CLASS OF 2019 Graduate photos from all the local high schools A9-A12 Enterprise, Oregon 134th Year, No. 6 Wallowa.com Wednesday, May 22, 2019 $1 Legal pot comes to Joseph First dispensary gets approval from council Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Courtesy Photo/Tom Nordtvedt Enterprise High School junior, Ashlyn Gray, hands the baton to anchor leg Shelby Moncrief in the girls’ 4x100 relay race. The girls won the event, posting a state championship time of 50.99 seconds. Enterprise/Wallowa wins fi rst state girls track and fi eld title at stormy Western Oregon University Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain T he lightning fl ashed and the skies threatened, but it didn’t stop the Enterprise/Wallowa girls track team from bring- ing home its fi rst 2A state championship. It was a shocking fi nish, decided by a razor-thin margin. When the dust and clouds cleared, the girls had edged out nemesis Grant Union by a half-point, 64.5 to 64. Coach Dan Moody was pleased with his fi rst team championship. “It was a very spectacular meet,” he said. “There could have been two teams with 64 points and us with 64.5; that’s how close it could have been.” Both the girls and boys teams trav- eled to Western Oregon University in Monmouth on May 17-18 for the meet. MORE INSIDE Moncrief lifts Outlaws to team title, Homan wins gold for Joseph B2-B3 Courtesy photo/Tom Nordtvedt Enterprise High School head track coach Dan Moody and athletes Hero Peters and Kyla Hook react to the news that the Enterprise girls were 2A state champions, having defeated the Grant Union Prospectors by a half point at the state 2A track meet Saturday. GOLDEN FINISH The Enterprise/Wallowa track team took fi rst place in four events, includ- ing three relays: Girls 100 meters, Shelby Moncrief, 12.75 Girls 4x100 relay, Hero Peters, Savannah Vaughn, Ashlyn Gray, Shelby Moncrief, 50.99 Girls 4x400 relay, Savannah Vaughn, Kyla Hook, Karli Bedard, Shelby Moncrief, 4:14.23 Boys 4x100 relay, Shane Lund, Foster Hobbs, Jericho Peters, Garrett Thorne, 44.73 Lostine resident Getty Pollard became the fi rst entrepreneur who can legally sell recreational marijuana in Joseph — or Wallowa County for that matter. Pollard, who already owns a dis- pensary in The Dalles, applied for a conditional use permit under MThrive Organics LLC at 600 N. Main St. in Joseph, the former location of East Fork Brewing. Fewer than two dozen people attended the milestone Joseph City Council meeting on May 15. City voters in the November 2018 general election nar- rowly approved recre- Getty Pollard ational dispensaries. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission had approved the location, but members of the audience were dismayed by its proximity to Wallowology, the Josephy Center and two day care centers that some consid- ered inside the state’s 1,000-foot rule of prohibiting dispensaries from locat- ing where children congregate. City recorder Belinda Buswell said that after consultation with the OLCC, none of the facilities were licensed by the state in a child attending capacity and did not qualify. She added that at the time, Wallowology had let its lease lapse, so it did not qualify for that reason. Michelle Kramer argued that Wal- lowology had never let its lease lapse, but Buswell said she had paperwork that indicated otherwise. The argu- ment started to escalate until Mayor Teresa Sajonia silenced it with insis- tent gavel pounding. She went on to explain that the OLCC had inves- tigated the matter thoroughly and approved the application. The discussion raised the ire of Adam Saxton, who said, “So the state says it’s not a school, but everybody in town knows that kids are there all day long? Because we all see it, know it ...?” “We have to go by the state,” Sajo- nia said. She added that legally, the only thing the city could do is approve the dispensary because the applicant had met all the state and city legal guidelines. Following a few more min- utes of discussion, Sajonia motioned that the city approve the application with minor stipulations and council member Patti Bufford seconded the motion, which carried, 4-2 with Pearl Sturm and Lisa Collier voting against. Before the vote, Pollard, a 13-year Wallowa County resident, gave a brief history of his foray into the cannabis business in The Dalles and stated he wanted a business closer to his home. See Pot, Page A7 MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES PLANNED Wallowa County Chieftain Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain Past American Legion Joseph Post 157 commander Mike Teece plays “Taps” at the Alder Slope Cemetery on Memorial Day, 2017. On Monday, May 27, both the Eagle Cap Veterans of Foreign Wars post 4307 and Wallowa Lake Amer- ican Legion Post 157 will conduct Memorial Day services to honor vet- erans interred in Wallowa County’s multiple cemeteries. The ceremonies will culminate in a joint ceremony that includes a Reading of the Fallen at 1 p.m. at the Wallowa County Courthouse fountain. Kim Hutchison of Eagle Cap VFW Post 4307 noted that his post plans fi ve services: Bramlet Cem- etery at 9 a.m., Wallowa Cemetery at 10, Lostine Cemetery at 11, and Enterprise Cemetery at noon. Amer- ican Legion Post 157 will conduct similar services for veterans interred at Alder Slope Cemetery at 10 a.m., Hurricane Creek Cemetery at 11 a.m. and Prairie Creek Cemetery at noon. At 1 p.m. the VFW and Ameri- can Legion will combine in a ser- vice that includes a Remembrance of the Fallen, and recognition of vet- erans who are buried at the many small family and outlying ceme- teries throughout Wallowa County. The Remembrance of the Fallen will pay special tribute to the 29 military, EMT, fi refi ghters, police and others who have served and lost their lives in the past year. They include George Ballard, Robert Lathrop, and Biden Tippett. “It’s an emotionally draining day for the vets who take part in the ser- vices,” said Hutchison, “We’re glad to take the uniforms off and relax — but it’s also something we feel very honored to do.”