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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 2020)
Enterprise, Oregon 134th Year, No. 39 Wallowa.com Wednesday, January 8, 2020 POLAR PLUNGE By Ellen Morris Bishop Wallowa County Chieftain T he New Year’s morning plunge into Wallowa Lake reached epic propor- tions on Wednesday morning. More than 100 people of all ages and outfi ts showed up at the county boat ramp to get 2020 off to a refreshing start. See Plunge, Page A7 About 80 people ran, leaped, skipped and tiptoed into Wallowa Lake for the 2020 New Year’s plunge. Ellen Morris Bishop New addition at Wallowa Hospital opens Allows clinic to serve county needs By Ellen Morris Bishop Wallowa County Chieftain The new addition to Wal- lowa Memorial Hospital’s clinic building is complete and open for business. “We built it to improve peo- ple’s access to health care,” hospital CEO Larry Davy said. “The Affordable Care Act and our very liberal fi nancial assis- tance policy, has allowed more and more people to access health care on a regular basis. That put quite a strain on our existing facilities, which were designed for the old ways of so many being uninsured.” “We are doing so much more than we used to,” Davy said, “… managing chronic disease, providing mental health care and those types of things. We just ran out of room.” The $1 million structure, completed in early December, added 10 patient rooms and additional offi ce space. The new facilities will serve the needs of Winding Water’s Com- munity Health Center and allow the hospital’s Mountain View Clinic to expand into a portion of the area formerly used by Winding Waters. “Essentially,” said Nic Pow- ers, CEO of Winding Waters, “we are both moving west.” ABOVE The new addition on the clinic wing of Wallowa Memorial Hospital contains 10 patient rooms, including four set up for dentistry. The addition will help Mountain View Clinic and Winding Waters Community Health Center meet the increasing medical needs of Wallowa County. RIGHT Maddy Tracy, a dental assistant for Dr. Nick Best, checks cabinet supplies in one of the dental rooms in the new addition to the clinic wing at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. Photos by Ellen Morris Bishop The additional space allows Winding Waters to add dental care to their repertoire, with one full-time dentist, and four part- time dentists who provide care. “The dentists we have into the community all provide excellent care,” Powers said. “We are trying to help meet demands, and, with the part time dentists, also determine what the level of need for den- tistry is here.” The hospital’s Mountain View Clinic is also looking to expand its facilities in Joseph. They have acquired land at the intersection of Main Street and Daggett Street at the north end of town, and hope to build within the next year. “The old building we are in doesn’t meet ADA require- ments,” Davy said. “So we have bids coming in this Fri- day for building a new clinic in Joseph. One reason for planning a new building is to keep a little ahead of the changes in health care. And make sure the facili- ties here match those needs.” But until the bids are in and the low bidders vetted, Davy and the hospital board will not know whether the new Joseph facility is within the approxi- mately $2 million budget. The board will make a decision at the January board meeting. Washington state issues new report on Lower Snake River dams By Ellen Morris Bishop Wallowa County Chieftain A new report summa- rizing the pros and cons of breaching the four Lower Snake River dams was released by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s offi ce on Dec 20. The 107-page report, Lower Snake River Dams Stakeholder Engagement Report, reaches no conclu- sions about the effects of breaching or of keeping the dams. Nor does it evaluate the pros and cons of either alternative. Instead, it pro- vides a summary of positions on both sides of the issue. The $750,000, 107-page report is intended only to inform the state of Washing- ton’s position on the federal court-ordered EIS expected in February. It may also help ease each side into produc- tive discussions. In February, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will publish the Colum- bia River Systems Opera- tion Environmental Impact Statement on the effects of all the dams on the Colum- bia River systems including the four Lower Snake River dams. It will include a rec- ommended solution and a number of alternatives. The EIS will provide a detailed analysis of the environmen- tal and social impacts of the operations, maintenance and US Army Corps of Engineers See Dams, Page A7 Lower Granite Dam is the uppermost of the four Lower Snake River dams.