LOCAL
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Enterprise woman aids causes by running marathons
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Running mara-
thons has become an annual tradition
for Emily Sheahan.
It also has become a way to help
those in need half way around the
world.
Sheahan, an Enterprise resident who
is also a family physician with Wallowa
Memorial Medical Clinic, recently
took part in her seventh Boston Mar-
athon — and 11th overall — when she
ran the 26.2-mile event on Oct. 11.
The race is traditionally held in
April, but last year was run virtually —
Sheahan ran the mileage locally — due
to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this
year was pushed back to October due
to the lingering coronavirus.
Sheahan ran the marathon in a time
of 3 hours, 38 minutes, 6 seconds,
though the cause — why she ran in
the fi rst place a decade ago — matters
more.
“I did my fi rst marathon in 2011, and
what is interesting is that year my sis-
ter, she lives in Colorado, and was on
a run group that raised funds for clean
water with World Vision,” Sheahan
said. “She invited me to run a marathon
in Colorado. I ran for World Vision to
raise funds. Since then, I (have run) a
marathon every year for World Vision.”
Following one of those marathons,
run in Zimbabwe in 2012, she and 10
others who ran to support World Vision
got to see their work fi rst hand.
It solidifi ed for Sheahan the need to
support the group.
“They took us to villages in Zambia
where we were able to witness what
World Vision is doing in those vil-
lages,” she said. “They partner, they
help teach them hygiene … (and how
to) garden and grow crops.”
World Vision also helps give access
to water, she said.
“It’s better sanitation to keep them
healthier. They also have small loans
IN BRIEF
Wallowa County
surpasses 700
COVID-19 cases
ENTERPRISE — The
positive trend in COVID-19
cases continues.
The Oregon Health
Authority tallied four new
cases in Wallowa County
over the weekend in its lat-
est report on Monday, Nov.
1. There were no new deaths
reported in the county, with
the number remaining at 12.
While the number of
cases in Wallowa County
during the pandemic has
moved past 700 — that
milestone was hit Fri-
day when two cases were
reported to move the total to
701 — and inches closer to
seeing 10% of residents hav-
ing at some point contracted
COVID-19, the number of
weekly and monthly cases
is again on the decline. The
four cases reported Mon-
day moved the overall total
to 705 cases. For the month
of October, the total count
was 123 cases, down from
180 in August and 163 in
September.
For the week of Oct. 26
to Nov. 1, there were just
12 cases, with the number
of cases steadily dropping
in recent weeks. The prior
three weeks were 49, 21 and
MarathonFoto/Contributed Photo
Enterprise’s Emily Sheahan poses for
a photo after completing the Boston
Marathon on Oct. 11, 2021. Sheahan
has raised about $30,000 for charity
running marathons in the last decade.
so they can start small businesses,”
she said. “They try to choose villages
where, if they put a well in, it would
support multiple villages. Once they
get a well in, they have a clean water
source.
“Having that clean water source is
just life changing for the villages. It
was cool to go over and see how World
Vision is working (in) those villages.
… After that trip, I decided I was going
to run a marathon a year to raise funds
for clean water. It was amazing what it
did for those villages.”
Through the years, various churches
in the county have helped support the
19 cases.
OHA showed no cases in
the county its Oct. 26 report,
two on both Oct. 27 and 29,
and four on Oct. 28.
In Wallowa County,
66.8% of residents 18 and
older have at least one vac-
cine dose, and 62.8% are
fully vaccinated. Of all res-
idents, the numbers are
56.4% and 52.7%.
OHA, in its Oct. 28
breakthrough cases report,
noted there have been a total
of 95 breakthrough cases in
the county.
Wallowa Memorial
beefs up security
Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital is making an eff ort to
improve safety at the hos-
pital, and announced Thurs-
day, Oct. 28, that it will be
adding a security depart-
ment, which is set to launch
in the next several weeks.
“The safety of our staff
and patients is the most
important thing to us. Hav-
ing a security department
will ensure that we are
doing everything possible
to provide that safety,” said
Stacey Karvoski, who was
named Security Department
director.
The hospital cited height-
ened emotions and frustra-
tions in the last 12 months,
during the pandemic, as the
reason for the added secu-
rity team. The hospital has
charity through Sheahan running in the
marathon, especially her home congre-
gation at Enterprise Christian Church.
To date, she said, about $30,000 has
gone to the organization, including
$7,900 this year.
Support for the organization has
come in various ways, including spon-
soring a single child or contributing
funding to give clean water to a person
half a world away.
This year, it was a donation of $50
to support water for one person that
was the requested donation.
“For $50, it allows one person to
get clean water,” she said. “Each of
those amounts leads to clean water for
at least one person. This year, it was
100 people. I just asked people to give
money to World Vision, and then I sent
the money into World Vision, they get
it to Africa where they are putting in
wells.”
Sheahan has ample experience run-
ning marathons, and knows how to
maintain herself during the grueling 26
miles.
But with the Boston Marathon this
fall run in October — at the end of
summer and warmer than in early April
— she put in one additional request of
those supporting her in the race.
Prayer.
“I asked the congregation at Enter-
prise Christian Church to have people
sign up to pray for me for each mile of
the marathon,” she said. “They prayed
for me while I ran, which was amaz-
ing because I actually felt stronger than
any other Boston Marathon. The heat
didn’t aff ect me, and it had to be the
power of prayer.”
Sheahan intends to continue run-
ning — and supporting the charity —
as long as she can.
“I am hoping to. I fi gure as long as
I can run and continue to marathons I
want to keep going and keep raising
funds for World Vision,” she said. “It
helps when there is something more
than just yourself you are running for.”
seen an increase in patients
with violent behavior, sui-
cidal tendencies and “a gen-
eral feeling of unrest.”
An executive manager
and two security offi cers
will provide daily coverage
for the hospital and clinics.
Chamber voting
deadline is Nov. 15
ENTERPRISE — Vot-
ing will be open until 5 p.m.
Nov. 15 for the election of
the 2022 Board of Direc-
tors for the Wallowa County
Chamber of Commerce,
according to a press release.
The vote is to confi rm the
entire ballot. The ballot for
the 2022 board is:
• Cheryl Coughlan, arts
director.
• Diane Daggett, Enter-
prise director.
•
Susan
Gilstrap,
small-business director.
• Jerry Hustafa, outdoor
recreation director.
• Madeline Lau, Wallowa
Lake director.
• Lem McBurney, public
relations director.
• Shannon McNerney,
education director.
• Brooke Pace, Joseph
director.
• Becky Riverman, Wal-
lowa and Lostine director.
• Nancy Rudger, culture
and heritage director.
• Adele Schott, farming
and ranching director.
• Stephanie Anderson
Stroup, tourism director.
• Cynthia Warnock, natu-
ral resources director.
• Jenni Word, health care
director.
Voters will be asked on
the ballot to enter the name
of their business to validate
the vote.
A ballot may be sent to
you via email or provided in
person at the chamber offi ce.
Call 541-426-4622 with any
questions. To vote online,
visit
https://www.wal-
lowacountychamber.com/
form/view/24598.
— Chieftain staff
$ 5
frozen
pizzas
while supplies
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11 AM TO 7 PM
WED, THUR, SUN
Senior living centers
meet vaccine deadline
No one laid off due to state order;
Wallowa Memorial loses fi ve
in Joseph, said his facility
also had to lay no one off .
Three of the 23 employees
obtained medical exemp-
tions, he said.
“They were for things
like if you’d had a kidney
transplant, (they were told)
don’t take it,” Zollman said
Monday.
He said he thought
the vaccine mandate was
“fairly stupid,” given the
environment his workers
were in.
“How can you think
that someone who’s been
working in a COVID situ-
ation for the past 14, 15, 16
months would be in more
risk?” he said.
But, Zollman said, he
believes his employees
should be vaccinated.
“People should be more
afraid of COVID than the
vaccination,” he said.
Wallowa
Memo-
rial Hospital and Clinics,
meanwhile, did lose fi ve
staff members due to the
mandates. The rest of the
more than 200 staff mem-
bers either were vaccinated
or granted an exemption.
“Wallowa
Memorial
Hospital and Medical Clin-
ics currently employs 204
individuals. Ninety-eight
percent of our workforce
is in compliance with the
governors mandate for
health care workers,” Wal-
lowa Memorial Hospital
Communications Director
Brooke Pace said. “We are
actively fi lling and recruit-
ing for these fi ve positions
and our patients will not be
impacted.”
Chieftain editor
Ronald Bond contributed
to this report.
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY
— No employees at two of
Wallowa County’s primary
senior living facilities had
to leave their jobs in late
October when the state’s
mandate requiring health
care workers be vaccinated
against COVID-19 or have
an approved exemption to
the vaccine took eff ect.
The Oregon Health
Authority required that
public employees, includ-
ing health care work-
ers, be fully vaccinated
against the virus by Oct.
18 or have medical or reli-
gious exemptions to the
requirement. Fully vacci-
nated status is reached two
weeks after the fi nal rec-
ommended dose of either
vaccine.
Employers who did
not require this of their
employees could be sub-
ject to fi nes.
“Everybody is either
following the guidance or
following the religious or
medical exemptions as laid
out by OHA and the state,”
said Lisa Hilty, corporate
manager at Wallowa Val-
ley Senior Living Center
in Enterprise on Monday,
Oct. 25.
The center, which has
32 employees, had no vio-
lations of the vaccine man-
date. Hilty did not know
how many — if any —
obtained exemptions to the
mandate rather than getting
vaccinations. But the cen-
ter has no worries about
layoff s, “happily,” she said.
Steve Zollman, admin-
istrator at Alpine House
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