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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 2019)
Enterprise, Oregon Wallowa.com 134th Year, No. 37 Wednesday, December 25, 2019 Photos by Ellen Morris Bishop Wallowa County Realtors and BPOE (Elks) teamed up this year with a number of other community organizations to provide the annual Christmas baskets. The Wallowa County realtors donated $1000 to the event. Left to right: Realtors Lee Daggett, John Gorsline, Karen Raminha, Elks president Nick Jannuzzi, Elk member Chad Conrad, realtor Diane Daggett, Elk member Randy Morgan, and realtor Claresse O’Connor. ELKS AND REALTORS, WITH HELP FROM THEIR ELVES, ENSURE A MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR ALL More than 150 Wallowa County families receive Christmas baskets this year by Ellen Morris Bishop Wallowa County Chieftain C loverleaf Hall may not look like Santa’s workshop, but for much of the week before Christmas it served as one. On Saturday morning, after days of Santa’s elves (aka FCCLA students from Enter- prise High School, 4-H Nez Perce Rid- ers, and VFW Ladies) sorting gifts and wrapping boxes, the BPOE (Elks) Club members, NE Oregon Board of Real- tors (Wallowa County Chapter), and others were hard at work loading San- ta’s sleighs. Thanks to the generosity of local residents, it’s going to be a Merry Christmas across Wallowa County this year. More than 150 Wallowa County families received all the fi xin’s for a full-fl edged Christmas dinner. A sack of toys and gifts for the children in the household went along with the food, said Elks Club member Randy Morgan. The dinners included a (frozen) turkey or, for single households, a roasting chicken. Scott Miller donated 16 boxes of potatoes. Rolls, stuffi ng, green beans and other ingredients completed the holiday feast, all in proportion to the number of people in the household. The list of recipients was generated through applications. “We really can’t LEFT In Wallowa, Santa (John Poulson) begins loading his “sleigh” with a Christmas Basket handed off by Elks member John Howard (right). The annual event delivered more than 150 baskets to needy families across Wallowa County on Saturday. RIGHT Sarah Lynch totes a package that she’ll deliver to a family in Enterprise. get lists of those in need from agen- cies because of HIPPA rules,” Morgan said, “So we advertise and post notices that we are taking applications. Every- one who applies gets a dinner, and age-appropriate toys if there are chil- dren. Even if someone were to apply for a Christmas dinner today, or any- time before Christmas, we’d make sure it got delivered.” The Wallowa County realtors donated $1000 toward the effort. Another $1000 came from the Tree of Giving and other donations, including $400 from the Methodist Women. Saturday morning, volunteers including Elks members and real- tors packed individually labeled food boxes and bags full of toys into a U-Haul bound for Wallowa. The brightly wrapped packages fi lled the truck. BPOE president Nick Jannuzzi donated its use. Santa (Jack Poul- son) and his elves met this oversized, sans-reindeer sleigh at the Wallowa Community Center. His helpers were all members of the local Wallowa biker group—who also do a 4th of July toy run. They transferred the packages into their smaller sleighs, and headed out to deliver them to recipients around the town. Meanwhile, the elves at Clover- leaf Hall loaded packages of presents and dinners set out on similar missions across the county, from Joseph to Los- tine. And although there were no rein- deer in sight, t’was a day full of joy and for all, a good night. Joseph City Council County gets ready for plastic bag ban Statewide considers vendor fee law goes into eff ect Jan. 1 rate hike for 2020 By Bill Bradshaw Wallowa County Chieftain By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain Part-time vendors in the city of Joseph may get a shock when they apply for a license in 2020. The city is considering a substantial jump in fees for the com- ing year. City Administrator Larry Braden brought up the subject at the city’s council meeting on Thurs- day, Dec. 12. The city is also con- sidering a new park at the north end of Joseph that offers amenities unavail- able at the city’s present park at the south end of town. Braden said such ame- nities may include a dog park. An audience mem- ber who lives near the pro- posed site wondered if noise would be considered and Mayor Teresa Sajo- nia said when the plan- ning got to that point it would be considered along with usage hours and other regulations. See Council, Page A7 Those plastic grocery bags we’ve all become used to will be a thing of the past on Jan. 1. That’s when a law banning them across Oregon becomes effective. The ban is the result of House Bill 2509 (the Sus- tainable Shopping Initiative) passed by the 2019 Oregon Legislature. It was signed by Gov. Kate Brown in July. When the supermarket plastic bags begin to break up, they eventually pro- duce tiny particles know as micro plastics. The bill was Bill Bradshaw Pearl Sturm, left, one of the managers at The Market Place in Joseph, gives Clayne Miller the option of “bag or no bag” Thursday, Dec. 19. The Market Place, like others stores in the state, will no longer be able to use plastic bags for customers’ purchases when a state law goes into eff ect Jan. 1. spawned by concerns about the effects of these micro plastics on fi sheries and ocean ecosystems. There are also toxic materials the bags may unleash into lakes, See Bag ban, Page A7
