LOCAL
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Kokanee derby planned at lake
Chieftain staff
WALLOWA LAKE —
The fi rst of what prom-
ises to be an annual fi shing
derby to benefi t veterans
will take place June 10-11
on Wallowa Lake with the
Cross the Divide Kokanee
Derby, according to a press
release.
The prize for fi rst place
is $1,000. The angler who
reels in the biggest fi sh wins
$500. Gear packages go
to those judged in second
through fi fth place.
Entry fees include a $60
boat fee, $40 each for adults
and $25 each for those aged
12-17. Children 11 and
younger compete for free.
There is a maximum of fi ve
people allowed per boat.
Check-in begins at 6 a.m.
June 10 and 11 at the north
Wallowa County Chieftain/File Photo
An angler shows his catch during the 2013 Wallowa Lake
Kokanee Festival. A new kokanee derby will begin in June.
and south boat ramps at the
lake. The derby runs from
7 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.
Winners will be announced
at 4 p.m. June 11.
The entry fee includes a
June 10 fundraiser dinner at
5 p.m. at Enterprise Chris-
tian Church and fi ve raffl e
tickets. More than 40 items
will be up for raffl e and auc-
tion, including a guided
salmon-fi shing trip for four
at Buoy 10 in Astoria.
Proceeds benefi t Cross
the Divide’s outdoor pro-
gram to help pay for veterans
and their families to travel
and take part in hunting and
fi shing activities through-
out the Pacifi c Northwest.
Cross the Divide’s mission
is to help veterans and their
families navigate the chal-
lenging terrain of life, pro-
mote healing, hope, strength
and growth by the applica-
tion of God’s truths in the
venue of God’s creation, the
release stated.
To enter or purchase din-
ner tickets visit www.cross-
thedivide.us.
For
more
informa-
tion, call Andy Marcum at
541-263-1053.
Joseph council readies budget, OK’s dragon boats
‘Awakening’
ceremony
planned for boats
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — The Joseph
City Council is preparing to
pass its budget for 2022-23
and hopes to have it ready
for the June 2 meeting, Pro-
tem Administrator Brock
Eckstein said Thursday, May
12.
The council had sched-
uled budget meetings for
May 17 and May 24 to pre-
pare the budget. The city
must have the new fi scal
year’s budget in place before
the year starts July 1, he said.
At the council’s last meet-
ing, May 5, it also approved
the closure of East First
Street between Main and
Lake streets from noon
to 8 p.m. June 10 for the
Dragon Boat Awakening
Ceremony. That will allow
the public to view the refur-
bished boats.
The dragon boats are
being refurbished by the
Dragons on the Lake Pad- ning music camps.
dle Club. The boats, with
Eckstein said the council
their uniquely Chinese dec- didn’t know what its dona-
orations, regularly raced tion budget was so the mat-
on Wallowa Lake until the ter was tabled until the June
COVID-19 pandemic, but meeting.
have been mothballed for
The fi nancial request is
two years.
intended to keep the event
“They’re really excited free to the public and to
about it. It’s a pretty
cover any associ-
positive thing,” Eck-
ated costs, according
stein said. “It’s the
to founder and event
fi rst one they’ve
organizer
Tammy
done since before
Kruger.
COVID, so it’ll be
Also at the May 5
nice to re-do that.”
meeting, the council:
The club has
• Held an execu-
Eckstein
stated that it hopes
tive session to dis-
to launch the boats
cuss the hiring of a
soon after they are “awak- permanent city administra-
ened.” Awakening involves tor. After the session, Eck-
painting the eye on the bow stein said the city, which has
of each boat.
posted the opening online,
In another matter, the has received a couple of
council tabled a request by applications. The council
the Wallowa Valley Music will likely begin interview-
Alliance for $1,000 to host ing candidates in mid- to
the Joseph Mountain Jubi- late-June, Eckstein said.
lee, to be held Saturday,
“My goal is to get them
July 2. This festival falls through the new budget
between Dulcimer Week in process and get software
the Wallowas and Wallowa installed then hopefully I can
Fiddle Tunes Camp, and hand over the reins to a per-
draws talent and audiences manent person,” he said.
from these two long-run-
Eckstein has served as
the pro-tem administrator
since April 2021, when his
predecessor, Larry Braden,
resigned alleging harassment
by council members that pre-
vented him from doing his
job. The allegations were
never publicly settled.
In other business, the
council:
• Scheduled a public hear-
ing for the June 2 meeting
on a zone change from res-
idential to commercial and
a partition for land owned
by Andy McKee near the
Joseph Community Events
Center to “match up the land
with the potential use of the
lot,” Eckstein said.
• Heard a presentation
by city engineer Anderson
Perry updating the council
on public works projects and
the urban growth boundary.
• Heard a local resident’s
request for a dog park in the
city. Eckstein said the mat-
ter is too “far down the road”
for any action to have been
taken.
• Heard the various
department reports.
• Scheduled the next
council meeting for June 2.
Commissioners to hear
Bike playground
gets PP&L donation about bike playground
Chieftain staff
WALLOWA — The
bicycle playground planned
for Wallowa received
another fi nancial boost
when Pacifi c Power and
Light announced Thursday,
May 12, that it will donate
to the project, according to
a press release.
Ron Pickens, of Building
Healthy Families in Enter-
prise, said PP&L’s donation
— which was made to BHF
— amounted to $3,000.
Pickens, who spearheaded
the refurbishment last year
of the skate park in Enter-
prise, has been behind the
Wallowa project, too.
He said the dona-
tion brings the project to
93% of its funding goal of
$329,500.
Pickens said earlier this
month that the fi nal pay-
ment to the American Ramp
Co., which is building the
park, is due in early July.
Pickens said the play-
ground, which will be
located across a side street
from the Wallowa School,
is targeted to open Satur-
day, Aug. 20.
The PP&L donation for
the bicycle playground was
one of two made to East-
ern Oregon organizations.
The other donation went to
Made to Thrive to promote
mental and physical well-
ness for low-income youths
in rural Eastern Oregon by
providing access to enrich-
ing sports, adventure activ-
ities, music and art pro-
grams, the release stated.
As part of its quarterly
grant-giving, the Pacifi c
Power Foundation, a non-
profi t arm of PP&L, has
announced $314,952 in
new funding to directly
support community orga-
nizations across the three
states it serves. These safety
and wellness grants are one
of four grant cycles off ered
by the foundation year after
year.
“We’re proud to collab-
orate with our communities
to build a strong, resilient
future together,” said Lori
Wyman, PP&L’s regional
business manager for East-
ern Oregon. “These organi-
zations are our local heroes
— working tirelessly to
deliver safety, health and
wellness
programs
to
neighbors in our communi-
ties, and we’re honored to
support their work.”
Chieftain staff
ENTERPRISE — A pre-
sentation on the proposed
bicycle playground proj-
ect to be built at the Wal-
lowa School will go before
the Wallowa County Board
of Commissioners when it
meets Wednesday, May 18.
Ron Pickens, of Building
Healthy Families, will give
the presentation.
At the May 4 meet-
ing,
the
commission-
ers expressed interest in
the project, but said they
wanted more information.
Pickens is expected to pro-
vide that information at this
week’s meeting.
In other business, the
commissioners:
• Will hear a presentation
from the Wallowa County
Weed Board.
• Will begin discuss-
ing — and possibly make a
decision — to establish the
Wallowa County Road Ser-
vice District.
• Will consider a resolu-
tion appointing members to
the Northeast Oregon Eco-
nomic Development Dis-
trict board.
• Will consider an order
to approve the cancellation
of uncollectible property
tax.
• Will consider ease-
ments for a new residen-
tial driveway on Jim Town
Road requested by Tom and
Mary Elder and a power
line on O.F. Mays Road in
Lostine requested by Karen
Girod.
• Will consider approval
of an agreement with the
Department of Revenue to
map a maintenance contract.
• Will consider approval
of a plan of action under a
municipal audit law to pre-
pare fi nancial statements.
IN BRIEF
‘Word Gobblers’
slideshow planned
JOSEPH — A slide-
show about Irlen Syn-
drome, which causes diffi -
culties in reading, will be
presented Friday, May 20,
at the Josephy Center for
Arts and Culture by Cather-
ine Matthias and Joan Gil-
bert, according to a press
release.
Matthias has written and
Gilbert illustrated a book
called “The Word Gob-
blers” about the percep-
tual disorder caused by the
brain’s inability to process
specifi c wavelengths of
light, as Matthias described
it in a Feb. 26, 2021, Chief-
tain story.
The slideshow will be
accompanied by handouts
and other visual aids that
present simple solutions to
ease the symptoms of the
syndrome.
The event will begin at
7 p.m.
For more informa-
tion, contact Matthias at
541-398-0636.
Budget meeting
planned in Joseph
JOSEPH — An online
budget meeting will be
held by the Joseph City
Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday,
May 24. The public is wel-
come to attend via Zoom or
by telephone.
To join the Zoom meet-
ing, visit https://us02web.
zoom.us/j/88138754137?p-
wd=Z3c4WEFxUzdWL-
3RqdzhSbkFPSFRodz09.
The webinar ID is 881
3875 4137 and the pass-
code is 269827.
To attend by phone, dial
253 215 8782.
Another budget meeting
was held for May 17. The
City Council must approve
the budget by the end of
June.
Ceramics classes
planned at
Josephy Center
JOSEPH
—
Two
classes on ceramics will
be held later this month
taught
by
longtime
ceramic instructor Pamela
Beach at the Josephy Cen-
ter for Arts and Culture
in Joseph, according to a
press release.
Beginning
ceramics
will run from 2 to 4 p.m.
Wednesdays from May 25
to July 13. In this class,
students will learn the
basics of handbuilding
with lessons in pinch pots,
coils and slab forms.
Intermediate ceramics
will run from 6 to 8 p.m.
on Thursdays from May
26 to July 14. In this class,
students will be guided on
taking their clay-making to
the next level with hand-
building lessons in design,
form and texture.
Clay, glazes and fi r-
ing are included in both
classes.
Preregistration
is
required. Call 541-432-
0505 or email artdirec-
tor@josephy.org.
— Chieftain staff
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This week’s featured book
The Road to
Le Papillon
by Wallowa County native, Shannon Ables
Shannon will be
doing a book signing with us
May 20th at 3 pm
107 E. Main St. Enterprise OR
541-426-3351
manager@bookloft.org • bookloft.org
Spring is
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