INSIDE
Tour
g
The Bi E
at AC
PA GE 4
DEC EMB
ER 15–
22, 202
1
WW
STE
W.G OEA
RNO REG
Explore r at
be y
Decem
olog
Wallow
Watch de
t Si
‘Wes y’
Stor
PA GE 15
PA GE 12
SILVERSMITH TAUGHT EAGLE BOYS PICK UP
HIMSELF THE CRAFT FIRST WIN OF SEASON
BUSINESS, A6
$1.50
SPORTS, A9
ON.COM
liday
o
H
d
e
Guid ts Tour
Ligh
PA G E 8
lighting
ies in its Dec.
100 entr
urday,
more than s, and on Sat Island City.
r
tion
and
r receives
e Observe nty Chambe for all the loca in La Grande
wer/Th
Cou
a map see displays
Alex Witt r, the Union
lishes
to
yea
mber pub
caravan
Every
. The Cha join a guided
contest
can
dents
resi
18,
137th Year, No. 36
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
WALLOWA.COM
Wes
Whitmire
Enterprise
Christmas is
about family
to him
ENTERPRISE — Wes Whitmire
has lived in Enterprise for 11 years,
having moved here from Klamath
Falls for the scenery.
“You know, the mountains and
the lake and all that good stuff ,” he
said.
His mother, aunt, uncle, brother
and sister live here so he’s far from
alone.
He primarily does yard work and
odd jobs for a living.
“I’ve got to keep moving,” he
said. “I couldn’t do a desk job.”
He recently shared his thoughts
about living in Wallowa County.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Sugar Time Bakery’s fl oat won third place for its Winterfest Parade entry Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, at the Enterprise Winterfest.
Winterfest returns
Enterprise again celebrates
holiday downtown
What’s your favorite thing
about Wallowa County?
The wildlife. I fi sh a lot. I like fi sh-
ing up at the lake for trout. It’s eas-
ier to breathe here. You don’t have all
that smog. In the city, you don’t see
stuff like elk and deer.
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
What does Christmas mean
to you?
It’s time to get together with the
family and reminisce about relatives
who’ve passed away.
Do you have a favorite
Christmas song?
White Christmas. I like the mel-
ody and the beat.
Tell me about your Christmas
traditions.
We get together with my mom.
She cooks a turkey and a ham and
decorates gingerbread houses. The
gingerbread houses, they’re my
favorite. I like decorating them.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Santa and Mrs. Claus (aka Donavon and Margie Shaw) pronounce
Rhyatt Neil on the “nice” list Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, at the Enterprise
Winterfest. Rhyatt, who was celebrating his fi rst Christmas, is the son of
Trenton and Jessica Neil.
ENTERPRISE — Enterprise made signifi cant
strides in returning to Christmastime normal as there
was a grand turnout for this year’s Winterfest held
downtown Saturday, Dec. 11.
“We had the most parade entries ever with 26,”
city Administrator Lacey McQuead said Saturday, not
counting the police escorts fore and aft.
Although no concrete estimate on the number of
people who attended could be ascertained, there were
plenty of people milling around downtown. Also,
McQuead said, 136 kids goodie bags were given
away, all before Santa left for the parade, and more
kids came after that.
Arrowhead Chocolates won fi rst prize for its fl oat
in the parade, with Kooch Century Farms coming in
second and Sugar Time Bakery coming in third.
See Winterfest, Page A7
Schools return
to normal with
Christmas
programs
What’s your advice for
people who are thinking
about moving here?
It’s a good place. Beautiful scen-
ery. Good people. They should move
here if they like small towns. If not,
they can visit and maybe they’ll
change their minds.
— Bill Bradshaw,
Wallowa County Chieftain
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
The “North Pole Tree” at the north end of
Enterprise Elementary School was decorated
by fourth- and fi fth-graders Wednesday, Dec.
8, 2021, in a Christmas tree contest held at the
school.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Second- and sixth-graders decorated the
“Santa’s Workshop Tree” in a Christmas
tree contest Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, at
Enterprise Elementary School.
No rules in Enterprise Elementary
School’s Christmas tree contest
One side gains an
edge by handing
out candy
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — It was a
“no-rules contest” last week
at Enterprise Elementary
School when two groups of
students pitted their creativity
— and a trick — in a Christ-
mas tree contest.
Fourth- and fi fth-graders
decorated the “North Pole
Tree” — complete with the
Grinch — set up at the north
end of the main hallway
at the school. Second- and
sixth-graders countered at
the opposite end of the hall-
way with the “Santa’s Work-
shop Tree.”
“The ‘North Pole Tree’ is
winning because we handed
out candy,” said Kelly
Brown, school reading spe-
cialist who helped. “We’re
winning by a landslide, but it
was a no-rules contest.”
She said the trees were
donated by parents.
“The kids worked hard
and made all their own orna-
ments,” Brown said.
She said the judges
were to be the kindergar-
ten through third-graders.
The formal announcement
of the winner would come
today, Wednesday, Dec. 15,
during the school’s Christ-
mas assembly.
Kids still keep
distance, wear masks
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY — Wallowa County
schools are coming out of the COVID-19 blues
and celebrating Christmas in traditional ways,
making merry and holding the annual pro-
grams many had to forego or seriously alter
last year during the depth of the pandemic.
Enterprise
Enterprise Elementary School held a pro-
gram Tuesday, Dec. 14, of Christmas music
for parents and anyone who wanted to attend.
Interim District Superintendent Tom Crane
said the kids did a fi ne job of maintaining the
social distancing and wearing of face masks
during the programs, making it possible for a
return to normalcy.
See Programs, Page A7