LOCAL
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
A3
County accepts $500,000 for fairgrounds work
Still needs to
decide which
projects can
be done
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — A
$500,000 federal grant Wal-
lowa County is receiving
through the American Res-
cue Plan Act for upgrades
to the fairgrounds was
approved Wednesday, Feb.
16, when the Board of Com-
missioners met.
Acceptance of the Coro-
navirus State Fiscal Recov-
ery Fund Grant had been
tabled at the commission-
ers Feb. 2 meeting because
of concerns county counsel
Paige Sully had over how
the state was involved in the
county receiving the money.
Commission Chairwoman
Susan Roberts said Feb. 16
that those concerns had been
resolved and the commis-
sioners were comfortable
approving the grant.
“This is the money that
came through the repre-
sentatives and senators and
was dedicated to the fair-
grounds,”
Commissioner
Todd Nash said. “Rep.
(Bobby) Levy (R-Echo)
committed $500,000 to our
fairgrounds. Our fair board
looked at projects that were
needed and submitted them
to a board that was made up
with Tina Kotek (who until
January was speaker of the
Oregon House and is now
running for the Democrat
nomination for governor)
and others at the state level
to get approval and got that
approval from them. It was
sent back to us and now and
fi nally it’s come to a place
where we get to look at the
grant and assess it.”
Nash, who is most closely
involved with the fair-
grounds among the commis-
sioners, said now it’s time to
seriously look at which proj-
ects can be covered by the
money.
“Some of the projects,
admittedly, might not pass
muster with the ARPA
money that that came from
originally, so we’re reassess-
ing projects that are accept-
able and that fi t within it, that
we think we have those,” he
said. “There’s much-needed
repair at the fairgrounds, as
many of you know, so this is
very much appreciated. With
that, I would make a motion
to accept those dollars.”
Commissioner John Hill-
ock agreed, and seconded
Nash’s motion to approve
the grant.
movable room dividers. But
those projects are separate
from those to be done with
the ARPA money, Nash said
last week.
Letter to ODOT
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Holes are clearly visible inside the roof of the show barn at the
Wallowa County Fairgrounds. A new roof is high on the list of
improvements at the fairgrounds the county hopes to achieve
over the next couple years with $500,000 it’s receiving in
federal funds.
“It’s an ongoing struggle
to fi gure out what we can do
and what we can’t do that
will be acceptable,” he said.
Some of the projects tar-
geted for upgrade at the fair-
grounds include a new roof
for the show barn — which
has several holes in it.
On Nov. 3, Nash read
a list of needed upgrades
at the fairgrounds, which
included the indoor arena/
show barn roof, the food
booth, replacing the venti-
lation system in the kitchen,
remodeling restrooms for
Americans with Disabilities
Act compliance, grounds
irrigation, the outdoor
arena, new implements for
the tractor, a drainage sys-
tem for the swine barn, sup-
port replacement in the beef
barn, enclose the mainte-
nance shop under the grand-
stands, upgrade the Quonset
building and its restrooms
for ADA compliance.
Also on the list are proj-
ects at the Cloverleaf Hall,
part of which will be paid
with a $200,000 grant
donated by Wallowa Memo-
rial Hospital. Those proj-
ects include updating the
heat pump system, remodel-
ing restrooms for ADA com-
pliance, a generator to use
during power outages and
In another matter last
week, Roberts read a letter
the county has been asked
by Region 5 representa-
tives of the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation con-
cerning the Infrastructure
Act and allocations. She
said ODOT sent the county
a form letter and asked the
county to add specifi cs per-
tinent to it. The state wants
counties to list their needs so
ODOT doesn’t have to wade
through pool of requests.
The letter said, in part,
“For example, Wallowa
County has main roads that
carry timber, agricultural,
recreational and passenger
traffi c. Therefore, we would
like to use our funding dif-
ferently than a county with
more urban traffi c needs.
Our roads are in need of
widening, paving and even
base repair. We also have a
growing number of bridges
in need of repair or replace-
ment. In some cases, these
bridges are the only access
to residences with no alter-
native detours. Our rural
roads are coming under
greater use as more people
Council fi lls vacant seat
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Susie Waterman of
Joseph, right, looks
over the display of
collectible antiques
off ered for sale Friday,
Feb. 11, 2022, by Pam
and Dan Low, seated,
at the Hurricane
Creek Grange’s 11th
annual Sweetheart
Indoor Yard Sale
held in honor of
Valentine’s Day. The
sale, along with an
open kitchen, also
went on Saturday.
Bill Bradshaw/
Wallowa County Chieftain
Beekeepers to
hold fi rst meeting
of season today
JOSEPH — Get in on
the latest buzz about bees
Wednesday, Feb. 23, as
spring nears and the Wal-
lowa County Beekeepers
will hold their fi rst meet-
ing of 2022 at the Hurricane
Creek Grange.
The meeting, which runs
from 6-8 p.m., is open to the
public and admission is free.
Anyone interested in
meeting fellow local bee-
keepers, in exploring the
possibility of getting started
in beekeeping yourself or if
you just like bees and other
pollinators, this event is an
opportunity to meet and sup-
port local beekeepers.
Meetings are open to club
members, anyone interested
in getting started in bee-
keeping, gardeners, ranch-
ers, farmers and other bee
enthusiasts.
Light refreshments will
be off ered, and information
about beekeeping in Wal-
lowa County will be shared.
One or more door prizes will
be awarded, and a few items
of surplus donated beekeep-
ing equipment will be avail-
able free for the taking.
Meetings are educa-
tion-focused, fun, and open
to anyone interested in bees
or beekeeping. Join us to
hear funny stories about bee-
keeping and to learn more
about bees, keeping bees,
hive products and other
bee-related topics.
The Wallowa County
Beekeepers club is a
501(c)(3) charitable, non-
profi t,
education-focused
organization with a growing
Other business
In other business, the
commissioners approved:
• The rehiring of Don
Sallee II as a building codes
offi cial.
• A resolution to appoint
members to the county’s
museum board. Appointed
were Claudia Boswell and
Elaine Isley.
• The initiation of a Jus-
tice Reinvestment Grant for
$97,000.
• An intergovernmental
agreement.
• Measure 57 funds.
• An easement requested
by Tyson Orr underground
utilities under William-
son Lane at the site of a
new house just south of
Enterprise.
WALLOWA
Sweetheart sale
IN BRIEF
move to Wallowa County
and/or make use of trail-
heads, campgrounds and
other recreational lands.
The continuing loss of fed-
eral timber dollars and other
funding sources have made
it even more imperative to
direct our funding to the
most-needed projects.”
Roberts said that what
they’re suggesting is that
ODOT dollars go directly
to the county “and not have
the state determine what our
projects should be.”
The
commissioners
approved sending the letter.
membership. The club meets
fi ve times a year. Addi-
tional 2022 meeting dates
are April 27, June 29, Aug.
31 and Nov. 2. All meet-
ings run from 6:30-8 p.m.
with meeting locations to be
announced.
For more information
contact Nelda (Nel) Murri
at nmurri@gmail.com or
509-540-4733.
Collage class
planned at
Josephy Center
JOSEPH — A new col-
lage class will be held at the
Josephy Center for Arts and
Culture exploring a variety
of techniques and materials,
according to a press release.
Taught by Janis Carper,
the class will be held 5:30-
8:30 p.m. on March 16 at the
center. Cost is $45.
In the class, participants
will experiment with design,
layering, color and transpar-
ency. Basic materials will
be provided, but partici-
pants are free to bring — in
addition to their imagina-
tions — any other materi-
als that inspire them, such as
discarded books, old maga-
zines, photos, greeting cards,
scraps of paper, buttons, old
jewelry, fabric, etc. The class
promises students will come
out with a fi nished product.
To register, visit https://
josephy.org/event/collage-
with-janis-carper. To learn
more of Carper, visit http://
secondchanceproductions.
com.
— Chieftain staff
WALLOWA — The
Wallowa City Council is
back up to full strength,
now that Paul Doherty was
appointed to fi ll a vacancy
at the council’s meeting
Tuesday, Feb. 15, Mayor
Gary Hulse said.
Doherty replaces long-
time Councilman and
Council President Joe
Town, who retired Nov. 16
for health concerns.
Hulse said Doherty will
serve until the November
elections, at which time he
can opt to run for a perma-
nent seat on the council.
In another matter, the
council heard an update
on the new Wallowa
Memorial Hospital clinic
planned for the city. Dan
McCarthy, of the Wallowa
County Health Care Dis-
trict, showed plans for the
clinic and gave an approx-
imate time line for its
completion.
Hulse said the coun-
cil had previously vacated
a portion of 9th Street to
allow the clinic to refur-
bish the old Fox Archery
building and add onto it for
the clinic. It is to be located
at the intersection of High-
way 82 and the truck route
through town.
McCarthy told the
council it is hoped to have
the clinic up and running
in August or September,
Hulse said.
In other business, the
council:
• Approved an ordi-
nance changing Frontier
Communications to Ziply
Fiber to give Ziply the util-
ity franchise for the city.
• Approved a variance
requested by Stanley Rich-
ardson for 401 S. Alder
St. Hulse said Richardson
wanted to build close to
the property line and let-
ters were sent out twice to
neighbors to ensure no one
objected.
• Was going to hear from
Katy Nesbitt with Wallowa
County Economics on the
housing crisis, but Nesbitt
had a confl icting appoint-
ment and was unable to
attend the meeting.
The next council meet-
ing will be March 15.
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