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