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.
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