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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 2018)
KIDFEST 2018 | A7 Enterprise, Oregon Wallowa.com Issue No. 24 October 3, 2018 $1 County pays Hurley $5,855 in legal fees He had filed 2 challenges of lodging tax expansion plan, which county withdrew By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Wallowa County Commissioners have reached a settlement with David Hurley, owner of Eagle Cap Chalets at Wallowa Lake. Hurley had filed two suits against the commissioners in August as a result of Commissioner Todd Nash’s efforts to place a pro- posal to expand the county’s transient lodging tax on the November ballot. Nash had hoped to help fund improvements at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds and additional staff for Wallowa County Sheriff through rais- ing the tax levy in unincorporated areas. Hurley’s first suit challenged the ballot title for the proposed tax on sev- eral grounds, including the fact that the measure for the proposed tax was not filed at all. The second suit alleged more than 17 violations of Public Meetings Law in the process by which the public was informed of the bid to put the measure on the ballot. In answer to the first suit, Com- missioners backed away from filing the ballot measure at a Sept. 5 special sessions. Commissioners then moved to settle the second suit, the violation of Public Meetings Law, before it went to trial. On Sept. 28, commissioners reached a settlement agreement with Hurley and Judge Tom Powers dis- missed that case. Commissioners paid Hurley’s legal fees for the two actions in the amount of $5,855 and assured Hurley they are working to establish a pro- cess to ensure they are scrupulous in their compliance with Oregon’s Pub- lic Meetings law going forward. Nash contended that his plan was similar to approaches taken in other counties. There proved to be a signif- Alpenfest the best Largest crowd in years turns out for 2018 celebration A ttendance was up dramati- cally over the previous cou- ple years for the 40th edi- tion of Oregon’s Alpenfest Sept. 28-30. Friday night, more than 250 packed into Edelweiss Inn, and a similar-sized crowd was on hand Saturday night. The three days of emphasis on Swiss and Bavarian culture included copi- ous amounts of music, food, beer, shopping and Gemütlichkeit (a feeling of comfort and relaxation). Visitors traveled from across the Northwest and packed into hotels and campgrounds around the county. Alpenfest was originally created to extend the tourist sea- son for Wallowa Lake merchants and inns. Paul Wahl/Chieftain Rita Ehrler, left, and family got into the spirit of Alpenfest with native costumes and attended the opening ceremonies Thursday afternoon. MORE IMAGES ON PAGE A9 AND AT WALLOWA.COM icant difference between those coun- ties and Wallowa County. Other counties that make use of lodging tax for their fairgrounds have facilities that are significantly larger than Wallowa County’s, often bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars from tourist-supported events each year, and support a paid staff. In 2018, the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association challenged Bend, Ore., over the expenditure of lodging tax dollars for road improve- ments. ORLA won that case. Lostine corridor project challenged Environmental group’s head says this is likely the last appeal By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Environmental groups Oregon Wild and the Greater Hells Canyon Council are per- sistent. After two judges blocked the groups’ appeal to halt the Lostine Corridor Public Safety Project, they are appealing the deci- sions up the ladder to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The groups filed suit against the U.S. For- est Service in June 2017 to stop the project, which is billed as a wildfire mitigation proj- ect that includes thinning and some commer- cial logging in the 11-mile strip of roadway along the Lostine River. See CORRIDOR, Page A8 Sands, Nash testify for broadband ‘Streamline Small Cell Deployment Act’ being considered by Congress By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Joseph mayor Dennis Sands went a long way to lobby for his city –– all the way to Washington, D.C. Sands made the trip with Wallowa County Commissioner Todd Nash to seek better access to broadband Internet and 5G networking in rural areas. The two traveled, testified and returned in a three-day period Sept. 16-18. See BROADBAND, Page A8 Pastor, city council member, now chaplain Micah Agnew wears many hats in city of Enterprise By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Enterprise Police Department has a police chaplain. On June 8, The Rev. Micah Agnew, pastor of Abundant Life Assembly of God in Enterprise, took on the duty. “It started rather informally with Enter- prise Police Chief Joel Fish asking if it was something I would be interested in,” Agnew recalled. “I said, ‘Well, maybe. What is police chaplaincy?’” As it turns out, Fish knew a chaplain that was putting together the first-ever combined Police and Fire Chaplaincy Academy anywhere in the country. The Oregon Chaplains Academy at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in Salem became a reality in May. Long story short, Agnew soon knew a lot about what it means to be a police and fire chaplain He is one of the first clergy members in the nation to graduate from a course that is endorsed by both the Federation of Fire Chaplains and International Conference of Police Chaplains. Half of the graduates are sworn officers. Although Fish offered to make Agnew a reserve officer, he chose not to be sworn or carry a gun. “I’m not called to be an officer. I’m called to be a pastor,” Agnew said. The back-story is that Agnew lives within a block of the old Enterprise Fire Department and, even before he was elected to Enterprise City Council and worked with Fish on the police committee, he would see the firefighters roll out and eventually come back. “I would walk by and see the guys training on Thursdays and wondered: ‘Who takes care of those guys? Does anybody have their back? If See CHAPLAIN, Page A8 Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Police Chaplain Micah Agnew is happy he is able to be of ser- vice to local police, fire and residents and Enterprise Police Chief Joel Fish is happy to have a chaplain on board. Agnew is a graduate in the first class of police chaplains trained in Oregon.
