COUGARS FALL
INTO BADGER HOLE
WALLOWA DROPS
LEAGUE OPENER
TO ARCH-RIVAL
NORTH POWDER
PAGE A9
Enterprise, Oregon
Enterprise School
Board members
admit to executive
session violations
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
According to a stipulated
final order from the Oregon
Government Ethics Com-
mission, five members of
the Enterprise School Dis-
trict board admitted to an
executive meeting viola-
tion regarding the long-run-
ning dispute over the sports
eligibility of a former EHS
student, Justus Even. The
commission conducted the
investigation based on an
ethics complaint by Ilene
Wells, wife of then Enter-
prise basketball coach and
athletic director, Larry
Wells. Board members
include Kate Fent as Chair
and Position 4 representa-
tive; Mandy Decker in Posi-
tion 1, Adrian Harguess in
Position 2, Mike Weideman
in Position 2 and Heather
Melville, who is Vice-Chair
and holds Position 5.
The five virtually iden-
tical letters charge that the
board violated executive
session law during a Dec.
3, 2018 meeting in which
they voted to send a letter
that addressed complaints
Wallowa.com
135th Year, No. 23
made by Even’s parents
about two school employ-
ees: Wells and high school
principal, Blake Carlsen,
who had determined Even
was ineligible to participate
in school sports because of a
mid-year transfer issue. An
executive session is a meet-
ing in which a public board
discusses information or
records exempt from public
inspection by law.
ORS 192.660(6) prohib-
its the board from taking
any final action or making
any final decision during
an executive session. The
OGEC found that the entire
board violated the law in
their actions.
Violation
of
ORS
192.660(6) is punishable by
up to a $1000 fine, but the
OGEC chose to give each
board member a “letter of
education.” As a result, each
member agreed to the terms
and conditions of the OGEC
order without its completing
the investigative phase. All
the board member signed
off on the stipulated final
order on July 11 of this year.
Fent did not respond to a
request for comment.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019 $1.50
SUMMER
SNOWFALL
Bill Bradshaw
The Wallowas show their first signs of a serious snowpack on Chief Joseph Mountain early Tuesday. Although it’s still technically
summer, Monday night’s rainstorm gave a healthy start to the winter’s snowpack above the Wallowa Valley.
Gov. Kate Brown recall efforts head for finish line
October 7 last
day for local
signatures
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
Two separate petitions
to place the recall of Ore-
gon Governor Kate Brown
on the November ballot are
presently being circulated in
Wallowa County. Each needs
280,050 validated signatures
of registered Oregon voters
by October 15th to place a
recall measure on the Ore-
gon ballot. One is sponsored
by the Oregon Republican
party. The other similar peti-
tion is sponsored by a group
called ‘Flush Down Kate
Brown.’ Two local women,
Annette Lathrop, chair of the
Wallowa County Republican
party, and Marissa Hess, of
Enterprise, are ramrodding
signature gathering here. To
submit all signed petitions by
the October 14 deadline, sig-
nature gathering in Wallowa
County will effectively halt
on October 7.
Hess is circulating the
Ellen Morris Bishop
Two west-side hunters sign Annette Lathrop’s Republican
Party-sponsored petition to recall Oregon Governor Kate
Brown while Ramona Patton looks on. Petitioners in Wallowa
County have until October 7 to gather signatures to meet the
October 14 statewide deadline.
Flush Down Kate Brown
petition which is headed by
the Oregon First PAC. The
petition addresses many of
the same issues as Lathrop’s
Republican petition. Specif-
ically, it states that Brown
has “..reduced our kicker
tax refund, raised taxes mer-
cilessly, and spends our
money recklessly”, and cites
Brown’s failure to address
the financial concerns of
PERS, Oregon’s “sanctuary
state” status, and providing
driver’s licenses to illegal
immigrants.
Lathrop and her mother,
Rowena Patton, have been
working hard to collect as
many signatures as possible
on the Republican Party’s
petition. Initiated by Ore-
gon Republican party chair-
man Bill Currier, it initially
focused on Brown’s support
of House Bill 2020 (carbon
tax) and her threat to imple-
ment it by executive order,
as well as allowing illegal
immigrants to obtain driver’s
licenses. Altogether, the peti-
tion lists ten reasons for the
recall, including denying cit-
izens the right to fully protect
themselves as guaranteed by
the Constitution, attempting
to deprive Oregon’s working
families of jobs using faulty
environmental policy, and
failure to address the PERS
crisis. Other issues include
what Lathrop considers a tax
bill disguised as an education
bill that has harmed busi-
nesses across the state.
Why the recall petitions?
“Many people during that
last legislative session saw
the train for the good of their
perspectives and needs go
off the rails,” Lathrop said.
“That is the energy behind
the movement. As Repub-
lican chair I think the state
Republican party wanted to
capitalize on all that energy.
The petition was birthed.”
Lathrop said she has
found a lot of enthusiasm in
the county for the petition.
“A man who saw my shirt
(bearing the slogan “Remove
Kate Brown”) literally came
running across the street,
waving at me, and asked if I
had a petition he could sign.”
Some county visitors have
also been signing, including
hunters who live on the west
side of the state.
The controversy over
public records advocate
Ginger McCall’s resigna-
tion, and the appointment of
Misha Isaak to the Oregon
Court of Appeals has sparked
renewed interest in the recall
petition, Lathrop said.
“I believe the people in
rural communities deserve a
governor they feel are work-
ing for them,” Lathrop said.
“The people in the timber
industry, the farmers, and all
who voted overwhelmingly
to deny driver’s licenses to
illegals, should have a gov-
ernor who honors the will of
the people.”
“Kate Brown is no differ-
ent than many other classi-
cal political corruption pol-
iticians who are using their
office to promote their own
agenda and further their own
political careers,” Lathrop
said.
Lathrop feels that her
Republican party petition,
as well as Hess’ Flush Kate
Brown petition are on track
to gather the required num-
ber of signatures for inclu-
sion on the ballot.
“If they get enough signa-
tures and it goes to be voted
on, I think Oregonians will
feel vindicated. In Oregon
politics,” (she laughed) “you
just don’t really know. And
I hope it passes. But even if
it doesn’t, the very fact that
it came to a recall vote will
certainly come to the atten-
tion of those who thought
we don’t care or we had just
given up. I think it will have
an impact. It’s a real posi-
tive thing because it’s ener-
gized lots of people who
have never been in the pro-
cess before.”
Child killed by
crash near Minam
Life Flight transports a second
child, age 2, to Boise after wreck.
By Bill Bradshaw and
Jade McDowell
EO Media Group
MINAM – A three-ve-
hicle crash on State Route
82 resulted in the death of
four-month old Jordy Erick-
son when a pickup driven
by his mother, Christy
Erickson of La Grande col-
lided with two other vehi-
cles Sept. 11 on State Route
82 near milepost 38 about
four miles east of Minam.
Another Erickson child,
2 years of age, was life-
flighted to Boise.
Oregon State Police
and other emergency per-
sonnel responded at about
10:30 a.m. Sept. 11.
Preliminary investiga-
tion showed that a Ford
F150 pickup, driven by
Erickson, 31, with two child
passengers, was eastbound
negotiating a curve when
her vehicle left her lane
of travel and sideswiped
Oregon State Police
Scene of three vehicle accident on OR Hwy 82 Sept. 11. One child was killed and another life-
flighted to Boise.
an oncoming Subaru Out-
back. Outback was driven
by Mary Importico, 31,
with Ryan Importico, 32, as
a passenger. Both are from
Portland.
The initial collision
caused Erickson’s Ford to
continue to the left into the
oncoming lane and it struck
a Dodge Ram pickup pull-
ing a trailer nearly head-on.
The Ram was driven by
Colby Rimmer, 25; with
passengers Daniel Rimmer,
53; Michael Cramer, 41;
See Crash, Page A7