LEGISLATURE AGAIN BLH CUSTOM BUILDERS
MULLS DAM FUNDING EYE EXPANSION
LOCAL, A3
$1.50
BUSINESS, A6
THE WEEK
IN
PHOTOS
The Back Page, A16
136th Year, No. 51
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Preparing for the ‘MONSTER’
Brianna
Micka
Enterprise
Aiming for
teaching degrees
ENTERPRISE — Brianna Micka was
born and raised in Wallowa County and
lives with her parents on Alder Slope.
She’s now a senior at Joseph Charter
School, where she plays basketball and
volleyball. After graduation this year, she
hopes to go to Eastern Oregon University
or Oregon State University and obtain a
double major in elementary education
and agriculture education.
“I want to be an agriculture teacher,
but I want to come back to the county so
if I’m an elementary teacher, that gives me
more options,” she said.
The ag education goes along with
her own experience. She’s been in 4-H
since the fourth grade and started FFA as
a freshman. She’s now chapter vice presi-
dent at JCS.
Her parents are Jeff and Brenda Micka.
Her dad is a fl ooring installer and her mom
works at the Wallowa County Courthouse.
Micka recently shared her thoughts
about living in Wallowa County.
What’s your favorite thing about
Wallowa County?
Probably the views and the people. I
like coming back home, even from a great
vacation, the people here make it so won-
derful and they’re so supportive and you
just really come together as a community.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic
aff ected you?
It’s aff ected me pretty greatly with
school and sports. It’s defi nitely changed
things and especially changed my senior
year from what it was supposed to look
like.
Do you plan to get the vaccine
against COVID-19 or are you
hesitant as some people are?
I’m not sure yet. I’m not in a category
for it yet, and I’d like there to be more test-
ing. But if I need it to travel or for college,
then I’ll take it.
Which vaccine do you prefer?
I haven’t done a lot of research, but I
think I’d take the Johnson & Johnson one
that just came out if I have to take one —
the one-shot one.
What have you learned from living
in Wallowa County?
I’ve learned so much about what a
community can do and how they come
together. Everything that’s ag related here
has helped me so much. People want to
go to the city to see what they have, but it
seems in a small community we have just
as much, it’s just a little bit diff erent what
we do.
What’s your advice for people who
are thinking about moving here?
It’s a strong, small community, so I’d
say just keep it how we love it. Don’t try
to change everything, but if they want
to come and enjoy it, they can enjoy it,
too. Have an agriculture-based mind and
enjoy the beauty we have here.
— Bill Bradshaw,
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Schools
put $2.2M seismic
grant to work
By ELLEN MORRIS BISHOP
For the Wallowa County Chieftain
ALLOWA — Wal-
lowa may look like
a placid little town,
but there’s a monster
lurking underground
just a few miles to the
southeast. The Wallowa School
District is outfi tting its Cougar
Dome to ensure safety for students
and a safe haven for the commu-
nity should the monster ever strike.
The “monster” is the nearly
40-mile-long Wallowa fault and
related faults that defi ne the Los-
tine and other river valleys, as well
as other parts of the Blue Moun-
tains. Historic seismic activity in
Wallowa County has produced
only magnitude 5 and smaller
quakes, many have been centered
around Joseph.
In January, two magnitude 2
quakes occurred six to seven miles
WSW of Lostine, and were felt by
local residents. Although no fault
scarps younger than 17,000 years
have been found, some geologists,
notably U.S. Geological Survey’s
Gary Mann, consider the Wallowa
fault, which has been active for
about 12 million years, to be capa-
ble of a magnitude 7 quake.
The Wallowa School Dis-
trict is addressing this potential
threat with a $2,287,425 Seismic
Rehabilitation Grant. The grant,
awarded in May 2020, is funded by
W
Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
Geotechnical drillers Michael and Marvis Remboldt examine a core sample they drilled on the west side of the
Wallowa High School Cougar Dome on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
state bonds, administered by Busi-
ness Oregon, a state agency that
helps develop livable and prosper-
ous communities.
The district chose the Cougar
Dome, constructed in 1949, for the
project’s seismic retrofi t rather than
the century-old, brick high school.
A seismic retrofi t of the more vul-
nerable high school was estimated
at $8.1 million, far above the grant
program’s $2.5 million limit. The
Cougar Dome also was deemed a
place where the community could
shelter in any emergency, seismic
or otherwise.
“We’re underway with the eval-
uation work,” school Superinten-
dent Tammy Jones said. “Right
now, we are into schematic design.”
The project is expected to
include roof, wall and fl oor/foun-
dation strengthening and construc-
tion, Jones said.
But actual construction won’t
proceed until next summer.
“We could be full-bore and do
the construction for the seismic
this summer and be done,” Jones
said. “But the work doesn’t have to
be done until September of 2022.
We are waiting to hear on the bond
because combining the seismic
work and the bond-funded renova-
See Grant, Page A7
Money raining down on county, cities Enterprise
approves
police chief
More than $2.25M
in federal relief
coming; terms
still uncertain
Kevin McQuead to
be sworn in April 12
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY —
More than $2.25 million is slated
to come to Wallowa County and
its four incorporated cities out of
the $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill
signed by President Joe Biden on
March 11, and is being distributed
to local governments, according to
the offi ce of U.S. Democratic Sen.
Jeff Merkley.
Of that amount, $1.398 million
is going to Wallowa County. Enter-
prise will receive $410,000, Joseph
is to get nearly $230,000, Wallowa
gets $170,000 and Lostine is to
receive $50,000, Merkley’s offi ce
stated.
CNBC online reported that the
federal aid package includes direct
payments of $1,400 each to most
Americans, many of which have
already been distributed. It also
extends a $300 per week unem-
ployment boost until Sept. 6 and
expands the child tax credit for a
year. It will also put nearly $20 bil-
lion into COVID-19 vaccinations,
$25 billion into rental and utility
assistance and $350 billion into
state, local and tribal relief. The
legislation will also increase the
maximum Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (food stamps)
benefi t by 15% through Septem-
ber and direct nearly $30 billion to
restaurants. It will send more than
$120 billion to K-12 schools.
Wallowa County Commissioner
Susan Roberts said Thursday,
March 25, that the money should
come directly from the federal gov-
ernment about 60 days after Biden
signed the bill. She said, however,
that while counties and larger cities
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Bill Bradshaw illustration/Wallowa County Chieftain
will receive the payments directly
from the feds, smaller towns —
like the four in Wallowa County —
will receive theirs through the state
government.
“My understanding is that these
payments are directly to the coun-
ties,” she said.
Roberts said, as she understands
not counting her chickens before
they’re hatched.
“I’m not going to venture an idea
(on how it can be used) because it
has changed with every breath any-
one takes,” she said.
Roberts said she means the
terms of such payouts often
change, although the amounts usu-
“I’M NOT GOING TO VENTURE AN IDEA (ON HOW
IT CAN BE USED) BECAUSE IT HAS CHANGED
WITH EVERY BREATH ANYONE TAKES.”
— Susan Roberts, Wallowa County commissioner
it, the payments are to be divided
in half — the fi rst half in about 60
days and the second half a year and
a day later.
She said that while the money
isn’t specifi cally earmarked for any
particular uses, the feds do make
recommendations.
“It’s to use in any way we see
fi t,” she said.
However, Roberts said she’s
ally remain the same as initially
announced.
While she hasn’t received for-
mal notifi cation from Washington,
D.C. on the payout, she’s hoping to
receive some word from the feds so
the commissioners can have some-
thing on it to discuss at their next
meeting Wednesday, April 7.
See Money, Page A7
ENTERPRISE — Enterprise
will soon have a new chief of police,
now that Kevin
McQuead has com-
pleted and passed
all required eval-
uations and test-
ing, according to a
statement Monday,
March 29, released
McQuead
by a city offi cial.
“We
have
extended the offi cial off er of
employment as chief of the Enter-
prise Police Department, which
(McQuead) has accepted with a start
date of on or before April 19,” Jenni
Word, Enterprise City Council pres-
ident and Police Committee chair-
woman, said in an email.
Word said McQuead will be
sworn in at the council’s next meet-
ing, Monday, April 12.
McQuead replaces Joel Fish, who
was elected Wallowa County sher-
iff last year and was sworn in to the
position in January. McQuead has
served as a deputy with the Wallowa
County Sheriff ’s Offi ce since Feb-
ruary 2008, when he resigned as an
Enterprise police offi cer to take the
position, according to Chieftain fi les.
He is the husband of city Admin-
istrator Lacey McQuead, but the
“City Council does not feel any
nepotism or confl ict of interest has
occurred with this hiring process or
will occur as the city of Enterprise
policies are followed,” a February
press release stated.
The chief reports directly to the
City Council.