ZINE MAKES ITS DEBUT
Lauren MacDonald launches labor of love | Page A9
”
pine
Winter Heart
buffalo, the
Be like the
needle, the
frozencreek:
ulders
rest.
from your sho
Shake death
like antler each quavering rib
dust. Tuck
under the
er of your
steadfast emb
arty
winter heart.
–– Molly McC
Enterprise, Oregon
Wallowa.com
Issue No. 39
January 10, 2018
$1
Group spurs bid to rescind marijuana ban
Voters could decide
issue in May
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
The cities of Joseph and Enter-
prise will have the opportunity to
rethink their stand on allowing the
sale of medical and recreational mar-
ijuana in May.
A coalition of individuals whose
lives have been significantly improved
with the use of medical marijuana
have joined forces with Sean Flana-
gan, co-owner of The Peace Pipe in
Joseph that sells smoking accessories
and art, to put the issue to a vote.
To that end, notifications of the bid
to repeal the existing ordinance that
bans marijuana and replace it with
one that allows marijuana have been
published in this issue of the Chief-
tain. A week from now the group
will present a ballot title at the Wal-
lowa County Courthouse for ultimate
approval by the Secretary of State.
After that, signature-gathering
begins. Fifty percent of the registered
voters in each city must be certified
by March 15.
Supporters of the initiative are
feeling confident about the process.
“We have people knocking on our
doors, wanting to sign,” said Marty
Thompson of Enterprise, a supporter
of the initiative.
Once the initiative is on the ballot,
there must be a voter turnout of 51
percent of residents, with the major-
ity voting to rescind the ban, for the
repeal to take affect.
Enterprise City Council discussed
the issue at its regular Jan. 8 meeting
and called city lawyer Wyatt Baum
on the phone for advice on the matter.
Baum first addressed the con-
no whining
about this year’s winter
cern over federal intervention, given
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’
recent reversal of policy regarding
legalizing marijuana cultivation, sale
and use.
“I’m not necessarily concerned
about that,” Baum said.
He pointed out that there were a
lot of bigger cities for the feds to tar-
get, and despite the saber rattling,
See POT, Page A10
Felony
charges fail
to stick on
Samard
He was convicted of
harassment, assault
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
A litany of witnesses, including DNA
experts and police officers, could not con-
vince a jury to convict Bradley Allen Samard,
37, of Enterprise, on the two most serious
charges against him in Wallowa County Cir-
cuit Court Dec. 14. District Attorney Mona
Williams represented the state while attorney
James Schaeffer represented Samard. Judge
Russell B. West presided.
Samard was charged with robbery in
the first degree, a Class A felony; menac-
ing, a Class A misdemeanor; assault in the
See SAMARD, Page A10
Joni Herb is
a survivor
Her coverage under
expanded Medicaid
probably saved her life
Irrigation equipment that was trapped in feet of snow last year sits in open fields this year.
Wallowa County
spared second
consecutive
record cold, snow
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Without expanded Oregon Health Plan
coverage, Joni Herb, 61, of Joseph would be
facing death or bankruptcy. And the crazy
part is that the cancer she was diagnosed
with last spring has a 90 to 95 percent cure
rate with treatment.
Fortunately, Herb retains expanded cov-
erage under the Oregon Health Plan and in
another few weeks, she hopes to be “looking
at this in the rear view mirror.”
Medical interests fear that if Measure 101
does not pass, other Oregonians may face
the same choice –– life or bankruptcy. Some
may not have assets that make bankruptcy
a choice. Without insurance coverage, they
may die.
Photos by Paul Wahl, Chieftain Editor
arm temperatures have replaced the freezing
W
cold and dumps of heavy snow the area expe-
rienced in 2017. Temperatures on average have been
around 30 degrees warmer the first seven days of
2018 with very little snow on the ground. Rain Tues-
day morning across much of the area turned what
snow remained into slush. The switchup is welcomed
by those who endured last year’s worst winter in
what many say was more than 50 years. Long-range
forecasts call for the moderate weather to continue. A
forecast for the coming week is on Page 2.
While some snow has fallen at higher elevations, most of the valley floor has little to no
snow.
See HERB, Page A18
I see you, Wallowa County
Jenkins gets eSight
glasses thanks to
huge response to plea
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Kathy Jenkins of Joseph is sitting in
her son’s home in Arizona with her new
glasses in hand.
Thanks to the outpouring of support
from mostly Wallowa County folks who
read of her need in the Chieftain, she
raised $7,000 toward the purchase of the
$10,000 glasses in the weeks between
Dec. 6 and Jan. 1. That was enough to
make the deadline that qualified her for
a $3,000 match pledged by a Canadian
benefactor.
“The very last day of the fundraising
challenge, 14 people made donations to
help me meet that goal,” Jenkins said. “I
would like to thank everyone who con-
tributed to my glasses, fund. I was just
overwhelmed by the response.”
The eSight “glasses” look more like
the visor that “Star Trek: The Next Gen-
eration” character Geordi La Forge
wears than traditional glasses. The high-
tech contraption uses a high-speed,
high-definition camera and light-emit-
ting diode screens to capture the view
and then show it in the small area of sight
most legally blind individuals retain.
Jenkins lost her vision to both mac-
ular degeneration and a rare condition
called pseudoxanthoma elasticum. As a
result of the progressive condition, she
had only a tiny window of poor periph-
eral vision in her left eye.
Jenkins is waiting for a tutorial on
how to use Skype followed by a 90-min-
ute class on how to adjust and maintain
the glasses.
Those who would like to continue
helping Jenkins financially with other
medical procedures she receives regu-
larly at the Casey Eye Institute at OHSU
to preserve her remaining sight may
make contributions to an account set up
in her name at Community Bank.
Jenkins friend and a former customer
from her business, Kathy’s Korner
Beau-Tique, Tim Parks of TW Bronze
in Enterprise, donated several bronze
works to raffle to raise money for the
glasses and ongoing treatments. Jenkins
sat at Enterprise Safeway for three days
the second week of December and cus-
tomers purchased approximately $1,000
worth of tickets.
Some simply donated money with-
out taking a ticket, she said. The success
of the ad hoc fundraiser was so immedi-
Courtesy photo
Kathy Jenkins had the opportuni-
ty to try the eSight glasses in Boise
some months back.
ate that the raffle is already closed and
no advertising in advance was possible.
No date has yet been set for the drawing.
“They’ve always been big-hearted in
Wallowa County,” Jenkins said. “This
has touched my heart.”