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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2017)
‘Race to End Abuse’ raises thousands Enterprise, Oregon Page 16 Wallowa.com Issue No. 21 September 6, 2017 $1 Scientist: Wolves ‘habituated’ to eating cattle never change diet By Eric Mortenson Special to Wallowa County Chieftain Some wolves may have become “habituated” to eating cattle. Northeast Oregon cattle ranchers have called for two entire packs to be killed, say- ing the state’s “incremental” approach won’t deter vora- cious wolves. Tracks indicated a 500 -pound calf churned 150 feet up a slope, leaving blood splattered on four logs, before going down in a pile of Mea- cham Pack wolves. There wasn’t much left when a ranch hand found the carcass Aug. 19, perhaps two or three days after the attack. Most of the calf had been devoured, except the vertebrae with ribs, pelvis and tail still attached. The calf’s lower jaw and contents of its rumen were nearby. It was the pack’s fourth confi rmed attack within a week, all on livestock graz- ing on a 4,000-acre private forested pasture in the Sheep The Brad Parsons Band throw- ing out some heat to compete with the sun at Saturday’s Juni- per Jam at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds. Steve Tool/Chieftain Hot music, hot temps Juniper Jam concert held at Wallowa County Fairgrounds See WOLVES, Page A9 By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain B Steve Tool/Chieftain Greg Rawlins of Caskills gets down on his Fender Jaguar at the Sept. 2 Juniper Jam. Sev- eral hundred people attended the event. listering hot music met a blister- ing hot sun in Enterprise for Juni- per Jam 2017 on Sept. 2. The jam, which features groups and per- formers from a number of genres, is a major fundraiser for the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance. Billed as “The sweetest little music festival in eastern Oregon,” the event features all-orig- inal music. This year saw eight performers and groups lighting up the two stages of the festival. The second annual T.R. Richie Memo- rial songwriting contest welcomed 10 sing- er-songwriters, including one from Massa- chusetts opening the show, competing for two $200 prizes and a performance spot on the main stage. The festival’s fi rst songwrit- ing workshop, led by singer-song-writer Beth Wood, also took place at Fishtrap House. Brad Parsons of the Brad Parson’s Band spent his set wowing the crowd with what he called a mix of Creedence Clearwater Revival along with a healthy portion of psychedelia. Playing a huge hollowbody Harmony ax, Par- sons let loose a barrage of rocket-fueled guitar riffs with nary a sign of uncontrolled feedback. Hailing from Portland, Parsons has played the valley a number of times, but it was his fi rst jam appearance. Chieftain File Photo A wolf researcher says that an incremental approach to culling wolves from Or- egon’s Harl Butte Pack will likely fail if the wolves have become habituated to eat- ing cattle. See MUSIC, Page A8 Partners make the difference in tackling housing issues mittee, which commissions good research and identifi es a goal and then moves on to partnerships. A housing symposium held at Pendleton is preparing for an the Pendleton Convention Center infl ux of hundreds of workers Aug. 30 was a lesson in contrasts drawn by a dozen new compa- for Wallowa County, nies, some high tech who highlighting the obstacles are either already build- faced in a county with a ing in Pendleton or are population of nearly 7,000 making serious inquiries compared to issues faced NO PLACE about moving there. LIKE HOME by signifi cantly larger Housing Wallowa County, in Challenges in Wallowa County communities. contrast, is unprepared While the situations in for an infl ux of dozens the two communities are radically of workers drawn to the county different, the path to addressing by a few companies. The county the housing issues is similar. See HOUSING, Page A8 It begins with an action com- Small city takes on housing shortage ... and succeeds By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Addressing housing issues in a small county like Wallowa can seem daunting. However, there is at least one success story in a community much smaller than Wallowa County and even smaller than the City of Wallowa. In 2010 an action group called the Pine Valley Eco- nomic Development Group decided to address the housing situation for aging citizens on fi xed incomes the city of Richland in Baker County (population 156). Thinkstock.com See ISSUES, Page A8 Safety, preservation guide courthouse renovation By Steve Tool Wallowa County Cheiftain The Wallowa County Courthouse stands tall among Enterprise buildings, even if others attain greater height. The courthouse, completed in 1909, is a symbol of the beginning of progress coming to the county, the structure that marks Enter- prise as a town. Like everything else, the courthouse is not immune to age and that means renova- tion. The courthouse, which still houses the circuit court, received a $1.25 million fi re, life and safety grant from the state’s legal arm. The grant covers safety and electrical upgrades as well as the price of a new ADA elevator as the A replacement set of the French windows. Photos by Steve Tool/Chieftain The Wallowa County Courthouse, built in 1909, stands proud at its 101 S. River St. location in Enterprise. The courthouse is undergoing safety upgrades, including the installation of an ADA compatible elevator and restrooms while retaining as much of the building’s historical essence as possible. court itself is on the building’s second fl oor, currently only accessible by stairs. When the county fi rst received the grant, it was faced with a dilemma: The county’s insurers said it would cease insuring the building if much- needed repairs were not done. The grant didn’t cover roof repair, and it wasn’t enough to repair the roof and do the inside repairs mandated by the state’s court system. A $700,000 loan procurement helped speed the roof project along so the county could start work on the inside renovations. The project began in June with Ausland Group, the con- struction company that spear- headed the roof replacement, back in the saddle. According to county commissioner Susan Roberts and the group’s con- struction manager for the proj- ect, Tim McDonald, progress is steady. The courthouse has a new look with many key members of the county’s departments residing in different places. Only the court clerk’s offi ce and the district attorney’s offi ce remain intact. The commissioners reside on the fi rst fl oor with Todd Nash in the back space of the county clerk’s offi ce, whose See COURTHOUSE, Page A9