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138th Year, No. 4
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
WALLOWA.COM
FLORA SCHOOL DAYS
‘Back in the Saddle Again’
Jennifer
Hayes
Joseph
Be ready
for ‘crazy’
winters
ENTERPRISE — A former
urbanite, Jennifer Hayes is enjoy-
ing living in Wallowa County. She
moved to Joseph four years ago
from Reno, Nevada, to be with her
husband, Casey.
She has worked at Wallowa
Title Co. for more than two years
as a collections escrow offi cer/
front desk.
“I really love working there,”
she said.
Casey works at Valley Bronze,
but right now he’s deployed to
Kuwait with the Army National
Guard.
“He’s from here,” Jennifer said.
While Casey’s away, Jennifer
has been enjoying the company
of her 10-week-old German shep-
herd pup.
Like many, her favorite things
about the county are the scenery
and the people.
“It’s really beautiful here and
everybody who lives here are
super nice,” she said. “The moun-
tains, they’re so close.”
She doesn’t mind all the rain
we’ve had recently, it’s the snow
she dislikes.
“I like the rain, but I am over
the snow,” she said, adding that
winter and spring have lasted
plenty long enough. “I’m a city
girl. I like to get out of town when
I can, but it’s hard to when there’s
snow all over the roads. I don’t like
driving in the snow.”
In fact, now that nicer weather
appears on the horizon, Jennifer
hopes to get out on her motor-
cycle and explore more of the
county.
“I want to get out on it and
with the snow I can’t do that,” she
said.
In fact, the weather is the major
challenge she believes newcom-
ers to the county will face.
“Be ready for the crazy win-
ters,” she said. “I couldn’t believe
how much snow we got this past
winter.”
— Bill Bradshaw,
Wallowa County Chieftain
Annual event returns
after COVID-19 hiatus
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
F
LORA — The historic Flora
School was “Back in the Sad-
dle Again” for its annual Flora
School Days on Saturday, June 4,
welcoming about 135 people to
see old-time skills, eat good food
and live a bit in the past.
Vanessa Thew Thompson, president of
the Flora School Board, said the turnout
was fewer than usual.
“But it was more than what we
expected,” she said. “The whole day was
more than what we expected. It was good.”
Turnout dampened
Flora School Days came back this
year after a two-year hiatus because of
the COVID-19 pandemic. People not
used to it happening, other events sched-
uled the same day — high school grad-
uations — and the weather all served to
dampen the turnout, Thompson said.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Hot coals are added to the Dutch ovens used in the chili cook-off at Flora School Days on
Saturday, June 4, 2022.
See School, Page A7
Brian Cook of Irrigon drives his three-mule
team in front of the Flora School pulling
a wagon used for a tour around Flora on
Saturday, June 4, 2022.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa students lend helping hand
Garden is
planted, local
park is cleaned up
By JEFF BUDLONG
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — Students
in the Wallowa School Dis-
trict have spent the school
year learning from a variety
of sources, but as it draws
to a close they took a diff er-
ent approach — a hands-on
approach.
Students began work-
ing the morning of Friday,
June 3, and spent a cou-
ple of hours doing various
projects to help the com-
munity. One of the projects
was planting a garden at
the Wallowa River House,
an 11-bed residential treat-
ment facility for individ-
uals with severe physical
and mental health issues.
“We are planting a gar-
den,” said Brandy Bron-
son, a fourth-grade teacher.
“A former resident at the
River House passed away
and there is an area fi lled
with wildfl owers, so we are
going to repaint the sign
Brandy Bronson/Contributed Photo
Students from the Wallowa School District work on cleaning up and planting an area
garden as part of service they performed on Friday, June 3.
there and clean it up.”
The community garden
will be directly behind the
space dedicated to former
longtime resident Doug
Yarger, which will allow
for a partnership with the
Wallowa River House. In
addition to cleaning up
the fl owers, students will
repaint a sign that says,
“Doug’s Garden.”
Students planted a vari-
ety of fruits and vegetables
that will be monitored and
eventually used throughout
the summer and fall. Seeds
and plants were donated by
Oregon State University
Extension Service and a
nursery for the project.
“I wanted to see the
garden project get up and
going, but I am also doing
our summer school pro-
gram,” Bronson said. “Ann
Bloom with Extension is
going to come down to help
us care for the garden, talk
about the fruits and veg-
etables and provide some
nutrition lessons.”
The project also allows
older students to lead and
work with younger ones to
make sure tasks are done
while taking ownership in
the work.
Bronson hopes her next
class of fourth-graders will
harvest the bounty of the
garden in the fall. It is a
learning lesson from plant
to pick, Bronson said. In
the future, Bronson would
like high school students
to build and donate some
raised beds that can be used
at the garden site on an
annual basis.
The garden wasn’t the
only project students took
part in. Students also took
on cleanup at Evans Park,
helped prepare grounds
for graduation and assisted
in moving a piano across
town.
See Helping, Page A7