JOSEPH UNVEILS NEW STATUE
Event marks a turning point for the walama
NiiMiipoo, better known as the Chief Joseph
Band Nez Perce, and one more step in their
homecoming journey. | A4, A10
BRONCS
and
BULLS
A SUCCESS
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
Imnaha buckaroo Riley
Warnock masters his bronc at
Mountain High Broncs and Bulls.
Warnock was just 0.5 seconds
shy of an eight-second ride.
T
he 15th annual Mountain High Broncs and Bulls
Rodeo set new records for attendance, and for
the number of cowboys competing. Nineteen
bronc riders and 13 bull riders competed, along
with eight wild horse race teams.
Three present and past World Champion
ranch rodeo bronc riders competed. But the
winner was Juntura, Oregon, cowpoke and bronc-
buster Gabe McKay. He took home a purse of $2,100
for mastering the two horses he rode, with a combined
score of 155.5 points.
Ellen Morris Bishop
See Broncs and Bulls, Page A10
Enterprise, Oregon
EAST VS. WEST
IN ALL-STAR
FOOTBALL GAME
East shows west
how character,
winning is done.
A9
DRAGONS IN
THE WALLOWAS
New dragon boat
events have been
added, including a new
10-paddler event and
20-paddler boat races.
A17
NEW OWNERS AT
IMNAHA STORE
AND TAVERN
Brooke Van Sickle
and Cody Mawhinney
plan to expand its
inventory, keep its
legendary friendly
atmosphere intact.
A18
135th Year, No. 11
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
$1
Bowlby Bash 2019
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
This year’s Bowlby
Bash provided a host of
fun and unique booths to
explore, with local goods
and treats galore, along
with plenty of activities
for youngsters. From ket-
tle corn and face-painting
to sidewalk-chalk art and
delectable root beer fl oats,
the Bowlby Bash offered
something for everyone.
This year, the 16-year-old
event got its original name
back, after having enjoyed
a brief stint as Summerfest
in 2018.
One of the most antici-
pated parts of the Bowlby
Bash celebration is the
soap box derby. This year,
eight derby racers were
entered. The derby, spon-
sored by Greater Enterprise
Main Streets (GEMS) was
largely organized by Jorge
Aguilar, Jr. There were two
categories: Creative and
Speedster. This year, all
the vehicles were entered
as speedsters. All were
required to be inspected
before being permitted to
race. Rules for the cars
included specifi c weight
limits depending upon
the age and weight of the
driver. Derby racers driven
by 8-12 year olds were
required to be less than 250
pounds for the total weight
of car and vehicle. Drivers
13 to 17 years of age could
weigh in at a total of 350
pounds for car and driver.
Vehicles with drivers ages
18 and older could total no
more than 550 pounds.
“It’s all about keeping
the downhill speed of the
cars at a pace that drivers
can control,” Aguilar said.
“Younger and less experi-
enced drivers really need
to go slower to be sure they
keep control.” The pre-race
inspections focus on safety.
One car, designed as a tri-
cycle, with two wheels on
the back and one small one
on the front, was required
to literally install train-
ing wheels on each side
of the small front wheel to
improve the vehicle’s sta-
bility. “It would just tip
over too easily without
them,” Aguilar said.
Other general rules—
or at least expectations—
are that the cars be hand-
built, often from cast-off
or salvaged parts. Baby
stroller wheels are good.
So are bicycle wheels and
even wheels from garden
carts and the game carts
that hunters use to trans-
port their deer out of the
woods. All derby cars have
to have brakes that work.
In some, that’s bicycle cal-
iper brakes. In others it’s
a block that is applied to
the wheel via a hand-lever.
Steering designs include
primitive, very simple rack
and pinion designs as well
as the wires that are more
like boat steering. Agui-
lar’s creations include the
VFW’s racer and lots of
work on the Number 1
car. He added a number of
See Bowlby Bash, Page A7
Ellen Morris Bishop
Nick Jannuzzi pilots the Elks Lodge racer towards the fi nish line at the 2019 Bowlby Bash
soapbox derby.
Kari Greer/U.S. Forest Service
Wildfi re season will approach its peak later in the summer this
year, experts predict.
Getting ready for
wildfi re season
By Brad Carlson
Capital Press
Mark Moore is ready for
another busy wildfi re sea-
son on southwest Idaho’s
rangeland.
As chief of the Mountain
Home Fire Department, his
crews must not only be pre-
pared to fi ght structure fi res
within the city limits but
also battle wildfi res that can
roar across the countryside.
The volunteer Mountain
Home Rural Fire Protec-
tion District contracts with
his department to assist with
wildfi re suppression.
“We anticipate every year
being a big season in terms
of wildland fi res, even more
so because of the type of
vegetation we have — car-
pet fuel, so to speak,” Moore
said.
Though the wildfi re out-
look for the Northwest is
mixed — some of this year’s
hot spots for wildfi re are,
ironically, along the usu-
ally damp Pacifi c coast —
the idea is to train for any
possibility.
The
June-September
regional forecast from the
National Interagency Fire
Center in Boise predicts that
western wildfi re activity
won’t start to increase until
late June.
The coastal area of Wash-
ington and Oregon will
have an above-normal fi re
risk. That means the num-
ber of acres burned are pre-
dicted to exceed the 10-year
median for signifi cant large
fi res because of fuel load-
ing and drier-than-normal
conditions.
Some of Northern Cal-
ifornia will also have an
above-normal risk of sig-
nifi cant large fi res through
October because of an abun-
dance of grasses, down and
dead fuels and heavy brush
growth.
Nationwide, the wildfi re
season this year has already
been busy, although not as
busy as in 2018.
Year-to-date through June
17, the number of wildfi res
nationwide totaled 17,118
burning 459,776 acres, the
NIFC reported.
That’s down from 25,661
fi res burning slightly more
than 1.8 million acres during
the fi rst six months of last
year.
As of last week, six large
See Fire season, Page A7