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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2019)
NEWS Wallowa County Chieftain A16 Wednesday, March 20, 2019 Arrowhead: New owners, location but same quality product By Christian Ambroson Wallowa County Chieftain Known for its artisan chocolates, fresh coffee and tremendous gracious hospitality, some patrons may have been concerned over its absence these past couple weeks. Fear not! The family business that opened in 2010 has always emphasized wel- coming service while using only side ethical and sustainable food sources. While ownership has changed hands, Arrow- head remains a family business and won’t be straying from its core val- ues or its uniquely deli- cious chocolate creations. And though they are new to the business, Arrowhead’s new own- ers are quite familiar with Wallowa County. Like- wise, many in Wallowa County are familiar with Courtesy Photo New owners Dotsons and the Ivys are ready to take on a new life challenge. them. Perhaps some have crossed paths with Jerry Ivy or his daughter Syl- vana Dotson at Ivy’s New Heights Physical Ther- apy private practice. Oth- ers may recognize Ivy’s son-in-law and Sylvana’s husband Chad Dotson through his work at The Nature Conservancy. The family capital- ized on the opportunity to take the reins at Arrow- head when it discov- ered a storefront build- ing that could house both Ivy’s New Heights Physi- cal Therapy practice while also having space for the newly revamped space for the artisan chocolate and coffee shop. “We realized there was a building large enough to house both of our businesses,” said Dot- son. “It seemed like the right choice to consoli- date.” Dotson, who works for both New Heights and Arrowhead, making her the new set-up quite convenient Don’t expect many changes to the new oper- ation. “We … were extremely fortunate to retain the amazing staff at Arrowhead,” lauded Dot- son. “We are infi nitely grateful to them for work- ing so hard during the transition.” The new owners plan on building on the suc- cess of their predecessors. “Arrowhead has been extremely successful for a reason. Their product quality is something we will continue to uphold.” But that’s not to say Dot- son and her team won’t do a fair share of experiment- ing with fl avors of their own either. “I really enjoy cooking and baking and experimenting with fl a- vors,” explained Dotson. For now, the new col- laborative owners are taking things one day at a time. Fortunately the building of success has passed on to them. “Arrowhead Chocolates has become a mainstay. in the Wallowa County com- munity,” Dotson said. “We are excited to uphold that tradition. LOCAL AG LENDING Alan Klages, Community Bank business customer for 30 years. SINCE 1955 Your Source For: • • • • Farm Real Estate Loans Ag Operating & Livestock Loans Equipment Loans FSA Guaranteed Loans J oseph 609 N Main St 541-432-9050 www.communitybanknet.com Enterprise Wallowa 300 NW 1st St 541-426-4511 202 N Storie St 541-886-9151 Member FDIC Supporting Wallowa County Ag Energy Community Service. Forest Service withdraws Blue Mountains Forest Plan revision By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press 541-426-0320 Ed Staub & Sons E.J. Harris/EO Media Group File The Blue Mountain Forest Plan has been withdrawn. 201 East Hwy 82 Enterprise, OR 97828 After 15 years of prepara- tion, the U.S. Forest Service was on the cusp of updating management plans for three national forests covering 5.5 million acres in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon and southeast Washington. Instead, the agency is again taking a step back as it tries to resolve deep- rooted concerns of residents, industry and environmental groups. Northwest Regional For- ester Glenn Casamassa announced the Forest Service is scrapping the proposed Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision, which includes the Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman and Malheur national forests. A fi nal draft of the plans was released in June 2018. The three forest plans — which together total more than 5,000 pages — con- tain guidelines for everything Thank you Wallowa County farmers and ranchers! 209 NW First St., Enterprise • 541-426-4567 from grazing and timber har- vest to wilderness protec- tions. While the plans do not authorize specifi c projects, they do set goals and desired conditions for the forests, and are ripe for scrutiny. Forest plans are due to be revised every 10 to 15 years to account for changes in the landscape and to keep up with the latest science. Casamassa, who joined the Forest Service Pacifi c Northwest Region in August , said he was invited by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., to meet with the Eastern Ore- gon Counties Association in October, where county com- missioners said the plans fell short of meeting economic, cultural and social needs. More than 300 people also spoke against the plans during objection resolution meetings held across Eastern Oregon in November and Decem- ber. Objections mostly cen- tered on road closures, forest access and restoring land- scapes to improve wildfi re resilience, while also provid- ing economic benefi t to com- munities, Casamassa said. Environmental groups, too, worry about the increas- ing fragmentation of forest habitat for vulnerable wildlife species, such as wolves, birds and endangered fi sh. “These lands are import- ant. They mean a lot to a lot of different people,” Casa- massa said. “We need to get it right. If it means taking (more) time to do that, that’s what we’re going to do.” This is not the fi rst time the Forest Service has hit the reset button on the planning process. A draft version of the plans was completed in 2014, and received so much back- lash the local forest supervi- sors decided to develop new plan alternatives. The result was a new alter- native favored by the For- est Service that offi cials said would have provided for thinning up to 33 percent of dry upland forests, and more than doubled the current tim- ber harvest from 101 million board-feet per year to 205 million board-feet. The proposal also iden- tifi ed 242,800 animal unit months, or AUMs, of live- stock grazing. An AUM is the amount of forage one cow and her calf, one horse or fi ve sheep or goats eat during a month. In total, the feds claim the plans would created up to 1,173 new jobs in forest prod- ucts, ranching and recreation, with $59.5 million in added income. The decision to withdraw the revised plans came from Chris French, the reviewing offi cer and acting deputy For- est Service chief. While the review did not identify any specifi c violations of law, regulation or policy, French said the plans were diffi cult to understand and “do not fully account for the unique social and economic needs of local communities in the area.” “Many factors com- pounded to produce revised plans that would be diffi cult to implement,” French said. The current Blue Moun- tains forest plans, which were last updated in 1990, will remain in effect for the time being. Casamassa said the Forest Service will be reach- ing out again to stakeholders to determine the next steps toward the long-overdue revisions. Despite the setback, Casa- massa insisted the last 15 years of work have not been wasted, and the lessons they learned will play a role in helping the agency to come up with Forest Plans that are implementable, and written in plain English. “To be quite honest, we can’t obviously do this on our own,” he said. “We need everyone working together. Walden thanked the Trump administration for restarting the process and lis- tening to local input. “While it is unfortunate to have to begin again, I’m hopeful we can move for- ward in a manner that ensures the needs of our local com- munities are fi nally being heard and refl ected in the plan,” Walden said. “Getting this plan right is important to improving the health of our forests and our communities, reducing the threat of wild- fi res and maintaining access to our public lands that is part of our way of life in rural Oregon.”
