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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2019)
Enterprise, Oregon 134th Year, No. 26 Wallowa.com Wednesday, October 9, 2019 Farming organic Tough but rewarding Ellen Morris Bishop The Red Rooster Restaurant on West Main Street in Enterprise suff ered a burglary on the night of Sept. 23-24. Burglars hit Red Rooster and others By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Bill Bradshaw Patrick Thiel operates his 1956 Farmall tractor to spread a fertilizer mix of kelp and molasses diluted with water Wednesday, Oct. 2, at his farm just west of Lostine. The mixture is one practice that allows him to certify his produce as organic. Joseph farmer sells crops to Portland restaurants and locally By Bill Bradshaw Wallowa County Chieftain JOSEPH – The life of a farmer isn’t easy and when you add organics into the mix, it becomes even more diffi cult. “Farming is tough,” said Patrick Thiel, who operates Prairie Creek Farms on about 25 acres of leased land near Joseph and and another few acres outside of Lostine. “There’s times the weather will wipe you out. There are times other things will wipe you out. There are times when it’ll turn out OK, but those are get- ting fewer and further in between.” Unlike many in the Wallowa Valley, who rely chiefl y on cattle, hay or small grains, Thiel has a wide variety of crops, including several varieties of potatoes, beets and carrots – all grown to organic specifi cations. Not all chemicals are banned in organic farming, he said. Often, com- mon, everyday, and non-toxic (to humans) substances can be used instead. For example, ordinary vinegar that can be used as an herbicide. For fertilizer, he uses kelp and molasses diluted in water. “The overall goal is to avoid steril- izing the soil or introducing substances that destroy the function of the soil,” Thiel said. It’s true, that running an organic oper- ation allows for more pests and weeds, Thiel said. However, if a weedkiller such as Roundup is used, “It makes it more profi table in the short term,” he said. “But in 10 to 50 years, you’ll have more diffi culty controlling pests and weeds” because they become resistant to the chemical. Organic farming is “more labor inten- sive, but it’s more productive in the long run,” he said. “One thing that happens when you introduce high levels of nitrogen is it reduces lot of the green foliage, but the product is more watery,” Thiel said. “Because of the high nitrates, you don’t get as good a fl avor.” While organically grown pro- duce remains more expensive than its commercial counterparts, the gap is narrowing. “The organic industry has been grow- ing by an average of 20% a year for many years,” Thiel said. “The fi rst farms were small – a scale that can’t compare to a 5,000-acre (commercial) farm. In recent years, more of the larger farms have been converting to organic.” While his cost for production is higher, the market value of his produce is “roughly double,” he said, but that “depends on the market.” Their, and his customers, all consider that his Prairie farms produce has much better fl avor that even many organic competitors. Thiel’s market is primarily high-end restaurants in the Portland area. What he doesn’t sell in Portland will be available at local farmers markets. He said he’s heard stories from his Portland customers of occasions when he’d run out of product and restaurants would have to look elsewhere. “Diners would come back into the kitchen and say, ‘What happened to your potatoes? What happened to your car- rots?’ ” Thiel said. Potato harvest just got underway in a serious fashion Wednesday, Oct. 2, when the weather dropped to 24 degrees Fahrenheit and got a good start on kill- ing the tops of the plants. The tubers still have to remain in the ground a couple of weeks to allow the skins to set, but Thiel is fi nding some he can harvest. “I’ve got a dozen varieties of pota- See Organic, Page A7 “There’s a fi rst time for everything,” as the saying goes, but not every fi rst time is some- thing to be celebrated. The Red Rooster restau- rant in Enterprise just had their fi rst burglary. The restaurant is located at 309 W. Main St. The burglary happened sometime during the night of Sept. 23-24, according to the county dispatch log and restaurant owner, Kim Moore. According to the owner, she was notifi ed on the morning Tuesday Sept. 24. The restaurant is not open on Tuesdays and Moore worked in the restaurant doing payroll until 7:30 the night before. “One of my co-workers came in to grab something she’d forgotten and noticed that my offi ce was torn apart,” Moore said. “All my petty cash, my drawer cash was taken.” The main door was also left open. Moore said that if the employee hadn’t come in, the door would have been open all day long and the night fol- lowing as well. Moore also noted the lock of the front door was taken in a way that caused her to suspect a professional tool was used. She also said the police told her they normally have an idea of who could have committed a local crime, but they were drawing a blank. Police did take fi n- gerprints from the scene. According to Moore, the restaurant didn’t have an alarm system. “I mean we live in Wallowa County, don’t we,” she asked. Moore added the business hasn’t been broken into before. A locksmith had to replace the door lock, something that cost more than $200. “The good news is that they didn’t trash the whole restaurant — just my offi ce,” she said. “They didn’t take my computer. All they wanted was money.” Moore said the incident changed the way she does business. A daughter is bringing in cam- eras and other equipment for a security system both inside and out. Enterprise Police Department Chief Joel Fish said that it’s possible the Red Rooster bur- glary is related to two other recent burglar- ies, one at the Chevron Station on West North Street and a home burglary on Mildred Avenue. He added that evidence from at least one of the crime scenes indicates the criminal has prior experience. “We don’t have burglaries, then all of a sud- den we’re having burglaries,” he said. Any- one with a tip can reach the department or an on-duty dispatcher at 541-426-3131. Community health advisory council seeks new projects, members Meeting to help shape future of local health care By Ellen Morris Bishop The Wallowa County Chieftain If you’ve been to the Wal- lowa County Park at Wallowa Lake during this past summer, you may have noticed a large, attractive log sign that has a few life jackets hanging off it. They are there for free use, just in case someone is going boat- ing (or even swimming) and forgot to bring theirs along. Similar stations are located at the marina at the head of Wal- lowa Lake and Kinney Lake as well. And if you are headed to Fergie in the winter, you might notice a similar availability of youth winter sports helmets. These are just two of the proj- ects developed and funded by the Local Community Advi- sory Council, the local branch of the Eastern Oregon Coordi- nated Care Organization. The LCAC is composed of volunteers who develop proj- ects that largely benefi t Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) recip- ients in Wallowa County. The life jackets and winter sports helmets are there for those who can’t afford them otherwise, and also for those who might need them because they for- got to bring them to the lake or snowpark. “We are there for everyone in the community,” said Autumn Wilburn, one of the local program founders. “The program is focused on those who use Medicaid, and it is focused on preventative care and measures, so that peo- ple don’t have to go to a doc- tor, or worse, the ER.” Other programs that the LCAC funds include Yak Trax and hiking poles so that seniors and others can go for more secure walks in the winter, and yoga to relieve pain and help people get off of opioids and other strong pain medications. On Oct. 12, the LCAC will learn more about new guide- lines for funding and projects from their parent organiza- tion, Eastern Oregon Coordi- nated Care Organization. That See Health, Page A7 Steve Tool/Chieftain This life jacket station at the county park at the foot of Wallowa Lake is an LCAC developed and funded project. It provides loaner life jackets in a variety of sizes. Other stations exist at the head of Wallowa Lake and Kinney Lake as well.