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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2018)
QUILT PROJECT COMING TO JOSEPH A3 Enterprise, Oregon Issue No. 52 Wallowa.com April 11, 2018 Ag Exchange stu- dent Sylvia Aus- tin, 13, of St. Rose School in Portland has got her cell phone out for a pic- ture for her report as she trails cattle through ‘downtown’ Imnaha with rancher BJ Warnock. $1 Tourism projects receive city grants Community garden, greenhouse in jeopardy By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain All five of the applicants for Transient Lodging Tax grants to develop tourism in Enterprise received their full request at the April 9 city council meeting. Council member Larry Christman, rep- resenting the committee that made the rec- ommendations, praised the applicants for having their proposals “well put together,” making it easy to determine whether they qualified for funds. “I think every one of them benefits the city of Enterprise,” he said. See TOURISM, Page A10 CITY COUNTRY & On-the-ground learning opportunity The annual exchange program welcomed eight Portland metro students By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain City kids keep lining up to experience life in rural counties. The 12th Annual Ag Exchange took place last weekend and eight students from Portland were matched with Wallowa County ranchers for an in-depth hands-on experience. The 4-H-sponsored program was launched as a way to provide children from both sides of the moun- tains a taste of how the other half lives. It’s an immersion experience, with children living as one of the family and invited to take part in every- thing a ranch kid does during their stay, including going to school with host family students on Monday. See EXCHANGE, Page A13 Photos by Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain There’s no cell service in Imnaha, but the camera still works. Ag Ex- change students Laney Fadden, 12, and Sylvia Austin, 13, both of St. Rose School in Portland, snap pics of cute calves for their reports. Both girls were experts at cattle handling, having gone to Baker with the Ex- change in 2017. FUN AT FERGI FEST Event highlights Lions Club ski area By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain It was a real snow fest this year as the Annual Fergi Fest at Ferguson Ski Ridge outside of Joseph enjoyed the blessing of abundant white stuff. The weather was on-again off-again with black clouds rolling in every hour or so and driving celebrants into the clubhouse, but when it was clear it was slushy-but-grand. The Lion’s Club owns Ferguson Ridge Ski Area and plans the annual celebration. Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Jeff Yanke brings it in for the win in Adult Ski Golf at Fergi Fest 2018. See FERGI FEST, Page A10 Hospital tops $800,000 in ‘bad debt’ Facility pays the bill when those receiving treatment can’t afford to By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain If current trends continue, Wallowa Memorial Hospital and its clinics will incur more than $1 million in uncompensated care when the fiscal year ends June 30. Uncom- pensated care is either charity –– provided to those who cannot afford to pay –– or “bad debt.” Between the two, bad debt far out- weighs the hospital’s charity care. The projected year ahead shows $276,000 in charity care and $811,000 in bad debt on a roughly $22 million annual revenue stream. Larry Davy, the hospital’s chief exec- utive officer, said that as a Critical Access Hospital, the facility is bound by law to pro- vide treatment to anyone, regardless of abil- ity to pay. Almost all Oregon hospitals pay 100 percent of the bill to anyone who makes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. A family of five with $58,840 per year in income would qualify. In Wallowa County, 14 percent of residents earn less than the poverty level. “It’s not a federal law,” Davy said. “It’s just hospitals trying to address access to hos- pitals and clinics.” Not that the hospital doesn’t verify an applicant’s financial resources beyond their W-2 forms before allowing access to char- ity care. “You have to be careful,” Davy said. “There have been people with low incomes as far as W-2s documented income that are multimillionaires. People can have a lot of cash resources, but their annual income can be under the poverty level.” See HOSPITAL, Page A10 Election forum coming April 25 Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce will host a candidate forum and information session on two ballot measures 6 p.m. Wednes- day, April 25, at Cloverleaf Hall, Enterprise. The purpose of the forum is to give vot- ers an opportunity to meet and hear candidates discuss the issues that will be on the May 12 ballot. The forum will follow a nonpartisan, unbi- ased and impartial format. All candidates for office appearing on the ballot have been invited. The ballot measures include renewal of five-year weed levy and creation of a library district. Ballots are expected to be in the mail shortly after the forum.
