A16
LOCAL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
ODOT work in Joseph to accommodate tourist season
Sidewalks
downtown won’t
be done until
September
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — Scheduling
of the planned sidewalk work
in Joseph by the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion got an offi cial nod from
the City Council during its
meeting Thursday, April 7.
The plans to refurbish
sidewalks and ramps to con-
form with federal Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act
standards have drawn con-
cern from the Joseph Cham-
ber of Commerce and mer-
chants who were concerned
the work would disrupt the
downtown tourist season.
After an informational
meeting on the project by
ODOT with local residents
Monday, April 4, the city
collected written concerns
and addressed them at last
week’s meeting.
Pro-Tem Administrator
Brock Eckstein said April 11
that the new plan is for work
to be done on sidewalks and
ramps on the south end of
town during the height of the
tourist season. Then, about
mid-September,
ODOT
will transition to working
downtown.
ODOT also agreed to let
the city do its own landscap-
ing work.
“They also said rather
than ODOT trying to meet
the landscaping needs,
(ODOT will) give money to
the city to do it how we see
fi t rather than have a third-
party contractor do it,” Eck-
stein said.
He said ODOT will deter-
mine the amount in the next
Regional COVID hospitalization count
zeroes out for fi rst time in nine months
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — After
hovering close to it for sev-
eral weeks, a mark was
reached in Region 9 hospi-
tals that had not been seen in
several months.
Zero.
As in no COVID-19 hos-
pitalizations in the six coun-
ties that make up Region 9,
including Wallowa County.
The Oregon Health
Authority’s graph that
shows daily hospitalizations
across the state on Friday,
April 8, showed none in the
combined region of Mor-
row, Umatilla, Union, Wal-
lowa, Baker and Malheur
counties. It is the fi rst time
there hasn’t been a hospital-
ization tabbed by the OHA
in the region since July 8,
2021, just before the start of
the delta spike.
The number has fl oated
near zero for at least two
weeks, dropping as low as
one on four occasions and
fl uttering between one and
four since March 15. The
day before, on March 14,
was the last time there were
fi ve or more in the region.
Case counts, both region-
ally and statewide, had been
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Wallowa Memorial Hospital is shown in a fi le photo. Oregon
Health Authority reported April 8, 2022, having no COVID-19
patients in hospitals in Region 9, of which Wallowa County
is part of. It was the fi rst time the region had none in nine
months, per OHA data.
on the decrease in recent
weeks, as have hospitaliza-
tions, though there has been
a slight uptick in cases in the
last week. The Friday, April
8 update showed there were
95 statewide COVID hospi-
talizations, a far cry from the
peak of close to 1,200 during
the delta spike last summer.
Regionally, there were
two major jumps in that
nine-month period. During
the delta spike, the peak was
43 on Oct. 7, one of four
consecutive days the num-
ber of cases reached at least
40. The number dropped to
The Spring
Season Has
Arrived!
as low as three on Dec. 19,
then jumped again when
the omicron variant arrived.
There another four-day
stretch of at least 40 cases,
with the peak being 45 on
Feb. 4 — the highest total of
the pandemic.
Statewide, the pandemic
has resulted in 706,687
cases of COVID-19, and
7,296 deaths, as of Fri-
day, April 8. In Wallowa
County, there have been
1,251 cases and 16 deaths.
The last reported case was
on March 25. Just 19 cases
were reported in March.
Alder Slope Nursery is
ready to help with your
garden projects!
We have a wide range of potting
soil, fertilizer, and amendments.
Custom flower baskets, planters
and affordable seeds.
Cold-hardy vegetables, annuals,
and perennials, plus a large
selection of trees and shrubs.
64934 Alder Slope Rd
Enterprise, OR 97828
541-426-3317
Follow us on Instagram
@alderslopenursery
www.alderslopenursery.com
Seving Wallowa County since 1968
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
week or two, but estimated it
will be $200,000-$250,000.
In another matter, the
council passed a resolution
to authorize a loan agree-
ment with the State Revolv-
ing Fund for a loan for
$4,352,000 to fi nance work
on the city’s wastewater
treatment facility.
In October 2020, the city
was fi ned $2,250 by the state
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality for violations
connected with its wastewa-
ter treatment plant. Then-city
Administrator Larry Braden
said at the time the fi ne was
mainly because the city, in
its eff ort to come up with a
new facilities plan, ran into
issues with property acquisi-
tion and was unable to fi nd
another 20-acre parcel of
land for a settling pond as
required by the DEQ.
“While we did get a vio-
lation, it wasn’t because of
negligence or anything,”
Eckstein said.
He said the SRF loan will
complete work to resolve
wastewater treatment issues.
He said he believes there’s
light at the end of the tunnel
to get the work on the sewer
plant done.
“Now that the funding’s
been approved, we can put it
out for bids and construction
start this fall,” he said.
In another matter, prop-
erty owner Andy McKee
had made a request for a
minor partition of property
at 201 E. 2nd St., where the
Wallowa Mountains Offi ce
Building is located.
Eckstein said the matter
was tabled until the May 5
meeting because more infor-
mation is needed before the
council can act.
He said McKee hopes to
sell the property, but the sale
is contingent on being able
to partition it.
Burch honored by Rotary Club
By EVELYN SWART
Rotary Club of
Wallowa County
ENTERPRISE — Long
overdue accolades for an
unsung community member
and member of the Rotary
Club of Wallowa County
were given to Dick Burch on
Wednesday, April 6, by the
club.
As a resident of Wal-
lowa County for 20 years
and a member of Rotary for
as many years, Burch con-
tributed more hours of ser-
vice than even he can count.
He received a plaque of grat-
itude for his work in the Wal-
lowa County community and
a Paul Harris award for “ser-
vice above self” in Rotary.
Burch is a former member
of the Joseph City Council,
served as a docent at the Jose-
phy Center for Arts and Cul-
ture, and until recently served
on the lands committee of
the Wallowa Land Trust.
He is also a member of the
Eagle Cap Excursion Train
board. He is a certifi ed fi rst-
aid instructor for both the
Red Cross and the Health and
Safety Institute. In addition
to teaching fi rst-aid classes,
he provides fi rst-aid services
at Oregon’s Alpenfest, the
Watershed Festival, the Los-
tine River Run and the Eagle
Cap Excursion Train.
As president of the Rotary
Club in 2008-09, Burch ini-
tiated Project Heartbeat. He
continues to place and service
Automated External Defi bril-
IN BRIEF
‘Destination
Creation’
workshop off ered
ENTERPRISE — The
popular “Destination Cre-
ation” workshop for busi-
ness owners is being
off ered by the Northeast
Oregon Economic Devel-
opment District from April
19 to May 24. Registration
deadline is April 18.
The class will be held
online Tuesdays from
5:30-7:30 p.m.
This series provides the
framework for how to think
about a business and how
to position a business to
Contributed Photo
Dick Burch, left, is awarded the Paul Harris “service above self”
award by Ralph Swinehart during the April 6, 2022, meet of
the Rotary Club of Wallowa County.
lators throughout the county,
as well to give training wher-
ever they are placed. Project
Heartbeat places the AEDs
strategically where they can
be quickly available to resus-
citate someone who is not
breathing and has no pulse.
Because AEDs must be used
within 5 minutes of the vic-
tim’s pulse stopping, it is
vitally important that they be
placed in locations quickly
accessible to the public.
There are currently 109
AEDs in Wallowa County;
Burch services and replaces
the batteries every fi ve years.
The most recent AED place-
ment was at M. Crow in Los-
tine. There are AEDs in the
Grange buildings, churches,
Safeway, Josephy Center, the
state park at Wallowa Lake,
the Wallowa Lake Lodge,
the marina, the Methodist
Church Camp and the top of
the tram. The schools have
multiple AEDs, including in
the buses; there is one in the
courthouse and one with the
sheriff ’s department. Oth-
ers are placed in lodging
establishments and various
businesses.
Burch works with the
Imnaha Responders, a group
of Imnaha neighbors to
whom he gave fi rst-aid train-
ing and who are ready to help
their neighbors when there is
a need. Because of the dis-
tance from the hospital in
Enterprise to Imnaha, the
responders can give fi rst aid
assistance for emergencies
prior to the time an ambu-
lance arrives. The Imnaha
community needs more
responders and is holding a
recruiting meeting on May
1 at 2 p.m. at the Imnaha
Church to enlist more of their
neighbors in the eff ort.
become a destination that
customers will frequent
now and into the future.
The concepts will be
presented in recorded vid-
eos by small-business
mentor and professional
speaker Jon Schallert.
NEOEDD
Execu-
tive Director Lisa Daw-
son, a certifi ed facilitator
of the program, will bring
decades of experience
working with businesses to
the discussions about the
concepts.
Learning
materials
including webinars may be
accessed via computer or
mobile device for up to six
months following the class
via the Destination Univer-
sity portal.
The regular fee for the
course is $399. However,
NEOEDD is off ering a spe-
cial option for businesses in
Wallowa, Baker and Union
counties. Sign up and pay
$199 now and receive $199
back after attending the
entire series (with no more
than one excused absence)
and submitting a plan for
implementing new actions
to improve your business.
If the registration fee
is out of reach, scholar-
ships are available for
business owners who have
a low-to-moderate income.
Contact Dawson via
email at lisadawson@
neoedd.org or call 541-
426-3598 for scholarship
information.
To register, visit https://
tinyurl.com/destinationcre-
ation or email Dawson.
— Chieftain staff
Re-tail Boutique
WINTER SALE
APRIL 14-15-16 • 10am-3pm
50
%
OFF
COMMUNITY UPCYCLE YARD SALE!
SATURDAY APRIL 23RD!
MENS • WOMENS • KIDS
In addition, our annual Open House and Spring Clean-up will be
April 21-22 at the Recycle Center on Fish Hatchery Road.
We’ll have prizes and a Kid’s Coloring Contest!
119 E Main St
Enterprise, Oregon 97828
We need volunteers to clean-up around the Recycling Center and staff the information/prizes booth.
Donations for the Yard Sale can be dropped of to Volunteers at the Recycle Center between 10 am-5 pm,
April 21-22 or 9 a.m. Saturday before the Yard Sale. We hope you can join us!
www.wallowacountyhumanesociety.org
For more info: wallowacountyrecycling@gmail.com
WINTER CLOTHING
AND ACCESSORIES