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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2017)
Get ready for the Fair 44-page special section | INSIDE Enterprise, Oregon Wallowa.com Issue No. 10 June 21, 2017 • MT. HIGH BRONCS AND BULLS • ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS $1 THE STINK IS OFF Communities solve solid waste disposal issue By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Photos by Ellen Bishop for the Chieftain A horse makes a break for it in the Wild Horse Race at the 2017 Mountain High Broncs and Bulls event. By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain I t was a year for the record book at the 2017 Mountain High Broncs and Bulls event in Enterprise June 10. It started off big in a small way with a record 33 entries in the muttonbust- ing event. Despite their desire to “live life large,” as announcer Lee Daggett put it, not one child made the buzzer. Kreb’s big Suffolk rams were sheared this year so the grip wasn’t as good and some of the big rams could really bounce. Bull rider Cody Ford of Hermiston also made the record book with the fi rst back-to- back Mountain High Bull Riding Champion- ship, winning the buckle this year with a sin- gle ride high-rise score of 86. John Pitts of Panama City, Fla., took second with 75 points and River Stephenson of Black- foot, Idaho, tied for third with Jory Markiss of Redmond, Wash., with a score of 69. Winner Cody Ford cowboyed up to give the crowd an encore, strapping down on top the bull “Popo” for a fi nal ride even after he’d been declared winner based on his pre- vious rides. He didn’t ride Popo, but the crowd approved his generosity. Western States Ranch Rodeo Association Ranch Bronc Champion of 2015 and 2016 Justin Quint, from Valentine, Neb., rode two real good horses for a total of 156 to take the win in the broncs. Last year’s to competitors Miles Binger and Barry O’Leary tied for sec- ond this year with 149 each. Rahn Sanitary of Enterprise is coming out smelling like a rose as the cities of Wallowa County deal with the stink of budget cuts that ended county solid waste transfer stations. Wallowa County Commissioners announced in late May that they would be forced to close all fi ve transfer locations by the end of June. The Ant Flat Land- fi ll and Fish Hatchery Lane recycle station in Enterprise will remain in service. Brian and Amanda Rahn, own- ers of Rahn Sanitary in Enter- prise, contacted Joseph, Lostine and Wallowa and offered options. Under consider- ation was creating a city garbage service and taking bids from a La Grande sani- tary service, but in the end handing off the responsibility to a trusted local company for a reasonable price won the day. Rahn Sanitary will now have a contract for service with every city in the valley. “All of the transfer sites will be oper- ated basically the same,” said Brian Rahn. “It’s been great working with the communi- ties. What we want is to be able to provide more options for the county to get rid of their waste.” See TRASH Page A7 Wallowa Hometown Project moving toward completion Eagle Cap Excursion Train back in Wallowa’s future By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Above: Cody Ford of Hermiston rode this black bull for a score of 86 points tand the Champi- onship buckle. Ford won last year as well for the Mountain High Broncs and Bulls’ first ever back to back win. Left: Justin Quint of Valen- tine, Neb. puts in a good ride on his second horse to go for the Ranch Bronc win at the 2017 Mountain High Broncs and Bulls event. The Wallowa City revitalization project begun in late 2016 continues to push toward its goals. Both the Friends of the Joseph Branch and Wallowa Union Railroad Authority have been working to bring the Eagle Cap Excur- sion Train to Wallowa by July 22, a process that might prove easier than originally antic- ipated, according to Wallowa Hometown Project spokesman Garrett Lowe. Lowe is a Wallowa businessman, a city council member and a member of the rail- road authority board, in addition to serving as the spearhead for the Wallowa Hometown Project. More photos at Wallowa.com See RODEO Page A16 See TRAINS Page A7 Meeting transit needs for Wallowa’s veterans Program logs half-million miles annually Oregon’s Highly Rural Transporta- tion Program, a federal, state and local partnership that is helping meet the urgent transportation needs of veterans who live in extremely rural areas, has logged more than a half-million miles in its fi rst two years of operation. That’s farther than the distance to the moon and back. Veterans have been transported all over the Pacifi c Northwest to see doc- tors and receive medical care. Federally funded and administered by the state and its partner agencies in the 10 par- ticipating counties, including Wallowa, the program is tailored to the needs of rural veterans who often do not have adequate access to medical care in their communities. Connie Guentert, Wallowa County manager for Community Connection of Northeast Oregon Inc., knows the chal- lenges better than most. Community Connection is the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs partner agency for the Highly Rural Transportation Pro- gram in both Wallowa and Baker coun- ties. Guentert and her dedicated staff grapple with the diffi culty of serving highly rural veterans and other clients every day. “We’re very remote out here,” she said. “We have very large land expanses, minimal medical facilities, and the only public transportation in the county is us,” she said. “Our drivers face long winters, adverse weather and road conditions, rock slides, deer, elk, even bears on the road.” The trips are rarely short. Because of the scarcity of services, Wallowa County veterans must travel to appoint- ments in La Grande, Walla Walla, Boise and even as far as Portland or Tacoma — a round trip of more than 700 miles. Funding comes in the form of annual grants from the U.S. Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs. A maximum of $50,000 may be awarded to any counties classifi ed as “highly rural,” which means fewer than seven resi- dents per square mile. Oregon has 9 such counties in addi- tion to Wallowa –– Baker, Gilliam, See VETERANS Page A7 “WE’RE VERY REMOTE OUT HERE. WE HAVE VERY LARGE LAND EXPANSES, MINIMAL MEDICAL FACILITIES, AND THE ONLY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN THE COUNTY IS US.” CONNIE GUENTERT | Wallowa County manager for Community Connection of Northeast Oregon Inc.
