Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com September 20, 2017 A5 Residents urge Joseph council to steady the ship By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Citizens of Joseph are beginning to wonder if anyone is steering the municipal ship. During the city council meeting Sept. 7, Gary Bath- scheider suggested that the city hire an administrator because of the recent DEQ fi nes for water treatment infractions. “With all these things hap- pening, it doesn’t seem like we have a functional city right now ... I’d like to see what it would entail to make that happen.” He also suggested raising the city’s water rates to pay for an administrator and fi x other problems. “Somehow, we have to get back on track,” he said. His viewers were echoed by a much subdued Raider Heck, who had been recently sung down from commenting on the performance of Joseph Mayor Dennis Sands by a rousing audience version of “My Coun- try ‘tis of Thee.” Heck suggested that the city take a hard look at what the status quo had brought the city over the past eight or nine years. “It’s a system that worked in the ‘70s and ‘60s but doesn’t work today,” He said. “Judg- ing by the mess that the city is in through many different departments, it should become obvious.” Heck said that one or two grants should pay for any addi- tional costs for the city to hire a business administrator. “The number of people who’ve been offered jobs and haven’t shown up should tell you they’re not going to come to work for this mess,” he said. “They’re not going to answer to this kangaroo council.” He noted that other cities worried about expansion, new homes and where to put people, but that after 18 months, the council still hadn’t completed the work of a zoning ordinance review task force. “There’s a leadership prob- lem,” he said. “There needs to be a single individual in charge of this city that every staff member answers to that answers to the council.” Since the comments were presented during the comments phase at the beginning of the meeting, the council was not obligated to respond. Lower bail allowed for Enterprise man charged with sex crimes By Steve Tool COURT BEAT Wallowa County Chieftain Tye G. Pieper, 27, Enter- prise, appeared in Wallowa County District Court through a video link with the Umatilla County Jail for a preliminary hearing on charges of four counts of using a child in dis- play of sexually explicit con- duct, six counts of encourag- ing child sexual abuse in the second degree and a single count of luring a minor, all felonies. Pieper sat huddled against the wall of the jail with his arms folded tightly around him through most of the pro- ceedings. His attorney, Rick Dall, asked that Pieper’s bail be lowered from the state minimum of $50,000. Dall argued that the bail was too high for his cli- ent’s fi nancial circumstances. He added that the Pieper’s mother was prepared to act as a third party release for her son as her home was in a rural area that had no phone, Inter- net or access to minors. Dall also said his client suffered from mental issues and that being jailed posed a signifi cant burden to his client and argued he was not a dan- ger to the community. Judge Thomas Powers asked if Pieper had a previ- ous criminal history. Deputy DA Rebecca Frolander said she had found previous con- victions of harassment, resist- ing arrest, menacing and that he had also failed to appear for court, although he was not prosecuted for the last offense. Frolander pointed out the seriousness of the alleged crimes, four of which were Measure 11 offenses. She also noted that during a recorded Sept. 9 conversa- tion from the jail, Pieper told his mother that if he’d had two minutes, he could have wiped the computer clean, and when his mother said he would not be allowed near a computer he said: “To hell with them. They can kiss my ass, and don’t worry about it.” When his mother said it would be part of his release agreement, he said he would have someone take him to a social media place where he could use a private server or satellite server and hack into the system.Because of the conversation and the serious- ness of the crimes, Frolander said the state opposed the pro- posed release. Powers said he would not support a conditional release, but would entertain release upon a prescribed amount of bail. Dall replied that Pieper’s mother could not pony up a signifi cant amount of bail. Powers said he thought the defendant a fl ight risk because of the seriousness of the crime, the amount of jail time involved and the con- versation Frolander men- tioned and Pieper’s criminal record. “I am going to stick with the mandatory minimum, $50,000 bail,” Powers said. He added the state would accept $5,000 as bond. He also told Dall that if he supplied additional informa- tion about the family’s fi nan- cial circumstances and the ability to pay, the court would entertain a new motion to reduce the bail. At that point, Pieper, who had attempted to interrupt Powers twice, said that the jail conversation was essen- tially a psychotic episode and he would obey the rules if released. Powers replied it would be taken into consider- ation if another release hear- ing took place. Greenwell pleads guilty Eric Greenwell, 31, Joseph, pleaded guilty to ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING SUPPLIES ELECTRICAL & WATER SYSTEM CONTRACTOR PUMPS • IRRIGATION HARDWARE• APPLIANCE PARTS giving false liability insur- ance to a police offi cer stemming from a July 29 incident. The DA’s offi ce dropped the original Class A misdemeanor down to a Class A violation. According to testimony, the offi cer ran a check on Greenwell, which indicated he hadn’t had lia- bility insurance since 2010. Greenwell denied he’d given the offi cer false information. Greenwell disputed the offi - cer’s statement but did not change his plea. Judge Thomas Powers wasn’t satisfi ed with the minimum $435 that Deputy DA Becky Frolander asked for and increased the fi ne to $750 because of the false information initially given to the police. Rogers case will go to trial Laura Rogers, 33, appeared before Powers on two cases that included charges of felon in posses- sion of a firearm, deliv- ery of methamphetamine, delivery of methamphet- amine within 1,000 feet of a school and possession of methamphetamine –– all felonies –– and four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. Rogers’ attorney Rick Dall told the court his client was ready to accept a plea deal that included a global offer on both cases. Later, while Powers advised her of her rights, Rogers told the judge she hadn’t had a chance to thoroughly review the plea agreement and was unhappy with Dall’s efforts on her behalf. A surprised Powers said he couldn’t take a guilty plea after Rogers’ state- ments. DA Mona Williams said that the offer from her offi ce that would have kept Rogers from serving prison time was revoked. The cases will go to trial. Support sought for library plan Wallowa Valley Library Foundation board members Kirsten Rolha and Kay Sawin addressed the council on the subject of creating a coun- ty-wide library services tax district. The district would also include the Joseph, Wal- lowa and Enterprise city librar- ies while preserving the child and shut-in services previously offered by the county library, which were severely curtailed due to a lack of funding. In order for the proposed library services district to appear on the May 2018 bal- lot, the paperwork and citizen signatures would be required to be in the county clerk’s offi ce by Nov. 6. The foundation asked the council to vote on a resolution that would defi ne the boundaries of a proposed library district. Sawin said that the city would be included in the dis- trict if Joseph adopted the res- olution. Council member Pearl Sturm asked that if the county was cutting off library services to the homebound, why not keep the service district strictly for those expenses? Sawin replied the county library did much more than that with offering after-school children’s activities, pre-school story hours and even deliveries to daycare centers. In response to a question from council member Teresa Sajonia, Sawin said that the city would no longer have to use its tax dollars to fund the library if the district levy passed, although she hoped the city would let the library district use the current building. Council member Rodd Clark said he thought the coun- cil should vote for the inclusion of Joseph in the levy so that its citizens could decide if they wanted a library. Sawin said if the May elec- tion results were in favor of the district, Joseph would be included whether the city as a whole voted for the levy or not. Sajonia moved approval of Joseph’s inclusion in the library district resolution while Sturm seconded. The council approved the motion unanimously. The regularly sched- uled council meeting for next month is Oct. 12. LIBRARY Continued from Page A1 the ballot is a certifi ed reso- lution from each city and the county saying they are willing to allow their citizens to vote on the issue. Metz has been in front of three of the four city councils. The City of Joseph and the county have already indicated that they will sign a resolution and answers from Enterprise, Lostine and Wallowa are pend- ing. Given the Nov. 6 deadline to have all the moving parts (petitions, resolutions, fees, fea- sibility statement and more), those answers must be received soon. If resolutions from those cities are not received, members of those cities will have no vote and will receive no direct benefi t should the district be approved. A district is essentially a new unit of government, Metz explained. There are three questions on the ballot: Should there be a district that encom- passes these boundaries? Will you approve this tax rate? And then, voters elect their board. Under the proposed operat- ing plan (staffi ng, collections, FESTIVAL Continued from Page A1 shops, and we want people to be eating at restaurants and at the Josephy Center.” He added that events such as the En Plein Air competi- tion, last year’s added events such as the Youth Art Showcase and the Ruby Peak Film Fes- tival all contribute to the festi- val’s appeal. Focused advertis- ing and the fact the festival is a juried show also played a role. according to Costello. “By requiring artists to jury in, we’ve stepped up the quality of the art that comes in, and people are begin- ning to see this as a premiere Pacifi c Northwest juried art show,” he said. “We’re now the largest art show in east- ern Oregon, so premiere art- ists are wanting to get their art into the show, and we’re very grateful for that.” Costello said that although Resources are being pinched and there is no guarantee that the situation that impacted the county library won’t affect city libraries. It’s happened to other libraries in Oregon.” — Ruth Metz feasibility consultant salaries and possibly utilities), should Lostine fi nd space in a building for a library, the dis- trict would provide the librarian for the open hours. Another benefi t to cities is that money they are currently channeling to library operations can be used on other projects on their “to do” list, Metz said. Metz’s interviews and research have led her to believe that the libraries county-wide were at a crossroads. “I think you’re at the tipping point,” Metz said. “Resources are being pinched and there is no guarantee that the situa- tion that impacted the county library won’t affect city librar- ies. It’s happened to other libraries in Oregon.” Nine other Oregon counties have created special districts to save their libraries, she said. “You have the opportu- nity to be the Phoenix rising,” Metz said. “Public libraries are anchors for our communi- ties. We all know we have a lot of challenges in our lives and libraries help people come to terms with this. They are more important than ever.” Public meetings will be arranged to address all ques- tions after the ballot measure is written. the show mainly features art- ists from the Pacifi c North- west, artists from as far away as Kansas and the Great Lakes area also participated. He added that the pieces are juried by fi ve to seven art- ists who do not participate in the show, thereby insuring impartiality. Costello said that the num- ber of pieces sold at this year’s festival indicate it’s one of the show’s better years for art sales. Thanks to gener- ous sponsors, this year’s art- ists also won $5,400 in prize money. The director said the 2018 festival may have a new wrin- kle or two, but he likes what the festival currently offers. “We’re going to keep doing what we have been doing. I think we have a formula that works,” Costello said. New Fall Arrivals!! Sweaters Dresses Denim Leggings Boots Jackets Stop by today! Open Daily 10am - 5pm Time for a Computer Tuneup? 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