Wednesday, July 13, 2022
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Helping
those
who
need it
M
ore people across the
region and locally are
utilizing food banks
and that means those facilities
need as much help as they can
get from area residents.
The average number of peo-
ple who accessed fresh food
services jumped by 28% in
April and May and there was a
23% increase in fresh food box
demand across Baker, Grant,
Union and Wallowa counties.
While statistics tell only part
of the story, the tale they do
reveal is troubling. The apparent
causes of the rise in services are
inflation and the sudden evap-
oration of federal COVID-19
relief funds.
Finding the cause, though,
is only the first step. The next
move is to discover how to alle-
viate the need. Regional food
banks receive regular shipments
from the Oregon Food Bank.
The state food bank deliveries
are supplemented by fresh pro-
duce donations from local stores
and farmers.
Citizens and residents who
can, though, need to do more to
help. That means finding ways
to donate more food on a regular
basis to area food banks.
We’ve lamented food inse-
curity on a regular basis on this
page and that’s because in a
nation as rich as ours we believe
no one should go hungry. We
also believe that local problems
are best solved at the local level.
We have a great capacity locally
to fix even the most complex
problems, to overcome even the
most difficult problems.
Our region is rich in people
who care about one another and
we should be able to address
the rise in the need for food in a
proactive way.
That means all of us can do
our part. A simple donation, if
possible, to a local food bank
can make all the difference in
the world to a family or indi-
vidual who is suddenly food
insecure.
Volunteering to assist a local
food bank or some other char-
ity that is trying to help those
who are less fortunate is another
good way to help make a
difference.
Making a difference is easy if
we want.
We can all work together to
help our local and regional food
banks and to lend a helping
hand.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Joseph UGB in
wrong place
This abridged letter ran in
the November 26, 2008 Chief-
tain edition:
When heading toward
Joseph on Ski Run Road just
after crossing the bridge over
the Wallowa River, the road
winds through one of my favor-
ite areas, Boulderfields.
Here the land is covered
with glacial erratics of various
shapes and sizes, and complex
contours that look like waves
riding across the landscape.
The grasses and shrubs tran-
sition into a beautiful ponder-
osa pine savanna. Marmots and
other wildlife make good use of
this unique habitat. The green
ribbon of vegetation along the
Wallowa River corridor flows
through this intact native eco-
system on the edge of town.
A large subdivision is
planned for this area, which
comprises part of the termi-
nal moraine of Wallowa Lake.
This area could soon be con-
verted to houses, roads, build-
ings and lawns. In the field of
ecology this type of land cover
conversion from natural envi-
ronment to suburban is basi-
cally irretrievable with habitat
values lost.
This follows on the heels
of a still-proceeding develop-
ment just around the corner that
is filling a much more sensi-
ble location — a cleared field,
removed from the Wallowa
River corridor, and within an
existing neighborhood. Boul-
derfields is different.
Can we not better priori-
tize our development to protect
the Wallowa Lake Moraines
and their glacial legacy, wild-
life corridors, intact plant com-
munities and functioning
ecosystems?
If Boulderfields is developed
we will be living in a land that
is a little less wild, and a little
less connected.
David Mildrexler
Enterprise
Debris pile at
Joseph Transfer
station is a hazard
Over the past four years
plus, Rahn Sanitary has spent
maybe half a day managing the
debris pile at the Joseph Trans-
fer station.
Earlier this year they
removed around 20% of the
pile, and since then at least the
CONTACT your REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
EDITORIALS: Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Wallowa County Chieftain
editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the Wallowa County Chieftain.
LETTERS: The Wallowa County Chieftain welcomes original letters of 400 words
or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and
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concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the
rights of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the
city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be
P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore.
Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921
Contents copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
• • •
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
published. Unsigned letters will not be published.
• Longer community comment columns, such as Other Views, must be no more
than 700 words. Writers must provide a recent headshot and a one-sentence
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• Submission does not guarantee publication, which is at the discretion of the editor.
SEND LETTERS TO: editor@wallowa.com, or via mail to Wallowa County Chieftain,
209 NW 1st St. Enterprise, OR 97828
General Manager, Karrine Brogoitti, kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com
Editor, editor@wallowa.com
Reporter, Bill Bradshaw, bbradshaw@wallowa.com
News Assistant, Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com
Classifieds/Inside Sales, Julie Ferdig, jferdig@bakercityherald.com
Advertising Assistant, Devi Mathson, dmathson@lagrandeobserver.com
To submit news tips and press releases, call 541-426-4567
or email editor@wallowa.com
SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Member Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
USPS No. 665-100
Cliff Bentz
1239 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
VOLUME 134
same amount of material has
been added to the pile. The
pile is 10 feet tall and at least a
10th of a mile long. It is not just
unsightly but is a fire hazard.
Repeated calls to Rahn’s
have resulted in no action.
Indeed, the company fails to
return calls. We are now enter-
ing into what may well be
another dry and dangerous
summer.
This eyesore and fire haz-
ard should be dealt with. The
Joseph City Council has also
been contacted and failed
to respond. Public pressure
should be placed on both
Joseph council and Rahn’s
Sanitary. This mess needs to
be dealt with. It is already
close to unmanageable. The
time to act is now.
Stephen Kliewer
Joseph
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