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Wallowa.com
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
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she will be going in March,
and since Patagonia (located
in South America) is in the
Southern Hemisphere, its
climate now will be close to
Wallowa County’s Septem-
ber or October.
“It could be 20 or 70
degrees,” she said. She
also had to commit at least
$1,000 to charity just to
enter, but has raised and
donated $1,500 to date.
Her chosen charities
were Safe Harbors in Enter-
prise and Shotzy Sanctuary,
in Union County, an animal
rescue and domestic vio-
lence organization. Dona-
tions are still being accepted,
and Johnson asks anyone
who wishes to support her
challenge to please donate
to these charities. She spent
a year training and prepar-
ing for the event, and appre-
ciates the support and dona-
tions of local businesses and
individuals who contributed
to her endeavor.
A rare race to ride in
This is only the second
race of its kind. The fi rst was
held in 2020, and the world
shut down during the race
due to the pandemic. The
second race, which would
have happened in 2021, was
canceled due to the COVID-
19 pandemic.
She said she was ini-
tially drawn to the race by
the story of Bob Long, a
70-year-old Idaho man who
won the Mongol Derby
which is 1,000 kilometers,
or 622 miles.
“I thought the story was
inspirational,” she said. And,
she added, “I’ve always
County:
Continued from Page A1
there wasn’t the staff avail-
able from quarantining, we
think that there’s the poten-
tial that businesses have had
impacts in the last year that
we would be able to respond
to.”
State changes
Dawson
said
state
changes also have aff ected
what is considered a
COVID-19
pandemic
impact.
“One of the things they
are now allowing as an
impact is staff shortages,”
she said. “So if we have
businesses that are not able
to stay open the hours they
want to be open because
they don’t have the staff to
keep those businesses open
for those hours, that is now
an eligible impact from the
pandemic. That opens up the
opportunity for additional
businesses to receive fund-
ing. So that’s worth a lit-
tle bit more thought to give
us additional time to do
outreach.”
Chrystal Allen, the coun-
ty’s grants administrator,
The terrain in Patagonia
is a desert and steppe-like
(terraced grass plateaus). It
is bound on the west by the
Andes. The Andes are part
of Patagonia, Johnson said.
“We’ll have various sections
of the race in the mountains.
They said our max eleva-
tion will be around 8,000
feet,” she said. The Colo-
rado River is to the north, the
Atlantic Ocean on the east
and the Strait of Magellan to
the South. The region south
of the strait, the Tierra Del
Fuego — which is divided
between Argentina and Chile
— is also often included.
It is desert and semi-des-
ert terrain and treeless
plains. The relatively fl at
tableland rises from an ele-
vation near the coast of 300
feet to about 1,300 feet at the
junction of two rivers, then
to 3,000 feet at the base of
the Andes. Another table-
land region rises to an eleva-
tion of 5,000 feet and more.
The area is also rich in vol-
canic activity.
Johnson is originally
from Minnesota and had
always wanted to live in the
mountains. She’s lived in
and loved Wallowa County
since 2012. She has a grad-
uate degree from Clemson
University in South Caro-
lina in aquatic ecotoxicol-
ogy. She works as a farrier
and a veterinary assistant at
the Enterprise Animal Hos-
pital. She is also a caretaker
for a local ranch.
For more information on
the race go to www.equestri-
anists.com.
“I also have a website.
www.brendasadventure.
com,” she said.
Johnson’s progress will
also be streamed in real time
via her GPS. Riders will also
give interviews along the
way.
To donate to Johnson’s
charities, for Safe Har-
bors use the shelter’s web-
site at www.wcsafeharbors.
com. For Shotzy Sanctu-
ary, checks may be mailed
to 75506 Robinson Road,
Elgin, OR 97827, or by
using PayPal at Shotzy08@
live.com.
to sign a paper that says
what they earn from that
employer,” Dawson said.
“It’s based on what they get
from that employer, not on
household income or tax
returns.”
Roberts sought confi r-
mation that for employers
who are applying based on
the number of low-moder-
ate income employees, the
income limit only pertains
to what the employees are
earning in that job.
“So it’s just based on
what I’m getting from this
job, not my other seven
jobs or whatever else I have
for income,” she asked
Dawson.
“Correct,” Dawson said.
For employers who
apply for funding based on
the number of qualifying
employees, the grant money
goes to the business to use
for business expenses, not to
the employee.
Hillock asked, “I could
use it to buy a new oven
with, right?”
Dawson agreed that a
business owner could do so,
as well as purchasing other
equipment and supplies.
Nash was eager to see
area businesses and employ-
ers at least have the oppor-
tunity for the grants.
“I sure want people to
have the opportunity to get
this. I question whether
there will be more grabbers,
but maybe there are and I’d
hate to keep somebody from
having a chance at hav-
ing $2,500 or $10,000 that
would be irresponsible for
us to not do that,” he said.
“At the same time, I hate to
put a burden on the county
here without the knowledge
of whether we’re going to
get any more or not. It’d
be easier to just say, ‘Let’s
have the extension,’ espe-
cially if we have people in
the queue.”
After agreeing to move
forward with an extension
request, the commission-
ers were eager to have the
NEOEDD aggressively pur-
sue any possible applicants,
thus adding the 45-day limit
on that group’s assistance to
applicants.
“That puts some fi re
under us,” Dawson said.
Now that the county
is pursuing an extension,
NEOEDD will update the
application materials and
begin assisting businesses
who wish to apply. For more
information contact sara-
miller@neoedd.org.
pushed too hard. Each rider
rides a total of seven diff er-
ent horses, said Johnson, but
each horse is only ridden
once.
The race supplies the
horses. There are three types
of horses used. A Criollo,
“like our mustangs here,”
she said. Arabians and Per-
cheron crosses are also part
of the mix. The saddle is
modifi ed for the race to be
light, “like a cross between a
Western and English,” John-
son said. Riding can only
occur between the hours of
8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Riders
who violate this rule run the
risk of penalty and possibly
disqualifi cation.
The terrain is diffi cult.
Johnson said riders “have to
fi gure out on your own the
terrain gates and fences,”
and how to contend with
them. In places, riders may
have to back track, since
there are no trails. It’s a point
A to point B to point C type
of race beginning to end.
There is also “lots of water.
Water could be my deterrent
— bogs and swamps,” she
said.
It is also fi re season there.
“You can’t have fi res,”
she said. If a person must
start a fi re, “it better be to
save your life,” she said.
There are medics available.
“Horse and people are well
taken care of,” she said.
Race:
Brenda Johnson/Contributed Photo
Brenda Johnson is set to compete in the endurance horse race called the Gaucho Derby in
South America’s Patagonia March 3-13, 2022.
wanted to go to Patagonia.”
In addition to specialized
gear, there is a strict weight
restriction. Riders can only
weigh 187 pounds. Sup-
plies and gear — food, fi rst-
aid kit, tent, saddle bags
and sleeping bag — can-
also was present to explain
the process for the county
to submit paperwork to the
state for a grant extension
and getting it approved.
Nash asked Dawson if
she is aware of anyone in
the county currently desir-
ous of the money, and Daw-
son said she wasn’t. How-
ever, she said, “I’m thinking
that restaurants are the most
likely targets that would have
the most visible impacts, in
part because their employees
are more likely to fi t within
the low-to-moderate income
requirements in order for the
business to receive a grant.
The question, to me, will be
do those restaurants want to
go through the paperwork
process? Is it worth it to
them?”
Income limits
Employers of low-mod-
erate
income
employ-
ees may qualify for grants
of $2,500 per qualifying
employee, based on the
number of employees being
paid an annual wage paid
of $36,900 or less, Dawson
said.
A low-to-moderate income
business owner can apply for
up to $10,000, and income
limits will vary based on
not exceed 22 pounds for 10
days, with 4-pound food-re-
supply bags strategically
placed along the course.
“They are very strict
about weight,” she said. The
body weight restriction also
includes clothes and helmet.
The race has an exten-
sive veterinary support sys-
tem for the horses. Veteri-
narians are at horse stations
every 40-60 kilometers
to check the horses’ heart
rates, respiration rates and to
make sure they are not being
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
County Grants Administrator Chrystal Allen explains the
process of obtaining federal COVID-19 pandemic funds to
the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners at its meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. Commissioner Todd Nash listens
at left.
household size, from $36,900
for a one-person household to
$69,500 for an eight-person
household.
Commissioner John Hill-
ock asked if the grants are
limited to businesses such
as restaurants.
“We’ve got a few light
industries, but I imag-
ine their pay scales might
be too high to qualify for
some of this funding,” he
said. “Some of these places
are always looking for new
equipment, but I don’t know
what the income threshold
is. … What about the agri-
cultural sector? Have we
exhausted the resources for
that?”
Dawson said virtually
any industry is eligible, sub-
ject to showing pandemic
impacts and meeting income
and other requirements.
She said that for busi-
nesses applying as employ-
ers, among the exten-
sive paperwork required
to obtain such a grant is
verifi cation from both an
employer and an employee
of how much the worker
earns at that business.
“The employee has
A5
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