A4
Opinion
wallowa.com
December 6, 2017
Wallowa County Chieftain
Local school
counseling takes
many forms
Being a school counselor requires compassion and patience
as well as good interpersonal, listening and communication
skills. School counseling has shown to have a positive impact
on youth, teachers, administrators and families.
Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness has had a presence
in Wallowa County Schools for nearly 20 years. The center
originally collaborated with the Education Service District to
provide preven-
tative services in
the form of cur-
riculums related
to violence pre-
vention and bul-
lying. Over the
years,
funding
Chantay Jett
and programming
changed, however; counseling and screening services continue
two days a week in each of the three schools.
School counselors provide screenings and brief services
to determine a child’s needs. Counselors may also connect
with families and provide support to teachers so that behav-
ioral plans created with a child can also be implemented in the
classroom as well as at home.
In the event of a crisis, the school counselor may be first to
respond. The center has a mobile crisis team trained in threat
assessment along with a broader team of people in the com-
munity including folks from the Enterprise School District, the
county’s juvenile department and law enforcement. The team
assess a threat with school personnel, school counselor, child,
youth and family to plan services according to the need.
Several programs are offered throughout the school year.
One of our longest running programs is called Natural Help-
ers. This program is a researched- based, peer support program
where trained students provide interact with other students and
make referrals to people who can help.
This program began approximately six years ago and has
trained many students in all three schools ages 13-18 to pro-
vide support. Natural Helpers is a collaboration with the Pre-
vention Coalition and Building Health Families.
Training is provided each summer before school begins for
both new students and trained students. Natural Helpers meets
monthly with a facilitator who shares educational materials
about typical problems youth face as well as mental health top-
ics and substance use topics.
This year we are focusing on enhancing services for sub-
stance abuse in youth.
Among school counseling challenges is hiring staff. Ore-
gon is experiencing a workforce shortage with many gradu-
ate degree positions. Other challenges historically have been
with funding but are somewhat resolved by providing services
at the current level.
If more funding were available, we could potentially be in
the schools more often.
Lastly, a generalized challenge is carving out coun-
selor time for relationship-building with teachers, staff and
administrators.
Mental health prevention begins with our youth popula-
tion to raise personal awareness of mental health issues and
lower the stigma often associates with receiving mental health
services. If you know a youth who is struggling, please call
541-426-4524.
GUEST
COLUMN
Anticipating the birth of a book
The Wallowa County Museum’s his-
tory book, “Wallowa County –– A Contin-
uation,” is available for pre-sale. Though
we’re nearing the end of final editing, and
the publisher will have it back to us by
first quarter of 2018, we thought it would
make a great gift idea.
That is, when you purchase it as a gift,
you will receive a decorative gift notifica-
tion to hand to your loved one.
The stories are fascinating. Many of
those who settled this place served in the
Civil War. Perhaps those veterans found
the isolation and beauty of this landscape a
place of peace, a place to get on with their
lives as best they could.
The family histories reveal spouses
who pulled together like a matched pair,
carving a life and a family out of this hard
land, getting each day’s work done. There
are the children who died and the mar-
riages that didn’t last. In family photos, I
examine the women’s faces –– as honest,
as worn and as beautiful as the canyons of
lower Imnaha.
In reading and formatting these sto-
ries for printing, I see the difficulties that
plowed the hearts of these people left cre-
vasses filled with passion. When they sang
and danced and loved, they shared the joy
of making it another season.
They helped neighbors who had been
burned out or couldn’t plant because of a
WALLOWA
GAL
Katherine Stickroth
farm accident, for on any given day, they
could be next.
“Who owns the land?” is often debated.
To me, the better question is, “Who gets to
manage it?” Anyone who has been through
a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or
a wildfire or tornado, knows the utter pow-
erlessness in the face of earth’s forces.
Scientists and academics strive to
define and explain every minutiae of the
earth’s activities, positing that greater
knowledge grants greater privilege of
ownership. Yet the seasons which bring
moisture, or not, the winds that let trees
stand, or not, the mountains that hold
snow, or not –– the earth is going to allow
what it will tolerate, until it doesn’t.
Lifelong Wallowa Countians who
made a life here learned to cooperate with
what the land provided. As many who
succeeded, there were that many who
departed.
Beneath the materialism of this month,
another story is heralded, told in a book
that has been the No. 1 best-seller since its
initial printing. “Basic Instructions Before
Leaving Earth” leads the reader on a wild
tale describing an unseen power.
He creates teachable moments and
love-filled solutions for people whose
backs are against the wall, who don’t
know which way to turn, who rail at God
then are answered with quiet whispers of
hope.
If a person is looking for a Joseph
Campbell narrative arc, stay away from
this book. If a reader anticipates a John
Wayne kind of character, “Shoot ‘em
all. Ask questions later,” this story won’t
make sense. If logic is sought, forget about
it.
But, if you like mystery and romance
and adventure and murder and betrayal
and redemption and can consider that
love made itself known in the birth of an
unlikely baby, read The Book.
Study the lyrics of Christmas hymns or
visit a Christmas Eve service. Afterward,
go to Wallowa Lake and listen to “O Holy
Night” on your player as you gaze upon
the stars illuminating Chief Joseph Moun-
tain. For those with eyes to see and ears to
hear, it’s a wonderful story with a happy
ending.
Merry Christmas to all.
Katherine Stickroth is a freelance
writer who blogs at awallowagal.com.
Chantay Jett is executive director for Wallowa Valley Cen-
ter for Wellness.
Thanks for the memories, and the milkshakes
etters to the Editor are subject to editing and
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L
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Contents copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.
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Volume 134
AND
FURTHERMORE
Jon Rombach
and hit a deer 90 seconds later. I mean,
c’mon. Doe just bee-lined out of the
bushes.
I hit the brakes, but there was definite
contact. I got out and found she was caught
under the front of the van, with a front leg
tangled in a steering arm. She was not
pleased. Wide-eyed. Nostrils flared.
Ready for a hoof-fight, staring me
down and making lunges in my direction.
I didn’t know what to do. Wasn’t going
to move the van for fear of causing more
harm. Certainly wasn’t crawling under
there to get a hoof in the face.
Farrel got out of her truck behind me
and shouted, “Well, at least you didn’t hit
the baby!” Oh, man. This day had been
going so good until an hour ago.
I crouched down to take another look,
just as the doe freed her leg and scooted
out from underneath on her back, just like
she’d finished an oil change. She was fast.
But not as fast as me sprinting to the driv-
er’s door, jumping in and slamming the
door.
The windows were up, but I could still
hear Farrel’s laughter. It went on for a
while. The deer, I’m happy to report, went
on her way and didn’t appear to be seri-
ously injured.
Back at the boat ramp I was hurrying
to help get loaded, mad at myself, sweaty,
wondering what else could go wrong and
I heard behind me, “Mister Jon?”
I did not need one more single thing to
happen that day. That day had already had
enough things. I turned around, and Val-
erie from up at the restaurant was stand-
ing there, holding out a cup. With a straw.
She said, “We thought you could use a
milkshake.”
It was peach-lemonade and it was
the finest milkshake ever made in all the
world.
Everybody got to their 4th of July
parties on time, and I like to think that
momma deer and her young one enjoyed
the fireworks from the top of a hillside.
Boggan’s really was an oasis. In place
of shady palms and water in the midst of
sand, Boggan’s provided hashbrowns,
cheeseburgers and peach-lemonade milk-
shakes to white-knuckled travelers com-
ing off the Rattlesnake Grade.
A hub for fishing, hunting, boating ––
with a top-notch shuttle service, provided
you remembered to leave a key. A lot of
activity, as river crossings go.
Bill and Farrel have been running the
Oasis for 34 years. Last I heard, they were
waiting to see about rebuilding. Whatever
happens, thanks for all those milkshakes.
Especially the magical peach-lemonade
one.
Jon Rombach is a Wallowa Coun-
ty-based columnist for the Chieftain.
Red-faced Rotarians lose to the Soroptimists
p ublished every w ednesday by :
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Wallowa County
Out-of-County
This Thanksgiving I realized how
thankful I was for a milkshake I had around
five years ago. It was peach-lemonade.
I’d never heard of that flavor combo
before, but this particular milkshake was
without question the finest I’ve had in my
life, so since then I’ve made it a point to
order peach-lemonade milkshakes from
Boggan’s Oasis. Sadly, Boggan’s burned
Nov. 19. Nobody was hurt. Bill and Farrel
are OK, but the restaurant is reported to be
a complete loss.
A handful of Fourth of July’s ago, I
helped take some folks down the Grande
Ronde for a rafting day trip. Fun was had,
and everyone was excited to get back up
top for barbecues and fireworks.
We pulled the boats in at Boggan’s, and
I went to fetch the van and trailer. They
weren’t there. I was tromping up to the
cafe in something of a mood and, as I’m
walking up, Farrel comes out the door just
like a gunslinger and puts her hands on
her hips, saying, “Betcha wonderin’ where
your van is, huh?”
I told her she read my mind. She told
me her shuttle driver had spent a good por-
tion of the morning searching for the key
I was supposed to leave but didn’t. Not
good news.
On the bright side, Boggan’s had
world-famous milkshakes the guests
could enjoy while Farrel drove me upriver
to get the van, with the key I forgot to
leave earlier. That is not exemplary river
guide behavior.
So we get the van, I start driving back
1 Year
$40.00
$57.00
I and my fellow Rotarians are in
mourning this week, having lost the com-
petition with the Soroptimist International
of Wallowa County to see who could raise
the most money for the Community Con-
nection Food Bank in Wallowa County.
This friendly rivalry has been going on
for some years. Rotary really took a beat-
ing this year.
The real winner, of course, was the
food bank, which received in excess of
$4,000 from both clubs including a gener-
ous match from Community Bank.
If you are so inclined, the food bank is
in need of money more than nonperish-
able goods at the moment. Community
Connection can stretch a dollar further
than anyone when it comes to maximizing
monetary donations.
WAHL TO WALL
Paul Wahl
WE TOOK some time Friday evening
to attend the Jingle Through Joseph Block
Party. A group of a dozen or so businesses
along Main Street opened their doors to
all comers, dimmed the lights and served
food and drinks. It was a terrific event.
Kudos to the organizers.
For us, it was our first time visiting
several of the stores, and we came away
impressed. The warm and friendly atmo-
sphere coupled with an amazing selection
of gift ideas made for an enjoyable experi-
ence. Turnout appeared to be strong.
If you missed it, you missed one of the
season highlights in Wallowa County.
A QUICK glance at our calendar on
Page 2 of this edition will let you know
that we are in one of the busiest periods
of the year. There are holiday events and
activities everywhere you turn.
Please take a moment to check the
schedule and see which of the events you
might wish to attend.
Thanks to all of the organizations who
took the time to submit events so we could
provide this unique listing for our readers.
If your group, club, church or organiza-
tion has a holiday event upcoming, please
email the details to editor@wallowa.com.
We’d love to hear from you.