LOCAL
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
A3
Wallowa Valley Health Care Foundation/Screenshot
Wallowa Memorial Hospital CEO Larry Davy speaks during the fi rst virtual Healthy Futures
Dinner Auction, which was broadcast online Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020.
Healthy Futures Dinner
Auction goes virtual
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — For the
fi rst time in its existence, the
25th annual Healthy Futures
Dinner Auction took to an
online format when it was
held virtually on Saturday,
Nov. 14, during the COVID-
19 pandemic.
There wasn’t an auction
as in years past, but instead
a raffl e. There also was a
message of optimism for the
future, one that showed the
Wallowa Memorial Hospital
in a good fi nancial position
and that was full of gratitude
to those who had donated
more than $1.35 million to
the Wallowa Valley Health
Care Foundation during the
previous 2½ decades the
event had been held.
“It’s amazing as you look
back 25 years, the impact
this event has had over the
years,” Larry Davy, Wallowa
Memorial Hospital CEO,
said during his pretaped
State of the Hospital address,
which was part of the Satur-
day night event.
Many who spoke praised
the efforts of those who
raised money through the
years and talked about what
the funds had helped to
bring to the hospital, includ-
ing new equipment such as a
medication dispenser, imag-
ing equipment, a bone-den-
sity unit and an ultrasound
machine, among others.
“The goal of the foun-
M Thrive Organics, the only marijuana dispensary in Wallowa County, is expected to be the
sole business aff ected by the city of Joseph’s new 3% tax on marijuana sale.
Use of marijuana tax
proceeds up in the air
Joseph has
wide latitude on
how to use it
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — The recent
voter approval of a 3%
tax on marijuana in the
city of Joseph leaves some
questions to be answered,
including just what the pro-
ceeds will go toward.
City
Administrator
Larry Braden said the mea-
sure allows several ways
it can be spent: on infra-
structure, parks, education
of the public and city staff,
education at the schools if
school offi cials desire it
and “enhancing the livabil-
ity of the community.”
This latter item is quite
open for interpretation,
Braden said Thursday,
Nov. 12.
“It’s pretty general on
IN BRIEF
Josephy Center
plans book group
meeting Dec. 1
JOSEPH — The fi rst
November book for the book
group at the Josephy Cen-
ter for Arts and Culture is
“Indian Horse” by Richard
Wagamese, to be previewed
at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 1.
The book is about Saul
Indian Horse, a child when
his family retreats into the
woods. Among the lakes
and cedars, they attempt
to reconnect with half-for-
gotten traditions and hide
from the authorities who
have been kidnapping Ojib-
way youths. But when win-
ter approaches, Saul loses
everything: His brother, his
parents, his beloved grand-
mother — and then his home
itself.
Book group members
receive 15% off “Indian
Horse,” available for pur-
the purpose, so the city
has the freedom to spend
money how it sees fi t,” he
said. “That could mean
sky’s the limit under that
language.”
Although the ballot
measure 32-004 said the
3% tax will be imposed
on “marijuana items,” that
only includes consumable
items with marijuana such
as straight marijuana or
marijuana extracts, edibles
and tinctures, said Mark
Pettinger, a spokesman for
the Oregon Liquor Control
Commission in Pendleton,
which regulates marijuana
in the state.
“It applies to anything in
which the marijuana fl ower
has been turned into a val-
ue-added item,” he said.
The only marijuana dis-
pensary in the county is M
Thrive Organics in Joseph.
Owner Getty Pollard did
not respond to several
email requests for com-
ments and employees at the
chase at the Josephy Center
now.
Call 541-432-0505 or
visit online at https://jose-
phy.org/book-group/.
Lostine council
meets after
skipping October
LOSTINE — The Lostine
City Council met for the fi rst
time in two months, Thurs-
day, Nov. 5, having skipped
the October meeting due to
illness, city Recorder Toni
Clary said.
At the November meet-
ing, Clary reported Tuesday,
Nov. 10, the council agreed
to continue to seek a new
location for the local post
offi ce. The owner of the cur-
rent building has declined
to renew the lease, which
expires in August since the
owner wants to reclaim use
of the property.
Also at the meeting, two
residential complaints —
fi led by the Zimmerman and
Lathrop families — were read
dispensary said they are not
allowed to comment to the
media.
The “marijuana items”
language brings to mind
drug-related parapherna-
lia, such as pipes and bongs
sold at the Peace Pipe, also
in Joseph. Owner Sean Fla-
nagan agreed that his prod-
ucts are not covered under
OLCC regulation.
“They never have been
in the state of Oregon,” he
said Thursday.
The tax levy passed
on the Nov. 3 ballot with
about 73% approval. The
City Council had previ-
ously approved an ordi-
nance authorizing the tax
and designating the pre-
viously mentioned uses.
State law requires such an
ordinance.
“The City Council was
adamant about keeping the
funds from the tax to ben-
efi t the citizens of Joseph,”
Joseph Mayor Teresa Sajo-
nia said in October.
and dismissed as unfounded.
Clary did not elaborate on the
nature of the complaints.
The next regular coun-
cil meeting is scheduled for
Wednesday, Dec. 2.
Rotary names
Kinzie as
Peace Fellow
ENTERPRISE — Seth
Kinzie, of Joseph, has just
been named as a Rotary
Peace Fellow and will study
at one of seven Rotary Peace
dation is to provide qual-
ity health care for Wallowa
County,” said Terry Jones,
foundation board member.
Many of the purchases
have enabled patients to
receive care in Wallowa
County that they otherwise
may not have been able to.
“Your support has made
the difference. Over 25 years,
giving generously, each and
every year had meant the dif-
ference between adequate
equipment and no equipment
at all in some cases, to state of
the art equipment that comes
with anything you could fi nd
in a much larger hospital in
an urban or suburban area,”
said Stacy Green, Wallowa
Valley Health Care Founda-
tion director.
Davy spoke of a hospital
in increasingly solid fi nancial
shape, noting that in 2014,
the hospital had $19.5 mil-
lion in mortgage debt.
“As of today the hospital
is now under $4 million on
its mortgage...with plans to
have that paid off in the next
2-3 years,” Davy said.
Davy also said the hos-
pital had received several
high accolades from national
companies.
“In 2020, the iVantage
company did announce that
Wallowa Memorial Hospi-
tal for the third time in four
years is named as a top 20
critical access hospital in
the county with a percentile
ranking of 99.7, which put us
approximately No. 4 in the
Centers around the world,
according to a press release.
Each year, Rotary Inter-
national names about 130
Peace Fellows and fi nances
their fellowships.
Kinzie is a pianist, com-
poser, web designer and
longtime advocate for peace.
His candidacy was spon-
sored by the Rotary Club of
Wallowa County.
Local Rotarian Judy
Allen was the head of a
two-year-long campaign to
have Kinzie named a Peace
Fellow.
— Chieftain staff
nation,” he said.
The hospital also received
a fi ve-star ranking in patient
satisfaction from the Centers
of Medicare & Medicaid Ser-
vices, and in employee satis-
faction, it was ranked No. 8
as a health care employer
and No. 1 for millennial
employee satisfaction by
Modern Healthcare. The
hospital also received a new
accreditation from the fed-
eral government.
Davy said that in spite of
the challenges provided in
2020 and the uncertainty of
what lies ahead, he believes
the future of the hospital will
remain solid.
“Our fi nest hour is still
in front of us, and I think a
reminder, we have stood on
the shoulders of giants to get
to where we are in health care
in this community, but also
the remainder of the respon-
sibility we have to hand the
hospital off to the next gen-
eration even better than we
found it,” he said.
The COVID-19 pan-
demic and fallout wasn’t far
from minds on Saturday, and
a moment was taken as a
remembrance for those who
had been impacted by the
coronavirus.
And rather than an auc-
tion, the event posted ways
to donate to the foundation,
either by mailing a check to
WVHCF, P.O. Box 53, Enter-
prise, OR 97828, or online at
https://wchcd.ejoinme.org/
hfda2020.
This week’s featured book.
Magic Lessons
by Alice Hoffman
107 E. Main St.
Enterprise OR
541-426-3351
bookloftoregon.com • manager@bookloft.org
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