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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2019)
NEWS Wallowa.com Wednesday, April 17, 2019 A9 4-H: Wallowa County families host Portland teens Continued from Page A1 Steve Tool/Chieftain Student athletes — (L to R) JCS students Tori Suto, Ella Coughlan, Steven Beckman and Emma Hite signed letters of intent to attend their respective colleges on athletic scholarships. All four athletes are also honor roll students and noted the importance of their classwork. Athletes: Four Joseph Charter School seniors getting tuition help Continued from Page A1 athlete who drives himself mercilessly, he plans to attend TVCC long enough to get his prerequisites done before transferring to another school to obtain a degree in sports adminis- tration at a school that will offer him a scholarship to continue wrestling. The senior chalks up his success to his love of the sport. “I like coming up and helping kids out, teaching kids who want to learn,” he said. “It’s a passion of mine.” Also a scholar, Beck- man earned a 3.85 GPA. “Our coaches get on us if we’re slacking a little bit,” he said with laugh. “It makes us want to keep our grades up.” Ella Coughlan is a run- ner extraordinaire. Eastern Oregon University thought so as well. Like the others, she doesn’t hang it up if it’s not at an offi cial practice. “I go to practice fi ve days a week and sometimes six,” she said. “All through summer, all through fall and all through spring.” She, Hite, plans to study elementary education at EOU. Coughlan is also an ace student with a 3.9 GPA. “Having sports has helped me keep my good grades up and keeps me motivated to do well in school,” she said. Tori Suto is one of the fi nest golfers in the state. Playing even against golf- ers at the 4A district-level; she has placed 10th, fourth and second place at state with her senior season remaining. The senior developed her skills by going the extra mile with dedicated practice. “When you’re from here, you have to put a lot into it,” she said. “Because of the weather, we start late, and right now, cer- tain parts of the course are fl ooded.” In the win- ter, she plays indoors, hit- ting into nets in the garage and practicing her swing in front of a mirror for a half- hour stretch. Suto knows the impor- tance of maintaining her classroom as well as greens work — earning the honor of co-valedictorian of her class. What will she study at College of St. Mary’s? “Art and Education — my two loves,” she said. “I didn’t really expect them to have a modern house because the vid- eos showed them living in, like, log cabins,” said sev- enth grader Gigi Bareilles. “I didn’t think they’d neces- sarily have phones. But they were, like, listening to mod- ern music and everything. I was kinda surprised.” Working up-close and personal with livestock was a new, and sometimes amaz- ing thing. Many of the Port- land 4-H’ers had animals — but mostly dogs, cats, and bunnies. “I’ve never been that close to animals that big — cows and horses. It was kind of a shock,” Bareilles said. Larkin and Braibish took a turn at gathering and pushing Todd Nash’s errant calves back into the cor- rect pasture. “It’s fun and you have to think,” Brai- bush said. “You have to be smarter than the calf. Some- times that’s not easy.” Other students brushed, rode, and communed with horses. “There’s a lot of hair out here,” said Had- ley Kersens, holding up a fl uffy-looking currycomb. She and Rita Tran helped out on the Ketscher ranch, with duties that included vacci- nating calves and tending to Ellen Morris Bishop Portland 4-H’ers Maya Braibish and Julia Larkin take a break from helping Todd Nash fed his cows on a dreary April morning. The girls were part of then in-student groups participating in the 2019 4-H Urban 2 Rural exchange. fences and water troughs, as well as learning a few point- ers on horse-care. Some tried new foods that were never on the menu at home. Eighth grader Jason Co, who stayed with the Wentz family, sampled bis- cuits and gravy, chili lasa- gna, and cinnamon rolls for the fi rst time — foods that his traditional, fi rst genera- tion Asian family never ate. His favorite? “Pot roast,” he said. The work ethics and friendliness of their host families made lasting impressions on the Port- land 4-H’ers. “The people we stayed with (the Royce family) were really nice and welcoming. They gave out a really positive energy. They were a fun family to stay with,” said seventh grader Bella Pylant. “And they all worked really hard.” “The reason why I did the 4-H thing is to learn more about other people,” Co said. “We hear a lot about the urban-rural divide. I wanted to see the differences. But it’s not so much a divide, it’s just a different lifestyle.” “This program was ini- tially based in natural resources issues,” said Debi Warnock, Wallowa County’s 4-H extension agent. “But it’s become broader than that. It’s more about the fact that people are basically the same no matter where they live.” Wallowa County students in grades six through nine will have a chance to par- ticipate in the exchange by living with a Portland 4-H family next year. For more information, contact War- nock at 541-426-3143. Opinion: Community journalism plays a critical role Continued from Page A1 we deserve it or not. But the unique offerings that a local paper provides to a rural community transcends these discretions so long as we are all willing to forgive. If Wallowa County res- idents could only resort to state and national news out- lets, they would not only miss out on the local issues of the day, but also the voices of our neighbors. More than just a source of information, community journalism can help fos- ter positive rural cultural and economic development, while at the same time pro- tect the community’s iden- tity and memorialize the nostalgia of its past. Empirical evidence doc- uments the positive impact between strong community journalism and strong civic engagement and community values. J-Source Innovation Editor, Robert Washburn argues, “it appears there is a larger economic impera- tive to have strong, vibrant news media, to assist com- munity resiliency, which is defi ned as the ability of a community to withstand and adapt in the face of major changes.” Today I offer both a ques- tion and starting point for a dialogue on what commu- nity journalism can do for Wallowa County. So what can we do for you? We can keep the res- idents of Wallowa County informed on the health of our local economy by reporting on both new and failing industry. We can lift folks’ spirits by document- ing citizens award banquets. We provide a venue for pub- lic discourse and engage- ment in the marketplace of ideas — and outlet for our neighbors to share their voices through letters to the editor. We can spread hope through a renewed commit- ment to honor the successes of our young people; our future. And we cover our local political institutions to safeguard the rule of law in our community. I’ve made mistakes. Most of us have. Most of us will continue to do so. But mis- takes don’t defi ne this com- munity. Resilience, under- standing, determination and justice are the characteristics that defi ne us. At the Wal- lowa County Chieftain we will strive harder to always serve as the institution that Wallowa County needs. Introducing Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Adam Heisinger • Doctor of Osteopathy, Des Moines University, Iowa • Internship and Residency completed in orthopedic surgery at Affinity Medical Center, Ohio; Fellowship in sports medicine completed at Orthopedic Research of Virginia, Richmond • Served four years as flight surgeon, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina Dr. Heisinger will be seeing patients at Wallowa Memorial Hospital regularly for clinic visits and surgery. Ask your physician for a referral today. We treat you like family 601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org Wallowa Memorial Hospital is an equal opportunity employer and provider. Glacier Grill At Wallowa Lake 2019 Season Opening The Weekend of April 19th • 11am to 8pm 72784 Marina Drive Joseph, OR 97846 Early Spring Hours Thursday thru Sunday 11am to 8pm 541-432-9292