OFF PAGE ONE
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Commissioners: Noxious weeds list accepted
Continued from Page A1
help these four entities.”
Commissioner John Hill-
ock agreed these four suf-
fered from the pandemic.
“All these groups were
adversely aff ected by the
pandemic,” he said. “Some of
the other groups had the right
type of organization.”
In a rare case, the com-
missioners split their vote on
another matter. They were
considering whether to hear
on the record a land-use
appeal by Charles Woods,
who was seeking a variance
from the county Planning
Commission.
County Counsel Paige
Sully told the commission-
ers that, if they choose, they
can open a hearing for new
evidence.
“To my knowledge, the
board has not received a
request from Mr. Woods to
have a new hearing,” Roberts
said. “I do believe he’s sent a
request through other chan-
nels and we can accept that if
we want, is that correct?”
“That is correct, you can,”
Sully said. “There has been
an issue with the plaintiff
continuing to fi le with the
Planning Commission, even
though he’s been told the cor-
rect venue and jurisdiction is
the board of commissioners.”
But Sully did not believe
anything new was being put
forward.
“I, however, have not seen
Hillock
Nash
anything that the appellant
has provided with any per-
suasive authority … to go on
the record,” she said.
Sully said the law sets no
criteria as to whether Woods’
appeal should be heard on the
record.
“It’s completely up to
your discretion,” she told the
commissioners.
“Having read the full
record as supplied by the
planning board, I can sym-
pathize with the applicant,
but the applicant actually had
ample opportunity to remedy
his application and he failed
to do so or chose not to do so,
I don’t know which,” Roberts
said.
She said she believes it’s
time to take the matter on the
record.
“At this point, I feel that
hearing it on the record is the
way to proceed at this time,”
she said. “That’s just my
opinion.”
Hillock initially was sym-
pathetic to Roberts’ position.
“I also reviewed all the
documents, and it’s very con-
fusing because there are sev-
eral diff erent timelines and
things that are not very clear
Roberts
as to applicability and those
type of things,” he said. “The
applicant did not hire a pro-
fessional to do some work
that he could have done,
so I have to agree with the
decision.”
But Nash was opposed
to the idea of denying an
on-the-record hearing.
“I’m going to be in favor
of a ‘no’ vote when it comes
time to try to dispel any heart-
ache that occurred here,” he
said.
At that, Hillock sided with
Nash.
“I could fl ip on this
because obviously, he did
not get all the info out that he
could have so I could go with
a ‘no’ vote, as well,” he said.
When it came time to vote,
it was whether the on-the-re-
cord hearing should be held.
Nash and Hillock voted
“aye,” while Roberts voted
opposed.
“I understand your feel-
ings, Commissioner Nash,
following the guidelines laid
out in our land-use policy,”
Roberts said. “Even though
we don’t agree, I think we’d
be opening the door to all
others who think that you
don’t need to do what you’re
requested to do in order to
get a full hearing before the
Planning Commission, but
the commissioners might feel
sorry for you and let you do
it anyway. I don’t think that’s
a proper thing, but I under-
stand your feelings and Com-
missioner Hillock’s on the
issue.”
In other matters, the board:
• Accepted the resigna-
tion of Trina Rice as a 911
dispatcher and acknowl-
edged the death of dispatcher
and Reserve Deputy Bret
Bridges.
• Approved the appoint-
ment to Northeast Oregon
Economic Development Dis-
trict Board of Jennifer Piper,
Wallowa County Chamber of
Commerce executive direc-
tor; Enterprise Mayor Ashley
Sullivan; and Joseph Mayor
Belinda Buswell.
• Adopted a list of nox-
ious weeds as proposed by
the Wallowa County Weed
Board.
• Approved bylaws pro-
posed by the Statewide
Transportation Improvement
Fund Advisory Committee.
• Approved the county’s
Smoke Management Com-
munity Response Plan as pre-
sented and reviewed March
3 by Lisa Mahon. Mahon
attended the March 17 meet-
ing by Zoom and informed
the commissioners the Enter-
prise City Council had
approved the plan, as well.
Bond:
WALLOWA SCHOOL BOND ON MAY 18 BALLOT
Continued from Page A1
TITLE: Bonds for Improvements and Renova-
tions to Facilities.
lobby, gym entrance, a wellness/weight room
and student educational and meeting space.
AMOUNT: $7 million in bonds and a $4
million state matching grant. If the bonds are
approved they will be payable from taxes on
property or property ownership that are not
subject to the limits of sections 11 and 11b,
Article XI of the Oregon Constitution.
• Site improvements, furnishings, equipment,
and bond issuance costs.
ing would cover these, some
needed renovations in locker
rooms in the gym, secu-
rity renovations, including
a more secure fence around
the school and a more secure
entry so that unknown visitors
can’t just stroll into the school,
and updates and remodels
to some restrooms and other
areas to ensure compliance
with handicapped accessibil-
ity and code requirements.
“Things work now, but the
boiler could go at any time.
If these systems fail, then
we don’t have a functional
school, and it would be exor-
bitantly expensive to replace
or repair. It wasn’t an exorbi-
tant wish list. It was, ‘What
do we have to do?’” Wolfe
said.
Jones noted that, “We
haven’t done a whole lot of
improvements over time. The
last bond was in 1993. We
are sitting on a 40-year-old
boiler, and some of the piping
is original.
“We’ve been going to
school when there’s no heat
in the building. We didn’t
take days off . But there was
UPCOMING PUBLIC EVENTS:
March 29, 6 p.m., BJR Learn more about school
needs and the bond, and join the Citizens for
Wallowa Schools committee.
SUMMARY:
• Heating and electrical system replacement
and improvements including for effi ciency and
cost savings.
• Safety and security improvements including
secure and accessible building entries, install
and update emergency communication and
security systems, and install perimeter fencing.
• Gym renovations and additions expected
to include improvements to meet codes for
accessibility and other requirements, providing
new or renovated locker rooms, restrooms,
no heat. The sixth grade
classroom has no heat at all,
and leaky pipes were fl ood-
ing it. We tried heating it
with (space) heaters, but that
blew out the electrical in the
school. We need new electri-
cal coming into the school.
“The $7 million bond plus
$4 million matching are not
going to get us anything fancy
or special,” Jones continued.
“But this bond is important to
April 1 and 8, 6 p.m., WHS gym: Community
tour and information meeting.
Atlanta
shootings spark
local ‘peace vigil’
ENTERPRISE — A
group of 35 people and
one dog, diverse in age
and gender, and colorfully
masked, gathered at the
Wallowa County Court-
house to express their con-
cern Sunday, March 21,
over recent acts of vio-
lence in Atlanta, according
to Randi Jandt, a spokes-
woman for the group.
A series of mass shoot-
ings in the Atlanta metro
area on Tuesday, March
16, at three spas or mas-
sage parlors left eight
people dead — six of
whom were Asian women
— and one other per-
son wounded, according
to online sources. Rob-
ert Aaron Long, 21, was
arrested later in the day.
The “peace vigil,” as
Jandt called it, wasn’t
widely advertised before-
hand, she said, primar-
ily relying on emails and
Facebook. She said it was
organized by Sarah Lynch
and Quinn Osgood Daw-
son of Wallowa.
Jandt said the focus of
the shootings on Asians
and Pacifi c Islanders was
of particular concern.
“There’s a push to
prosecute as hate crime
because targeted people
of certain race,” she said.
“But all these details are
not really the point but that
everybody belongs here.”
Osgood Dawson spoke
during the vigil, recount-
ing the contributions of
Asians who have immi-
grated to the U.S. to the
culture here.
While Wallowa County
is an overwhelmingly
white community, the esti-
mated seven or eight gen-
erations represented at the
vigil are intended to make
minorities feel supported.
“I think it should make
our friends in the commu-
nity who are Asians and
Pacifi c Islanders know
somebody cares and they
have support here,” she
said.
— Chieftain staff
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
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Conatact Elaine at 541-263-1189
Meet paisley!
Paisley is a spayed female
torbi (tabby-tortoiseshell
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her fur brushed while she lays beside
you. She would do well in a home with
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Brought to you by,
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tammy Jones, Superintendent: 541-886-20561
or tsjones@wallowa.k12.or.us
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wal-
lowa-School-District-1990252624535155/
Available for Adoption
Call Mary at 541-398-2428
$65 adoption fee
http://www.wallowacountyhumanesociety.org/
Website: https://www.apps.wallowa.k12.or.us/
Tours and community coff ees: Join a commu-
nity tour. See website, Facebook, or call Jones
for more information.
the safe, continued operation
of our school.”
The exact scope of work
will be fi nalized once the
bond is passed. Work is
expected to begin in 2022.
“The bond will go to the
nuts and bolts of the school,”
education board member
Mike Lowesaid. “There’s no
fl uff . It’s just what we need
to do to ensure that we have
a school in this community in
the future.”
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