Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2018)
WALLOWA, JOSEPH FOOTBALL TEAMS HEADED FOR PERFECT SEASONS Pages B1-B2 Enterprise, Oregon Issue No. 26 October 17, 2018 Wallowa.com $1 Sports building supporters get seed money Project could cost as much as $450,000 By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Moving memorial bridge on county’s grant list “We Can.” That’s the motto of the Wallowa County Athletic Network (WCAN), which is working with Enterprise to con- struct a $400,000, 6,800 square- foot multipurpose sports build- ing at the Jensen Field location. The city received notice Sept. See BRIDGE, Page A12 See SPORTS BUILDING, Page A10 CITY HALL GOING UP By Kathleen Ellyn Wallowa County Chieftain Wallowa County Com- missioners will divide approximately $200,000 in Title II money to tackle projects recommended by the Wallowa County Nat- ural Resource Advisory Committee. Title II funds includes money the county receives in lieu of payments once received when timber was harvested on federal land. The money is earmarked for projects on federal land. The committee handed in its ranked list of 12 proj- ects at the Oct. 1 board of commissioners meeting. The list was vetted by the NRAC’s Technical Com- mittee, which ranks proj- ects suitable to receive county grants from Title II funds according to their planning and support. Top projects included restoration of the historic Lick Creek Guard Sta- tion with the assistance of the Wallowa Mountains Hells Canyon Trails Asso- ciation and Wallowa-Whit- man National Forest Fire- fighters. That project is expected to cost $23,247, and the Wallowa-Whitman asked for a county grant of $5,382. “In the past we always said we wanted to see main- tenance on buildings and this one was well written and they knew exactly what they wanted and they didn’t ask for very much money,” said Cynthia Warnock who previews and then presents grant requests to the NRAC Technical Committee. Second on the list was the reconstruction of 26 backcountry water troughs in the Hells Canyon Natu- ral Resource Area and Wal- lowa Valley Ranger Dis- trict. Allowing cattle and wildlife to water from the troughs improves water quality and protects fish habitat by keeping large animals out of waterways. The troughs were orig- inally placed in 1960- 70 in remote backcoun- try areas and have reached 21 that Oregon Parks and Rec- reation was awarding $250,250 toward the project. The net- work needs a $50,000 match to fulfill the grant obligation. The balance needed to complete the building will come from other grants, in-kind donations and money raised through fundrais- ers. The estimated community in-kind donations of labor and materials needed is $80,000 with another $70,000 needed in mon- etary donations. The deadline for completion of the project is Oct. 31, 2020. The indoor sports facility will include a new bathroom, stor- age and indoor practice space that will allow for movable bat- ting cages for softball, baseball and little league in addition to Paul Wahl/Chieftain The foundation has been set for the new Enterprise City Hall and Fire Station with the pouring of 374 cubic yards of concrete at the corner of East North and North River. Contractor Troy Farwell of Wellens Farwell Construction said the project is approximately 30 percent completed. The steel building material pack- age is scheduled to arrive Nov. 6. The $2.2 million project is expected to be completed next summer. Joseph voters asked to Joseph wins approve marijuana sales Oregonian Cup By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Sean Flanagan and his partner, Michelle Kramer have twice unsuccessfully lobbied the Joseph City Council for permission to open a recreational and medicinal marijuana dispen- sary within the city. The two, who own the Peace Pipe, a smoking accessory store in Joseph, desided to bypass the coun- cil and go directly to the taxpayers. They gathered enough signatures from Joseph citizens to put the issue to a city-wide vote in November’s general elec- tion as Ballot Measure 32-42. They had petition sig- nature sheets in their store, used word-of- mouth and also tried going door-to-door. “It wasn’t a good idea,” Flanagan said. “We had a lot of naysayers who were unhappy about us com- ing to their house and ask- ing them about it. We got screamed at a couple of times for that reason.” Qualifying for the ballot meant 87 signatures. They turned in 183, of which 104 were accepted by the Wal- lowa County Clerk. Reasons for the difference included 30 signers who weren’t yet reg- istered to vote and 35 who were from outside city limits, according to Kramer. According to Flanagan, most of the resistance he’s met is from people who believe marijuana is a gate- way drug into methamphet- amine use, or that mari- juana will end up in the hands of minors. “You have to be 21 to even come on our prop- erty,” he said. “We don’t want kids to get hold of it.” Flanagan said that if even 10 percent of the area’s sev- eral hundred thousand vis- itors annually dropped $50 at the store, the city would reap reward in the form of tax collected on each sale. He estimated that 1,000 to 2,000 people in the county as well as more from La Grande, which doesn’t have a recreational dispensary, would also add to the city’s coffers. Flanagan said that the negative reaction from some citizens at city coun- cil meetings have kept the couple from overt efforts to keep the ballot measure in the public eye, but they planned to mail out a circu- lar to the public. Despite pushback from the Joseph City Council as well as the city councils of Lostine and Wallowa, they do not plan to give up. Fla- nagan said that as more people become informed about marijuana, the more accepting they are toward legalizing it. “We’re not taking a no, and we’re not walking away from it,” Flanagan said. Kramer urged that every- one possible get out and vote. She noted that Joseph voters have the power to speak through their votes and decide the issue. “This is finally a chance for everyone to have their say,” she said. “We have to fight for every single vote that we can get.” Among those in Joseph not enamored with the idea of legalized marijuana is Mayor Dennis Sands. He is against the measure, See POT, Page A11 By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain A large sparkling silver cup graces the trophy case at Joseph Charter School, the coveted “Oregonian Cup.” The award, given annually for the past 19 years, honors excel- lence in four areas –– academics, sports- manship, athletics and activities. Joseph’s 1,640 points edged out the 1,610 points garnered by Hosanna Christian Acad- emy in Klamath Falls, Ore., for the honor. Joseph trumped 86 other 1A schools for the award. Kathy Foster of the Ore- gon School Activities Associa- tion presented the award to the school during an Oct. 11 volley- ball match with Wallowa. JCS athletic director Jason Crenshaw said the school was pleased to receive the award. “It’s kind of a cool thing for our kids,” he said. “They put in a lot of hard work and this is an acknowl- edgment of it.” Joseph Supt. of Schools Lance Homan said that although the platform for the Oregon Cup is athletics, it’s a representation of the phenomenal work done by the school’s coaches, staff, com- munity and most importantly parents. He called the award “amazing.” “We finished first out of 87 schools and we are the fourth public school ever to win the award at the 1A level in the 19 years the cup has been given,” he said. “We are truly honored and we couldn’t be prouder of our stu- dents who made this possible.” The Ore- gonian Cup, sponsored by the Oregonian newspaper in Portland, began as a way to recognize over- all excellence by schools in aca- demics, activities and athletics. The award honors a school’s stu- dents, teachers, coaches and the entire school community. Schools earn points based on their participation and finish in OSAA State Championships and for Top 10 finishes in the OSAA Academic All-State Program. A sportsmanship component, whereby schools are awarded points each season for having no ejections, is included as well. The points are updated and released at the end of fall and winter seasons and totaled at the end of the year. The school earn- ing the highest points in each classification receives a com- memorative trophy from The Oregonian and the OSAA.
