LOCAL/REGIONAL
Wallowa.com
Family, rescuer fret over missing dog
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — Have you
seen an errant, dark-brown
and white bull terrier running
loose in the Wallowa area?
That could be Petey, who has
been missing from his foster
family since Tuesday, March
22.
Tracy Boose, services
manager for Bull Terrier Res-
cue Inc. PNW, said the fos-
ter family was out shed hunt-
ing in Wallowa with Petey,
and the dog escaped to chase
some deer.
“I think they were not pay-
ing close enough attention
and he had a leash on that was
too loose and he was able to
get out of it and took after the
deer,” Boose said.
Based in Puyallup, Wash-
ington, she said her organi-
zation fosters out dogs all
over Oregon, Western Idaho,
Washington and part of Brit-
ish Columbia, Canada.
“He came from an area
in Oregon where he was liv-
ing on a ranch and had done
really well there,” Boose said.
She learned Mia Kennon
of Wallowa was looking to
foster a bull terrier and Petey
had been with the Kennon
Tracy Boose/Contributed Photo
Petey, a 5-6-year-old bull
terrier, went missing from his
foster family in the Wallowa
area Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
family for a month and a half.
“I thought he’d be a great
dog for her to foster,” Boose
said.
Her organization regu-
larly fi nds families interested
in “fostering to adopt.” That
means Bull Terrier Rescue
provides food and pays any
veterinarian bills, while a fos-
ter family provides a home
and “just loves the dog.”
She said the Kennons were
seriously thinking of keep-
ing Petey. BTR insists a fam-
ily does a trial adoption of at
least 30 days.
“Sometimes they fall in
love the dog and keep him,”
Boose said. “We try to match
the dog with the home and the
people.”
After a placement, she
keeps in touch with the fam-
ily to make sure everything
works out.
“I want to make sure dog’s
going to be happy there and
they’re going to be happy
with the dog,” she said.
Boose said Petey is
believed to be 5-6 years old.
“Petey is friendly, neutered
and current on vaccinations,”
she said. “He likes most other
dogs and livestock. He will
chase a cat for the chase, but
has never hurt one.”
She said she’s been in
contact with local authori-
ties, including the Wallowa
County Humane Society, the
Wallowa County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce, the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife, the
Oregon Department of Trans-
portation “and anybody we
can think of.”
Boose said she’s losing
sleep over his being missing.
“I’ve never lost a dog in
30 years,” she said. “The lon-
gest I’ve ever had a dog lost is
90 minutes. He’s eight hours
away and in the wilderness.
… I am beyond frantic.”
Anyone with informa-
tion on Petey should contact
Boose at 253-341-6632 or
by email at rcrtracyb@gmail.
com.
Earth Day Oregon partners
up with Eastern Oregon
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
JOSEPH — Eastern Ore-
gon is joining in Earth Day
Oregon for the fi rst time.
Wallowa Land Trust
joined the nonprofi t coalition
this year, and has partnered
up with Terminal Gravity
Brewing, Moonlight Graph-
ics and Wild Carrot Herbals.
As well, Greater Hells Can-
yon Council and Farmers
Ending Hunger — which has
several participating farms in
Hermiston and Echo — have
joined Earth Day Oregon for
this year’s campaign.
“Oregon Earth Day came
about more to celebrate the
work that’s being done specif-
ically in our state that’s help-
ing to conserve our lands and
care for a planet,” said Sarah
Kleinhanzl,
communica-
tions and outreach coordina-
tor for Wallowa Land Trust.
“As Wallowa Land Trust, our
mission is to conserve and
promote healthy landscapes
here in Wallowa County, and
so those missions obviously
interlock pretty well.”
One of the ways Wallowa
Land Trust is raising funds is
through an in-person fund-
raising event on Friday, April
22.
“We haven’t had any
in-person fundraisers for a
couple of years because of
COVID-19, so we’re really
excited about it,“ Kleinhanzl
said.
The
fundraiser
will
include silent auctions for
local art, live music, drinks,
food and beer donated by
Terminal Gravity Brewing.
Kleinhanzl said it would be
“a chance to reconnect with
our community and raise the
money for our conservation
work.”
“We’re really grateful for
the local support,” she said.
“The three partners that we
partnered with have been
really supportive throughout
the years, and we’re really
glad that they joined us.”
The land trust does not
have specifi c projects for the
fundraiser, but money raised
will be used to help maintain
ongoing operations and con-
tracts with local landowners
for their continuing involve-
ment with Wallowa Land
Trust.
Earth
Day
Oregon,
founded in 2019, is a revi-
talization of previous eff orts
to localize Earth Day in the
state, according to Kelly Ste-
vens, executive director. The
fi rst Earth Day was held on
April 22, 1970, and it has
become a global event cel-
ebrated across dozens of
countries.
“It’s not the fi rst time
Earth Day has happened in
Oregon, certainly,” she said,
“but I would say that we
really see an opportunity to
make it a day, make it a time
for bringing the state together
and to have a really inclusive
version of Earth Day.”
Earth Day Oregon has a
variety of nonprofi t organiza-
tion partners — ranging from
land trusts to food bank dona-
tions. A majority of those
organizations are in the Port-
land metro area, but Stevens
has been focusing on expand-
ing the campaign to include
more rural communities and
nonprofi ts.
“When people look at
our website, when they see
who our partners are, they’re
going to see opportunities
with conservation nonprofi ts,
including two in Eastern Ore-
gon,” she said. “And they’ll
also see groups that are work-
ing to end poverty, spur
local economies and reduce
inequality. And then, also,
preserve our forests and our
oceans and things like that.
What we’re really excited
about at Earth Day Oregon
is this more holistic view of
what we can all do together
every April.”
Stevens said the campaign
has doubled the number of
nonprofi ts outside of the
Portland metro area that had
allied with Earth Day Ore-
gon. Roughly one-third of the
nonprofi ts are from areas out-
side Portland, she said.
“As Oregonians, we’ve
got a pretty good-sized state,
but no matter where we live,
we all care about the beauty
of this state and our commu-
nities,” she said. “By support-
ing the nonprofi t partners and
the many business partners in
Eastern Oregon, people are
ensuring that Eastern Oregon
stays beautiful and those eco-
systems are healthy and peo-
ple are able to still work those
rural lands, and have vibrant
local ecosystems and vibrant
local economies.”
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
ODOT to share information and hear pub-
lic comments regarding its sidewalk ramp
project, which is set for this year in down-
town Joseph. Anyone interested is encour-
aged by ODOT to attend.
For more information about the project,
visit www.tinyurl.com/josephcurbramps.
There, maps, background information and
a meeting RSVP are available. Or, con-
tact ODOT Community Aff airs Specialist
Vicki Moles at 541-620-4527 or via email
at Vicki.L.Moles@odot.oregon.gov.
IN BRIEF
Lewis
Swinehart
A15
Tackett
No foolin’, Fishtrap
Fireside winds up season
ENTERPRISE — The fi nal episode of
Fishtrap Fireside’s ninth season comes
online beginning Friday, April 1, with
readings from Fishtrap friends Ralph
Swinehart and Ashley Tackett, plus spe-
cial guest, Fishtrap’s 2022 Writer-in-Res-
idence, playwright E.M. (Ellen) Lewis.
Anyone anywhere can take in Fireside
online at Fishtrap.org and on Fishtrap’s
YouTube Channel.
Swinehart moved to Wallowa County
in 1972 as part of the back-to-the-land
movement and has spent the past 50
years developing his small farm. He
restored his fi rst car, a 1928 Model A
phaeton, while he was in high school
and still drives it regularly, as he does
several other antique cars. He recently
sold his sheep herd after raising them
for 46 years, and is still a part-time civil
engineer.
Tackett is a designer, developer, edu-
cator and is fundamentally a country gal
at heart. After a two-year stint living
alongside snakes, steelhead and turkey
in Imnaha, she is presently carving out a
life under the warm sun of Mexico.
E.M. (Ellen) Lewis is Fishtrap’s 2022
Writer-in-Residence. Her numerous
plays and operas have been produced
around the world. She has received
numerous awards and lives in the Willa-
mette Valley on her family’s farm. Learn
more at emlewisplaywright.com.
The April Fishtrap Fireside is spon-
sored by custom jewelry designer Stew-
art Jones Designs, which has been work-
ing in Wallowa county since 1999.
ODOT holding
meeting in Joseph on
sidewalk ramp project
JOSEPH — The Oregon Department
of Transportation will host a public open
house at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 4, at the
Joseph Community Center, located at 102
E. First St.
The purpose of the meeting is for
Webinar on Value
Added Producer Grant
Program is March 31
ENTERPRISE — A free webinar on the
application process for the Value Added
Producer Grant Program will be held from
3-4 p.m. Thursday, March 31, according to
a press release.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
Rural Development is putting on the webi-
nar and is currently accepting applications
for the program, which provides grants
to develop new products from raw agri-
cultural products or to expand marketing
opportunities for value-added products.
Farmers, ranchers, and owners of pro-
ducer-based rural small businesses in Ore-
gon that plan to apply for the program this
year are urged to participate in the webi-
nar to learn more about the application
process.
Register online and learn more about
the webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.
com/register/6743351414362308111.
Joseph plans budget
meeting April 6
JOSEPH — The Joseph City Council
will hold a budget meeting at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 6, at the Joseph Commu-
nity Events Center. The meeting is a work
session to discuss the budget for 2022-23.
To attend the meeting via Zoom,
log
onto
https://us02web.zoom.us/
j/88138754137?pwd=Z3c4WEFxUzdWL-
3RqdzhSbkFPSFRodz09. The webinar
ID is 881 3875 4137 and the passcode is
269827. The public also is welcome at the
meeting in person at the Joseph Commu-
nity Events Center.
The city’s new website is online at
https://josephoregon.org/ and anyone can
access the electronic agendas and print
them from there. All agendas will show on
the “Agenda” tab found at the top of the
page, but the most recent agendas will also
show on the “News” tab at the top of the
page. Supporting documents also are avail-
able with the agendas.
— Chieftain Staff
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