A6
LOCAL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Enterprise athletic director resigns
Wells accuses
administrators of
unprofessionalism
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Steve Tool/Chieftain
Classic blues and rock group Casey Kiser and the Jakewalk
Saints. From left, drummer David Salim, bass player Zion
Mark and lead guitarist and vocalist Casey Kiser.
Former Jimmy Bivens
lead man Kiser fronts
new blues-rock band
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Casey Kiser, the former
lead guitar player for local
musician Jimmy Bivens,
has struck out on his own
and formed a blues-rock
group: Casey Kiser and the
Jakewalk Saints.
Kiser, 20, formed the
group with David Salim,
16, on drums and Zion
Mark, 17, on jazz bass.
The latter two are for-
mer attendees of the local
“School of Rock,” which
featured Kiser as a co-in-
structor. Salim is a sopho-
more who has also played
with Bivens and Mark is a
junior in high school with
recording engineer aspi-
rations. Kiser is also lead
singer in addition to lead
guitar duties.
The group has been
together for about six
months. Kiser said the
group’s name came out of
sheer panic. True to blues
fashion, the name comes
from Prohibition slang for
imported Cuban whiskey.
“It was so potent it
would paralyze you if you
drank too much of it,”
Kiser said. “When you’d
get paralyzed, it would be
called the jake walk.”
The group’s fi rst formal
gig came at the Lostine
Tavern on New Year’s Eve.
“We’ve all played
together off and on for a
few years,” Kiser said.
The group practices
about twice a week. Prac-
tices last about two hours
for covers and three to
four hours for originals, of
which the group has sev-
eral. As an example, they
played a well-put-together
blues number, “Right
Back,” for the Chieftain.
Covers are chosen by
listening to a thorough col-
lection of 1950s and 1960s
blues and blues rock.
“I really like a lot of the
English stuff like Cream
and Derek and the Domi-
nos,” Kiser said. “Chicago
stuff too, like Magic Sam
(Maghett). Salim likes the
same music with mod-
ernized drum beats. His
favorite drummer is Garth
Brooks’ road drummer.”
Enterprise High School
athletic director Larry Wells
has resigned, citing unprofes-
sional conduct by superinten-
dent Erika Pinkerton and the
school board.
Wells alleged in a let-
ter to the school board that
employees deliberately fal-
sifi ed a student’s atten-
dance records and Pinkerton
deemed that student eligible
to play school sports, despite
the fact that Wells had deter-
mined the student was ineli-
gible. The student had been
enrolled in a California high
school at the beginning of
this school year. Accord-
ing to Wells, the student had
returned to EHS on Sept. 11
and proceeded to skip 15
school days — including 10
consecutive days — further
making him ineligible.
“Obviously,
academ-
ics isn’t important at that
point,” Wells said. “Your
transfer can’t be athleti-
cally motivated. You have to
make a transfer for academic
reasons.”
Wells determined on Oct.
4, after he says he consulted
with the Oregon Schools
Activities Association, that
the student was unable to
participate in athletics. The
OSAA told Wells he was cor-
rect, but he could submit the
case to the District Athletic
Committee, of which Wells
is chairman, for a second
look. Wells did not do so.
“The case has no merit,”
he said.
T HE B OOKLOFT
According to Wells, nei-
ther Pinkerton nor any school
board has asked him for
details about the case.
The letter states that on
Monday, Oct. 8, school prin-
cipal Blake Carlsen and Wells
discovered that a student’s
attendance records had been
altered. Carlsen conducted
interviews of all individu-
als with access to student
records, and each individual
denied involvement.
However, Carlsen deter-
mined the culprit through a
computer audit. Pinkerton
was notifi ed of the inves-
tigation, but allegedly cre-
ated another position for the
employee in a different part
of the school. No disciplinary
action was taken against the
employee. According to
Wells, the only reason the
student’s attendance records
were restored to their original
state is because he had taken
screenshots of them.
The school board then
held an executive session for
the student to let him explain
his side of the story. They
did not ask Wells for input.
The board then issued a let-
ter to the student, noting that
if he raised his grades at the
alternative education school
he attends, the board would
allow the superintendent
to submit a reinstatement
request to the District Ath-
letic Committee.
“This was never a grades
question,” Wells responded.
“What’s most frustrating is
that when the school board
publishes a letter to the fam-
ily that Blake Carlsen and
Larry Wells mishandled the
case, when no one consulted
me for my facts and my time-
line,” Wells said.
Wells says his access to
attendance records was also
curtailed without notifi ca-
tion. Because of this, Wells
asserts violations of school
policy. He stated that access
to those records is perti-
nent to his job to determine
eligibility.
In addition Wells claims
that the school board, with-
out due process or review of
factual guidelines and time-
lines, issued a letter to the
parents of the student that
was critical of Wells’ and
Carlsen’s actions. The school
board was also unwilling
or unable to supply Carlsen
with details of how he or
Wells violated policy of the
District Athletic Commit-
tee eligibility requests as the
aforementioned letter stated.
According to Wells, the
18-year-old student formally
withdrew from Enterprise
after starting football prac-
tice here and went to stay
with non-custodial parents in
California, where he enrolled
in three different schools.
“All the circumstance of
him leaving and returning
were fully within his control
as well as his custodial par-
ents,” Wells said.
Wells said that it was his
opinion that the superinten-
dent or school board didn’t
want to tell the student’s par-
ents that their son was ineli-
gible. Instead, they’ll let the
athletic committee or ulti-
mately the OSAA make a
ruling.
“I’d like to know why this
particular kid is so import-
ant,” Wells said.
Enterprise School District
superintendent, Erika Pinker-
ton, disagreed with Wells’
interpretation of events.
She affi rmed that she and
the board decided to move
forward with a hardship eli-
gibility request to the Dis-
trict Athletic Committee if
the student met the board’s
requirements.
Pinkerton stated that the
school attendance alteration
was done because the student
was a 10-day drop and the
Oregon Department of Edu-
AND
Skylight Gallery
Finding books is our specialty
541.426.3351 • 107 E. Main • Enterprise • www.bookloftoregon.com
Church
Directory
Church of Christ
Grace Lutheran
Church
502 W. 2nd Street • Wallowa
541-398-2509
409 West Main -Enterprise
Worship at 11 a.m.
Mid-week
Bible Study 7 p.m.
St. Katherine’s
Catholic Church
Fr. Thomas Puduppulliparamban
301 E. Garfield Enterprise
Mass Schedule
Sundays:
St. Pius X, Wallowa - 8:00 am
St. Katherine of Siena, Enterprise 10:30am
Saturdays:
St Katherine of Siena, Enterprise 5:30am
Weekday:
St. Katherine of Siena, Enterprise – 8:00am
(Monday – Thursday and First Friday)
cation requires that when the
school drops a student from
the rolls that the records are
accurate.
“He’s (Wells) under the
understanding that what they
(the secretaries) do was not
legal, and that is not true,”
she said. “Nothing illegal
or unethical has been con-
ducted by an employee of
my district with altering
records.”
The superintendent did
say an audit was done and
an employee identifi ed, but
because it is a personnel
issue she can’t discuss it. She
could not discuss whether
any disciplinary action was
taken against the employee
or whether the attendance
records were “restored,” for
the same reason.
Furthermore,
although
Wells’ access to the “School-
master” program was cur-
tailed, Pinkerton said that
after review, she deter-
mined that Wells and another
employee only needed “read
only” access while the sec-
retaries retained full access
because of their duties.
“I took the time to sit
down and do an audit on who
had access to what,” Pinker-
ton said. “I investigated a
concern that was brought
forth to me.”
Pinkerton said that the
letter that went out to the
student’s parents from the
school board was not taken
lightly.
“There was due pro-
cess through all of this,”
she said. “Larry (Wells)
reported to Blake (Carlsen).
Blake brought the informa-
tion to the school board. The
school board evaluated that
and came to a recommen-
dation for the student’s best
interests.”
Additional events regard-
ing this case have transpired,
including a controversial
school board meeting and the
student in question attempt-
ing to practice with the bas-
ketball team since Wells sub-
mitted his resignation letter.
The Chieftain will fol-
low up on this story in a later
issue.
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CLUES ACROSS
1. Cabbage dish
5. Mouse’s cousin
8. Fluster
12. City transport
13. Have unpaid bills
14. Cattle
15. Suffers
16. Fellows
17. Marsh stalk
18. Raised
19. Love
21. ____ up to (confess)
23. Take back
27. Frown
31. Express
32. Angler’s need
33. Gall
35. Morning condensation
36. Spoken
38. Most uncanny
40. Barked
42. Prepared
43. Army bigwigs
45. Jam
49. Knitted
52. Shad ____
53. Enormous
54. Hunch
55. Addition to a house
56. Derive
57. Thereafter
58. Two, to Manuel
59. Musical twosome
CLUES DOWN
1. Try
2. Lion’s pad
3. Wheel shaft
4. Insight
5. Love affair
6. Thunderstruck
7. Choir member
8. Precede
9. Hatchet
10. Final letter
11. Complete
20. Worship
22. Roam
24. General’s assistant
25. Sorbets
26. Certain amphibian
27. Actress Erin ____
28. Film part
29. Fan favorite
30. Sooner than, in poems
34. Ships
37. Cheerful
39. Yearned
41. Braved
44. Aria
46. Hawaiian feast
47. Giant
48. Lady’s guy
49. Take the gold medal
50. Shelley poem
51. Disturb
OHSU Resident
Joseph United
Methodist Church
Summit Church
3rd & Lake St. • Joseph
Pastor Cherie Dearth
Phone: 541-432-3102
Sunday Worship Service
10:00 am
Gospel Centered Community
Service time: 10:30 am
Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise
541-426-2150
Interim Pastor: Rich Hagenbaugh
JosephUMC.org
John Mitchell
January 1 – February 7
Hours:
Monday-Friday
7:00am to 7:00pm
Saturday
9:00am to 1:00pm
603 Medical Parkway
Enterprise, OR 97828
www.summitchurchoregon.org
Enterprise
Christian Church
Christ Covenant
Church
85035 Joseph Hwy • (541) 426-3449
Pastor Terry Tollefson
Worship at 9 a.m.
Sunday School at 10:30 a.m.
Evening Worship at 6 p.m.
(nursery at A.M. services)
Family Prayer: 9:30 AM
Sunday School: 10 AM
Worship Service: 11 AM
“Loving God & One Another”
David Bruce, Sr. - Minister
723 College Street
Lostine
Lostine
Presbyterian Church
Enterprise Community
Congregational Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
Worship Service 11:00 AM
The Big Brown Church
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
541.398.0597
Hwy 82, Lostine
Stephen Kliewer, Minister
Wallowa
Assembly
of God
606 West Hwy 82
Wallowa, Oregon
541-886-8445
Sunday School • 9:am
Worship Service • 10:am
Pastor Tim Barton
wallowaassemblyofgod.com
with an open door
Pastor Archie Hook
Sunday Worship 11am
Bible Study 9:30am
Ark Angels Children’s Program
Ages 4-6th grade, 11am
Nursery for children 3 & under
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541-426-8339 School
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Sabbath School 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Worship Hour 11:00 a.m. - Noon
Pastor Jonathan DeWeber
541-426-4208