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THE WEEK
IN
PHOTOS
The Back Page, A16
137th Year, No. 6
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
‘Superhero’ lifting Joseph’s clouds
Parks supervisor
returns to work
but issues remain
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Roswitha
Parks
Joseph
Council
should ‘fi x
the problem’
JOSEPH — A native of Germany,
Roswitha Parks fi nds living in Wal-
lowa County reminds her of her
Bavarian home, with the Alpine-like
look of the mountains.
“It reminds me of home,” she
said.
Parks came to the U.S. 50 years
ago, tired of family trying to tell her
what to do. She came to Joseph 16
years ago with her late husband,
David, who wanted to live here to
care for his mother. He was born and
raised here.
Parks worked for about 12 years
for Heidi’s Towne Shoppe down-
town. The Parks had no children and
thus, no grandchildren.
She recently shared her thoughts
about living in Wallowa County.
What’s your favorite thing
about Wallowa County?
The small-town feeling and the
people and the people. They’re
friendly, for the most part.
What are your thoughts
on multiple allegations of
harassment of employees by
Joseph City Council and its
alleged “dysfunction”?
I think it’s B.S. I think they are
dysfunctional. They should have an
investigation and fi x the problem.
How has the COVID-19
pandemic aff ected you?
Well, I had my shots and it’s
aff ected me as far as I stay pretty
much at home and don’t have a lot
of company coming over, which is a
change.
What have you learned from
living in Wallowa County?
You don’t talk about anybody
because they’re all related.
What’s your advice for
people who are thinking
about moving here?
You better like wintertime and
snow.
— Bill Bradshaw,
Wallowa County Chieftain
J
OSEPH — The clouds that
have covered Joseph City
Hall with gloom for weeks
— if not longer — may be
lifting thanks to the eff orts of its
new interim city Administrator,
Brock Eckstein.
Last week, Eckstein met with
Dennis Welch, the city’s parks,
Main Street and facilities supervi-
sor, and discussed Welch’s harass-
ment allegations that have kept
him off work since March 22. He
cited stress, “gaslighting” and
harassment as reasons for his time
off . Welch returned to work Sun-
day, May 16.
“The cloud is lifting and the
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
sun’s coming out and that’s what I
want,” Welch said Monday. “I just Dennis Welch, parks, Main Street and facilities supervisor for the city of Joseph, stands under a cloudless sky at the
want to come to work and do my city park Monday, May 17, 2021, having returned to work after an eight-week absence because of health-related
job. I know the people here appre- issues stemming from alleged harassment.
ciate me. They’ve made that very
clear.”
calls seeking comment.
Welch’s allegation was the sec-
Eckstein said May 17 he plans
ond of two that rocked City Hall to meet with Braden this week to
this spring. On April 1, former “get his side of the story.”
city Administrator Larry Bra-
The interim administrator
den told the City Council that believes some progress can be
unnamed members of the
made, though he does not
council were in violation
know if Braden is planning
of the city charter, council
any legal action regard-
rules and his own employ-
ing his resignation or the
ment contract by interfer-
harassment allegations.
ing with his work in City
“I’m so glad he’s will-
Hall. That sparked a debate
ing to meet with me and
between Mayor Belinda
hear his side of the story,”
Buswell
Buswell and Council-
Eckstein said.
woman Kathy Bingham on
He said he has yet to
what elected offi cials were allowed begin any sort of investigation
to do when it came to dealing with into the matter. The council has
city employees.
been silent on advice it received
But Braden’s concerns appar- from city attorney Wyatt Baum on
ently went unheeded and on April whether there should be an inves-
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
16, he submitted a letter of resig- tigation. The advice was given
nation citing “constant harassment during an executive session that Dennis Welch, parks, Main Street and facilities supervisor for the city of
Joseph, turns on a water valve at the Joseph City Park on Monday, May
from members of the current City was closed to the public.
17, 2021, having returned to work after an eight-week absence because of
Council.”
See Super, Page A7 health-related issues stemming from alleged harassment.
Braden has declined to return
Remembering a legendary coach
Loved by his players
Former players refl ect
on life, impact of
Gary Sather, who
died in late March
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — To many outside
Wallowa County, Gary Sather was
the architect of the fi rst high school
girls basketball dynasty in Oregon,
a coach who, by guiding Joseph
to three straight state titles and a
79-game winning streak, became
an instant legend and helped put the
Joseph Eagles on the map.
But to those close to him, Sather
was a father fi gure. He was a gen-
tleman who had integrity, who
never raised his voice, who was an
encourager, an honest man, some-
one who led by example, and much
more.
“Everything he ever said or
did was always kind of done with
a smile, even him getting after
you, although he didn’t do that
very often,” said Julie Jorgensen,
who started each game during the
Eagles’ three-peat from 1981-83.
“He was kind of fatherly, but never
tried to take the place of anyone’s
father. He had a presence about
him. He had smiling eyes, because
everything was said with a smile.”
Sather, who became an inte-
gral piece of the Joseph commu-
nity and a local legend during his
time in the town, died in late March
at the age of 84, 40 years after he
led the Eagles — often referred to
the E-gals in print at the time — to
their fi rst state title and undefeated
season.
His former players remembered
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Gary Sather is shown during the state tournament in 1983. The Joseph girls
basketball team, guided by the local legend, won its third straight state
title that season — all under Sather’s watch. Sather died March 21, 2021.
him for his kindness, for his genuine
demeanor, for being a man who was
the same on the court, in the class-
room and in his day-to-day life. His
players knew that they had an advo-
cate who would be there for them if
he was called upon, even after they
moved on from playing in Joseph.
Sather quickly gained the
respect of his players and students,
though it was not in a demanding
manner.
Pat Mallon, a senior on the 1982
boys basketball team that reached
the state tournament, said Sather’s
presence and demeanor made him
someone you quickly looked up to
or wanted to please.
“He was just a real gentleman,
and just (had) a presence that gar-
nered respect immediately,” he
said.
Jorgensen said his approach to
the student-athletes helped him
earn the respect he was given.
“He
commanded
respect
because of how he spoke to us. He
had that wisdom of how to deal
with teenagers, boys and girls,” she
said. “He treated us well, treated
us with respect so it made it easy
to respect him. He was kind of by
nature a gentleman.”
They also knew that, if needed,
they had an advocate during dif-
fi cult times, or when they needed
input on a major decision.
“That’s what I think sticks with
us, is that relationship stayed over
time,” said Karen Patton, one of the
standout players on the 1981 and
1982 teams. “When he found out
my dad passed away, he called, and
we talked. When I coached, he was
a mentor, and we talked often.”
Susie Coughlan, also a mem-
ber of the ‘81 and ‘82 teams, was
a neighbor of Sather’s, and said he
took the players under his wing.
“When it came time for me to
look for a job, I had a very fi rst job
off er given to me, and I was leery of
it. I had to commit for three years,”
See Legend, Page A10