Wallowa County Chieftain
From A1
wallowa.com
September 26, 2018
A7
Walden visit includes opioid abuse discussion
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
U.S. Rep., Greg Walden found
out that rural areas are suffering as
much as big cities from the opi-
oid crisis after he made a one-hour
whistle stop in Wallowa County last
week.
He met with Winding Waters
Community Health Center, the
Enterprise Police Department and
Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office
to learn how the agencies team to
combat the opioid crisis in eastern
Oregon. The Sept. 19 event took
place at the county’s justice center
in Enterprise.
After Walden introduced him-
self, the group discussed the drug
dispensary kiosk located inside
Steve Tool/Chieftain
the lobby of the justice center. The
Oregon U.S. Rep., Greg Walden listens as Wal- kiosk allows anyone to safely dis-
lowa County Sheriff Steve Rogers explains the pose of unwanted prescription med-
boxes under his hands are the product of a ication. The items are then shipped
dispensary for unwanted prescription medi- to the Drug Enforcement Admin-
cation located in the county’s justice center. istration for proper disposal in an
Walden visited Wallowa county to see how ru- incinerator.
ral areas are dealing with the opioid crisis.
“It’s probably the single biggest
thing Winding Waters and we ever
did, was to put that thing (the kiosk)
out there,” Wallowa County Sheriff
Steve Rogers said.
“That’s great to know,” Walden
replied.
Walden’s jaw dropped as EPD
officer George Kohlhepp brought
in and stacked bag after bag of dis-
carded medication onto the confer-
ence room table. Rogers told every-
one that the bags contain a variety of
prescriptions but most are opioids.
The DEA receives shipments
from the county approximately
every six months.
“The last time we shipped, I had
one jail cell clear full,” Rogers said.
“A jail cell?” Walden asked,
incredulous.
Kohlhepp explained that among
other drugs, he finds copious
amounts of hydrocodone and fen-
tanyl. Because of the presence of
fentanyl, which can be hazardous to
touch and also a component of other
drugs, law enforcement officers no
longer perform field tests.
Also on the agenda was a dis-
ELECTION
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The number of yurts will increase five-fold at Wallowa
Lake State Park under a proposed planning document.
YURTS
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Oregon State Parks Northwest
Regional Manager.
Tutor, who had seen yurts
manufactured by Pacific Yurts
at the state fair, began a cru-
sade to see them placed in as
many state parks as possible.
Fast-forward to 2018, 30
state parks have roughly 200
of them mostly clustered on
the coast. Most users book as
far in advance as a year for the
opportunity to spend a night or
two in the units.
“It’s the most competitive
facility we have and the hard-
est for which to get a reserva-
tion,” David Stipe, Planning
and Design Manager at Ore-
gon State Parks and Recre-
ation told a handful of people
who attended the final public
hearing on the plan.
Under the proposal, the two
existing yurts at Wallowa Lake
would be relocated to an area
between B and C loops and
eight more added along with
a small parking area to create
a yurt village, according to JR
Collier, Wallowa Lake State
Management Unit Manager.
“The new ones would be
similar to what we have,” Col-
lier said.
Besides popularity with
campground users, the yurts
are heated and ideal for year-
round camping.
Collier said when and if
the yurt village is constructed,
it would open the door for
more winter-time activities in
the park, such as hiking and
snow-shoeing.
Yurts generally do not have
toilet facilities; the 4-7 camp-
ers in each pay $45 per night
and utilize the campground’s
amenities.
Stipe said they are sim-
ple to clean, require little to
no maintenance and are solid
structures.
According to one national
report, yurts are popular with
young couples who do not
have the wherewithal to own
a camper and older campers
who struggle to use a tent.
State park yurts come in
“rustic” and “deluxe” models.
Deluxe versions have kitchen
facilities and a restroom with
a shower. Most of the units
are 16-feet in diameter with
a skylight, electricity, heat,
lights and an outdoor fire pit
with picnic table. Pet-friendly
yurts are also available.
Also running unopposed
are Stacey Karvoski for
Enterprise Mayor, Jenni Word
for Enterprise City Council
Position 1 and David Elliott
for Enterprise City Council
Position 2.
Two
incumbents
on
Joseph City Council are run-
ning for a total of three seats
–– Teresa Sajonia and Pearl
R. Sturm. The third candidate
would have to be elected by
write-in.
Gary Hulse is seeking the
Wallowa Mayor position,
Joe Town and Oran McCrae
are standing for city council
seats.
In Lostine, incumbent
Dusty Tippet is running
unopposed for mayor. Kate
Shelton and Darci Calhoun
are on the ballot for two seats
on Lostine City Council.
Thomas Smith, James
Yost, Kevin Melville and
Leonard Post are running
unopposed for seats on the
Wallowa County Soil and
Water Conservation District.
Wallowa and Union county
voters will select between
former Wallowa County Dis-
trict Attorney Mona Williams
and La Grande attorney Wes
Kyrgyzstan
visit canceled
A group of livestock pro-
ducers and pasture specialists
from the Kyrgyzstan will not
arrive in time for an event pre-
viously schedule for Sunday in
Enterprise.
Michael Hale, rangeland
specialist for The Nature Con-
servancy, told the Chieftain
Monday the delegation’s visas
had been canceled.“I am hope-
ful that it will happen some-
time in the future,” Hale said.
Thank you to the following businesses for supporting
Newspapers in Education
Their generous support of the Wallowa County
Chieftain NIE program helps provide copies of the
newspaper and unlimited access to Wallowa.com and
the e-Edition to schools throughout the community.
cussion of Narcan, a nasal spray
used on those who have overdosed
on opioids. Narcan blocks opi-
oid receptors in the brain, thereby
reversing the overdose.
Rogers said the county had only
suffered one known opioid over-
dose while Dr. Liz Powers of Wind-
ing Waters said she had been on call
when a person was admitted experi-
encing an overdose and would have
perished without medical attention.
“I would say that EMS uses it
very frequently,” Powers said. Two
of the county’s schools have a sup-
ply of Narcan in case of a drug
overdose, as well.
As officer Kohlhepp told of the
difficulties in stemming the flow
of drugs into the county, Dr. Pow-
ers assured him that all the county’s
law enforcement had made a sig-
nificant dent in the supply. She told
a story about a patient undergoing
withdrawals who came into the hos-
pital emergency room at 2 a.m.
“He said, ‘I’m here because I
can’t find drugs anywhere in Wal-
lowa County,’” she related.
The rest of the hour-long meet-
ing featured exchanges between
the congressman and the other par-
ticipants regarding various meth-
ods law enforcement uses to com-
bat drug crime and the clinic’s part
in dealing with drug abuse from a
health care perspective.
Nic Powers, Winding Waters’
chief executive officer, said that
he appreciated the opportunity
to share what the clinic is doing
to fight drug abuse. “I was really
pleased that our politicians on a
national level can see how much
this community cares about health
and wellness, and how hard we’re
all working to improve our com-
munity health,” he said.
Rogers said he appreciated the
opportunity to share his perspective
with the congressman.
“I think it’s a pretty telling and
positive thing that a U.S. represen-
tative wants to show up in a county
this small to see what we’re doing,”
he said. “You could see from the
amount of drugs on the table that
it’s a problem.”
BE AN EDUCATED VOTER
Wallowa County Chamber of
Commerce will host a candidate
forum 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10
at Cloverleaf Hall on the campus
of Wallowa County Fairgrounds.
Invitations have gone out to
candidates in all contest races on
the Wallowa County version of the
General Election ballot.
Candidates have an opportunity
for a short introduction and will answer
a specific number of written questions from
the forum committee and audience. Questions for candidates
may be written on 3x5-inch cards that will be available
at the door. They will be collected prior to the candidate
presentations.
The forum will follow a nonpartisan, unbiased and
impartial format.
Williams for a judge’s seat on
the Circuit Court, 14th Dis-
trict, Position 5.
In regional elections,
incumbent Greg Walden is
being challenged by Democrat
Jamie McLeod-Skinner and
Independent Mark R. Roberts
for Oregon’s U.S. Representa-
tive from District 2.
Independent Skye Farnam
is challenging Greg Barreto
for state representative from
the 58th District. Barreto is
listed as both a Republican
and Democrat on the ballot,
Statewide,
Wallowa
County voters will help
select one of six candidates
to serve as governor. Consti-
tution Party candidate Aaron
Auer, Libertarian Nick Chen,
Republican Knute Buehler,
Independent Patric Starnes
and Progressive Chris Henry
are challenging incumbent
Democrat Kate Brown.
Several statewide non-
partisan judge candidates
are also running unopposed,
including Adrienne Nel-
son, judge of the Supreme
Court Position 5, Bronson D.
James, judge of the Court of
Appeals Position 2, Robyn
Ridler Aoyago, judge of the
Court of Appeals Position 4,
Steven R. Powers, Judge of
the Court of Appeals Position
7 and Robert Manicke, judge
of the Oregon Tax Court.
Five statewide measures
are also on the ballot, as
well as one to be decided
by Joseph residents ––
repeal of a ban on mari-
juana related businesses in
that city.
Statewide measure include
the following:
• Measure 102: Amends
Oregon’s Constitution to
allow local bonds for financ-
ing affordable housing with
nongovernmental entities.
• Measure 103: Amends
Oregon’s Constitution to
prohibit taxes/fees based on
transactions for “groceries.”
• Measure 104: Amends
Oregon’s Constitution to
expand (beyond taxes) appli-
cation of requirement that
three-fifths legislative major-
ity is needed to approve leg-
islation raising revenue.
• Measure 105: Repeals
a law limiting use of state
and local law enforcement
resources to enforced federal
immigration law (Sanctuary
Law). Rep. Greg Barreto is
one of two chief sponsors of
Measure 105.
• Measure 106: Prohib-
its spending “public funds”
directly or indirectly for
abortion.
Diane Daggett
for Wallowa County Commissioner
What do I mean by
“Keep Us Rural”?
PROTECT & STRENGTHEN
OUR AG & FORESTRY ECONOMY
To protect our rural way of life we must ensure
that our natural resources-based economy
—our farms, ranches, and forests—
remain our dominant economic drivers.
When they flourish,
our county prospers.
Jr. Jason Follett, DMD
541-426-3531
WallowaValleyDental.com
204 Residence St.
Enterprise, OR
306 W. North St.
Enterprise, OR
541-426-7455
OliveBranchFamily.com
603 Medical Parkway
Enterprise, OR 97828
541-426-4502
WindingWaters.org
How do we do this?
Watch your mailbox, my flier is coming.
Your vote matters.
Vote to Keep Us Rural.
541-426-2700
Heidi’s Gift Shoppe
59974 Mt. Howard Rd., Joseph, OR
541-432-0830
HeidisGiftShoppe.com
205 W. Main St. 541-426-3124
Enterprise, OR 97828 UmpquaBank.com
1200 Highland Ave.
Enterprise, OR 97828
EaglesViewInnAndSuites.com
For more information on the NIE Program, visit Wallowa.com/nie.
To make a donation, call 541-426-4567.