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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2018)
INSIDE » Boys, girls basketball action Check out our feature story and prep schedules | See Page A10 Enterprise, Oregon Issue No. 40 Plans for marijuana initiative revised Wallowa.com January 17, 2018 ST. PIUS X CHURCH Plan could be on ballot during statewide general elections in Nov. 2018 Going for the glass By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Marijuana proponents in Wallowa County learned last week they have longer to collect fewer signatures to put their “repeal the ban” initiative on the ballot. Emails were still being exchanged between the county clerk’s office and the Secretary of State’s office late last week about how to handle the bid to repeal the ban on marijuana dispensaries in Joseph and Enterprise, but several things have been clarified. • If sufficient signatures are gathered, the initiative will be on the ballot during state- wide general elections in November 2018, not the special election ballot in May 2018. • Only 10 percent of each city’s registered voters must sign the petition to put the initia- tive on the ballot, not 15 percent. • Signatures gathered by proponents do not have to be presented to the county until August 2018. Church nearing homestretch on window refurbishing Story and photos By Paul Wahl Chieftain Editor J une Jones has a passion for stained glass windows. At least the ones that grace St. Pius X Catholic Church in Wallowa. Jones has been leading the charge to have 100-year-old art pieces restored. Funds have been an issue, but now thanks to a national nonprofit that provides matching grants for such endeavors, work could begin this summer. “We discovered that restoring stained glass is not cheap,” said Jones, who has lived with her hus- band, Bob, in Wallowa since 1999. See WEED, Page A8 Enterprise finds temporary home for fire department Begins planning process for upgraded city hall By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Enterprise City Council has announced plans for a new city hall and fire house are moving forward with smiles on the faces of city officials. The old structure burned in June. Discus- sions with the city’s insurance carrier have been ongoing since. Representatives from the city described their recent conference with insurance adjusters as so positive that they were “dumbfounded,” said City Administrator Michele Young. “It was just the best meeting ever,” she said. Upgrades for the city hall may be in the works as a result of good planning and frugality. Savings began almost immediately when city staff located a usable local office build- $1 Above: The first three windows that have been completed demonstrate the vitality of the original designs. Paul Wahl/Chieftain June Jones, who was baptised into the Catho- lic Church at age 35, has spearheaded the drive to replace the St. Pius X tained glass windows. The tiny congregation’s building at the end of South Pine St. has a total of 13 stained glass win- dows; three of them on the second story have already been treated at a cost of $7,000. The $21,000 price tag to finish the remaining win- dows appeared insurmountable until a high-ranking official in the Catholic church stepped in. The Rev. Father Liam Cary, who has been a bishop of the Baker Diocese since 2012, has vis- ited several times. “You don’t appreciate from afar how strik- ingly beautiful the windows are,” Cary said. “And the congregation has the desire to preserve and enhance them, which is the right thing to do.” Right: Ten more windows with various levels of cracks and damage remain to be restored. See GLASS, Page A16 See FIRE, Page A16 Snow sufficient for Eagle Cap Extreme Mild winter temps could be tough on dogs By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Courtesy photo The trail groomer owned by the Wallowa County Gamblers snowmobile club works on an Eagle Cap Wilderness trail Mon- day in preparation for the Eagle Cap Extreme Dog Sled Race. It’s the weather, so it’s subject to change. But there’s good news and possible dramatic changes in store for the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Races. According to Mountainforecast.com, eleva- tions in the Eagle Cap higher than 6,000 feet will see heavy snow and possibly severe gales by Saturday night. Racers plan to be finished by Saturday morning and so should miss both those dangers. But how much snow will fall on the trails prior to that and how soon the winds start could impact the 200-mile run. Conditions were good earlier this week. The Wallowa County Gamblers Snowmobile Club grooms the trails for the race each year. Mem- bers reported plenty of packed snow start to fin- ish on Monday. Trail Boss Lee Trapp also reported around three inches of packed snow in the lower eleva- tions from Ferguson Ski Ridge to Ollokot. Dogs like packed snow. In mixed news: dogs like it cold; anything over 20 degrees is considered “hot.” And the temperatures for the race are predicted to be 30 degrees or more on Thursday morning when the races begin. The temperature will get better for the 200-mile racers with the mercury expected to fall to 19 degrees at higher elevations by Fri- day and Saturday. The distance runners will be on trail Thurs- day and Friday night, so ideal temperatures for the dogs. 100-milers expect to come in to the finish on Friday morning. 200-milers expect to finish Saturday morning. See SNOW, Page A8