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NORTHWEST
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Secretary of State Richardson reduces workload amid cancer battle
By Aubrey Weber
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon Secretary of
State Dennis Richard-
son announced Monday he
is further scaling back his
workload to focus on treat-
ment of his brain cancer.
Richardson didn’t pro-
vide details about his new
schedule.
“I will, of course, con-
tinue to be in frequent and
regular contact with my staff
that has been doing incred-
ible work since the day we
took office over two years
ago,” Richardson said in
the news release. “I will
also continue to be the deci-
sion-maker on all important
issues.”
Richardson’s staff has
repeatedly said the office is
running as effectively as it
always has, and that there
is no impact on Oregonians.
They have not said who has
taken on his primary duties.
Pamplin Media Group
Richardson has repeat-
edly said he has no intention
of resigning.
Richardson was diag-
nosed with brain cancer in
late May. He announced the
diagnosis in June, but has
largely been silent on the
details.
In late summer or early
fall, Richardson relocated to
his home of Central Point,
where he conducts most
of his work out of his law
office. His staff has not said
how often he is in Salem.
Through the summer,
Richardson updated the pub-
lic on his health through vid-
eos released on social media.
He has repeatedly declined
to give details on his con-
dition, such as what type
of brain cancer he has been
diagnosed with, his treat-
ment or what his prognosis.
In late fall, Richard-
son again released a video
in which he said his ability
to communicate has been
impacted. He talked slow in
the video, at times unable to
find the correct words.
Since announcing the
diagnosis, Richardson has
scaled back public appear-
ances considerably. During
the fall election, Richardson
was largely absent from the
public eye, though his staff
did release a video to him
waving at voters and thank-
ing them as they turned in
ballots at a drive-through
voting site.
Richardson didn’t attend
Gov. Kate Brown’s inaugu-
ration. He was in Salem on
Jan. 8 for the Kid Gover-
nor inauguration ceremony,
a program he created. Sev-
eral people gave speeches,
but Richardson did not.
Richardson’s schedule
and emails show he has sig-
nificantly lowered his work-
load through the summer
and fall.
In November, state polit-
ical operatives told Salem
Reporter that Richardson
had told top Oregon officials
that he had been diagnosed
with glioblastoma, the most
aggressive form of brain
cancer. Richardson’s staff
has denied he ever disclosed
his diagnosis.
In October, Richardson
asked to delegate his posi-
tion on the Oregon State
Land Board to his deputy.
That decision was chal-
lenged, and in December he
withdrew his request to del-
egate after Attorney General
Ellen Rosenblum informed
him she did not believe he
could do so.
The next land board
meeting is Tuesday. It is not
clear whether Richardson
will participate by phone, as
he has for the past several
meetings.
Reporter Aubrey Wie-
ber: aubrey@salemreporter.
com or 503-575-1251. Wie-
ber is a reporter for Salem
Reporter who works for the
Oregon Capital Bureau, a
collaboration of EO Media
Group, the Pamplin Media
Group, and Salem Reporter.
Community Connection: Local organization brings us together in many ways
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Need some heating assis-
tance? Help from the food
bank? A reasonably priced
lunch? A ride? Those and
more are the types of con-
nections provided by the
community-themed orga-
nization for 50 years now.
Serving Wallowa, Union,
Baker and Grant counties,
Community
Connection
started in Union County
in 1969, spreading to Wal-
lowa County sometime in
the 1980s.
Wallowa County man-
ager, Connie Guentert,
started with the program in
2007. Although many know
the agency for its senior cit-
izen meal sites in Enterprise
and Wallowa, Guentert
noted, it’s more — exten-
sively more.
“Public transportation
has become one of our larg-
est programs, if not the
largest” Guentert said. “It’s
amazing. We’ve provided
public transportation for 20
years, and I still hear, ‘You
have a bus?’”
Although the transpor-
tation mission is known for
its public transport buses,
it also provides medical
transportation, which many
are unaware of. However,
senior nutrition is the focus
of the agency.
“Senior nutrition will
always be our flagship pro-
gram,” Guentert said.
The programs the agency
administers under the senior
nutrition umbrella include
Meals on Wheels and safety
checks for seniors. Also on
the list is quarterly nutrition
education for seniors.
“We’ll talk about water,
we’ll talk about vegetables,
eating a balanced diet, exer-
cise — all that make a nutri-
tionally balanced person,”
the director said. Every
meal served must meet
USDA nutritional standards
and the two agency sites
serve 60-75 meals per day
between Enterprise, Wal-
lowa and Joseph. That num-
ber will grow as 30 percent
of the county population is
older than 65.
A new venture that Guen-
tert is excited about is part-
nering with Safe Harbors,
Wallowa County’s orga-
nization dedicated to vic-
tims of domestic and sexual
assault. The two agencies
will work together to pro-
vide housing for victims of
domestic violence or sexual
assault.
“We’ve always assisted
clients with our limited
housing funds, but with this
new partnership, the funds
will be made available for
three years,” Guentert said.
She added that it will not
take away from Community
Connection funds.
How does the agency,
limited in funding and per-
sonnel take on these new
projects?
“We wear many hats,”
Guentert said. “I try to think
outside the box and work
outside the box to make
sure my clients are assisted,
instead of staying in the box
and saying no.” Sometimes,
it’s the only answer.
“We can only afford to
hire so many drivers or
reimburse so many vol-
unteer drivers,” she said.
“When transport requests
outweigh resources to meet
the client’s needs, the staff
take it personally.”
Much work is done
by volunteers, number-
ing in the dozens, and are
pertinent to the agency’s
mission.
“If it weren’t for volun-
teers, we wouldn’t get done
what we get done,” she said.
For example, the Meals
on Wheels program is all
done by volunteers. Other
volunteer-heavy programs
include the tax preparation,
Tai Chi classes, volunteer
medical drivers, food serv-
ers and desk people. Volun-
teers are still needed.
“We’re always looking
for some kind of volunteer,”
the director said. “If some-
one wants to donate their
time to our organization for
services to this community,
I don’t turn them away.”
For example, the senior
nutrition programs at the
Wallowa and Enterprise
centers can always use help.
Tax preparation helpers are
a huge need.
Community Connection
is a 501 ©(3) and donations
are tax deductible. Neither
the Wallowa or Enterprise
food banks have dedicated
funding and are completely
reliant on donations. It gets
shipments from the Oregon
Food Bank once a month,
but the agency pays for
them, even if it’s pennies on
the dollar.
Donations to the food
bank are always appreci-
ated as are senior heating
help donations. That pro-
gram is intended for seniors
who don’t quite qualify for
heating assistance because
of their income and have
difficulty paying their bills
because of it.
Right now, donations are
most urgently needed for
sewer and water help for
seniors as billing rates have
gone up significantly in both
Enterprise and Wallowa.
Other than cash flow,
the biggest detriment to the
agency’s mission are unre-
alistic expectations.
“A lot of times, we’re
asked to be everything for
everyone,” Guentert said.
“Sometimes we’re really
good at that, and some-
times we face challenges
within ourselves for a time
in knowing that we can’t.
We want to do everything
we can to assist our com-
munity. Every single staff
person lives in this county.
The people we help are our
neighbors, friends and our
family.”
Has the mission changed
during Guentert’s tenure?
“No, I don’t think so,”
she said. “I think our mis-
sion is all about commu-
nity, family, self-sufficiency
and assistance, whether it
be low or moderate income
families or seniors. I think
that’s our mission.”
Guentert said community
needs will determine future
changes for the agency.
“We’ll always be open
to creating new services
or changing services to fit
the needs of our counties,”
she said. “We’re flexible,
and I think it’s allowed the
organization to be in place
this long and still be going
strong,” she said.
Hello
Love your bank.
Term Loans
OPEN
HOUSE
at the Chieftain
Come visit with our staff and
welcome aboard our new editor
Christian Ambroson
Friday, February 15th
1 pm to 4 pm
Refreshments will be served
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proving one another wrong?
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