio that performed
Saturday at Flora School Days.
The proposed budget refl ects the
addition of art and business class-
es to the high school curriculum.
The district is adding two business
classes, a leadership class outside
of the usual FFA leadership route,
high school art, an Aikido class and
WWII Movie History class.
In other considerations, money
budgeted to pay 32.6 percent PERS
in 2015-16 proved to be more than
was needed and a balance remained
to put toward the 33.2 percent to be
paid in the next biennium. PERS is
the retirement program for school
employees.
See SCHOOLS Page A18
Suit fi led
in Joseph
wastewater
dispute
Diamond D Ranch
sues city for alleged
breach of contract
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Photos by Paul Wahl/Chieftain
A
ll things old were new again at Flora
School Days Saturday in Flora. The annu-
al event featured a variety of demonstra-
tions out of the past, including blacksmith-
ing, candle-making, butter-churning and cooking
over a wood-fi re stove. The event is sponsored by
Flora School Education Center, nonprofi t with the
mission of renovating the historic Flora School and
providing training for all ages in folk arts and his-
toric agriculture. The organization expects to begin
classes in 2018. Guests Saturday were also treated
to a Dutch oven lunch, homemade beans, peach
cobbler and pies of all sorts, in addition to cowboy
coffee with which to wash it all down.
— Paul Wahl, Editor
See more images from Flora School Day
online at our website, Wallowa.com
LEFT: Dan Hahm kept the crowd entertained and informed as emcee during the Flora School Days Saturday in Flora. RIGHT: A highlight of the annual
Flora School Days is the Dutch oven lunch. Pennie Rials of Troy worked much of Saturday morning heaping hot coals onto the covered pans to ensure
enough heat to cook the goodies inside.
Diamond D. Ranch Inc. of Jo-
seph is suing the city of Joseph for
$30,000 and expenses over an al-
leged breach of contract related to
the city’s wastewater disposal, ac-
cording to a complaint fi led at Wal-
lowa County Circuit Court May 22.
The ranch, located at 65196 Dob-
bin Road north of Joseph, is owned
by Joseph Dawson. His property
receives treated waste water for irri-
gation purposes from the city in ex-
change for a new pivot and irrigation
system paid for and installed by the
city.
The deal is as part of a 20-year
contract the two parties signed in
1996. At that time the plaintiff’s fa-
ther, Jim Dawson, owned the ranch
and the contract included two fi ve-
year options that allowed Joseph to
renew the agreement after the initial
20 years.
The city exercised the fi rst option
on Jan. 14 of 2016 after the 20-year
agreement expired on Dec. 31 of
2015.
The suit alleges that the contract
stipulates that the two fi ve-year leas-
es allow the ranch to charge the city
rent in addition to receiving the wa-
ter and pivot line it received in the
20-year contract. The ranch claims
it entered into talks with the city to
determine a reasonable rental rate for
the property, but made no progress
after a year at the table.
On April 11, the ranch, through
its attorney Riley Makin of Joseph,
forwarded a demand on the city for
reasonable rent. The suit alleges that
the city made no response.
Diamond D. is asking for $15,000
per year from Joseph as reasonable
rent for the years 2016 and 2017 as
See DISPUTE Page A18
Joseph budget sessions off to stormy start
City Council doesn’t see
eye to eye on finances
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Joseph City Council and bud-
get committee ushered in the Fourth of
July early this year as verbal fi reworks
punctuated its fi rst meeting.
Two city council and budget com-
mittee members stormed out of the
May 25 session after an argument
about transferring payroll costs from
the city library to street repair, leaving
the committee without a quorum.
The meeting began on friendly
enough terms as council member Tom
Clevenger was unanimously elected
chairman of the budget committee
with city clerk Donna Warnock, al-
ready the city’s budget offi cer, receiv-
ing the nod as budget committee sec-
retary from the committee’s members.
After reading the budget message,
Warnock announced there would be
$8,883 income to the city through rev-
enue sharing from the state. The com-
mittee voted unanimously to allocate
the funds to street repair. It was the last
unanimous decision.
After city librarian Eric Shoudel
concluded his budget presentation,
council member Tyler Evans asked
Warnock about the librarian’s annual
salary of approximately $15,000 and
the additional $7,000 listed as payroll
costs.
Warnock explained that the costs
were funds set aside for such things
as health insurance, but Shoudel
had opted out of the insurance. It re-
Next Budget Meeting
Tuesday, June 13, is the next
committee meeting, at the
Joseph Community Center.
More inside
Joseph City Council debates
hiring practices, page A18
mained in the budget, she explained,
in case Shoudel left the position and
the city had to make a payout or if his
replacement opted for the insurance.
After Evans asked where the money
went each year, Warnock explained
that the money rolled over into the
general fund, and the city would bud-
get the same amount, $22,500, the
coming budget year,
“If we have rollover from before,
wouldn’t that protect us, and we could
pull down our budget from this year
and spend that money elsewhere?”
Evans wondered.
“Like where?” Clevenger asked.
“Like roads, or wherever our prior-
ities are,” Evans replied.
Council member Teresa Sajonia
said she agreed with Evans, but War-
nock asked where the money would
come from if Shoudel departed. Sajo-
nia said it would come from the previ-
ous year’s rollover.
A discussion ensued between Clev-
enger and Evans about the library pay-
roll and whether the library or streets
should have budget priority.
See BUDGET Page A10