COUNTY OKS SUPPORT OF MEET THE ENTERPRISE CITY
21-INCH RULE COUNCIL CANDIDATES
THE WEEK
IN PHOTOS
LOCAL, A3
LOCAL, A15
136th Year, No. 27
$1.50
LOCAL, A6
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Wallowa
County
Voices
Alicia
Fambrini
Enterprise
New to
county, she
already loves it
ENTERPRISE — Alicia Fambrini
is a bit of a newcomer to Wallowa
County, but she’s already fallen in
love with it.
She came here six months ago
from Tacoma, Washington, to live
with her father, Alan Fambrini. Her
dad is her only family in the county.
Alan Fambrini has lived in the county
about 10 years, his daughter said.
She works two jobs: at the Pio-
neer Guest Home, a private rehab
facility in Enterprise, and the Alpine
House Assisted Living home in
Joseph.
What’s your favorite thing
about Wallowa County?
The lake is my favorite thing. I
like going there to relax. I just look
around at other people having fun
and soak in the sun. It’s another
beautiful day in Wallowa County.
Are you particularly worried
about COVID-19?
I am a little bit worri ed
about the COVID. I heard a cou-
ple tourists just contracted it in Wal-
lowa County so it’s still out there
and going. No one’s really safe from
COVID just yet. But I’m not worried
about catching COVID. I wear a mask
every day and I make sure I sani-
tize my hands. I’m not too worried
because I’m not in close corners with
anybody.
What are your thoughts on
the upcoming election?
It’s a turning point for people
who have been in for 30 to 40 years
to see other new faces come in and
take over old positions and try to do
a good job. It’s a really important year
to vote in both the local and national
elections.
What’s your advice for people
who are thinking about
moving here?
I recommend looking for a job
and keep looking. I went through 30
diff erent places I was going to apply,
got interviews with fi ve, talked to
three diff erent places and got a job
with the fourth one. So just hang in
there and keep on trying and you’ll
fi nd something.
— Bill Bradshaw
Wallowa County Chieftain
Katy Nesbitt/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
A class of fourth- and fi fth-grade students at Enterprise Elementary School has lunch at their desks in accordance with COVID-19 protocols of safe
distancing.
Learning to adapt
Wallowa,
Enterprise
schools adjust
to education
during the
pandemic
By KATY NESBITT
For the Wallowa County Chieftain
E
NTERPRISE — Wal-
lowa County school staff,
students and parents are
learning to be fl exible
in light of the constantly chang-
ing face of education during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
From Superintendent Erika
Pinkerton’s offi ce, elementary
school kids can be seen at recess on
the school playground. Some kids
are wearing masks, but they aren’t
required to do so outside.
Pinkerton said the kids also get
“mask breaks” during the day, but
to keep them safe desks are spaced
6 feet apart, and each classroom has
its assigned playground equipment.
Steve Roundy, the Enterprise
Elementary School offi ce manager,
said kids are allowed to play with
soccer balls at recess, but basket-
balls are off limits because they are
touched by so many hands — adap-
tations to keep the kids well.
Katy Nesbitt/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
Hallie Duncan plays with friends on the “hand rock” in front of the
Enterprise School. Enterprise Elementary School kids can be seen at recess
wearing masks, but they aren’t required to do so.
“The kids miss their after-school
sports like soccer and baseball,”
Roundy said.
Pinkerton said students can’t
be exposed to more than 50 peo-
ple in the school and the elemen-
tary school has 150 kids and 30
staff members. To reduce expo-
sure students go to the cafete-
ria and bring their lunches back to
their classroom and are assigned a
“buddy cohort,” a fellow student
with whom they are allowed closer
contact.
Instead of going to the art room,
the art teacher has a wheeled cart
she takes to each room and each
student has their individual kits so
art supplies aren’t shared.
As for hygiene, Pinkerton said
handwashing and sanitizing are
priorities.
“Dr. Powers met with all of our
K-6 students about handwashing
and we’ve had training on cleaning
for all of the staff,” Pinkerton said.
The school closed just before
spring break when much of the
state was shutting down. Within a
few weeks, children were attending
school from home on Google Class-
rooms. This fall school reopened for
in-class learning, but of the 150 stu-
dents, 21 opted to learn from home.
Trish Otten was a kindergarten
teacher until this year and is now
working with the distance learners
online.
“The kids have interaction with
their grade-level teachers daily for
45 minutes and I am available every
day,” Otten said.
The transition from Google
Classrooms to a program called
Pearson that includes curriculum
wasn’t smooth at the beginning of
the year and the school lost some
students to a program offered by
Baker County. Pinkerton said that
after a couple weeks, the school had
See Learning, Page A8
Most eateries, lodging survive pandemic
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Eateries and
lodging establishments in Wallowa
County that were concerned the
COVID-19 pandemic would wipe
out business during the tourist sea-
son have been somewhat relieved
as tourism winds down and they
fi nd they’ve survived.
Todd Morrow, owner of the Log
House RV Park & Campground on
the north side of Enterprise, said his
establishment remained as much as
85% full over the tourist season.
“We were pretty close to last
year,” he said. “The pandemic
didn’t really hurt us businesswise.”
He attributed this at least par-
tially to the fact that his custom-
ers preferred using campgrounds
and RVs to do a better job of social
distancing than if they stayed in a
motel.
“You have control of your own
environment,” he said.
He said he even heard from cus-
tomers who said they were hav-
ing a harder time getting new RVs
or campers or the equipment to
upgrade them, with more people
interested in avoiding motels.
Though some lodging estab-
lishments in the area experienced
a drop, they didn’t fi nd their occu-
pancy rates down considerably.
Darin Naisbitt, of the fami-
ly-owned Ponderosa Motel and
Wilderness Inn in Enterprise, said
See Pandemic, Page A8
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
A waiter delivers an order to customers at an outdoor table Friday, Oct.
9, 2020, at the Range Rider in Enterprise. Outdoor seating has helped
restaurants avoid being devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the
Range Rider still has had to cut seating by 50%.