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News
wallowa.com
February 21, 2018
Wallowa County Chieftain
Bridge repair key to excursion
train’s return to Wallowa County
Previous state
funding source
has been lost
By Paul Wahl
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Eagle Cap Excursion
Train runs out of the depot
in Elgin and reverses course
prior to arriving in Minam.
The reason? A substandard
bridge.
A formal move to begin
the process of replacing the
bridge has been taken, which
means one day the train could
again ply tracks located in
Wallowa County.
The board of the Wal-
lowa Union Rail Authority, or
WURA, voted Feb. 13 to form
a committee with Friends of
the Joseph Branch to deter-
mine costs and begin seeking
sources of funding. The mat-
ter is expected to appear on
the board’s agenda when it
meets again in March.
The authority is a cooper-
ative agreement between the
two counties to operate the
62.58-mile ex-Union Pacific
Railroad line between Elgin
and Joseph.
In addition to the Water
Canyon Bridge, three addi-
tional bridges would need to
be repaired to bring the train
to the track’s terminus in
Joseph.
“I don’t know anyone on
this board who wouldn’t like
to see those bridges up and
running,” said Steve McClure
of Union County, who
co-chairs the authority with
Susan Roberts of Wallowa.
Funding for bridge proj-
ects has become a challenge.
Previous grants have come
from a state program estab-
lished to fund air, rail, marine
and bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructure on a competi-
tive grant basis.
WURA recently com-
pleted a $350,000 project
to repair tracks, for which it
expects to receive reimburse-
ment shortly.
Eagle Cap Excursion Train
2018 Proposed Schedule
Sunday, May 5 — Cinco de Mayo
Sunday, May 13 — Mother’s Day Brunch
Saturday, May 26 — Two Rivers
Saturday, June 2 — Wine and Chocolates
Saturday, June 16 — Spring Train Robbery
Sunday, June 17 — Father’s Day Train Robbery
Saturday, June 30 — I Love America! Veterans’ Train
Saturday, July 7 — I Love America! Veterans’ Train
Wednesday, July 18 — Two Rivers
Saturday, July 28 — Sasquach Watch
Saturday, Aug. 11 — Two Rivers
Saturday, Aug. 25 — Two Rivers
Saturday, Sept. 1 — Two Rivers History Train
Saturday, Sept. 8 — All About Fishing - Hatchery
Train and Salmon Bake
Saturday, Sept. 15 — Fall Foilage Photo Run
Saturday, Sept. 29 — Wine and Cheese Train
Saturday, Oct. 6 — Autumn Train Robbery
Saturday, Oct. 13 — Autumn Train Robbery
Saturday, Oct. 20 — Two Rivers — End of Season
Bounty
When the Oregon Legis-
lature approved its transpor-
tation bill in 2017, the grants
were pulled in favor of pool-
ing funds to complete four
large transit projects, accord-
ing to Scott Turnoy, who had
been spearheading ODOT’s
freight and planning program.
Once the $60 million cost
threshold is reached, grants
will most likely return. That
could be as far out as 2022.
Turnoy said there are a
couple factors that could
bring the grants back sooner,
but he was not optimistic.
He said the state does not
have a like alternative for rail
projects and suggested federal
funds might be available.
The
Water
Canyon
Bridge could cost as much
as $100,000 to repair. Repre-
sentatives of the Friends told
the WURA board it could
also pursue an inverted cul-
vert bridge, which would cost
less and be more environmen-
tally friendly than the creo-
sote-covered foundation of
the existing bridge.
For the Friends group,
which operates the excur-
sion train on tracks owned by
the authority since 2002, the
repairs are crucial.
“With the train not able to
operate in Wallowa County,
it’s out of site, out of mind,”
said David Arnold, vice presi-
dent of the organization.
Membership has dropped
by around half over the past
few years, most of those not
keeping current are Wallowa
County residents, according
to Peggy Weishaar, member-
ship chair for the group.
Weishaar presented a pro-
posal earlier in the month to
hold a membership event on
the train –– parked in Wal-
lowa to coax Wallowa County
residents to join.
Even empty, the train
could not be brought to Wal-
lowa because of the condition
of the bridge.
A “fun bus” would have
originated in Joseph, tak-
ing interested individuals to
meet the train in Wallowa and
return.
“It’s just very frustrating,”
said Weishaar.
Members primarily pro-
vide volunteer staffing for
the excursion train runs. The
more members, the more
trains that can run, the more
revenue the group can gener-
ate to improve the experience
and help WURA fund its part
of the bargain.
Despite a static number of
volunteers, the Friends has
boosted the number of trips
the excursion train will make
this coming summer.
Wallowa County resi-
dents who would like to join
the Friends and receive the
recently implemented news-
letter for the group can call
Weishaar at 541-786-0094 or
stop by the depot in Elgin for
details. Visit eaglecaptrain-
rides.com.
Chieftain FIle Photo
The Wallowa County “Dragons in the Wallowas” dragon boat
team heads out for a practice run on the Willamette before
the Portland Dragon Boat Races on June 10, 2017. The Haw-
thorne Bridge over the Willamette is behind them and they
race from the Marquam Bridge back to the Hawthorne.
Dragons get $10K from
Wildhorse Foundation
Seven Wonders
Cup highlights
the 2018 season
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Lake Tourism
Association has won a $10,000
grant from Wildhorse Founda-
tion to help pay for the racing
boats purchased for the Seven
Wonders Cup Dragon Boat
Races held on Wallowa Lake
last August.
Association
president
Michael Lockhart, initially
conceived of dragon boating
on the lake as a tourism devel-
opment exercise, but he had
to divide his focus for the first
years.
“Once I announced we
were doing a dragon boat
team, my phone was ringing
off the hook,” he said.
The “Dragons in the Wal-
lowas” dragon boat paddling
club was developed as a sep-
arate but related entity. The
association is helping build the
assets of the club but expects
to hand off that responsibility
to the club in coming years.
The association will con-
tinue to manage the race itself.
The first race in 2016 was
very successful, and the brand
new Wallowa team astonished
more experienced teams with
their competitive abilities.
News of the beauty and qual-
ity of the event spread, and the
second year the Wallowa team
proved to be even more com-
petitive against more experi-
enced visiting teams.
The popularity of the Seven
Wonders Cup is expected to
grow yearly.
“We’re getting interest
from top-rated teams, and I
think we’re going to just keep
growing,” Lockhart said. “Our
race is popular because it is
well-run and it’s fast-mov-
ing, which most competitors
IN BRIEF
Training class in
dementia care set
A dementia care training,
sponsored by Wallowa Valley
Senior Living, will be 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 6, at Enterprise
VFW Hall, 800 N. River St.,
Enterprise.
The session will feature dis-
cussion of what’s normal versus
want. They like a lot of time
on the water and they like to
compete.”
The challenge for the pad-
dling team is that, although
interest in joining the team
continues to be high, the
local team needs to bring in a
coach for regular workshops
until local coaches are more
experienced.
They also want to con-
tinue competing in the Port-
land Dragon Boat Races held
during Rose Festival in June
and expand their season (and
spread the word about the
Seven Wonders Cup) by com-
peting in other northwest
races. That costs money.
For now, Lockhart and the
association are doing most of
the work of fundraising, not
only writing grants to help the
paddling club purchase boats
and other equipment, but open-
ing talks with Wallowa Lake
State Park and marina opera-
tors about offering dragon boat
rides in the team’s big Kaoh-
siung boat “Wally” for tour-
ists — an idea presented by the
paddling team.
Lockhart is also trying to
tackle a problem faced by the
tourism industry as a whole.
“The biggest challenge to
growth that we have is lodging
for the teams,” Lockhart said.
Each team consists of at
least 20 individuals, not count-
ing husbands, wives, children
and volunteer support people.
For the first two races, Lock-
hart reserved blocks of camp-
sites at Wallowa Lake State
Park.
Because dragon boat racers
use boats owned by the hosts
and only have to bring them-
selves and their paddles, rac-
ers compete across the U.S.
and even in foreign countries.
When the Wallowa County
race begins to attract teams
from other states, there will
also be the problem of get-
ting participants to Wallowa
County.
not normal in the aging process.
Continuing education units are
available. Dress comfortably.
The program will be pre-
sented by Rod Hardwood, an
Older Adult Behavioral Spe-
cialist with Greater Oregon
Behavioral Health Inc., serving
much of eastern Oregon.
It is designed for those
who find themselves in the
role of caregiver to those with
dementia.
Info and RSVP: 541-426-
5311.
Cole Farwell & Steven Beckman
This week the Chieftain is featuring two athletes of the week, state wrestling
champions Cole Farwell and Steven Beckman. Both wrestlers returned from
last week’s championships in Portland with their second consecutive titles.
Farwell, 17, a senior at Enterprise High School, won his title at 126 lbs., winning
all his matches by fall. He also plays football and is an honor roll student.
Beckman, 16, is a junior at Joseph Carter School who won the title at 106 lbs.
He also won all his matches by fall. He also plays
football and is an honor roll student.
Proudly Sponsored By:
Eastern Oregon’s Full Service Propane Supplier
201 E. Hwy 82, Enterprise
541-426-0320
www.edstaub.com