Wallowa Valley Eagles sweep
double-header • SPORTS, A14
Enterprise, Oregon
Wallowa.com
Issue No. 4
May 9, 2018
BORN
TO IT
$1
Frolander
exonerated
in Gray case
West also refused to
dismiss criminal charges
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Judge Russell B. West ruled Wallowa
County’s Deputy District Attorney did not
commit prosecutorial misconduct, and he
did not dismiss a criminal case because of
it at Wallowa County Circuit
Court on May 2.
The allegations stemmed
from an incident regarding a
possible civil settlement for
Aaron Gray, 38, the former
director of physical therapy
at Wallowa Memorial Hospi- Frolander
tal, who is facing charges of
harassment and sex abuse from two former
patients.
Gray’s attorney, Benjamin Boyd, filed for
a dismissal of the second of the two cases
claiming that Frolander had interfered with
his client’s right to settle the case with a pos-
sible financial transaction. The acceptance of
such an offer would result in the cessation of
the criminal case, since it would amount to
double jeopardy.
See GRAY, Page A18
B.J. Warnock, a fourth-generation Warnock in the
Imnaha, herds some mother cows and calves
through the tiny town of Imnaha on his way
from a pasture down river to another up river.
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
Commission
candidates
oppose lodging
tax increase
Business topics part of
Joseph Chamber forum
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Fourth generation
Imnaha rancher
starts from scratch
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
B
J Warnock, 23, is ranching the way his
great granddad ranched –– the hard way.
Not only is the fourth-generation Imnaha
rancher running cattle in a semi-arid desert
country of awe-producing ruggedness, he’s
building his ranch from nothing.
That’s rarely done today. Most 19-year-olds
fresh out of high school certainly don’t do it.
Warnock, now 23, and his young wife, Emily,
21, are living a 19th Century cowboy dream partly
because they think hard work is just what you do
and partly because the stars aligned.
See RANCHER, Page A10
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
Miles Warnock and mom, Emily, meet B.J. and the cattle at a fresh pasture.
Miles will be a fifth-generation Warnock in the rugged Imnaha country in
Wallowa County. His mom, Emily, works the ranching business, and Miles
spends as much time outdoors as possible.
Neither candidate for Wallowa County
Commissioner supports raising the county
Transient Lodging Tax. The idea was orig-
inally floated as a way to support the Sher-
iff’s Department and
fund improvements at
the Wallowa County
Fairgrounds.
Both candidates
weighed in on the
issue during a forum
May 1 in Joseph.
Bruce Dunn said he
had given the issue a lot of thought.
“I’ve thought about this, and I see both
sides of it,” he said. “I fought this issue over
in my mind. It’s a difficult issue to answer.
But, I feel you have to be consistent, and I
don’t like taxes. I don’t think you should
have to pay more taxes. I think you should
find other solutions.”
Diane Daggett also stated other solutions
should be sought.
“I’m opposed to the increase in the tax as
it is currently configured and as it was pro-
posed,” she said. “I think it could have an
adverse impact on our tourism economy and
See FORUM, Page A18
REMODELING
UNDER WAY
By Paul Wahl
Wallowa County Chieftain
A group of investors has
signed an agreement to reopen the
former Mt. Joseph’s Family Foods
in Joseph.
The store has been closed since
February. Previous owner Troy
Berglund is no longer involved
with the enterprise.
Spokesman Marco Rennie told
the Chieftain that there is no time-
line for reopening but added that it
would be “as quickly as possible”
and would be completed in phases.
Partnership formed to reopen
Joseph grocery store
Phase I is cleaning and prep-
ping the store for stocking.
Rennie said the timelines of
several contractors are at play,
making it impossible to provide
an accurate opening date.
The partnership is also planning
to reopen the sister store, Market
Place, in downtown La Grande,
Rennie announced that Marc
Duncan and Dave Yount have
signed on as partners in the proj-
ect. Duncan is a professor in the
business department at Eastern
Paul Wahl/Chieftain
See REMODEL, Page A10
A giant trash receptacle appeared outside the former Mt. Joseph Family Foods on Main
Street Monday, and work crews were seen entering and leaving the building.