SOFTBALL JUNIORS HANG
TOUGH IN CONSOLATION
SPORTS, A9
Enterprise, Oregon
Wallowa.com
135th Year, No. 15
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
$1
Photos by Ellen Morris Bishop
The string of bucking horses stampede through downtown Joseph to kick off the start of Chieftain Joseph Days — a tradition for the event’s past 74 years.
Chief Joseph Days
The best, most economical and
most fun things to see at CJD
Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Chief Joseph Days Rodeo in the evenings
is world-class rodeo. But don’t miss the other
events during the day, which are just as much fun.
And even better, most are free!
• Tuesday, Bucking Horse Stampede down
Main Street in Joseph. 1:30 p.m. Starts at the
south end of town, and proceeds to rodeo grounds,
mostly at a fast walk or leisurely trot. Great place
to watch some magnifi cent horsefl esh.
• Wednesday: Little Buckaroos Rodeo: Har-
ley Tucker Arena 9 a.m. Special events for special
needs children. Lots of fun and smiles all around.
Free.
• Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday:
Slack rodeo, 2:00 p.m. (2:30 on Saturday) Harley
Tucker Arena. Free. This is not a rodeo for slack-
ers. It’s a rodeo for all the riders, ropers, bull-dog-
gers and other rodeo athletes who couldn’t fi t into
the limited slots for evening performances. It’s not
uncommon that the overall winner of an event per-
forms in slack, and has a better time than any of the
evening performers. You get to watch world-class
rodeo for free—without the distractions of special
acts, rodeo clowns, and rodeo courts.
• Friday, Kiddie parade, 10 a.m. Charming,
fun, and shorter than the big Saturday parade, you
Ellen Morris Bishop
See Preview, Page A7
Saddle Bronc riding is a favorite at Chief Joseph Days rodeo.
Wallowa County reins in the opioid crisis
New pharmaceuticals,
new treatments and
dedicated caregivers
staunch the tide in
this rural community
Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
The fi rst of a 4-part series.
Opioid abuse and addiction,
including use of heroin, is an issue
in the national spotlight. In 2017,
more than 47,000 Americans died as
a result of opioid overdoses, includ-
ing from prescription drugs, heroin,
and fentanyl, a powerful synthetic
heroin, according to the National
Institute of Health. Nearly 2 million
Americans suffer from substance
abuse disorders related to prescrip-
tion pain relievers. While most peo-
ple correlate it with urban settings,
it is is a national problem that has
heavily impacted rural communities.
The American Farm Bureau Feder-
ation says that 74% of framers and
farm workers have been directly
impacted by opioid abuse, either by
knowing someone, having a family
member addicted, or abusing opi-
oids themselves. A 2017 study by
the National Institutes of Health
found that 40% of the population in
rural and non-metropolitan commu-
nities used prescription opioids —
while only 36% of urban communi-
ties population did.
While the precise number of peo-
ple who have fallen victim to opi-
oids in Wallowa County is unknown,
Wallowa County’s success in pro-
viding treatment has drawn national
recognition. That is largely because
the non-profi t Winding Waters
Clinic, the Holistic Health and Heal-
ing Center, the Wallowa Valley Cen-
ter for Wellness, and other com-
ponents of the Wallowa County
community have worked together
to provide comprehensive care that
includes treatments from newly-de-
veloped pharmaceutical interven-
tion to acupuncture, massage, and
counseling.
Farley notes that there are two
very different populations involved
in the opioid crisis. “The fi rst group
are people involved in the illicit
use of heroin. The second are peo-
ple who were sort of sucked into the
vortex of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s medi-
cal philosophy that you treat to elim-
inate pain, not just control it.”
In Wallowa County, the fi rst
group, heroin users, is smaller than
the second, pain-control popula-
tion, Farley noted. Still, it’s a signif-
icant number—estimated at fewer
than 100 people —in a county with
a population of only about 6,000.
“In the population of heroin users,
there’s about 10 to 15 percent who
either won’t commit to a treatment
program or who really can’t follow
the procedures for treatment to be
effective,” Farley said.
Heroin users are often refer them-
selves for treatment. Some also
arrive via law enforcement or judi-
cial routes and fewer are brought into
treatment after admission to the hos-
pital for treatment of an overdose.
See Opioids, Page A7