NEWS Wallowa.com Wednesday, February 6, 2019 A11 Poker Run nets cash for locals By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain The Wallowa County Gamblers all-vol- unteer snowmobile club held their annual Poker Run fundraiser on Jan. 19. Club trea- surer Chad Cooney said the club sold 358 hands at $5 per hand. He wasn’t sure of the exact number of attendees but said that both sides of the Salt Creek Summit parking lot were full. For a number of reasons, the run is held more as a lottery than traditional poker hands. At each of the six stops on the run, participants choose from a bag of poker chips numbering 1-40. That number is marked on a card. The 36-mile run ends at the Joseph Community Center where the card numbers are counted and totaled. The total number is entered into a lottery with other totals and a computer draws one of those numbers for prizes. This year’s event raised about $3,500, of which the club will keep about $1,000. The route started at Salt Creek Summit parking lot and followed along five stops, each with a bonfire. After completion the participants loaded up and traveled to the Joseph Community Center for the lottery drawing and a tri-tip dinner. Cooney said his favorite thing about the event was that it got everyone into the out- doors, including some non-participants. “We had people that came through that didn’t have cards or anything,” he said. They just rode through to be there with us.” Club president Dustin James agreed. “We had beautiful weather with great snow,” he said. He added he’d like to thank all the club volunteers and the sponsors who put in heroic efforts to get the event off the ground this year. The monies the club receives for the event are given to such local local non-prof- its as the food bank. The club hasn’t decided on the recipient of this year’s funds. Courtesy Photo Wallowa County Snowmobile Assocoation Poker Run participants gather for a few moments of warmth at Lick Creek, just one of the six stops on the 70-mile run. New primary proposal could mean big changes for Oregon politics By Claire Withycombe Oregon Capital Bureau The growing bloc of Ore- gonians who don’t belong to any political party could have more say in elections under a new proposal from Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. Richardson got the idea from a former rival: Alan Zundel, the Pacific Green Party’s candidate for secre- tary of state in 2016. And now Richardson’s office is advocating for Sen- ate Bill 225, which is based on a concept Zundel sug- gested to him last year. It would allow nonaffiliated voters to participate in their own primary. “I’ve been interested in how our electoral process works for a long time, par- ticularly in how the two- party system limits compe- tition and keeps the voting public from exposure to more than just two points of view on issues,” Zundel said. Under current law, nonaf- filiated Oregonians can vote in primary elections only for nonpartisan positions such as for judge. Richardson and Zun- del want the state’s 880,000 nonaffiliated voters — who now outnumber registered Republicans — to be able to choose nonaffiliated can- didates for those partisan offices. “Although nearly one- third of Oregon voters are not affiliated with any polit- ical party, those non-affil- iated voters often feel left out of the primary process in the current system,” Steve Elzinga, Richardson’s gov- ernmental and legal affairs director, told lawmakers on Wednesday. Under the proposal, non- affiliated candidates could enter a state-run primary where nonaffiliated voters could cast a ballot for the nonaffiliated candidate they preferred. Officials from Richard- son’s office shared the pro- posal last week with sen- ators at a meeting of a committee focused on cam- paign finance laws. State Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, expressed concerns about allowing nonaffiliated vot- ers to participate in a major party primary and poten- tially “sabotage” the outcome. The bill wouldn’t do that, though, Elzinga clarified. “It creates a new, effec- tively, a new party for non- affiliated voters,” Elzinga responded. “They have their own separate primary for voting on nonaffiliated can- didates, and the top nonaf- filiated candidate goes to the general election as the non- affiliated nominee.” Major party candidates would be ineligible to win the nonaffiliated primary election “so it doesn’t create a proxy battle,” Elzinga said. A second proposal from Richardson could apply to the roughly 45,000 Ore- gonians who belong to the state’s five minor parties — the Libertarian, Constitu- tion, Working Families, Pro- gressive and Pacific Green. Oregon laws “benefit long-established major parties at the expense of smaller par- ties,” Elzinga told lawmakers. Members of those par- ties can select a general elec- tion candidate through a par- ty-run process. Richardson has proposed allowing the state to pay for and run those primaries instead. “I will tell you, frankly, some of the minor parties are not excited about that,” Elzinga said. “They like the current process, and so we don’t feel it’s appropriate to Win a Professionally Guided Buck Hunt On the 33,000 acre Zumwalt Prairie for you and two guests! require them to do so, but to give them that option at least at that time, I think is a good starting point.” The state would pay about $140,000 to run the nonaf- filiated primary every elec- tion year, and $140,000 per minor party that chooses to participate in a state-funded primary. Richardson’s proposal is now before the Senate Rules Committee, where its fate is uncertain. The winner will receive a 3-day guided hunting trip for you and up to two guests on The Nature Conservancy’s 33,000 acre protected Zumwalt Prairie outside Joseph, Oregon. Terrain is rough and physically challenging. Oregon hunting regulations apply. The Nature Conservancy has generously donated the LOP tag to benefi t Chief Joseph Summer Camp, a week-long edu- cational day camp held each July since 1961 in Joseph, Oregon serving the rural kids of Wallowa County. Raffl e to be held at camp location, Ferguson Ridge Ski Area. You do not have to be present to win; winner will be notifi ed within 24 hours of drawing. Tickets: $100 each Only 100 tickets will be sold! Drawing to be held April 6, 2019 To purchase tickets, contact Board President Dana Ingram at 541-910-5146 or make check payable to CJSC for $100 and mail to: CJSC, c/o Dana Ingram, P.O. Box 588 Joseph, OR 97846 WALLOWA COUNTY FAIR UNLIMITED PANCAKES FOR A GOOD CAUSE RAISING MONEY FOR OUR WALLOWA COUNTY YOUTH SCHOLARSHIPS S ULT AD $10 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH DINNER STARTS AT 5:30PM BINGO STARTS AT 6:30 AT CLOVERLEAF HALL KIDS 10 & Und $5 er Pancake dinner includes sausage, coff ee, juice, and ONE FREE BINGO CARD LOTS TO BID ON AT OUR A FUN EVENING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!