A2
RECORDS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Trail with rails unlikely in county
Despite grants,
it’s likely to
be limited to
Union County
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
We have another photo this week without any details or a timeframe. If you know anyone in
this photo and what it involves, email rbond@wallowa.com
Bales home burns to ground
OUT OF THE PAST
CORRECTION
Compiled by Cheryl Jenkins
The fi rst few Out of the
Past entries of the year
inadvertently stated the
100-year-ago entry took
place in 2022 instead of
1922.
100 YEARS AGO
Feb. 23, 1922
The home of Fred Bales
in Swamp creek pass burned
to the ground last Friday
with all its contents. The
fi re apparently started in the
roof, where the stove pipe
passed thru. There was no
brick chimney.
One of the road projects
for the coming year calls for
work by the county and for-
est service on the Imnaha
river above the store. The
road up the river carries
much travel. Much of the
time it is impassible. Deep
holes are cut in the spring
and washouts add to the
troubles of the traveler.
The Methodist Camp
Ground association of east-
ern Oregon has acquired
control of a tract of land at
the head of Wallowa Lake,
close to 110 acres, bordering
on the holdings of the Wal-
lowa Lake Amusement com-
pany and cornering with the
Elk’s pasture.
75 YEARS AGO
Feb. 27, 1947
A good size crowd was
at the Enterprise school
gym to see a team of boxers
from Union FFA take seven
out of ten matches from the
local FFA boys. Paul Beau-
doin, Bud Zollman and Dean
Sasser of Enterprise each
won their matches.
Sheriff A.B. Miller was
taken to the Enterprise hos-
pital suff ering from a severe
scalp wound and an injured
neck received when he was
thrown from his horse.
The
Raven
cream-
ery will start the manufac-
ture of cheddar cheese at
their Enterprise plant Satur-
day with the fi rst pickup of
whole milk scheduled for
that day.
50 YEARS AGO
Feb. 24, 1972
The Troy-Flora Heart
Fund party was well
attended. Everyone was
most generous with contri-
butions, articles for the sales
table, cooked food and the
auction table. Mrs. Morton
and her assistants report a
net of $333.40 was made.
Seven men traveled from
Enterprise to Halfway via
snowmobile to see the Enter-
prise-Pine Eagle game last
Saturday. After the game
they hopped on their snow
machines and were back
in Enterprise before their
WHAT’S HAPPENING
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23
ROTARY CLUB OF WALLOWA
COUNTY: Noon to 1 p.m. Odd
Fellows Hall next to the Enter-
prise library. Lacey McQuead,
City of Enterprise’s administrator,
will be the speaker.
VIRTUAL BIG READ BOOK DIS-
CUSSION: Noon to 1 p.m. Log on
for a lunchtime book discussion
with Fishtrap staff . fi shtrap.org.
VIRTUAL BIG READ PRESENTS
SALSA DANCING: 1 p.m. and
available for streaming after-
wards. Four days of salsa dance
lessons! Feb. 23-26. ArtCenterE-
ast.org and Fishtrap.org.
WALLOWA COUNTY BEEKEEP-
ERS: 6:30-8 p.m. Hurricane Creek
Grange. Education-focused, fun
and open to anyone interested in
bees & beekeeping.
THURSDAY, FEB. 24
BOOK GROUP ZOOM DISCUS-
SION: Noon to 1 pm. Josephy
wives could drive around
the mountains by car. Kerry
Searles, Merton Wade, Mar-
vin Searles, Wilfred Daggett,
Keith Searles, Sam Wade
and Wes Johnson.
A total of 303 years of
active service was repre-
sented by retired military
personnel, living in Wallowa
County, who met at an infor-
mal dinner party at the Gold
Room in Joseph. Of the 25
attending, Navy people out-
numbered all other services.
25 YEARS AGO
Feb. 20, 1997
About 30 members of
a coalition organized to
develop a Nez Perce cultural
center in Wallowa convened
on Saturday to celebrate the
receipt of a $40,000 grant.
Cory Carman, WHS, and
Seth Botts, JHS, recently
placed fi rst and second at
the Elks Most Valuable Stu-
dent competition at the dis-
trict level.
The 395 Wallowa County
children who fi ll a niche
in life by belonging to 4-H
clubs can introduce them-
selves to a new 4-H lead
agent named Debi Tracy.
Tracy began work as a half
time extension agent Feb. 1.
E.H. Van Blaricom of
Upper Prairie Creek was
inducted into the Oregon
Farm Bureau Hall of Fame
for his many years of service
to agriculture and contribu-
tion to the Farm Bureau.
SEE THE EXPANDED ONLINE CALENDAR AT
EASTERNOREGONEVENTS.COM
Center, Joseph. A special book
group discussion for Black His-
tory Month — “Kindred”.
TUESDAY, MARCH 1
QUILTING GROUP: 1-3 p.m. Wal-
lowa Senior Center.
MARDI GRAS PANCAKE SUP-
PER: 5-6:30 p.m. St. Patrick
Church, 100 NE 3rd St., Enterprise.
Buttermilk & sourdough pan-
cakes, sausage, apple sauce and
beverage. Donations to benefi t
Community Connection senior
meals.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2
ROTARY CLUB OF WALLOWA
COUNTY: Noon to 1 p.m. Odd
Fellows Hall next to the Enter-
prise Library.
VIRTUAL BIG READ 2022:
6-8 p.m. Live online at fi shtrap.
org. “Reading like a writer.”
FRIDAY, MARCH 4
VIRTUAL BIG READ 2022:
Streaming online at fi shtrap.org.
Save 50% on heating
costs this winter
with Rinnai Propane Heaters!*
Finale: Film series. Short fi lms
inspired by The House on Mango
Street. Continues through Tues-
day, March 8.
SATURDAY, MARCH 5
ELKS CRAB & PRIME RIB FEED:
Doors open at 4 p.m. Des-
sert auction at 6:30 p.m. Casino
night at 8 p.m. Presale tickets
only, Feb. 4-25. For tickets call
541-426-1829.
TUESDAY, MARCH 8
VIRTUAL BROWN BAG: Noon to
1 p.m. Josephy Center, Joseph.
Women’s Songs, with Heidi
Muller and other local musicians.
QUILTING GROUP: 1-3 p.m. Wal-
lowa Senior Center.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9
ROTARY CLUB OF WALLOWA
COUNTY: Noon to 1 p.m. Odd
Fellows Hall next to the Enter-
prise Library.
FOOT CLINIC: Noon to 3 p.m.
Enterprise Senior Center.
WALLOWA COUNTY
— Eff orts to create a
63-mile
Elgin-to-Joseph
trail alongside the tracks of
the Wallowa Union Rail-
road are coming to virtually
no fruition since Wallowa
County has denied per-
mits for the trail within its
borders, despite thousands
of dollars of grant money
going toward the project.
“It’s doubtful it’ll ever
go through because peo-
ple
were
vehemently
opposed to it,” said Wal-
lowa County Commission
Chairwoman Susan Rob-
erts, who is co-chairwoman
of the Wallowa Union Rail-
road Authority, during an
interview Monday, Feb. 21.
“Wallowa County Planning
(Department) at this time
is not involved because it’s
not in our county.”
The Joseph Branch Trail
Consortium has reported
receiving $290,000 in
grants intended for facili-
ties on the Union County
end of the “trail-with-rails”
project, that would pay for a
trailhead and pocket park in
Elgin, as well as a 15-mile
segment of the trail from
not just propane! *Addtional rebates up to $100 apply
City received
more than $443K
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — The
city of Enterprise is get-
ting ready to dole out the
more than $443,000 it has
received under the federal
American Rescue Plan Act
distributed because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the
council resolved at its meet-
ing Monday, Feb. 14.
The council passed a
resolution to disperse the
funds to several depart-
ments, according to city
Administrator
Lacey
McQuead. She explained
the city has placeholders
for the money in the gen-
eral fund, the water fund
and the sewer fund during
the 2021-22 budget sea-
son. Also, McQuead said in
an email Feb. 15 the coun-
cil’s prior ARPA Commit-
tee recommended in June
to spend $32,794.87 for
new Toughbook Comput-
ers for all Enterprise Police
offi cers, as well as mount-
ing brackets for the vehicles
and docking stations for the
offi ces and a new server.
She also said the ARPA
Committee will send out an
email in the next couple of
weeks asking city depart-
DEATH NOTICES
Roy Lee Jones
Roy Lee Jones, 64, of Athena and formerly of Wallowa,
died Feb. 17, 2022, in Athena. He was born Aug. 5, 1957.
Munselle-Rhodes Funeral Home of Milton-Freewater is in
care of arrangements.
Energy Community Service.
Tuesday, March 1st 5 - 6:30pm
Supper includes:
Buttermilk and
Sourdough Pancakes,
Sausage, Apple sauce,
Coffee, tea, juice.
All are welcome!
St. Patrick’s
Episcopal Church
100 NE 3rd Street,
Enterprise, OR 97828
Donations to benefit
Community Connection
senior meals!
the “If I Were Mayor” con-
test, saying she has con-
tacted Enterprise School
Superintendent Tom Crane
and asked for classes to par-
ticipate. At the time of the
meeting, she had not heard
back from Crane.
• Young said the amount
budgeted for street repair
of the $100,000 Small
City Allotment Grant
the city received will be
nearly depleted by a proj-
ect planned for upper Res-
idence Street. He said that
project leaves little left for
repairs for other streets. The
council considered turning
back the grant and using
a matching grant to repair
what streets the city can.
The council agreed to table
the matter until budget sea-
son is complete.
• Approved a resolution
to close the city’s exist-
ing money market account
with the Bank of Eastern
Oregon and transfer the
approximately $473,094.85
to the Local Government
Investment Pool. McQuead
explained to the council
that the account was opened
when a debt reserve was
required for the Department
of Environmental Quality
sewer loan. A new loan with
Community Bank does not
require a debt reserve.
The next council meet-
ing will be March 14.
ment managers to submit
requests for the use of the
ARPA funds.
In
another
matter,
Angela Mart, president of
the Wallowa Mountains
Bicycle Club, said she and
club Vice President Zeb
Burke are doubtful that
there is suffi cient room for
their proposed pump track
in the previously consid-
ered area next to the city
park. Mart and Burke had
taken measurements of
the land needed for the
track before coming to that
conclusion.
McQuead said Mart
planned to meet with Public
Works Supervisor Shawn
Young to look at a possible
location by the city well on
the corner of 4th Street and
the road that goes to the Ant
Flat Landfi ll. McQuead said
Mart and Young discussed
the possibility Feb. 15 and
Mart was going to discuss it
further with Burke.
In other business:
• Young announced that
Curtis Martin, the new
sewer plant assistant oper-
ator, started work Feb. 14.
• Fire Chief Paul Kar-
voski announced that Tra-
vis Huff man is retiring as
secretary and a fi refi ghter
with the city’s Volunteer
Fire Department after 27
years of service.
• McQuead announced
Weather Forecast
Courtesy of Weather Underground • wunderground.com
High Low
Conditions
Feb. 24
22
2
cloudy
Feb. 25
30
7
sunny
Carl Edward Young, 90, of Kamiah, Idaho, and formerly of
Wallowa County, died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, at the Idaho
Veterans Home in Lewiston, Idaho. An obituary is forthcoming.
Mountain View Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Feb. 26
38
17
mostly sunny
Feb. 27
41
22
mostly cloudy
THIS WEEK’S POLICE LOG WAS NOT
RECEIVED BEFORE PRESS TIME
Feb. 28
43
26
mostly cloudy
March 1
47
30
mostly cloudy
March 2
46
27
showers
.
East Hwy 82
Ed Staub & Sons Enterprise, OR 201
• 541-426-0320
no attempts by the consor-
tium to get a permit since
that time.
Goebel said that while
benefi ts of exercise were
acknowledged during a
public meeting held at the
Cloverleaf Hall in Enter-
prise before the vote, the
burden of proof was on the
applicants to show there
would be no signifi cant
negative impact on farms
and ranches alongside the
proposed trail.
“Where it’s tricky is it
passes through all these
resource zones,” he said.
“It would be a tricky prop-
osition. There was a lot of
concern over disruption to
farming practices along the
trail.”
Elgin to Lookingglass.
But, as the Chieftain was
notifi ed last week, the lion’s
share of the project — that
which would be in Wallowa
County — was stopped
dead in its tracks three years
ago when the Wallowa
County Planning Commis-
sion denied a conditional
use permit for the project.
Planning Director Franz
Goebel said Feb. 17 that
although there were many
people in favor of the proj-
ect, there was a signifi cant
number opposed.
“There were quite a few
people who vehemently
opposed it and the planning
commission denied it” Feb.
26, 2019, Goebel said.
He said there have been
Enterprise to distribute ARPA funds
Carl Edward Young
Heaters and other HVAC Parts & Services
Joseph Branch Trail Consortium/Contributed Photo
Members of the Joseph Branch Trail Consortium help with
trail cleanup along the tracks in Union County. Funding
has been received to pay for the fi rst 13 miles of a trail, but
permit holdups in Wallowa County may prevent the trail’s
ultimate goal of running from Elgin to Joseph.
I want to express my sincere thanks to the kindhearted and thought-
ful person who found my checkbook and card in the grocery store
parking lot and turned it in to an employee named Debbie. It must
have fallen out of my pocket when I walked my dog. I didn’t realize
I’d lost it until we got home to Flora, and by that time, the store was
closed. Fortunately, when we called the next morning, the clerk at
Dollar Stretcher reported, “It’s here in our safe. Come and get it!”
What had been a worrisome time for me turned into joyful relief
when I heard those words. This successful outcome truly reminds me
that we live in Wallowa County with honest and caring people.
Again, thanks to whoever found
my checkbook and turned it in.
I appreciate what you did, and
I consider you a savior!
~ Gene Bieraugel of Flora
Phases of the moon
Feb. 23
March 2
March 10
Last Quarter
New Moon
1st Quarter
March 18
Full Moon
WALLOWA COUNTY SUNRISE & SUNSET FEB. 24 – MARCH 2
(from the U.S. Naval Observatory)
THUR
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
TUES
WED
6:34
5:31
6:32
5:32
6:30
5:33
6:29
5:35
6:27
5:36
6:25
5:38
6:23
5:39