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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2017)
Wallowa County Chieftain wallowa.com Business News New shingle, joyful returns and congratulations June 7, 2017 A7 YOU ‘CAN’ DO IT BIZ BUZZ Kathleen Ellyn T here’s a new addition to our tourist busi- nesses that is sure to please. Bigfoot Balloons has opened and is ready to lift off immediately. The balloon season will extend until around mid-September Owners Jake Thomas and Shannon Tuck moved here from Chattanooga, Tenn., lured by the oppor- tunity to fl y their balloons out of a mountain town where they can also enjoy paragliding. “Those two things kind of sucked us in,” said Thomas. They’re avid outdoors people who enjoy hiking, riding dirt bikes, fl ying in wingsuits or paragliding and more. They launch their bal- loon from the Joseph base- ball fi eld on N. Lake Street at sunrise and the three-hour trip includes an hour of gliding at 2,000 feet wher- ever the wind blows (mostly out over the Zumwalt Prai- rie). The excursion includes the fl ight, setup, packing up and champagne toast. You can go up in a shared fl ight or your group can book an exclusive fl ight. They are offering dis- counts to local folks. Call Bigfoot Balloons at (423) 443-7994 or visit them at bigfootballons.com. • Folks at the head of the lake are welcoming a new facilities manager for the Wallowa Lake Tram. Perry Batten, a former Wal- lowa County resident and graduate of Enterprise High School, has “come home” to act as lift maintenance and operations manager. “I was trying to get home,” Batten said. “It was time after 20 plus years of living in California. In all the places I’ve been in the last 20 years, there’s no place that compares to here. The people, the mountains –– it’s always been home.” Batten originally left Wallowa County to make a career and chase good skiing conditions. He moved to Kirkwood, Calif., to manage a big ski area with 16 lifts and act as lift maintenance and operations manager. The move back to Wallowa is a vertical move because the tram opera- tion offers so many more responsibilities, he said. He’ll be working on some upgrades to equipment, a complete cosmetic overhaul of the gondolas, managing the facilities of the restau- rant and cabins and more. “I’m really enjoying it,” Batten said. “It seems like it’s been a seamless transition.” Batten is the son of Doug and Carol Batten of Enterprise. He is married to Adrianne and has two chil- dren, Keith, 15, who attends Joseph Charter School and Henry, who is almost a year old. Batten will continue to get his skiing in doing “a lot of backcountry skiing” and using his time off to travel to experience the snow sports in other areas. • Congrats to Kim Tip- pett of Community Bank, who retired last month after 18 years with Community Bank. She began as a teller in 1999, working in both Enterprise and Joseph branches. In 2010 she took on a new role as the loan fi le coordinator and was promoted to staff accoun- tant in 2012. “Kim is always super upbeat and positive,” said Leah Johnson, marketing manager of Joseph Com- munity Bank. “She always had a smile on her face and was just a pleasure to work with. No matter what the task in any position, she was always fi nding ways to improve effi ciency.” Kim’s retirement plans include adding more lakes to her Wallowa Mountain hiking to-do list and catch- ing up on reading, painting and visits with family. Are You Turning 65? Need Help Navigating and Understanding Your Medicare Options... Locally owned & operated 616 W. North Street, Enterprise 541-426-4208 Call Kathleen TODAY to discuss your options Contributed photo Terminal Gravity Brewing of Enterprise is offering its Eagle Cap IPA in new 12-oz. cans. They’re on shelves now at a variety of retailers. Packed with Citra hops and a 6.1 percent alcohol by volume, the beer features notes of citrus, tropical orange and grapefruit. Groups sue over Lostine Corridor project Complaint filed in federal court By George Plaven East Oregonian A controversial logging project in the Lostine Corri- dor –– one of the most popular and well-trodden entry points into the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Wallowa County –– will be challenged in court. Two nonprofi t conserva- tion groups are taking the U.S. Forest Service to court over the plan. The complaint, fi led May 31 by Oregon Wild and the Hells Canyon Preservation Council, accuses the Forest Service of violating the Na- tional Environmental Policy Act by improperly authoriz- ing the project as a “categor- ical exclusion,” allowing the agency to sidestep a formal environmental impact study. Kris Stein, district ranger for the Eagle Cap Ranger Dis- trict on the Wallowa-Whit- man National Forest, signed off on the project April 5. Restoration activities include treating roughly 2,110 acres of forest and removing hazard trees to make the area safer and more resilient to wildfi re. The Lostine Corridor is lo- cated along an 11-mile stretch of road that follows the Wild and Scenic Lostine River un- til it dead ends at Two Pan Trailhead, encompassing some private land along with seven campgrounds and three trailheads for visitors to ac- cess the surrounding wilder- ness. For decades, the corridor was managed lightly to avoid disturbing natural resourc- es including habitat for fi sh, wildlife and sensitive plant species. Now Stein says there is so much dense and over- grown vegetation that it poses a safety risk for the nearby community. “A lot of people were re- ally concerned about the con- dition out there,” Stein said. “We needed to do something about this.” But Rob Klavins, northeast Oregon fi eld coordinator for Oregon Wild, said the project goes well beyond mere pub- lic safety. According to the lawsuit, the Lostine Corridor project would harvest an esti- mated 4 million board feet of wood, with just 7 percent of tree removal designed to pro- tect people. “The vast majority of the project is not about that,” Klavins said. “It’s an industri- al timber sale.” Klavins said the project was shielded from NEPA review thanks to what he described as a loophole in the 2014 Farm Bill. That year, Congress amended the Healthy Forests Restoration Act to help expedite small logging projects “in an area in which the risk of hazard trees poses an imminent risk to public infrastructure, health or safety.” The amended was based largely as a response to the outbreak of pine bark bee- tles across the West. 2017 Season • First Half (May - July) Summer Events & Presentations Get your FREE Eclipse Glasses! Fri, May 26 Fri, June 9 Free! Wallowology Opens for the season! Fridays Saturdays Free! Discovery Walk leaving from Wallowology. 10am-Noon Sundays Free! Discovery Walk leaving from Wallowa Lake Lodge. 9-11am Tuesdays Free! Twigs & Tales Story Hour at Wallowology. Noon to 1pm Free! Wallowology Season Opening Party Mark your Calendars Eclipse Presentation 10am - All Day! Fri, June 9 Free! Presentation: Photographing Raptors: August 17th • 7pm Patience Rick McEwan, at Wallowology The Art of Developing Patience, Nature Photographer. At Wallowology! 7pm Sites Rick McEwan, 8:30 am Sat, June 10 Free! Field Trip: Raptor Nesting Sites, Meet at Wallowology. Pre-register at (541-263-1663). Workshop Connecting with Nature, Sat, June 17 Photography Workshop: Rick McEwan, Nature Photographer. 1:30pm - Midnight Pre-register at Wallowology (541-263-1663). $150 Fri, June 30 Free! Watershed Festival, Festival Wallowa County Fairgrounds. 11am - 4pm Fri, July 7 Free! Presentation: Wallowa Lake Moraines Geology Study Study, UofO Earth Sciences Dept. At Wallowa Lake Lodge. 7pm Saturday Science! Most Saturdays 10am - Noon Hands-on science & art for ages 9 -12. $5 per class. In Partnership with Wallowa County Library. Wednesdays Free! Discovery Walk leaving from Wallowa Lake Lodge. 4-6pm Natural History Discovery Center 508 N. Main • Joseph • 541-263-1663 • wallowology.org Open • Tues - Sun • 10am - 3pm
