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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2018)
A4 Opinion wallowa.com June 13, 2018 Wallowa County Chieftain Josephy scores big with ‘Dams, Fish, Controversy’ W e attended the opening of the Josephy Center’s latest exhibit, “Dams, Fish, Controversy,” and came away impressed. And not just because the Chieftain plays a pivotal role in the display, either. Although it does. The exhibit builds on one that Tamástslikt Cultural Insti- tute on the Umatilla Reservation did last year on Celilo and the dam at The Dalles. Stories of the dam at Wallowa Lake and the High Mountain Sheep Dam –– the one that did not get built –– were added. If you hav- en’t stopped by to see it yet, make a Paul Wahl note to do so. It’s difficult to conceive of a time in history when no one knew the meaning of the word “anadramous.” An anadromous fish, born in fresh water, spends most of its life in the sea and returns to the same fresh water to spawn. Salmon are a common example. According to information supplied to me by my friend Rich Wandschneider, the knowledge of the dual life of salmon was unknown to almost everyone -- except the Native Americans until the ‘30s. In 1931, first suggestion of an anadramous species was forwarded, but it wasn’t until 1938 this new science was accepted. So how do you plan for the future of salmon when you are unaware of how they live and what makes them tick? Poorly. Prior to 1938, damming a river simply meant salmon would have to live elsewhere. What a difference 80 years makes. The other impressive details from the exhibit is the decrease in the volume of fish over the decades. “Early settlers scooped sockeye salmon out of Wal- lowa Lake by the thousands and failed to realize the species’ special migration pattern from ocean to river, lake and headwaters — and back to the sea,” Wand- schneider said. “Think- ing that native streams Paul Wahl/Chieftain were not important –– that Roberta L. Conner, director of Pacific salmon would ran- domly find a river to travel Tamástslikt Cultural Institute in Pendleton, was the key- –– scientists thought they could make up for the huge note speaker for the opening of “Dams, Fish, Controversy” cannery harvests on the at Josephy Center June 2. Columbia with hatcher- ies and moving eggs and smolts from one river to the next.” Dams and hatcheries at Minam and Troy, the experts thought, would easily replace the fish the settlers were harvesting on upper rivers and in Wallowa Lake. “No one bothered to ask the Indians,” he added. The folks at Josephy asked Joe Whittle to research the Wallowa Lake dams and Jon Rombach to take on High Mountain Sheep. That dam story was well documented in the Chieftain. Jon spent several days in our research room prepar- ing his report. Josephy Center has become widely known for its tre- mendous programming in arts and culture and beyond. This exhibit is a collaborative work that no one in Wallowa County should miss, since it’s at your doorstep. WAHL TO WALL Cowboying is going to the dogs I look at a lot of this county’s steep rough country and think to myself that those guys who run cattle here must want to ranch awfully bad. I don’t think some of it could be suc- cessfully ranched without top-notch employees of the four-legged kind. Not horses, border collies. Some of the Imnaha and Joseph Creek country gives me the chills. It’s country where you need a $500 horse and a $2,500 dog. I know most ranchers appreciate a good dog not only for their ability to dig cattle out of inaccessible places but also for their work ethic. I think the dumbest border collie is smarter than the smartest dog of any other breed (Don Kiser quote). I was gathering cattle on a ranch where the higher country was enveloped in fog. When we got up where the cattle were, I got pretty lost but found the eastern fence and started pushing cattle toward the corrals. At times I could only hear them and my dog Blaze pushing. Blaze knew the ranch and where the corrals were. After a while I lost track of him, and when I dropped out of the fog, I could see the other cowboys with what cattle they had found and it wasn’t enough. I pressed the cattle I had to the others and rode up to the boss. He was pretty upset that we had missed so many cat- tle, about 150. We were about to call it quits when Blaze saved the day, he came out of a canyon with the missing cattle and brought them to us. OPEN RANGE Barrie Qualle A guy I worked with had three dogs that were exceptional. In rough coun- try, ranchers gladly paid him an extra day’s wages for his dogs because they could do the work of four or five guys on horses in that country. For all their good points there are some bad things about these dogs. They are bad about lying. Blaze wasn’t sup- posed to leave the ranch, and he knew the property lines. If he were caught out of bounds, he would run into brush on the border and sneak down to the barn and then come from that direction trying to make you believe it must have been another dog that resembled him off premises. Dan Probert has a dog that is a thief. On more than one occasion his dog, who knows at brandings there is a bag of doughnuts. When no one is watching, he gets away with them. He considers a 50-foot head start puts him out of the range of discipline. I remember a story about a sheep- herder who died somewhere south of Ft. Benton, Mont., years ago. Someone brought his body and wagon to town. His border collie trailed along and hung around the undertakers while the body was prepared for shipment back east. When the casket was placed in the baggage car on the eastbound train, the dog tried to board also. Failing that, he chased the train as it left the station. The next day he showed up at the station and waited. When the west bound train came in, he met it and went to the baggage car. From that day on he met every west bound train hoping his owner would return. The people in town would some- times feed the dog but he never would take up with anyone and never missed a train for the rest of his life. You can’t buy loyalty like that. The 11th annual CJD Ranch Rodeo is June 30. There is a trail ride open to the public June 29 leaving the rodeo grounds at 2:30 p.m. and a dinner that night starting about 6 p.m.. The ranch rodeo has gotten big- ger and better every year with 10-15 teams made up of local cowboys you all know. Like most things such as this, it wouldn’t come off without a lot of volunteers. Some of the people that work really hard to pull this off are Robin Lewis, Rawley Bixby, Randle Eschler, Dave Yost, Char Williams and several others. Guys like Dan Probert donate cattle for the event and make it work. Be sure to save the date and support this very worthwhile scholarship fund- ing event. Barrie Quallie is a Wallowa Coun- ty-based cowboy and author. LETTERS to the EDITOR Wallowa democrats leading the way In April, I had the pleasure of meeting with Wallowa County Democrats, a dedicated and growing group of Oregonians work- ing towards positive change in November’s elections by build- ing grassroots programs and raising both money and awareness throughout rural Oregon. Despite being outnumbered, Wallowa Democrats are engaged because they believe in Oregon values, where we work together to care for our families and communities. They want government to support economic and educational opportunities for everyone. Sometimes they take issue with urban Democrats, but we share the common belief that people, not corporations, are our most important asset. These rural Democrats have worked to get access to and answers from Congressman Greg Walden, but he for too long has ignored the needs of his constituents. He now sides with cor- porate interests and the Trump White House –– supporting irre- sponsible tax cuts that now threaten funding for programs like Social Security, pushing trade policies that risk the economic future of our agricultural communities and leading the effort to “repeal and replace” the very law that has helped to build our rural care system. His policies are hurting us all. Eastern Oregon Democrats have now found a superb candi- date to take him on in Jamie McLeod-Skinner. For the past year, Jamie has traveled tirelessly throughout the district building a volunteer and supporter network that shows what can be done without expensive media buys. She wears her family’s Eastern Oregon roots proudly and speaks to those values on the campaign trail. It’s a measure of the respect she has earned that the other primary candidates are now rallied behind her campaign. Your local Democrats are teaching the wider Democratic Party in Oregon lessons in how to stand up for Oregon values and be true to the values of rural communities. I am proud of county parties like in Wallowa and candidates like Jamie. Expect to see more of us in this pivotal election year. Jeanne Atkins Cedar Hills, Ore. Atkins is chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Oregon. Men, learn to take care of yourselves T here are several theories as to the origin of the name for the month of June. Some believe it was named after the Roman goddess Juno, the goddess of marriage and the wife of the supreme deity Jupiter. Others believe it comes from the Latin word “Juniores,” meaning “younger ones,” as compared to “Maiores” or “elders,” for which the month of May was named. I would tend to agree with the latter theory, and even more so as I get older. Though my body may be aging, I still want to stay “young at heart.” Recog- nizing that Father’s Day falls in June, it only makes sense that June is also “Men’s Health Awareness Month.” It is a time to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injuries unique to men. Although males outnumber females at birth (115 males for every 100 females), American men live sicker lives and die younger, on average, five years earlier than American women. So which is the weaker sex? Men have a higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, injuries, stroke and suicide than women. According to the CDC, Women are 100 percent more likely to visit the doctor for annual examinations and pre- ventive services than men. So a great place to begin reversing these poor statistics men is to start by vis- iting your friendly health care provider on a regular yearly basis and to adopt pre- ventive health measures. GUEST COLUMN Dr. Kenneth D Rose One health issue unique to men is erectile dysfunction, also referred to as ED. About 70 percent of the time, ED is caused by an underlying problem in the vascular system. It is often called the “canary in the coal mine” or the “canary in the trousers.” Since ED is a blood flow issue where the arteries are becoming clogged so they don’t work as they should, it might be an early sign that the same artery-clogging process is happening in the vessels to the heart or brain, which increases the risk for a heart attack or stroke. If one area’s blood supply is faulty, it makes sense that other areas might be affected too. Those experiencing ED have a much higher chance of suffering a heart attack, and thus ED is a warning sign that changes need to be made. Other health conditions such as diabe- tes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and drug or alcohol abuse also increase the risk for ED. Less common causes of ED are stress, anxiety, depression and sometimes med- ications. Treating the underlying causes for clogging of the arteries can help reverse ED and decrease the risk for more life-threatening conditions. Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884 M eMber O regOn n ewspaper p ublishers a ssOciatiOn Published every Wednesday by: EO Media Group VOLUME 134 USPS No. 665-100 P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828 Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore. Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921 Contents copyright © 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Publisher Editor Reporter Reporter Newsroom assistant Ad sales consultant Office manager Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com Paul Wahl, editor@wallowa.com Stephen Tool, steve@wallowa.com Kathleen Ellyn, kellyn@wallowa.com editor@wallowa.com Jennifer Powell, jpowell@wallowa.com Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com Prostate cancer is another concern for men. The most recent (2018) U.S. Pre- ventative Services Task Force recom- mendation urges men to talk to their health care providers about when, or if, they need to be screened for prostate can- cer using the Prostate Specific Antigen screening test. They recommend selectively offering PSA testing to individuals based on pro- fessional judgment and patient prefer- ences for men ages 55-69. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men ages 15-35. It can be suc- cessfully treated if detected early enough. The main symptom will be a lump in or enlargement of either testicle. Some may experience a feeling of pulling or unusual weight in the scrotum or pain and discomfort in the testicle. The best way to find testicular can- cer is by doing a regular monthly self-ex- amination, feeling for any lumps in the testicles. To quote Congressman Bill Richard- son, “Recognizing and preventing men’s health problems is not just a man’s issue. Because of its impact on wives, moth- ers, daughters and sisters, men’s health is truly a family issue.” May we strive to remain “young” with healthy lifestyle habits and preventive health measures. Dr. Kenneth D Rose is a general sur- gery specialist in Enterprise and a gradu- ate with honors from Loma Linda Univer- sity School Of Medicine. Periodical Postage Paid at Enterprise and additional mailing offices Subscription rates (includes online access) Wallowa County Out-of-County 1 Year $40.00 $57.00 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery See the Wallowa County Chieftain on the Internet Wallowa.com facebook.com/Wallowa twitter.com/wcchieftain POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wallowa County Chieftain P.O. Box 338 Enterprise, OR 97828
