A8
Wallowa County Chieftain
LOCAL
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
COVID vaccine walk-in clinics coming May 14 and 24
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Wal-
lowa Memorial Hospital and
Medical Clinic will be host-
ing two walk-in clinics — one
Friday, May 14, in Joseph,
and one Monday, May 24,
in Wallowa — for individu-
als who want a COVID-19
vaccine.
These will be the fi rst
walk-in COVID vaccine clin-
ics put on by the hospital
since the vaccine fi rst came
to the county in December
2020, WMH Communica-
tions Director Brooke Pace
said.
The fi rst will be held May
14 at the Wallowa Memo-
rial Medical Clinic in Joseph
from 9 a.m. to noon. The sec-
ond will be at the WMMC in
Wallowa May 24, also from
9 a.m. to noon. Both the two-
shot Moderna vaccine and the
one-shot option from Johnson
& Johnson will be available.
“Anyone interested in
receiving a vaccine can walk
in at that time,” Pace said.
Pace said as of May 6,
2,083 individuals had com-
pleted their vaccine series
through WMH, and an addi-
tional 40 had received the
fi rst shot.
“If people have questions
(about a vaccine), contact
their primary care providers,”
Pace said. “We have reached
the point where our supply is
greater than the demand. We
are encouraging people who
have waited their turn in line
to step up.”
The number of people get-
ting vaccinated in Wallowa
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Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Memorial Medical Clinic in Joseph is the site of one
of two upcoming walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics. The clinic
in Joseph will be Friday, May 14, 2021, and there will be one
in Wallowa May 24.
County continues to increase,
even if it is at a slower rate.
But there still are plenty of
individuals seeking the vac-
cine, Pace said.
“We are continuing to see
people trickle in in terms of
people who want it. I think
that as more people get it and
the longer the vaccinations
have been happening, the
people who were on the fence
and see their friends and fam-
ily members receive it, and
not see any side eff ects, they
are taking the vaccine,” she
said.
According to data from
the Oregon Health Author-
ity, Wallowa County is in the
upper third of the state when
it comes to the percentage of
residents who have received
a vaccine. As of May 10, the
county vaccination rate was
41.8%, according to OHA.
That number is below the
state average of 46.5%, but
is the 12th-highest rate in
Oregon. Benton County, at
56.7%, has the highest rate.
Umatilla County has the low-
est rate at 24.8%.
That means of the 7,160
people in the county, per OHA
data, about 2,992 people have
gotten at least one shot of the
vaccine, and 37.1%, or about
2,656, have been fully vac-
cinated. In terms of full vac-
cination, Wallowa County
is seventh in the state, and is
ahead of the state average of
34.4%.
In terms of those eligible
for vaccine — which, cur-
rently, is anyone 16 and older
— the county is 13th in Ore-
gon at 50.7%, and 45% of the
nearly 5,900 people in that
age range have been fully
vaccinated. The completed
rate among those eligible is
the fi fth-highest in the state.
The number of new cases
in Wallowa County seems to
have leveled off after a jump
that led to the closure of Wal-
lowa High School for two
weeks.
The school was scheduled
to reopen May 12.
The number of total cases
in the county, as of May 10,
was 182. Sixteen of those fell
between April 27 and May 3,
and at one point there were 20
cases in a 10-day span. But
there have been just six new
cases since May 3.
Wallowa a hot spot during next week’s elections
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY
— The Wallowa School Dis-
trict is likely to be the most
active during next week’s pri-
mary elections.
In addition to voters decid-
ing on a ballot measure to
raise funds for upgrades to
the school, two positions on
the school board have con-
tested elections on Tuesday,
May 18.
Michael Lowe, the incum-
bent seeking another four-
year term in Position 2, is fac-
ing two challengers for the
spot — Joseph Miles and
Zach Lathrop.
Position 5 will have a new
person in the seat, as Mark
Moeller and Bill Robb are
both running for their fi rst
term.
Voters in Wallowa also
will decide on a measure that
would raise $7 million for
the district and draw an addi-
tional $4 million in a match-
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
The Wallowa School District’s bond measure that, if passed,
would raise $7 million for the district and draw an additional
$4 million in a matching grant from the state, is among the
items on the ballot in next week’s district election. Two
positions on the school board are also up for election.
ing grant from the state. The
measure would increase the
property tax $1.96 per $1,000
of assessed property value for
the length of the bond. The
additional grant money comes
only if the measure is passed.
Only one other election —
for Position 4 in the Joseph
School District — features
a contested race. Incumbent
Rachel Sykora made a late
decision to re-run for the four-
year position, and will face
Kathy Zacharias, who put her
name in the ring only when
it appeared Sykora was not
going to run again, accord-
ing to county Clerk Sandy
Lathrop.
Every other race in the
county next week — from
school to cemetery districts
— is unopposed.
We know Wallowa County!
We also know that each of you have
worked hard and have an amazing
future ahead!
CONGRATULATIONS
Class of 2021
Your Wallowa County Newspaper Since 1884
In county schools, includes
Olivia Losby for Position 6 in
the Joseph School District;
Heather Melville (Position
1), Kate Fent (Position 4) and
Mandy Decker (Position 5) in
Enterprise; and Rene Craw-
ford (Position 2) and Dustin
DeHaan (Position 5) in Troy.
All those running except for
Crawford are incumbents.
The incumbent for that posi-
tion, Ervin Hafer, retired,
Lathrop said.
In the Lower Valley
Water District, incumbents
Kim Werst in Position 4 and
Rick Schaeff er in Position 5
are running unopposed, as
are Rob Burns, Jason Cren-
shaw, and Gary Willett — all
incumbents — in the Ever-
green Water District.
Larry Wightman and Bob-
bie Baker are each seek-
ing another term in the Wal-
lowa Rural Fire District, and
incumbents Bob Young (Posi-
tion 3), Dave Hurley (Position
4) and Greg Johnson (Posi-
tion 5) are all running again.
Bonnie Henderson is again
running in the Wallowa Cem-
etery District, and incumbents
Muriel Jones, Les Carlsen
and Shirley Dowd are seek-
ing roles again for the Lostine
Cemetery District.
Enterprise’s
Cemetery
District will still have a cou-
ple of holes following next
week’s election. Incum-
bent Tim Kiesecker is run-
ning again for Position 5, but
Positions 2 and 4, which are
up next week, are currently
vacant.
Reid Kooch is running in
the Alder Slope Cemetery
District, and Tom Schaafsma
looks to fi ll a role in Joseph.
Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital Board incumbents Nick
Lunde (Position 3) and Kate
Loftus (Position 4) are run-
ning unopposed. And at the
ESD, David Flynn is running
again for an at-large position,
while Bre Austin is running to
fi ll an open at-large role after
Joan Madsen retired.