Wallowa County Chieftain
From Page A1/News
wallowa.com
CYCLES
A13
County says
yes to four new
B&B permits
Continued from Page A1
J.R. Collier, Park Managet
at Wallowa Lake State Park.
“I worked with our planners
last summer to get a design
finalized.”
The grant paid to clean
the former amphitheater site,
which entailed removing
an extensive amount of old
asphalt and concrete.
“In addition, we’ve pur-
chased the materials to con-
struct two covered camp areas
that will go in that location,”
Collier said. “We’ll work this
season on getting those units
up, getting power to the site
and then doing some resto-
ration back to native soil and
plants.”
Other grants went for
playground
improvements
in Joseph, assessment for the
Joseph Branch Trail and an
apprenticeship program for
high school students spon-
sored by Wallowa Resources.
Money to produce bicy-
cle maps highlighting the best
roads, gravel and mountain
bike trails in the county was
also made available.
Cycle Oregon also contrib-
uted $50,000 in 2008 to pro-
tect Wallowa Lake’s glacial
moraines from development
pressure.
Little information as to how
local organizations can partic-
ipate in this year’s stopover is
available, according to Vicki
Searles, Executive Director of
the Wallowa County Chamber
of Commerce.
“It will be an exciting time
February 7, 2018
Three of the
applicants will
not use signage
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Cycle Oregon’s 2018 Classic Sept. 8-15
DAY 1: Baker City to Halfway
DAY 2: Halfway to Wallowa Lake
DAY 3: Wallowa Lake to Elgin
DAY 4: Elgin to Pendleton
Day 5: Pendleton Layover
DAY 6: Pendleton to La Grande
DAY 7: La Grande to Baker City
for all of us,” Searles said.
The chamber will be han-
dling inquiries and pro-
vide details as information
becomes available. Informa-
tion is also available through
The 383-mile ride begins in Baker City
Sept. 8 with the first stop in Halway.
The next night, the riders will camp at
Wallowa Lake, leaving out the following
morning for Elgin.
The event also rolls through Pendleton
for two nights, coinciding with the
Pendleton Roundup.
Cycle Oregon, which is
expected to spend approx-
imately $150,000 to hire
groups and organizations
to undertake tasks such as
unloading luggage and feed-
ing cyclists.
Traditionally,
proceeds
have gone directly to those
organizations.
Cycle Oregon charges each
rider $999 to participate.
Wallowa County is get-
ting four new bed and break-
fast choices in the com-
ing months. The Wallowa
County Planning Commis-
sion voted unanimously Jan.
30 to approve requests pre-
sented by Mackenzie P.R.
Roorda of Joseph, Frances
Leigh Dawson of Joseph,
Nils and Anette Christof-
fersen of Enterprise and
Nicole Bellows and Lau-
rence Davis of Lostine.
Facts and findings were
approved for Roorda and
Dawson. Individuals who
express opposition to a con-
ditional use permit have
12 calendar days to appeal,
but no one at the session
expressed opposition.
Christoffersen and Bel-
lows requests will be final-
ized at the next meeting,
Feb. 27, and followed by a
12-day window for appeals.
However, no opposition was
recorded for their requests,
either.
In fact, Nicole Bellows’
neighbor Dennis Henderson
put his approval succinctly:
“I am in favor of Nicole Bel-
lows conditional use permit.
We need this added kind of
income in the county,” he
wrote.
All four proposals were
found to have minimum
impact in their neighbor-
hoods, excluded smoking
and outdoor fires and limited
the number of occupants.
Three of the four appli-
cants eschewed signage,
although they have a right to
modest shingles, and most
also said they would not
allow pets.
The
Christoffersens,
who reside on Black Marble
Lane, will also continue to
apply dust abatement to the
lane, as is their practice.
All of the operations must
provide food, but the break-
fast can be as minimal as
muffins and coffee. None
of the applicants said they
planned on providing full
breakfasts.
In addition to obtain-
ing conditional use permits,
all four operations will be
required to collect and remit
the county’s bed tax.
Brown focuses on inclusive economy in state-of-the-state
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate
Brown dedicated her state-of-
the-state speech Monday to
addressing the issue of Ore-
gonians who have been left
behind by the state’s eco-
nomic prosperity and steady
job growth.
“Oregon’s rising economic
tide should be lifting all boats.
Yet many hardworking fam-
ilies are still under water,”
Brown said.
While some Oregonians
are working two jobs to get by,
state economists are projecting
27,000 high-wage job open-
ings each year through 2024,
many of which will occur in
the technology industry. Cur-
rently, one out of every four
job openings in that industry
is filled by out-of-state hires,
she said.
“It is clear there is a gap
between the skills Oregon’s
workers have and the skills
that our growing businesses
need,” Brown said.
She announced that she
would launch a new program
designed to provide job and
skill training to help fill the
gap. Dubbed “Future Ready
Oregon,” the program’s goal
is to “close the skills gap
between the workforce we
have the workforce we need to
fuel Oregon’s economy,” she
said.
The program would ear-
mark $300 million to career
technical education classes
in the 2019-2021 state bud-
get. Without providing details,
Brown said the program would
make hands-on learning pro-
grams available at every pub-
lic school district in the state.
The program also would
offer apprenticeships in high-
needs industries such as infor-
mation technology, health care,
advanced wood manufacturing
and high-tech manufacturing.
Such programs already exists
in Bend and Eugene, she said.
The plan includes legisla-
tion to help mid-career con-
struction professionals to start
their business by among other
things, waiving all state fees
and formal education require-
ments for those who have
worked in construction for at
least eight years.
She said she is directing
Business Oregon to invest in
rural areas, communities of
color and Oregon’s nine tribes.
An example of such an
investment is state funding of
broadband and infrastructure
to increase competitiveness in
rural industries, she said.
Her plan also involves
directing the Higher Education
Coordinating Commission and
Business Oregon to collab-
orate to match high-growth
industries with job training
programs.
In addition to job training,
she said the state needs to con-
tinue to address the high cost
of housing.
Her office is scheduled to
announce several pilot pro-
grams in the coming weeks
to address the state’s hous-
ing shortage and high cost of
housing.
Brown delivered the speech
in the House of Representa-
tives at the Oregon State Cap-
itol, and footage was streamed
live on the Oregon Legisla-
ture’s website.
The address kicked off the
79th Legislative Assembly
and a 35-day policymaking
session.
This month marks three
years since Brown, previously
the secretary of state, suc-
ceeded Gov. John Kitzhaber,
who resigned amid an influ-
ence-peddling
scandal,
and her first anniversary as
elected governor. She is seek-
ing reelection later this year,
having almost completed the
remainder of Kitzhaber’s term.
Clean diesel gets a boost
Clean diesel projects
throughout the Northwest and
Alaska are receiving a $1.3 mil-
lion boost from the U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency
grants from its Diesel Emis-
sions Reduction Act program.
“Clean diesel technologies
not only improve air quality, but
advance innovation and sup-
port jobs,” said EPA Adminis-
trator Scott Pruitt. “These proj-
ects will significantly reduce
harmful emissions and directly
benefit the health of residents.”
The DERA program is
administered by EPA’s West
Coast Collaborative, a clean
air public-private partnership
that leverages public and pri-
vate funds to funds to com-
plete important diesel reduction
projects that reduce emissions
from the most polluting diesel
sources in impacted commu-
nities in West Coast states and
U.S. territories.
“By promoting clean diesel
technologies, we can improve
air quality and human health,
advance American innovation,
and support green jobs in eco-
nomically disadvantaged com-
munities, while growing our
economy,” said Chris Hlad-
ick, Regional Administrator
for EPA’s Northwest & Alaska
Region.
A pressing issue this ses-
sion is adjusting the state bud-
get to account for a projected
$280 million in unrealized tax
revenue due to recent federal
tax reform.
A week before session
commenced, leaders in the
Senate extinguished most of
hope of passing a state “cap
and invest” program for indus-
try this year, which is a pol-
icy priority for House Demo-
crats and has the support of the
governor.
Senate Majority Leader
Ginny Burdick, D-Portland,
said that such a complex pol-
icy was better suited for the
Legislature’s longer session
in 2019. The program would
charge industry for releas-
ing greenhouse gases and
invest the proceeds into proj-
ects intended to curtail global
warming.
Since 2010, the Legislature
has convened for 35 days in
even years and for 160 in odd
years.
Jaime Valdez/Pamplin Media Group
Gov. Kate Brown Monday delivers her state of the state ad-
dress opening the Legislatures 35-day session.