COMING SOON TO FISHTRAP!
Planning under way for another BIG READ | Page A5
Enterprise, Oregon
Wallowa.com
Issue No. 9
June 14, 2017
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OREGON MOUNTAIN CRUISE TAKES OVER DOWNTOWN JOSEPH
WET BUT
SMILING
Courtesy Baker Aircraft; ODFW
1
After radio-collaring a subadult female
of the Chesnimnus pack Feb. 23 in Wal-
lowa County, an ODFW biologist dou-
ble-checks the fit of the GPS radio-collar.
As it works to update its managment plan,
the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission
is wrestling with a host of wolf issues.
Commission
wrestles wolf
management
questions
Oregon wolf discussion
includes livestock
kills, poaching, local
management and more
By Eric Mortenson
Wallowa County Chieftian
2
N
either rain, sleet or chilly temperatures
could dampen the spirits of roughly 200
car owners and thousands of spectators
who took part in the Oregon Mountain Cruise car
show Saturday in downtown Joseph. Umbrellas and
shining rags were the order of the day. In addition
to vintage cars of all colors, sizes and descriptions,
those gathered enjoyed music by The Senders and
a variety of foods. Saturday afternoon the cars hit
the road for Enterprise for a parade through down-
town. The evening drew to a close with a dance in
Joseph as well as an awards banquet.
3
1. Hemi, anyone?
2. This 1961 Cadillac Coupe from Nampa, Idaho, was
one of the highlights of Saturday’s Oregon Mountain
Cruise in Joseph.
3. Dallas Head of Ontario puts the fi nishing touch-
es on the hubcaps of his ‘57 Chevy pickup Saturday
morning at the Oregon Mountain Cruise car show in
downtown Joseph.
4. Mark Snodgrass leads “The Senders” in a cov-
er of a Beach Boys hit at the 2017 Oregon Mountain
Cruise car show in Joseph. The band attempts to play
the tunes of the ‘50s and ‘60s as close to the originals
as possible.
Photos by Paul Wahl/Chieftain
4
See more images from the Oregon Mountain Cruise car show. Inside Page A9 | Online Wallowa.com
A couple of items emerged June 8 when
the citizen commission that sets Oregon’s
wildlife policy sat down once again to gnaw
on the state’s plan for managing wolves.
Among them: There’s a question about
who should investigate when Oregon
wolves devour livestock. A “depredation,”
as it’s called in wildlife management-speak.
The Oregon Department of Fish Wildlife
says it could use some help.
Cattle ranchers would like to see prop-
erly certifi ed local groups involved, to speed
up the process. Depredation investigations
are important because wolves involved in
enough of them can end up dead. “Lethal
control,” is the polite term.
Oregon State Police say no thanks. The
OSP Wildlife Division head, Capt. Jeff
Samuels, said his game offi cers would need
eight hours of training each, about 1,000
hours total. That’s expensive.
“I don’t think it fi ts into our mission,”
Samuels told the commission members.
“Depredations are not a law enforcement
issue.”
He said OSP is happy to help ODFW
biologists, but making the call on whether
wolves were responsible for killing live-
stock is not its responsibility.
While Samuels was handy, ODFW
Commissioner Bruce Buckmaster said the
commission has heard allegations that wolf
poaching has increased.
“There certainly is poaching of wolves,”
Samuels responded. He didn’t provide more
details and the commission didn’t ask for
any. Groups such as Oregon Wild, Cascadia
Wildlands and Center for Biological Diver-
sity maintain wolf poaching is on the rise.
Another issue: Does the burden of
Oregon’s wolf management approach weigh
See WOLVES Page A16
House fi re dislodges
Joseph family of fi ve
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
A June 11 fi re in Joseph
claimed the upper fl oor of a
home and forced its fi ve occu-
pants, including two adults
and three children, to obtain
shelter with the Red Cross.
Joseph Fire Department
received notice of a home fi re
at 109 N. Mill St. 12:49 p.m.
Sunday. Four engines from
Joseph initially responded to
the blaze.
Joseph City Fire Depart-
ment chief Jeff Wecks said
that emergency personnel
determined that all fi ve of the
home’s occupants were out of
the building. He judged that
his department needed assis-
tance fi ghting the fi re, and
Enterprise Fire Department
responded. Oregon State
Police and Wallowa County
Sheriff’s Offi ce responded as
well.
“It’s lucky that the fi re
house is only a few blocks
away,” Wecks said. “We
were able to respond within
minutes and keep the fi re
contained to a second-fl oor
bedroom and hallway.”
Wecks added that much
of the home suffered water
damage. Fire crews stayed on
the scene for four hours.
The names of the home
occupants had not been
released prior to press dead-
line. The cause of the blaze is
under investigation.
Joseph city council considers
running waste transfer sites
June 1 meeting
has less fireworks
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
With the impending July 1
closure of two county waste
transfer facilities, Joseph
City Council wrestled with
the eventual impact on the
community during a meeting
June 1.
The sites are located at
the city’s public parking lot
and just outside of the Joseph
airport.
Brian and Amanda Rahn of
Rahn Sanitary Service offered
to take over the airport site
for the city contingent upon
state approval for the transfer
of the disposal permit, which
requires letters of support
from the city council and
county commissioners.
The Rahns also supplied a
list of tentative pricing for the
services and said it will run the
transfer site one day a week
for a year before reassessing
with an eye toward whether it
was economically feasible.
The council unanimously
approved the Rahn offer
and has already submitted
an approval letter for the
state. Amanda Rhan said that
depending on response time,
it is possible that the city may
not have a break in services at
the airport site.
Brewery brewing
Randy Slinker has made a
formal request for an Oregon
Liquor Control Commission
license for East Fork Brewery,
which will occupy the old
Mutiny Brewing building at
600 N. Main in Joseph.
The new brewery is under
the umbrella of Terminal
Gravity Brewing in Enter-
prise.
Slinker made his request at
the June 1 Joseph City Council
meeting.
During questioning from
the council Slinker said that
See JOSEPH Page A16