Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current, April 03, 2019, Page A9, Image 9

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    NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
A9
Planning Commission:
Vote leaves trail decision
open to appeal
Continued from Page A1
Gary and Vicky Marks /Capital Press
A cow gave birth to triplet calves on a northeastern Oregon ranch recently. The odds of having triplets are 1 in
105,000.
Triplets: A rare occurrence among cattle
Continued from Page A1
Marks said the calves weighed
about 50 pounds at birth, but appear
to be healthy and doing well. A typ-
ical calf weighs 85 pounds at birth.
Two of the calves had to be fed
with stomach tubes right after they
were born, Marks said, though
they are now all nursing.
“They’re so little, I think
they’re getting enough milk out
of her now,” Marks said of the
mother cow.
Marks said they plan to sell
two of the calves after a week or
so, since the mother likely cannot
support more than one on her own.
“When they’re little like that
right off the get-go, it’s hard to get
them up to weight,” he said.
Wallowa County Chieftain editor,
Christian Ambroson contributed
to the substance of this article
Friendship: A tribute to its life-changing power
Continued from Page A1
me of Cesar Chavez’s
belief that “we draw our
strength from the very
despair in which we have
been forced to live. We
shall endure.”
Lance’s story is one
of optimism and loy-
alty; he was always one to
prop others up. The one
to give the right advice
at the right time. Even if
we disagreed on some-
thing important, if he saw
me stray he would pull
me right back to where he
knew I wanted to be.
Please don’t misun-
derstand. This isn’t a sad
story.
Filled with joy, I am
so pleased to announce
that Mikey Gamboa and
his wonderful partner
Amanda Smith just gave
birth to a son... To Lance
James Gamboa!
Little does he know,
Lance James will never
want for anything that I or
the others are able to give.
Little does he know, how
truly loved he is.
My high school friend
will always live on inside
me. Inside each of us. And
Lance James will forever
give us hope. Mikey and
Amanda will unquestion-
ably raise Lance James to
understand what made his
“uncle” Lance so unique.
And the rest of us
“uncles” will always cher-
ish the opportunity to
share stories of young
Lance James’s name-
sake. We will tell him of
Lance’s humor and love
of life. We will regale
him with stories of his
strength and intelligence.
I personally will pass
on Lance’s remarkable
compassion: the very
same that he showed me,
a new kid in town strug-
gling to fi t in.
And because I fi nd
truth and inspiration
through the wisdom of
others, I’m reminded of
the words of Eleanor Roo-
sevelt, who, apt to this
column once said: “Many
people will walk in and
out of your life, but only
true friends will leave
footprints in your heart.” I
am so blessed.
The chairperson also
compared the prospect of
the trail to problems with
wolves as far as adversely
affecting ranching prac-
tices and said that the cul-
ture of agriculture is what
brings visitors to Wallowa
County. “We need to pro-
tect what makes us unique,
and that’s the culture of
agriculture, and that’s
farming and ranching,” she
said.
Phillips added that she
wasn’t sure if the com-
mission should have voted
without legal counsel. With
no direction from former
planning department head,
Harold Black, an attorney,
or Goebel, Phillips said that
confusion ensued about
whether the record from
that meeting was left open
for further testimony, even
though the commission did
in fact opt to voted to deny
the JBTC’s application at
the end of the hearing.
Phillips said she was
concerned the very night
of the meeting and the next
day on whether the com-
mittee should have taken a
vote because she believed
the vote negated the appli-
cants’ right to submit new
information.
Changing tunes on
the notion that everyone
should be heard, “I should
have disallowed most of
the testimony in favor (of
the trail),” Phillips said.
She noted what she called
the redundancy of much of
the pro-trail letters and tes-
timony as it cited health
benefi ts. Those in atten-
dance at the February meet-
ing can attest that anyone
who wanted to testify on
either side was given the
opportunity.
Phillips wrapped up sug-
gesting that she wasn’t sure
if the commission should
vote to disprove the previ-
ous month’s fi ndings and
offered other commission
members a chance to com-
ment; only after again add-
ing that she wasn’t sure
if the commission should
have voted without legal
counsel in February.
Once open for comment,
confusion ensued as com-
mission members talked
over one another more than
a few times as each seemed
to try to fully understand
and clarify what procedur-
ally was in front of them.
One commission mem-
ber stated that perhaps
the record should be open
because these decisions
should be determined by
facts. It’s unclear whether
the suggestion was that the
Feb. 26 decision was not
factually based or whether
the commission voted pre-
maturely while knowing
there were more facts to
be heard. The commission
voted in February regard-
less of the interpretation.
A commission member
reminded Phillips that the
group was also examin-
ing the trail conditional use
permit, not just EFU zon-
ing itself. Phillips replied
she was talking about peo-
ple testifying about health
benefi ts, not land use.
Commission
member
Georgene Henson pointed
out the concern that if the
record were left open for
additional comments, the
trail groups would have no
time to exercise its legal
right appeal the February
26 decision.
Gay Fregulia, commis-
sion member, echoed Phil-
lips and said that she too
was confused about the fur-
ther testimony and whether
the record was left open
after the vote.
Commission
member
Kim Tippet made a motion
to accept the commission
fi ndings of the previous
month without reopening
the record, which member
Jim Nave seconded.
Phillips again said that
without legal counsel pres-
ent, she wasn’t sure if it
was fair to leave out the
three people who requested
the record remain open.
However, Rob DeSpain
reminded
everyone
a
motion was on the fl oor,
and the commission voted.
It passed 5-2 with Phil-
lips and Fregulia in the
minority voting against the
motion.
The
resulting
vote
accepted the reasoning
behind the Feb. 26 denial,
thus allowing the JBTC
to appeal to the Wallowa
County Commissioners.
Nez Perce: Purchase for conservation easement expected to be completed this year
Continued from Page A1
The ten acres of the pro-
jected easement, mostly on
Lodge property, surrounds
the Lodge. The easement
will include the braided
stream system where the
Wallowa River enters Wal-
lowa Lake, riparian wetland
areas east and west of the
Lodge building, and small
river channels between
the Lodge and the present
main Wallowa River chan-
nel. While the Lodge was
built on relatively high,
gravelly ground, the area in
the conservation easement
has remained in its natural
state. Only one trail, infor-
mal and unmarked, leads
through the area. Native
willows, gooseberry, elder-
berries, currents, water
‘IT’S THE RIGHT THING FOR
US TO MANAGE IT AND THE
RIGHT THING OF OREGON
CITIZENS TO ALLOW THAT.’
Ann McCormack, project manager for the Nez Perce Tribe
Ellen Morris Bishop
Kokanee look for the perfect place to spawn in one of the
Wallowa River’s quiet side-channels adjacent to Wallowa Lake
Lodge.
birch and other plants pro-
vide cover and forage for
songbirds, small mammals
and deer. Kokanee spawn in
“We took
our daughter to
Dr. Allen on several
occasions, and we
were extremely
happy with the care
we received…”
the calm channels here, as
returning sockeye once did
in vast numbers. The Nez
Perce consider this beau-
the easement about a year
ago, after they had devel-
oped a preliminary plan
outlining its benefi ts and
options for management,
and had preliminary meet-
ings with potential funders.
“Our goal has always been
to complete fundraising and
the purchase of the by June,
2019,” said McCormack.
Once purchased, the Nez
Perce Tribe will hold and
monitor the easement … “in
perpetuity to preserve, pro-
tect and enhance the pre-
BAYDON MENTON
Joseph Charter School
541-426-7900
Gus Ramsde es n to
the week honor go
This week’s athlete of t, Gus Ramsden. The
studen
Wallowa High School ar on the varsity squad.
th
ur
fo ye
WHS senior is in his n status, coach JR Collier said
ra
As befitting his vete ly a presence on the mound
on
t
role as
that Ramsden is no
x, but in a leadership ers.
bo
s
er
tt
ba
e
th
in
d
an
unger play
well, especially for yo
oudly
Proudly sponsored by
Mountain View Medical Group
603 Medical Parkway
We treat you like family
601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org
Wallowa Memorial Hospital is a equal opportunity mployer and provider
The Student of the Week is chosen
for academic achievement and
community involvement. Students
are selected by the administrators
of their respective schools. Local Money Working For Local People
Pr onsore d b y
p
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201 E. Hwy 82, Enterprise • 541-426-0320
www.edstaub.com
WEEK
Call Dr. Allen to
schedule your appointment today!
Bayden Menton is the
inquisitive, forward thinking,
insightful son of Coby
Menton and Deve Wolfe. He is
a freshman at Joseph Charter
School where he maintains a
4.0 gpa, is a member of FCCLA
and FFA, and serves as class
Vice-President. Bayden is an up
and coming Cross Country and
Track distance runner. The staff
and administration would like
to congratulate Bayden for his
well-rounded contributions to
our school and we can’t wait to
see what his future holds.
OF
THE
Dr. Allen is a family
practice physician and
doctor of osteopathic
medicine.
ATHLETE
STUDENT of the WEEK
-Enterprise Mom
(next to Wallowa
Memorial Hospital)
Enterprise, Oregon 97828
tiful and bounteous land-
scape a sacred place.
Ann McCormack, proj-
ect manager for the Nez
Perce Tribe, noted that with-
out the permanent protection
of a conservation easement,
this wildland lakeshore area
would be at high risk for
development, should the
lodge be sold into another
owner. Excessive human use
would also imperil its eco-
logical and cultural value.
The Tribe began actively
seeking funding to purchase
cious natural resources of
the Nimiipuu.”
“It will give us a sense of
both ownership and respon-
sibility that we have always
maintained,” she said. “It’s
the right thing for us to man-
age it and the right thing of
Oregon citizens to allow
that. Now when I take
my grandchildren to (Old
Joseph’s) cemetery we can
go to the (south) side of the
lake and we can see our her-
itage there, too.”
McCormack is optimistic
about the new, soon-to-be
conservation easement, and
credited the Lodge owner-
ship, Eastern Oregon Leg-
acy Lands, and Oregon State
Parks as supportive partners
that helped make it happen.
“This is a beginning, not an
end,” she said.