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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2018)
SHOW & SHINE Main Street Show and Shine 2018 in photos | A6 Enterprise, Oregon Wallowa.com Issue No. 18 August 22, 2018 RIDING & ROPING $1 Wallowa eliminates school fees Some families had been paying $200 or more By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Attending public school has become less expensive for students in the Wallowa School District. Officials there announced that thanks to smart financial management on the part of the school board and former superintendent Bret Uptmor, the district will not be charging fees. “Bret Uptmor and the board created opportunities in the budget to account for changes, and over the years all the accounts have become more stable and that creates latitude,” said Supt. Jay Hummel. “It’s a (financial) choice, there’s no doubt, but it’s our choice to put kids and families first.” Hummel and the school board will trans- fer approximately $13,000 from the general fund supply account to pay the fees. See SCHOOL, Page A8 County moves ahead with lodging tax hike Wallowa Lake business owner files challenge By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain All Around Cowboy winner Bryce Svedin of Baker City gets his head loop going as he pursues a blonde muley (no horns) steer. Be- hind him as his roping partner, Dave Yost of Lostine, prepares for his chance at the heels at the 2018 Stockgrowers Ranch Rodeo. Stockgrowers name top rockjack builder By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain T he ooos, ahhs, gasps and cheers were many as an enthusiastic crowd was kept on the edges of their seats at the annual Stockgrowers Ranch Rodeo Aug. 17. Classes were packed with entrants and a new event, the dog race, turned out to be a real crowd-pleaser. ¶ The dogs, unsure on the rules, left the starting line to dart hither and thither along the way to the finish, distracted by cowboys on horses, open gates and one another. See RODEO, Page A10 USFS, county win second round of corridor lawsuit By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain U.S. District Judge Michael Simon refused to overturn the find- ings of Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan regarding a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against the U.S. Forest Service to stop the Los- tine Corridor Public Safety Project. The corridor project involves forest thinning, patch cuts and some commercial logging along an 11-mile stretch of the Lostine River Road leading up to the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Environmental groups Oregon Wild and the Greater Hells Canyon Council filed the lawsuit against the project in May 31 2017. Among other things, the suit claimed the USFS made improper use of a categorical exclusion, which allows some projects to sidestep certain environmental analysis procedures. The groups also claimed that the project did not follow the forest or river plan for the area and was not done in a collaborative manner. On March 20 of this year, Judge Sullivan heard the arguments from attorneys for the environmen- tal groups, the USFS and Wallowa County, who had filed for, and were granted, intervenor status in the suit. On June 15, Sullivan released her findings and recommendations for the case in a 35-page document that appeared to find little merit in the suit. From there, the suit went under the review of U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon. Apparently finding no fault in Sullivan’s recommendations, he did not make any comment or attempt to amend the ruling. Wallowa County Commis- sioner Todd Nash said that he was pleased with the latest develop- ments in the case although he fully expects the two groups to appeal the latest setback to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Arran Robertson, communica- tions manager for Oregon Wild, said the group needs time to plan before making any new decisions on the case. He said he didn’t get the news until the morning of Aug. 20. “We haven’t talked about it internally or with the other groups yet, as far as I know,” he said. “We’re still convinced we have a good case whether or not we decide to move forward with it. We still have to have that discussion.” Greater Hells Canyon Coun- cil did not respond to requests for comment prior to press deadline. Commissioner-elect Dunn passes Tuesday afternoon By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Wallowa County commission- er-elect Bruce Dunn passed away Tuesday afternoon Aug. 21. Dunn, a well-known forester and advocate for practical resource use, was on a tour of a U.S. Forest Service timber site in the Lower Joseph Creek area when he suffered a suspected cardiac incident. In May of this year, Wallowa County citizens elected Dunn to the county’s board of commissioners to replace the retiring Paul Castilleja. Commissioners Todd Nash and Susan Roberts expressed deep shock at Dunn’s sudden passing, both not- ing Dunn’s expertise in resource management was unmatched. Roberts said the candidate fil- ing deadline for Dunn’s position has been extended to Sept. 4. Wallowa County Commissioners com- pleted the legal process required to place a proposed Transient Lodging Tax hike on the Nov. 6 ballot. Commissioner Susan Roberts voted against the measure and Commissioner Paul Castlleja voted in favor of the measure while simultaneously expressing concern “about what you folks (commissioners) are trying to bring forward.” The measure, approved Aug. 16, asks voters to approve an additional three percent tax on lodging in the unincorporated areas of the county. Businesses in unincorporated areas already pay five percent collected by the county. The often-requested total of how much money would be generated through the tax was finally provided in the language of the ballot title: an estimated $129,520. The county already collects approximately $360,000 in lodging tax, according to County Commissioner Todd Nash. The new revenue raised annually would be split 70 percent for fairgrounds redevelop- ment and operations (estimated at $90,720) and 30 percent for the sheriff’s office (esti- mated $38,800). Although commissioner Todd Nash stated that the sheriff’s funding would be used for policing of tourist-related activities, no such specific labor division is made in the wording of the ballot measure. By statute, the money raised through tax must go to tourism-related entities and activ- ities. Questions remain as to whether the Wallowa County Fairgrounds qualifies as a recipient, and commissioners’ plans for funding could still be legally challenged on that issue. Wallowa County Commissioners received a petition challenging the ballot title from David Hurley, owner of Eagle Cap Chalets at Wallowa Lake Aug. 17. Benjamin Boyd of Hostetter Law Group represents Hurley. See TAX, Page A8 INSIDE Wallowa County Fair results A9 Wallowa County Fair Cavalcade of Champions A7
