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.