Matters of the heart
Transplant survivor bucks the odds, sustained by her faith • A5
Enterprise, Oregon
Wallowa.com
Issue No. 17
August 8, 2018
$1
Joseph policing contract encounters snags
City approves; sheriff
has not signed
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Joseph citizens that were wor-
ried about the lack of police protec-
tion may breathe easier soon. But not
quite yet.
The Joseph City Council approved
a three-year contract with the depart-
ment at $113,667 per year for extra
patrolling at a special meeting July 31.
Normally a rubber-stamp action,
this year’s contract negotiations
proved volatile behind the scenes with
the council split between abolishing
the service, reducing the contract or
paying the standard rate. Eventually
contract negotiations were relegated
to attorneys for the city and county.
As of press time for this week’s
edition, Sheriff Steve Rogers had not
signed the contract.
The latest offer included not only
patrolling at up to 240 hours per
month but also included stipulations
of quarterly meetings between the
sheriff and Joseph officials.
Council member Teresa Sajonia
said that after a previous negotiation
meeting, she was under the impres-
sion that between the funds the city
was paying for extra patrol and some
additional funds from the county, the
city would get its own designated
deputy.
Mayor Dennis Sands said that he
understood the offer may not be just
one particular deputy and that oth-
ers could help fill the 240-hour patrol
time. Sajonia agreed.
“I thought that was a huge selling
point ... I felt it was huge for those (of
the council) who voted for the con-
tract for three years,” she said. “That
was one of the reasons I voted no on
the three years, because I wanted to
see in that one year, was that going
to get done, was that one person was
Land returned
to Nez Perce
going to get hired.”
Council member Mike Lockhart
said he thought the agreement was
clear as written and Sands agreed the
contract stipulated 1.5 equivalent full-
time deputies patrolling in the city
limits.
Sajonia wasn’t convinced. “I’m
going to put this out there: What are
the consequences in three years if
they don’t live up to the contract?”
See POLICE, Page A9
Who will
get former
library’s
books?
County Commission,
Foundation have the talk
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
The books formerly comprising the Wal-
lowa County Library shortly will have new
homes. The Wallowa Valley Library Foun-
dation presented a draft proposal of a plan to
Wallowa County Commissioners at an Aug.
6 commissioners meeting.
Jonelle McCoy, president of the founda-
tion board, along with board member Bon-
nie Marks, told commissioners that librari-
ans from Enterprise, Joseph and Wallowa
had all expressed a desire to have most of the
books divided amongst them.
See BOOKS, Page A9
McQuead
selected for
city post
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
Nez Perce Tribal Executive Council member and elder Arthur Broncheau holds a small rock from the riverbank as Nez Perce
Veteran and historian Wilfred Scott burns and fans sage in a spiritual ceremony. The rock symbolizes the return of a portion of
Wallowa River bank to the Nez Perce. The Aug. 1 ceremony blesses the symbol of the healing process that was the basis of
the transfer of the land deed from the United Methodist Church to the Nez Perce Tribe.
Methodists conduct act of restoration
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
T
he crowd at the United Methodist
Church Camp above Wallowa Lake
had gathered to be part of a historic
moment that many had not believed would
happen in their lifetime.
A formal presentation was made of the
land deed for 1.5 acres of Wallowa River
riverfront from the United Methodist
Church to the Nez Perce Tribe was made
Aug. 1. As part of the ceremony, a small
rock taken from the river and presented to
the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Commit-
tee June 15 was returned to the riverbank.
The importance of the gesture could
not be overestimated.
“I never thought I would see this day,”
said Nez Perce Elder Mary Jane Miles. “I
never thought we would see the day come
when we would have a hand of friend-
ship from the larger community to the
Nimi’ipuu (Nez Perce).”
Miles, who represented the Nez Perce
as a member of the Nez Perce Tribal Ex-
ecutive Committee, is also a Presbyterian
minister and doubly hurt by the “Doctrine
See NEZ PERCE, Page A9
Enterprise appoints new
City Administrator
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
The way Lacey McQuead sees it, she’s
standing on the shoulders of a giant.
McQuead, 33, is the
new city administra-
tor for Enterprise, replac-
ing Michelle Young who
retired after more than 30
years in the position.
“I think the only rea-
son I’ll be successful in
Lacey
this position is because I
McQuead
had Michelle Young as my
mentor for so many years,”
McQuead said.
See MCQUEAD, Page A8
TELEHEALTH the wave of the future
Wallowa hospital official
tells Congress it has
more work to do
By Paul Wahl
Wallowa County Chieftain
Doctors routinely made house calls
in the ’40s. The practice may be enjoy-
ing a revival, especially in rural areas
such as Wallowa County.
In the latest iteration, the doctor
won’t be present in flesh and blood but
on a television screen over the Internet.
It’s called telehealth.
The county’s medical providers, led
by Wallowa Memorial Hospital, have
begun exploring the opportunities.
“Telehealth has enabled us to …
ensure access to high-quality care in
our frontier county,” Jenni Word recently
told members of the House committee
on Energy and Commerce Subcommit-
tee on Communications and Technol-
ogy in Washington, D.C.
The associate administrator and chief
nursing officer at Wallowa Memorial was
among a handful chosen to testify. U.S.
Rep. Greg Walden is a member of the
committee.
See HEALTH, Page A8
Paul Wahl/Chieftain
Winding Waters Clinic Medical assistant Tasha Tanzey, left,
and Meg Bowen, Quality Director, show off the robot the clin-
ic uses for telemedicine — accessing doctors who are far
away from Wallowa County.