A6
BUSINESS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
As COVID hits again, businesses plod along
BIZZ
BUZZ
By Bill Bradshaw
WALLOWA COUNTY
— As the latest surge of
coronavirus hits Wallowa
County, few businesses
have been forced to close
but there is a renewed inter-
est in requiring face masks
and sanitizing business
premises.
This comes at the end of
a summer when many peo-
ple were feeling the need for
masks was nearly at an end
and many businesses had
stopped requiring them.
Enterprise’s
Safeway
grocery store was one
that had the strictest mask
requirements for most of the
pandemic and then relaxed
it early in the summer. But
the store is requiring masks
again.
“Our Enterprise Safeway
began requiring masks fol-
lowing the governor’s rein-
statement of the mandate
that required businesses to
do so,” said Jill McGinnis,
director of communications
and public aff airs for Safe-
way in an email. “We will
continue to put our associ-
ate and customer safety fi rst
and follow local and state
guidelines.”
On Aug. 11, Gov. Kate
Brown ordered masks be
worn indoors in public
places by everyone age 5
and over beginning Aug.
13, the Chieftain reported.
Brown urged — but did not
mandate — the wearing of
masks in crowded outdoor
situations and that private
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Many businesses in Wallowa County are not a fan of mask mandates, but most places are complying with the rules that were
put in place in August 2021.
companies and organiza-
tions enact their own indoor
mask policies.
Masks annoying
Many fi nd the return to a
mask mandate annoying, if
nothing else.
Mike Goss, owner of the
Dollar Stretcher in Enter-
prise, said he’ll tell custom-
ers they should have a mask,
but limited time and staff
preclude a 100% compli-
ance with Brown’s mandate.
“We are trying to comply
with the governor’s man-
date but I’m not going to
be the city cop and force all
customers to comply,” he
said. “People have to police
themselves.”
But another store is hold-
ing off . An assistant man-
ager at the Market Place
in Joseph said the mask
requirement isn’t offi cially
law yet.
“We’re just waiting for
(the governor) to actually
put it into law and that’ll
force us to do it,” Clint Lion
said. “We’ve been waiting
for the government mandate
(on the public) to be signed
and she hasn’t signed it yet.”
But KATU-TV reported
Aug. 24 that the Oregon
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration will
enforce the mandate.
For the most part, busi-
nesses that were contacted
were reviving the precau-
tions taken early in the pan-
demic that began in March
2020, although few actually
have closed their doors as
was required then.
Even a small opera-
tion like Favorite Finds on
Main, an antique and col-
lectibles shop operated by
Sondra Lozier, is muddling
through.
“I’m a one-woman show;
if I ever have 10 people in
its usually a family,” she
said. “It’s very trying in a lot
of ways. … The good side
is I think people are slowing
down.”
She did, however, say
the resurgent pandemic
caused disappointment by
forcing the cancellation of
two events she’s involved
in. She organizes the Hells
Canyon Mule Days, which
was to be the weekend after
Labor Day and had to be
postponed until next year.
She also is involved in orga-
nizing a quilt retreat that
also had to be canceled.
“That’s helped” slow
things down, Lozier said.
She said that despite the
surge in cases, she believes
folks here are generally
safe.
“I’ve been in business
so long that nothing really
aff ects me,” she said. “I’m
just glad I live in Wallowa
County because we are such
a clean county.”
Normal operation
Other businesses that
have had to close in the past
are mostly operating nor-
mally. Double Arrow Vet-
erinary Clinic in Enter-
prise had its lobby closed
for some months and has
reopened it. However, all
staff and customers are
required to mask up when
inside.
The Les Schwab Tire
Center in Enterprise also
fi nds the mask mandate
annoying, but is complying
& Skylight
Gallery
by having staff and custom-
ers wear masks.
“It’s pretty tough … espe-
cially for the guys working
in the heat,” said JR Pinea,
assistant manager. “We’re
following the guidelines. …
It’s tough for everybody, but
we’re doing it.”
The pandemic surge
doesn’t seem to have aff ected
the lodging industry much,
although some are closing
or preparing to close as tour-
ist season winds down. A
spokeswoman at the Ponder-
osa Motel in Enterprise said
it and the Wilderness Inn —
owned by the Naisbitt family
— remain open and are con-
tinuing to take precautions
by wearing face masks and
thoroughly sanitizing rooms
between customer stays.
Some restaurants are
returning to early-pandemic
protocols of outside seating
or takeout.
Kim Moore, co-owner
of the red Rooster Café in
Enterprise, said her estab-
lishment closed for a short
time earlier this summer, but
it’s reopened now.
Heavenly’s in Enterprise
has ceased its indoor seat-
ing, but everyone working is
masked.
The change has been
more to do with a diffi culty
in getting employees than
anything, said co-owner
Cindy Ellis.
“They’’re getting unem-
ployment or they don’t want
to work, that’s what I’m
assuming,” she said.
———
Bill Bradshaw is a reporter
for the Wallowa County
Chieftain. Have a business
tip? Contact him at 541-
398-5503 or bbradshaw@
wallowa.com.
Church
Directory
Finding books is
our specialty
CLUES ACROSS
1. Cold-weather jacket
6. And people who didn’t
make the list: Abbr.
10. Sage or fennel
14. Clock radio feature
15. Untainted
16. Burn balm
17. Candidate who lost
to Truman
18. “Really?”
19. Little bit of land
20. Pause mark that blends
in with its surroundings?
23. Last part of a date?
24. An ant has six of them
25. The “S” of GPS: Abbr.
27. Author Ayn
30. Lowest point
34. Feline-oriented section
of lease?
37. “That’s terrible!”
38. First Hebrew letter
39. Vow at a vow renewal
40. Blew it
41. Dangerously serious
42. List of starters?
44. Seedy bagel type
46. Word on an octagonal sign
47. YouTubers’ money sources
48. Boorish
50. Fit together snugly
52. Word processing
feature that went haywire
when correcting 20-, 34-
and 42-Across?
58. God who “died” in multiple
Marvel movies
59. Long vehicle for a celeb
60. Hazards when unloading
silverware from the
dishwasher
62. “Sign me up!”
63. Supply-and-demand subj.
64. “Lovergirl” singer Marie
65. Warped
66. Mildewy, perhaps
67. Surgeon, informally
Joseph United
Methodist Church
Grace Lutheran
Church
3rd & Lake St. • Joseph
Pastor Cherie Dearth
10 AM Worship
Phone: 541-432-3102
409 West Main - Enterprise
Online AND In Person
For More Info
Worship
Online at
541-432-3102
JosephUMC.ORG
JosephUMC.org
SUNDAY
WORSHIP
at 9am
Pastor Cherie Dearth
Pastor John B. King Jr
phone (message): 541-426-4633
web: gracelutheranenterprise.com
Enterprise
Christian Church
St. Patrick’s
Episcopal Church
85035 Joseph Hwy • (541) 426-3449
We have ‘In-person worship” @ 9:00 am
(Guidelines observed)
Sunday School at 10:30
Parking Lot Radio/Facebook @ 9:00
100 NE 3rd St, Enterprise
NE 3rd & Main St
541-426-3439
Worship Service
Sunday 9:30am
David Bruce
Pastor, Enterprise Christian Church
Lostine
Presbyterian Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
Worship Service 11:00 AM
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
CLUES DOWN
1. Rocket launch site
2. Baldwin of “It’s Complicated”
3. Seafood items that are
supposedly an aphrodisiac
4. Krispy ___
5. Youngest of the “little women”
6. “Game of Thrones,” e.g.
7. Fanny
8. Popular sans serif font
9. Request for solitude
10. Noisy weather phenomenon
11. Someone ___ (not me)
12. Candy shaped like a
truncated cone
13. Existed
21. Asia’s shrinking sea
22. A fragile one is easily bruised
25. Lots
26. New Haven student
28. Depilatory brand
29. Bros
31. Like an endangered species
32. Standing up
33. ___ operandi
35. Refreshing gum flavor
36. Squishy
40. Most likely will
42. Spun one’s wheels?
43. Skye of “Say Anything”
45. Mother, to a Brit
49. “Fear of Flying” author Jong
51. One may need a lift on a
snowy day
52. Smooth-talking
53. City built on seven hills
54. Related by blood
55. “Let’s go!”
56. Traffic sound
57. Nevada’s third most populous city
61. Squid’s ink holder
107 E. Main • Enterprise • 541-426-3351
www.bookloftoregon.com
Summit Church
Sundays at 9:30 am and 11 am
Sundays
at 10 am
at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise.
at are
the required
Cloverleaf
Hall available
in Enterprise
Masks
- but made
at the door.
Pastor: David Pendleton
541.398.0597
Hwy 82, Lostine
www.summitchurchoregon.org
Stephen Kliewer, Minister
Cloverleaf Hall • 668 NW 1st St. • Enterprise, OR 97828
Wallowa
Assembly
of God
702 West Hwy 82
Wallowa, Oregon
541-886-8445
Sunday School • 9:am
Worship Service • 10:am
Pastor Tim Barton
Visit Us on
Seventh-Day Adventist
Church & School
305 Wagner (near the Cemetery)
P.O. Box N. Enterprise, OR 97828
Church 541-426-3751
School 541-426-8339
Pastor David Ballard 503-810-9886
Worship Hour
10:30 a.m. - Noon
Christ Covenant
Church
Pastor Terry Tollefson
Church Office: 541-263-0505
Family Prayer - 9 AM
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:30 AM
723 College Street, Lostine
Enterprise Community
Congregational Church
Join us at the
BIG BROWN CHURCH
Sunday Worship 11:00 am
Sunday Worship 11:00 am
Bible Studies:
Bible Studies:
Sundays
9:30 am &
Sundays, 9:30 am &
Thursdays, 5:30 pm
Thursdays, 5:30 pm
Led by Lay Pastor Archie Hook
301 NE First St. • Enterprise, OR
Find us on Facebook! 541.426.3044