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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2017)
• S eaSon ’ S G reetinGS • Letters to Santa See Page C1 Enterprise, Oregon Wallowa.com Issue No. 36 December 20, 2017 $1 BUSINESS BOOM New investors are buying up Enterprise’s Main Street By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain he fuse that was lighted five years ago has reached the payload. Business invest- ment is booming on Enterprise Main Street. Michael and Jody Berry brought the match that caused the explo- sion. They began the investment T trend with the purchase of three storefronts on West Main in 2012. They developed “Wild Carrot Herbals” at 114 W. Main, experi- mented with the popular “Dande- lion Wine” shop next door 2015- 17, and are remodeling the 110 W. Main storefront that was “Jay’s Place” computer and music supply store. Jay moved around the corner to 103 SW First Street last summer. The Brann boost Further west down the block Darrell Brann fanned the flame when he purchased both the OK Theatre and the former Weaver Building (214 and 216 W Main) in 2014. The Weaver Building had multiple retail spaces. The renovation and dramatic See BOOM, Page A9 Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain The enormous Bowlby Stone Litch Building is the latest undergoing renovation to create 7 to 13 retail spaces on the main floor and ap- proximately a dozen apartments upstairs. All but one of the current businesses displaced in the upgrade have already found new digs. LET IT GLOW Man’s billion dollar claim on county, state denied Photos by Paul Wahl Bob and Cheryl Zacharias in Joseph have one of the largest and brightest light displays in Wallowa County. Complainant includes birth certificate, parents marriage license By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain One man’s hope of becoming a billionaire at the expense of Wallowa County and the state of Oregon tax- payers was quashed at a dismissal hearing at Wallowa County Circuit Court on Nov. 29. Ricky Tippett filed a rambling and somewhat incoherent tort against the state for $973 million and Wallowa County for $250 million for perpe- trating a number of alleged crimes against him, including intentionally causing him emotional distress, con- spiracy, fraud, constructive fraud, identity theft, arrest and “conversion.” Judge Thomas Powers presided over the case while attorney Bruno J. Jagelski of Ontario represented the county and filed the motion for dis- missal. Seth Karpinski, senior assis- tant attorney general, appeared for the state in the matter and joined the county in its motion. Tippett rep- resented himself. All the parties, with the exception of Judge Powers, appeared by phone. According to the complaint filed Aug. 24, the charges resulted from the county having the audacity to issue his parents a marriage license and to list him as a citizen of both the state and county on his birth certificate. Tippett contended he was only a child of God and a resident of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the state and county had caused him harm by their description of his parentage and citizenship status. Jagelski, speaking first, told the judge that the motion to dismiss was based on what he called “an unintelli- gible complaint that is packed full of conclusions of law with no ultimate See BILLION, Page A9 Move afoot to relocate footbridge Wheeler Memorial would span BC Creek By Paul Wahl Wallowa County Chieftain The Wheeler Memorial Footbridge became a bridge to nowhere when a flash flood moved the Wallowa River out from under it in 2002. A plan has been hatched to move the bridge in its entirety to where it will once again serve the purpose for which it was built. Rick Bombaci, working with the Wallowa Mountain Hells Canyon Trails Association, outlined the proposal before the Rotary Club of Wallowa County on Dec. 13. Wallowa, along with clubs in Baker and LaGrande, built the original bridge in 1996. The structure was dedicated to the memory of David Jack Wheeler, a U.S. Forest Service employee who was killed in the line of duty in Idaho in 1995. Bombaci, who participated in the original building of what is often known as the Boy Scout Bridge, said the pro- posal has several facets. The new location would span BC Creek, which can reach levels where crossing on foot is dangerous. It would also create a loop in the trail system at Wallowa Lake State Park, a plus for hikers. And it would restore a memorial to an individual who touched countless lives through his job and in his personal life. Ralph Swinehart, who designed the original bridge, said he and Bombaci have examined the structure along with See BRIDGE, Page A9 Submitted photo/Ralph Swinehart The Wheeler Memorial Footbridge on the Boy Scout property near Wal- lowa Lake was constructed under the auspices of several Rotary Clubs in 1996.