OFF PAGE ONE
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
County:
Continued from Page A1
This just gives us the abil-
ity to tell the state we don’t
want you subtracting that
payment anymore.”
Bicycle playground
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
The weather brings a light snowstorm into freshly greened-
up pastures south of the Enterprise Airport on Thursday,
May 19, 2022.
Weather:
Continued from Page A1
Forage issue
The combination of cool
and wet is a positive, but
also it has its downside.
“For forage, that com-
bination doesn’t allow it
to grow,” Wallowa County
Commissioner Todd Nash
said. “We have seen a really
slow progression of forage
this year, and grasslands in
particular have been very
slow to come.”
Nash said that puts a lot
of pressure on people with
livestock who want to get
out to pasture, and has led
to feeding more hay at a
signifi cant fi nancial cost
because of the scarcity.
This year’s hay crop likely
won’t begin to come to frui-
tion until the middle of June
at the earliest because of the
slower growing conditions.
That comes on top of
last summer’s drought
that Nash called “the most
severe that anyone alive in
Wallowa County has ever
seen.” The combination
of overuse a year ago and
the slow growth of forage
this year continues to put
stress on those raising live-
stock even as moisture has
recently returned.
Summer is coming
Lohmann said the sum-
mer outlook calls for
above-normal
tempera-
tures and below-normal
precipitation.
“Through the end of
May and fi rst week of June,
I think we will still be on
the cool side and then tran-
sition to our summer pat-
tern of drier, warmer condi-
tions,” she said.
As wildfi res become
more probable during sum-
mer months, it is important
individuals prepare to pro-
tect their home and belong-
ings. Here are some tips to
keep the immediate area
around your home safe:
• Clean roofs and gutters
of dead leaves, debris and
pine needles that could
catch embers.
• Replace or repair any
loose or missing shingles
or roof tiles to prevent
ember penetration.
• Reduce embers that
could pass through vents
in the eaves by install-
ing 1/8-inch metal mesh
screening.
• Clean debris from exte-
rior attic vents and install
1/8-inch metal mesh
screening to reduce
embers.
• Repair or replace dam-
aged or loose window
screens and any bro-
ken windows. Screen or
box-in areas below patios
and decks with wire
mesh to prevent debris
and combustible materi-
als from accumulating.
• Move any fl ammable
material away from wall
exteriors — mulch, fl am-
mable plants, leaves and
needles, fi rewood piles
— anything that can
burn. Remove anything
stored underneath decks
or porches.
As they expressed hopes
for at their May 4 meeting,
the commissioners got to
hear about the planned bicy-
cle playground in Wallowa
from Ron Pickens of Build-
ing Healthy Families.
As he handed out prelim-
inary diagrams of the pro-
posed project to be on the
north side of the Wallowa
School campus, he refl ected
on how the idea of the proj-
ect came about.
“About a year ago, I was
standing with a kid I men-
tor in front of the City Hall
in Wallowa while I was on
the (Enterprise) skate park
rebuild project,” Pickens
said. “This kid said to me,
‘When’s it our turn? When
will it be our turn for a proj-
ect for a skate park or some-
thing in our community?’
And I said, ‘I don’t know.
I’m pretty tired after fund-
raising for this.’ But it really
tugged at my heartstrings as
I realized they would like to
see something like this in
their town.
“So we took that to
heart and released a sur-
vey among the kindergar-
ten through sixth grade in
Wallowa to identify to fam-
ilies and community mem-
bers what they wanted in the
way of a new facility, what
they might want to see there.
So that’s where we came up
with this bicycle playground
project idea.”
He said the company con-
tracted to build the Wallowa
park is the same one used
for the skate park remodel in
Enterprise.
“The idea here is to create
a facility that not only skate-
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Ron Pickens, of Building Healthy Families, waits his turn to
address the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners at its
meeting Wednesday, May 18, 2022, to request funding for
the bicycle playground project he’s spearheading in Wallowa.
The commissioners approved $7,000 in county funds for the
project.
is diff erent from the other
things that might be going
on.”
Nash said Pickens’ plan
goes along with other hopes
county leaders have had for
the Wallowa area.
“It’s been a major con-
cern of Mandy Decker’s (the
county’s director of youth
services) to try to get some-
thing started down there,”
he said. “We tried to get a
youth center started last year
and that didn’t happen and
she lost some staff and some
funding. This is a great idea
and it goes along with what
she’s wanting to get done
down there, as well. It’s just
more things for the kids to
do.”
As a result, the commis-
sioners approved a $7,000
donation from county video
lottery proceeds.
Other business
boards could utilize, but
also scooters and bicycles
and anything with wheels,”
Pickens told the commis-
sioners. “As you’ll see in the
design, there’s a pump track
of concrete so anything
could roll over that.”
He said he’s been quite
successful in his fundraising
eff orts and has put to work
some of the kids he men-
tors who will make use of
the park.
“After we released that
survey, and we identifi ed
a facility of this nature, we
hit the ground running in
October with grant-writ-
ing,” he said. “(As of) today,
we have submitted (requests
for) close to 65 grants. … A
lot of them were a shot in
the dark — we knew that —
but a number of them have
come back and we’ve been
incredibly successful with
that.”
Pickens said he’s received
more than 90% of the fund-
ing goal of $329,500. On
May 6, the Reser Family
Foundation has pledged a
match of $12,000 and the
Roundhouse Foundation has
pledged $10,000, in addition
to the $15,000 Roundhouse
already has given. On May
12, Pacifi c Power and Light
donated another $3,000.
Pickens wanted to clarify
for the commissioners and
the audience that this proj-
ect is separate and diff erent
from other recreational proj-
ects that have been ongoing
in the county.
“I know there are several
projects running simultane-
ously, with the skateboard
park here, Rail with Trails
and the Wallowa School
project,” he said. “I just
wanted to make it known
what this was.”
The commissioners all
were enthusiastic after hear-
ing Pickens presentation.
“I think it’s a great idea,”
Roberts said. “For years,
we’ve been trying to think
about something to do in
Wallowa. I really appreciate
this, having grown up down
there, there wasn’t lots to do.
This is great and I wanted to
make sure that the commis-
sioners understood how this
In other action, the com-
missioners approved:
• A resolution appointing
members to the Northeast
Oregon Economic Devel-
opment District board.
• An order to approve the
cancellation of uncol-
lectible property tax as
presented by the county
treasurer.
• The receipt of unantici-
pated revenue in pledged
support for the Wallowa
County Fair and a transfer
of those funds.
• An intrafund transfer of
funds for Wallowa County
parks.
• Easements for a new res-
idential 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.
• An annual agreement with
the Department of Reve-
nue to map a maintenance
contract.
• An annual plan of action
under a municipal audit
law to prepare fi nancial
statements.
DITRA-HEAT
Live Demonstration
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Thursday, May 26, 2022
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Dinner will be provided
Carpet One Floor and Home
800 S River St., Enterprise, OR 97828
Please RSVP:
Jared Bedard 541-426-9228
Email:jared@carpetoneeo.com
www.schluter.com
A7
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Ranch worker needed,
20 years or more experience.
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40 hours a week.
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PLEASE CONTACT
541-577-3048