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137th Year, No. 47
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
WALLOWA.COM
Indoor mask
mandate
to be lifted
March 11
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Harry
DeVaux
the time, the mandate was set to
be lifted on March 19.
Then, on Feb. 28, Gov. Kate
Brown announced that Ore-
gon, California and Washing-
ton would lift their mandates
simultaneously at 11:59 p.m.
March 11.
SALEM — Oregon will drop
its indoor mask mandate on March
11, more than a week earlier than
announced last week.
Gov. Kate Brown said Monday
morning, Feb. 28, that Oregon,
California and Washington would
lift their mandates simultaneously
at 11:59 p.m. March 11. The new
date includes ending mask man-
dates in schools. The order will
aff ect over 51.2 million people
from the Mexican border to the
Canadian border, about 15% of the
national population.
The move comes on the two-
year anniversary of the fi rst case
of COVID-19 reported in Oregon,
on Feb. 28, 2020, in Washington
County. Working with Califor-
nia and Washington was crucial
to having a unifi ed timeline for
the change in mask policy, Brown
said.
“As has been made clear time
and again over the last two years,
COVID-19 does not stop at state
borders or county lines,” Brown
said in a statement. “On the West
Coast, our communities and econ-
omies are linked. Together, as we
continue to recover from the omi-
cron surge, we will build resil-
iency and prepare for the next
variant and the next pandemic.”
The move by the three states
comes after the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention late
last week called for new guidelines
to determine risk that would allow
for the loosening of restrictions
for 70% of the country’s popula-
tion where coronavirus is posing
a low or medium threat to hospi-
tals. However, the map released by
the CDC showed much of eastern,
central and southwestern Oregon
remained in the 30% of population
areas that remain at high risk.
California Gov. Gavin New-
som and Washington Gov. Jay Ins-
lee issued similar statements Mon-
day morning with the same date
and time for dropping indoor mask
mandates.
The new date is the second time
in two weeks that health offi cials
have moved up the date for lifting
See Masks, Page A8
See Mandate, Page A8
Joseph
He enjoys
riding near
Imnaha
JOSEPH — Harry DeVaux just
moved to Wallowa County last year
— and he likes it.
He moved here in June from
Stevenson, Washington, near the
Columbia River about 30 miles
east of Portland and Vancouver,
Washington.
“I have a brother who has a small
horse ranch on Tucker Down Road
below Fergie and I committed to
come over and give him a hand for
a year or so and take a look around
and see if I want to buy something
here,” he said. “I’m liking it.”
Other than his brother here, he
has no relatives in the county. His
sons live in Portland and Vancouver.
DeVaux recently shared his
thoughts about living in Wallowa
County.
What’s your favorite thing
about Wallowa County?
I like the people, I like the slow
pace here, I like that it speeds up
every now and again, but it slows
back down. In general, the feel of
not having the crime of the city. And
the Stubborn Mule, I reckon. Good
food.
Are you getting cabin fever
yet?
I do. I do a lot of forge work and
leather work to keep myself occu-
pied in the winter. I enjoy doing that,
but it’s kept me in the house for a
while and I don’t care for that. But I
get out with my dogs as much as we
can and I go down to Imnaha and
ride horses, but it’s a little too snowy.
What are you looking
forward to once the weather
warms?
The beauty that’s naturally here.
And going to visit with my boys and
have them come here. We’ll go rid-
ing down to Imnaha.
What’s your advice for
people who are thinking
about moving here?
Stick through the seasons and
see how you like it. It throws a lot at
you.
— Bill Bradshaw,
Wallowa County Chieftain
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Enterprise Elementary School students line up to head to an assembly — wearing their face masks — Thursday,
Feb. 24, 2022. Earlier that day, the Oregon Health Authority announced it would rescind the mask mandate for
public schools and other public places March 11.
Masks off
Schools
expected to
go along with
March 11
mask removal
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
W
A L L O WA
COUNTY —
Schools and
other indoor
public
set-
tings will no longer require peo-
ple to wear face masks Fri-
day, March 11, about two years
after such mandates were fi rst
ordered because of the COVID-
19 pandemic, according to a press
release from the Oregon Health
Authority.
Earlier in February, the OHA
announced that the general
indoor mask requirement would
be lifted by March 31, with the
option of lifting it sooner if con-
ditions improved enough. Feed-
back from school districts around
Wallow County Chieftain, File
Interim Principal Landon Braden hands a face mask to second-grader
Skylynn Adams at Enterprise Elementary School in September 2021. The
state’s requirement to wear masks indoors will be dropped March 11.
the state indicated that prepara-
tions for the transition could be
completed earlier.
The OHA then announced a
change Thursday, Feb. 24, as
hospitalization numbers drop
and are projected to reach lev-
els below those at the start of
the surge in the COVID omicron
variant, the press release said. At
Foster parents needed in NE Oregon
Those three organizations,
Blessing said, represent diff erent
parts of the foster system.
GOBHI focuses on “treatment
foster care,” while Every Child
provides volunteer opportunities
to support children in the foster
system and families that provide
care.
“We’re trying to off er the
whole spectrum of what’s avail-
able to people interested in foster-
ing,” Blessing said.
She hopes to spur interest
from Eastern Oregon counties,
where foster families are urgently
needed.
“Statewide there’s a need, but
we continue in those six eastern
counties to need homes,” she said.
By LISA BRITTON
Baker City Herald
Foster families are needed
in Northeastern Oregon, and an
event is scheduled in March for
those who would like to learn
more about foster care.
And it will be virtual, so people
can join from anywhere.
The session will be Wednesday,
March 16, from 6-7:30 p.m.
To register, go to https://every-
childneoregon.org/. Click on
“Upcoming Events” and search by
county to fi nd the event.
The offi cial title is “Virtual
Explore Fostering — Every Child
NE Oregon.”
During the discussion, a panel
of experienced families will share
their stories about providing fos-
ter care.
“To share their experiences,
and why they got started,” said
Tammie Blessing, resource family
retention and recruitment cham-
pion for Districts 13 and 14, which
includes Baker, Union, Wallowa,
Grant, Harney and Malheur coun-
ties. “Having families talk about it
is our best recruitment tool.”
This “Learn About Foster Care”
event is sponsored by Every Child,
Oregon Department of Human
Services and GOBHI (Greater
Oregon Behavioral Health Inc.).
The numbers
Contributed Photo
Kala and Terry Linville have been foster parents, and adopted their
daughter, Evey, in 2021. Foster families will share their experiences during
a virtual event on March 16, 2022. Anyone interested in learning more
about foster care is encouraged to join.
Blessing said District 13
(Baker, Union and Wallowa coun-
ties) had a total of 54 children in
foster care and 36 resource homes
at the end of January.
As of Jan. 1, 2022, there were
5,393 children in foster care in
Oregon — the fewest in 16 years,
according to the Oregon Child
Welfare Division.
The reason for the low num-
ber, Blessing said, is “family
fi rst” legislation, which has the
See Foster, Page A8