A8
LOCAL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Plans progressing for new Joseph City Library
When moved, City
Council will have
new chambers
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — Plans are
well underway for a new
Joseph City Library that
will be located in the old
Blackburn Building and out
of its cramped quarters in
City Hall, the City Council
learned at its meeting Thurs-
day, Jan. 20.
Pro-Tem Administrator
Brock Eckstein said Jan. 24
that the plans will be ready
for the city’s library board
to look over by April, as will
the city’s work to refurbish
the building by installing
new plumbing and electrical
works, he said.
The Blackburn Building
— a former medical offi ce
building at 100 N. East St. —
was donated to the city and
is located just a block from
Joseph Charter School.
Eckstein said the refur-
bishment work should cost
the city about $50,000 to get
it ready for the library board
to move in.
He said that although the
library is open only in the
afternoon, it sees plenty of
use.
“We’ve got a pretty good
stream of traffi c,” he said. “I
think it’ll get more use over
there because the school’s
only a block away.”
Once the move is com-
plete, the City Council will
have new chambers in City
Hall and cease meeting in the
Joseph Community Events
Center, he said. He said the
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Work is underway to upgrade electrical and plumbing fi xtures
in the old Blackburn Building at N. 100 East St. in Joseph. The
building will become the new Joseph City Library. It is hoped
it will get greater use, being just down the hill from Joseph
Charter School, seen here in the background.
old library space will be
expanded for the larger coun-
cil chambers.
“It’ll make it better so we
won’t have to keep moving
things over to the community
center,” Eckstein said.
In another matter, the
council approved a request
by Public Works Lead Levi
Tickner to purchase a Tool-
cat for $85,000. The multi-
purpose machine includes a
snow plow and snow blower,
and it can remove leaves,
dust and gravel as well as
mow.
“It’s a pretty versatile
piece of equipment,” Eck-
stein said.
IN BRIEF
Young ranchers
receive
scholarships
ENTERPRISE — Two
$1,400 scholarships were
awarded Thursday, Jan.
27, by the Wallowa County
Stockgrowers to youths in
the process of building their
own cattle herds.
Devin Schreiber, who
attends Joseph Charter
School, and Alisha Mel-
ville, who attends Enterprise
High School, each received
the scholarships, according
In other business, the
council:
• Approved an ordinance
to accept the city’s method
of determining system devel-
opment charges for utilities.
The next step, Eckstein said,
is to determine the amount of
those charges.
• Heard an update from
Grant Matlock of the Ore-
gon Department of Trans-
portation on this year’s proj-
ect to upgrade sidewalks and
ramps to comply with Amer-
icans with Disabilities Act
standards. Matlock explained
— and fi elded questions —
largely about how the project
will avoid confl icting with
tourism events regularly held
in Joseph. He said the target
date to start the project is in
June.
• Approved a lot-line
adjustment requested by Tom
and Jennifer Klimsza.
• Passed a resolution
appointing Eckstein as bud-
get offi cer for the city for the
coming year.
• Passed a resolution nam-
ing the Wallowa County
Chieftain as the offi cial news-
paper of record.
The next council meet-
ing will be at 7 p.m. Thurs-
day, Feb. 3. The agenda for
the meeting was to be posted
on the city’s website by noon
Tuesday.
The agenda will include:
• Consideration of dissolv-
ing the Zoning Ordinance
Task Force.
• An ordinance to establish
a planning commission.
• The creation of a plant
operator position.
• A contract to rent the
community center to a
church.
• A 10-year contract with
Rahn’s Sanitary Service for
solid waste disposal.
• A presentation by Brad
Baird of Anderson Perry
on ongoing public works
projects.
• A presentation by Grant
Matlock and Bryan Bostenero
of the Oregon Department of
Transportation on this year’s
planned work to upgrade
sidewalks and ramps to con-
form with Americans with
Disabilities Act standards.
City Administrative Assis-
tant Jamie Collier said the
meeting will be held virtually
via Zoom only and the coun-
cil hopes to resume in-person
meetings in March. To view
the agenda or to obtain the
Zoom link, visit https://www.
josephoregon.org.
to Stockgrowers Vice Pres-
ident Deanna DeMelo.
The scholarships are to
purchase bred heifers to
either begin or add to the
youths’ herds.
DeMelo said they also
each received $350 from the
Wallowa County Haygrow-
ers to help feed the animals
during their fi rst year.
The presentations were
made during the annual din-
ner put on by the Stockgrow-
ers and the Wallowa County
Agricultural Resource Foun-
dation. The foundation regu-
larly awards scholarships to
youths in agriculture-related
college classes.
Last year, DeMelo said,
the group awarded two
scholarships, although she
did not have the recipients’
names or the amounts.
She said nearly 100 peo-
ple attended the dinner
enjoying prime rib and a des-
sert auction. The COVID-19
pandemic appeared to have
cut attendance at the annual
function, she said.
“There were probably a
few less people than usual,”
DeMelo said. “We had a lot
of pies to get rid of. There’s
usually a couple more tables
there.”
John Williams of the
Stockgrowers said they
raised more than $8,000 to
go toward scholarships over
the course of the evening.
— Chieftain staff
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER
BARGAINS
OF THE
Coleman
Oil Wallowa
Cardlock is
NOW
OPEN
• Conveniently Located
• Accepting all Major
Credit/Debit and CFN Cards
• Easily Accessible for
Semi trucks, Campers
and RV’s
• Non-Ethanol Premium
• 24/7 Fueling
MONTH ®
While supplies last.
49.99
Dremel®
24 pc Tool Kit.
Model 3000.
R 123 464 4
71051 HWY 82
Wallowa, OR 97885
888-799-2000
www.colemanoil.com
M-F 8AM-5:30PM • SAT 8AM-5PM • SUN 9AM-3PM
Hurricane Creek Road
Enterprise, Oregon
541-426-3116
Sale Good Feb. 2nd - 28th
Your ad
in our paper ,
a match made
in newspaper
heaven!
JAC’s Innovative Sales and Marketing Solutions
Contact Jennifer Cooney TODAY!
jacs.isms@gmail.com • 541-805-9630