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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2018)
Wallowa County Chieftain From A1 wallowa.com September 19, 2018 CLINIC Continued from Page A1 PARK Continued from Page A1 “With a campus where you can access all sorts of care, no one knows why you are there,” said Jenni Word. Wallowa Community Hospital Chief Nursing Officer. While none of the legisla- tive delegation was willing to say that funding was certain, all used supportive language. “The case here is incredi- bly compelling, probably the best I’ve ever heard,” Hansell said. A huge piece of the puzzle would be how effective a case Wallowa County can make at hearings this winter in Salem. He recognized the fact that it’s a long way to come for a couple minutes of testi- mony, but there was no possi- bility of funding without local presentations. Rep. Barreto said he was familiar with the situation Center for Wellness and Wind- ing Waters were experienc- ing from a private business standpoint. He said his business had experienced the challenges of working out of more than one location. “Now’s the time to bring this together,” he said. “Let’s do this.” Sen. Steiner Hayward was in Eastern Oregon to attend the Pendleton Roundup at the invitation of Hansell. The Beaverton legislator, a Democrat, has extensive expe- rience serving on the com- The grant money comes from the biennial Regional Solutions grant for North- east Oregon established by the governor in 2014. The 2015-17 grant went to the 60-acre La Grande Baum Industrial Park, which received $1.1 million of a $1.2 million budget. Joseph Branch Rails Trails Feasi- bility Assessment and Wal- lowa Resources Forestry Contractors Data Collec- tion program have also won grants from Regional Solutions. Sands is a voting mem- ber on the advisory board to Regional Solutions. Each voting member is allowed to submit a project from his or her own area for funding consideration. Once the projects are pri- oritized, the list and budget is sent to the governor who then submits it to the leg- islature. The funds for this biennium will be approved by the legislature February 2019. Sands had initially pro- posed the 60-acre Joseph project based on an Ander- son Perry and Associates study that showed the com- pleted project would cost approximately $650,000. Unfortunately, money devoted to Regional Solu- tions for the 2017-19 bien- nium is a fraction of the amount allocated in 2015- GRANT Continued from Page A1 More good news. Wallowa County Commis- sioners voted Sept. 17 to cre- ate a Wallowa County Eco- nomic Development Advisory Committee — an idea put for- ward by the late commission- er-elect Bruce Dunn based on his success with the Wallowa County Natural Resource Advisory Committee. This means the county and cities will benefit from a com- mittee of local professionals IN BRIEF MidValley plans play auditions Open auditions for MidVal- ley Theatre Company’s Fall 2018 production “Encore” will be held Sunday through Tues- day evenings Sept. 23-25 and Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Show up 6-8 pm at the Los- tine Presbyterian Church in Lostine. “Encore” has numer- ous roles available as it features excerpts from many differ- ent sources, including favorite Paul Wahl/Chieftain Oregon Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward asks a question of Winding Waters’ Dr. Elizabeth Pow- ers during a tour of the site where a new integrated health clinic will be built Sept. 12. Also on hand for the tour were Russell Peterson, Dan DeBoie and Rep. Greg Barreto. mittee that approves funding requests such as the one being prepared in Wallowa County. She and Hansell sit in adjoining chairs on the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee. “We’re going to make this happen,” she told the lunch gathering. For Steiner Hayward, men- tal health issues are extremely personal. She has multiple sclerosis and has been treated for major depression. She’s also a medical doc- tor at OHSU and a friend of Dr. Elizabeth Powers, who has practiced in Wallowa County since 2007. In addition to the legislative funding, supporters of the proj- ect are hoping to raise $800,000 from foundations, sales of existing Center for Wellness property and other sources. Roughly 39 percent of the total is already committed, according to presentations made last week. A major fundraiser this winter will mirror one held last year, part of the “Hearts for Health” campaign. A $100,000 anonymous gift was the impetus for rais- ing $355,000 from that event. Organizers hope for similar results this coming year. collaborating to create a “to do” list. The committee can seek the input of dozens of governmental entities, agen- cies, experts and nonprofits on how to tackle items on the list and advise the county on how best to support projects. The information gathered can also be used by other groups or agencies beyond the board of commissioners. The collaborative work that can be done by such a committee was something that was lacking when eco- nomic development studies were completed in the past. For instance, neither McQuead nor County Com- missioner Susan Roberts could put their finger on a project the city and county had worked together on after a 2009 study and goal-setting. The study was helpful in that several of the early goals outlined were met by the county, which was involved in the early stages of develop- ment that led to the establish- ment of Wallowa Integrated Biomass; preserved the WURA rail line; and worked to preserve the moraines. The 2009 analysis sug- gested that Enterprise would benefit from completing sev- eral specific projects: • Working with educa- tional institutions to position the city and region as a cen- ter for technical training and education. • The development of high speed Internet. • Evaluation of oppor- tunities for a Main Street Program. • Creation of a Wallowa County Brand Center store for businesses to market their branded products and services. scenes from MidValley’s past productions as well as short sketches, songs and poems. It is a celebratory last show the company will stage at the old Lostine gymnasium before moving on to other venues. Info: Kate Loftus: 541- 569-2302 or Jennifer Hobbs jhobbs@eoni.com. Wednesday is “Genera- tions Day,” in which fresh- men and sophomores dress like a baby or little boy or girl and juniors and seniors dress like a senior citizen. Thursday a pep assembly will be held prior to a varsity and junior varsity volleyball game 4 p.m. at Stanfield. Friday night, the EHS Out- law Varsity Football team will face Dufor at 7 p.m. followed by a homecoming dance on the deck after the game. Activities conclude Sat- urday with home volley- ball games with Heppner and Union at noon. Homecoming week at EHS If you see some oddly dressed students at Enter- prise High School this week, don’t worry. It’s homecoming week. • Securing grant fund- ing for an interpretive center downtown. • Identifying and zoning developable land for com- mercial and industrial use. • Designating commercial areas so that they are concen- trated downtown. Although the city made progress in related areas, most of these specific proj- ects required partnerships, advisory expertise, funding and planning work that the city was unable to complete on its own. Furthermore, the eco- Cliff Walters FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER I have lived in Wallowa County for 25+years where I raised twin boys John and Cory Walters and am married to Christine Walters. SELF- FUNDED I will fight for important issues on FOREST MANAGEMENT and NO FURTHER ROAD CLOSURES. The Wallowa County Economic & Social Committee should move forward as Bruce Dunn intended. National Family Meal Day Monday Septerber 24th Like Bruce Dunn I will work diligently that NOT ONE MORE ACRE SHOULD GO TO WILDERNESS. Limited Government. Attract New Businesses. I believe in protecting the unborn, elderly and veterans. I have common sense, values and integrity. I am retired and can focus 100% on the position without any conflict of interest. Swing by Building Healthy Families at 207 E Park Street to pick up a Family Meal Basket that includes; cutlery, recipe book, and a number of items to help you prep your family dinner I was the area coordinator for Hunter Safety in Malheur, Baker, Union and Wallowa Counties. If I tell you I will do something I will do it. Sept. 24th - 26th Don’t forget to take a selfie of your family prepping dinner or enjoying a meal at the dinner table to the Wallowa County Prevention Facebook page or the Building Healthy Families page to be entered in a drawing for local made gifts that will take place at Kidfest!” Sept. 28th Building Healthy Families urges you to participate in Family Meal Night as often as possible! 541-432-0688 I would appreciate your vote on Nov. 6 A7 17 –– $400,000, Sands said. “We resubmitted at $200,000,” Sands said and the paperwork showed the city would contribute $20,000, another $20,000 has been requested from the county and certain individ- uals in the industrial area pledged further money. In the end, Regional Solutions only allocated $145,000 for Joseph. The city remains eligible to apply for more money to complete the project through a $2 million state pool and could also apply for a bridge loan from Business Ore- gon based on receipt of the Regional Solutions grant. Because of increasing interest by businesses that would like to locate in the park, Joseph City Council determined it was important to move ahead with plans to get the sewer and water to the industrial area along Russell Lane west of Camp Street. City Engineer Brad Baird of Anderson Perry advised the council Sept. 6 that com- pleting the design phase this winter would mean con- struction could begin in the spring. “If you wait until next spring or summer to make darn sure the money is there, then you’re not going to get it built till 2020,” Baird said. Council members pre- ferred to wait until the end of September to iron out addi- tional details before spend- ing $22,000 for preliminary plans. nomic landscape has changed in the last decade, McQuead said. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development chose the city of Enterprise from 31 appli- cants covering 51 commu- nities who applied to the new Eastern Oregon Eco- nomic Development Planning Project. That project creates up-to- date Economic Opportunity Analysis documents and is supported by State of Ore- gon General Fund by special appropriation for 2018-2019.