INSIDE THIS EDITION
2017-18 EXPERIENCE THE WALLOWAS
Enterprise, Oregon
Wallowa.com
Issue No. 20
August 30, 2017
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D RAGONS
Ellen Bishop/Special to the Chieftain
The Dragons in the Wallowas mixed
team turns in another blistering time
at the 2017 Seven Wonders Cup Drag-
on Boat Races on Wallowa Lake Aug.
26-27. Denny Kolb is at the tiller.
TAKE SILVER
Women’s team takes three silver
medals in Seven Wonders Cup
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
T
he Dragons in the Wallowa roared,
and roared, and roared last weekend.
They turned in blazing times both
days of the second annual Seven
Wonders Cup dragon boat races on Wallowa
Lake — and they did it while doing double
duty.
The Wallowa team had decided to fi eld two
boats this year, a mixed team and a women’s
team. With just 26 Wallowa County racers, that
meant that 80 percent of the women were com-
peting on both teams. The roster was bolstered
by two top “orphans” who helped fi ll the boat,
Tessa Fennimore of Salem and Ruth Fox of
Salem, who come in as orphans for the team at
the Portland races in June as well.
The two boats ran a combined total of eight
races the fi rst day and six the second with the
See DRAGONS, Page A8
Interest in addressing Wallowa
County housing issues grows
Working groups
are beginning
to take shape
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
On July 18, some 40 land-
lords, tenants, builders and
interested citizens gathered
at the Jose-
phy Center
for a brown
bag lunch to
NO PLACE
talk about the LIKE
HOME
housing situ- Housing Challenges
in
Wallowa
County
ation in Wal-
lowa County.
Since then the discussions
have continued, through a
series of articles in the Chief-
tain and private conversations
throughout the county.
“I don’t know who rubbed
this thing raw, but it turns out
that housing is a huge issue on
all kinds of fronts in Wallowa
County,” said Josephy Center
brown bag luncheon organizer
Rich Wandschneider.
Wandschneider organized
a second meeting Aug. 22
with Jeanette Hibbert, emer-
gency heating, food and hous-
ing specialist with Community
Connection in Enterprise as
moderator.
Hibbert kicked off the dis-
cussion by explaining the dif-
ference between assisted and
low-income housing and
expanding the public’s under-
standing of voucher programs.
According to Hibbert,
the need for assisted hous-
ing and HUD vouchers is still
keen in the county despite the
existence of hundreds of hous-
See HOUSING, Page A9
By Kathleen Ellyn
The most anticipated agricultural
award of the year, the Wallowa County
Stockgrowers Cattlemen of the Year
Award, went to an entire family this
year. The award was presented Aug.
19, to the Imnaha-based Warnocks:
Debi and Charlie, Cynthia and Dan,
and Shari and Joe.
— Mike Lockhart.
event organizer
BACK TO THE BOOKS
Paul Wahl/Chieftain
Enterprise Elementary School instructor Mishelle Williams begins orientation with her
second graders minutes after the school year began Monday morning. Joseph children
also reported for classes Monday. Wallowa schools were in session last week.
Warnocks honored as
Cattlemen of the Year
Wallowa County Chieftain
Paul Wahl/Chieftain
“Orphan” Ruth Fox takes a selfie
with her adopted team during the
second annual Seven Wonders Cup
Dragon Boat Races on Wallowa Lake
on Aug. 19. In the dragon boat world,
orphans are on hand to help out any
team. Ruth is from Salem.
I want to thank
everybody who
made this thing
grow to what it
is now.”
Stockgrowers Vice President Cyn-
thia Warnock made the fi rst presenta-
tion to her brother- and sister-in-law
Charlie and Debi, not knowing that
she and husband Dan were next up to
accept the triple award.
Cynthia Warnock praised lifetime
cattleman Charlie, who operates and
manages Bragg Investments Ranch on
See HONORED, Page A9
Support for Lostine Corridor
project strong in Wallowa County
This is the latest in an intermit-
tent series of stories on the Los-
tine Corridor Public Safety Project.
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Lostine Corridor Public
Safety Project, a U.S. Forest Service
fi re mitigation plan for the forests
along a stretch of the Lostine River
Road, has supporters and detractors.
A lawsuit on the part of two con-
servation groups hoping to stop the
project is moving forward.
Local groups such as Wallowa Coun-
ty’s Natural Resources Advisory Com-
mittee, of which Wallowa Resources
is a part, stand behind the project both
as a public safety project and as an
See PROJECT, Page A8