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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2019)
OPINION Wallowa County Chieftain A4 Wednesday, December 11, 2019 VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN Time for TAPs Wallowa and Enterprise make plans to repair, renew, and modernize their schools Wallowa County communities should engage with and support them H ere in Wallowa County, we take well-deserved pride in our schools. Wallowa pro- vides superb vocational edu- cation and advocacy for students, with local profes- sionals and artisans contrib- uting training and inspiration along with a dedicated staff, and a 100 percent graduation rate. Enterprise received a sil- ver medal for excellence in a recent U.S. News and World Report survey, has a dedicated staff with long tenure and boasts scores well above Ore- gon’s average in reading and math. Joseph Charter School has one of the few high school aviation programs in the nation, and a very robust ag program. Students’ scores in reading and math are well above the state average. These schools and their students deserve to have reli- able, safe and fully functional physical plants. To have less puts students, educators and the community at risk. No one wants to live in a house with a leaky roof and buckets on the Members of the Enterprise School Board and their Long Range Facilities Planning Committee make some choices about what improvements recommended in the TAP facilities assessment are needed, and which ones would just be nice to have at their Monday Dec. 9 evening meeting with TAP consultants the Wenaha Group. New roofs on all buildings, improved security, and asbestos abatement were at the top of their lists, along with improvements to the HVAC ducting and modernizing science classrooms. fl oor to catch the drips, or a furnace that may malfunction and quit at any time. In the 21st century, no one should go to school under these cir- cumstances, either. But in our schools, we are coming peril- ously close to this situation. Oregon’s Technical Assis- tance Programs (TAP) assess- ments that both Enterprise and Wallowa are undergoing are revealing urgent needs for repairs. From roof and struc- tural needs to creating spaces vital for our students to excel in learning, these buildings need upgrades. They include repair of a major beam in the Enterprise’s small gym, and a very temporary patch- ing job on a roof that should be replaced. Wallowa, where the school board has noted that the school is the heart of the community, is likely to be facing major repairs as well. The Wallowa and Enter- prise school districts both are in the process of assessing the needs of their schools. As the school boards provide plans and options to repair, renew and modernize their schools — and eventually place bonds for the work on the ballot — the communities should sup- port them. Whether you have children in the school or not, the overall health and repair of the school refl ects the over- all health and future prosper- ity of the community. If our children are our future, the schools are the Adios, amigos W ell folks, the time has come. I started writing this column in 2013 and have really enjoyed working with the staff at the Chieftain. Thank you all for the many compliments about my column. I have tried to deliver a good one every time. However, I am running low on delivering a quality product perti- nent to this county. After re-read- ing the last column I planned on delivering I came to the con- clusion that you deserved bet- ter. It was pretty poor quality and I think I may be running out of ammunition. If I lived somewhere else, I probably would have submitted it but I live in Wallowa County where we expect writing deserv- ing of the beauty we live with and the people who live here. Also, it’s time for one of the many talented writers in the county to step up and give us a fresh view or maybe piss us off. I often refer to Wallowa County as the land of Cowboys and Com- munists. My way of describing the liberals and conservatives. The amazing thing is they seem to get along, tolerate each other and even really like each other. You see fl at- bed pickups and Subaru cars in LETTERS to the EDITOR OPEN RANGE Barrie Qualle the same parking lot and people in cowboy hats having a drink with some artist or writer wearing one of those stupid Subaru hats. Since I moved here in 2005, I have met only two people I don’t like and they know who they are. The rest are the best. We live in a county of seven thousand and are drowning in talent. I would match this county per capita against any for top quality Artists, Writers, Sculptors, Poets, Musicians and Straight Thinkers. It seems the rest of the world has become so emo- tionally weak they spend most of their time prowling around as if they are the politically correct police searching for someone to offend them. Too bad they can’t fi nd a sense of humor and get a life. I think Ellen, the new editor, has done a great job improving the Chieftain and I hope you all will support our local paper. I espe- cially enjoy reading the columns written by Rich Wandschneider and Jon Rombach. These guys write as good as any columnist in major newspapers and write about stuff you will never fi nd anywhere else. I regularly attend the Fishtrap fi reside get togethers the fi rst Fri- day of each winter month. Three local writers read something they have written and they have open mike after the break. It is pretty amazing and you are apt to hear some good writing and poetry. My experience with poetry has been pretty much limited to dirty limer- icks. I think living in this county is inspirational though and I am try- ing to do better. So, here is a poem about a place I love. The Zumwalt Listen as the sun slips below the rim When the sweeping winds fall to a sigh To whispers of wealth from this prairie Where the green bunchgrass stands high The cowboy feels the promise Beneath his wagon tarp Hearing the siren wind song Strummed on a sagebrush harp WHERE TO WRITE Washington, D.C. The White House — 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washing- ton, D.C. 20500; Phone-comments: 202-456-1111; Switchboard: 202-456-1414. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D — 516 Hart Senate Offi ce Building, Washington D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. E-mail: wayne_ kinney@wyden.senate.gov Web site: http://wyden.senate.gov Fax: 202-228-2717. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D — 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Build- ing, Washington D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753. E-mail: sen- ator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-228-3997. Oregon offi ces — One World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St., Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; and 310 S.E. Second St., Suite 105, Pendleton, OR 97801. Phone: 503- 326-3386; 541-278-1129. Fax: 503-326-2990. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R (Second District) — 1404 Long- worth Building, Washington D.C. 20515. Phone: 202-225-6730. No direct e-mail because of spam. Web site: www.walden.house.gov Fax: 202-225-5774. Medford offi ce: 14 North Central, Suite 112, Med- ford, OR 97501. Phone: 541-776- 4646. Fax: 541-779-0204. Pending Bills For information on bills in Congress — Phone: 202-225-1772. Salem Gov. Kate Brown, D — 160 State Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-4582. Fax: 503-378-8970. Web site: www.governor.state. or.us/governor.html. Oregon Legislature — State Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180. Web site: www. leg.state. or.us (includes Oregon Constitu- tion and Oregon Revised Statutes). State Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove (District 58) — Room H-384, State Capitol, 900 Court St. N.E., Salem OR 97301. Phone: 503- 986-1458. E-mail: rep.gregbar- reto@state.or.us. Web site: http:// www.oregonlegislature.gov/ barreto State Sen. Bill Hansell, R (District 29) — Room S-423, State Capitol, Salem 97301. Phone: 503- 986-1729. E-mail: Sen.BillHansell@ state.or.us. Web site: www.oregon- legislature.gov/hansell. My moral compass has not been realigned My moral compass has not been realigned as a result of last week’s opinionated letter to the editor. Since President Trump’s election, the opposing political party has attempted to impede his fulfi llment of a campaign promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, DC. Their Mueller Investigation failed to do that and now their impeachment investi- gation opinions are also failing to provide any factual basis or evi- dence in support of their partisan proceedings. The Framers of the Constitution did not include the Articles of Impeachment in order to remove a president on political grounds; but that appears to be the current case. Adam Schiff has requested phone records between the Pres- ident and his attorneys; is he not aware of attorney/client privilege? Perhaps the phone records between Adam Schiff and the Whistleblower should be exposed. Given that all of the testimony in front of Congress has been “liberalized,” maybe Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler, and Joe/ Hunter Biden should be called to testify. Oh wait, Joe Biden has already refused on national tele- vision to do so. Is it possible that he’s hiding some evidence? How stupid does he think we are? Please put the relocation of your moral compass on hold; the electoral and political time- line approaching in November of 2020 may clarify a lot of this. Maury Bunn Enterprise, OR Christians need to overcome apathy Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884 M EMBER O REGON N EWSPAPER P UBLISHERS A SSOCIATION Published every Wednesday by: EO Media Group VOLUME 134 USPS No. 665-100 P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828 Offi ce: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore. Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921 Contents copyright © 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. vehicle that takes them — and us — there. An invest- ment in schools is an invest- ment in the future of Wallowa County. Why? Because we need great schools for our children. And because like it or not, Wallowa County is growing and diversifying. We have been discovered by retir- ees, empty-nesters and impor- tantly, young families look- ing for a safe, healthy place to raise their children. One of the principal attractants for these well-off newcomers, many of whom telecommute or use the Internet as a means of employment, is what kind of school system awaits their families. Not just whether the buildings are in good repair, but are the chemistry and biology labs up to date? Does the school have the facili- ties to offer STEM Advanced Placement (AP) classes here, in house? Can the school engage the latest technologies and teaching techniques? Do we retain and attract the best teachers? As we begin to close in on TAP assessment results and school needs, please consider that schools are an essential lane in the road to community prosperity. They are an invest- ment worth making for our future and for our children. And they are the heart of our county and communities. General manager, Jennifer Cooney, jcooney@wallowa.com Editor, Ellen Morris Bishop, editor@wallowa.com Publisher, Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com Reporter, Stephen Tool, steve@wallowa.com Reporter, Bill Bradshaw, bbradshaw@wallowa.com Administrative Assistant, Amber Mock, amock@wallowa.com Advertising Assistant, Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com Apathy according to Web- ster’s is the feeling of not hav- ing much emotion or interest. An apathetic Christian is a cyn- ical one, a person who simply does not care anymore about the signs of the times. Look at our calendars we get or buy. Out of twelve, only one had the National Day of Prayer listed. Some of our motels and hotels have removed the bibles. I wonder what they did with them? A lot of people don’t know what month or day it is. We as Christians should be alarmed. We should come together and petition to have our National Day of Prayer a national holi- day, with no work and be hav- ing revivals. It would be great if all of our churches in the county could come together and have a big revival. Talk to your pastors or elders. Also pray for our troops and police offi cers. Roger Weishoff Enterprise Please bring back Pastor Tim Barton’s column I, along with others, have been missing Tim Barton’s uplifting column in the Chief- tain, and do hope you will have it back soon. Thank you very much. Catherine L. DeBoie Joseph Editor’s note: Pastor Barton has graciously agreed to begin writing his column again after taking time to attend to other needed activities, and will be one of several faith-based columns that the Chieftain hopes to run regularly in the future. Periodical Postage Paid at Enterprise and additional mailing offi ces Subscription rates (includes online access) Wallowa County Out-of-County 1 Year $45.00 $57.00 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery See the Wallowa County Chieftain on the Internet Wallowa.com facebook.com/Wallowa twitter.com/wcchieftain POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wallowa County Chieftain P.O. Box 338 Enterprise, OR 97828
