Wallowa County went to war along with the rest of the nation during spring 2003, and attention on local soldiers and the situation in faraway Iraq provided the backdrop for the rest of the year.

Survival played an important part in 2003 in Wallowa County in more ways than one. And as always, while coping with a struggling economy, the people of the county continued to look to the future.

An Enterprise toddler named Kennison Knifong was brought back from the brink of drowning by local emergency personnel, and Lelia Wortman, a member of the 4-H Court, survived brain surgery after a Mule Days accident. 2002’s wilderness survivor Mischelle Hileman returned home from the hospital to a warm welcome from entire county, becoming a spokesman for wilderness survival and adjusting to life on artificial legs.

Economically Wallowa County failed to flourish, living once again through the highest unemployment in the state for a few months and watching its only surviving mill, Wallowa Forest Products, lay off 30 workers in the spring.

U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth came to visit Wallowa County in the spring, praising local collaborative resource efforts. In the summer the county’s first major forest fire in several years, the Lightning Complex, burned over 16,000 acres in the Hells Canyon NRA. A Forest Health Bill designed to help fuel reduction efforts in the forests was signed into law at the national level.

The Wallowa County Board of Commissioner obtained a grant to purchase industrial land in Wallowa to help the local economy, and through the Target Wallowa County initiative pursued industrial site inventory and facilitation.

Budget cuts by the state, which was experiencing the highest unemployment in the nation and a huge budget shortfall, affected a number of services in the county and left school budgets lacking.

County schools went through changes and struggled to cope with declining enrollment and budgets. Enterprise School District joined Joseph and Wallowa districts in going to a four-day school week, watched the completion of a $2.4 bond improvement project and, at year’s end, was dealing with a teachers’ contract dispute. Joseph voters passed a three-year operations levy, teachers took a voluntary pay cut to help the budget and a Joseph Education Foundation was founded. In Wallowa, high school principal John Nesemann also became district superintendent. County schools, however, continued to perform well on standardized tests and put the county at number one in the state in terms of education.

During 2003 after months of consideration the Wallowa County Health Care District decided to buy land north of the fairgrounds for a new hospital to replace aging Wallowa Memorial. Part of that story was Wallowa’s attempt to attract the new hospital to that city and negotiations between the fair board and city of Enterprise over a needed access road right-of-way for the hospital.

The Wallowa Union Railroad saw its first Eagle Cap Excursion passenger train roll between the two counties for the first time in many decades, and the new year should see regularly scheduled runs.

2003 was full of other news: Enterprise put up a community clock up near the courthouse, and was forced to remove it because the space was already spoken for as a memorial. The first woman, Diana Stein, was initiated as Enterprise Elks Exalted Ruler, and the first women Enterprise police officer, Michelle Perales, was hired. Pearl Collinsworth retired after 27 years as Enterprise municipal judge, and former sheriff Ron Jett was hired to succeed her. A rarely-seen moose was spotted wandering north of Enterprise, and a giant Monitor Lizard was reported loose in Joseph. The local fight against wolves in the state continued. After years of effort the city of Wallowa is close to moving into its new fire hall.

Cycle Oregon spent a couple nights at Wallowa Lake State Park, which backed off a plan to charge a day use fee starting in October.

At year’s end a preliminary plat for a Marr Ranch subdivision north of Wallowa Lake was approved by the planning commission, and the decades-old controversy about developing that piece of property was in full swing.

And 2004 is an empty newspaper, waiting to be written.2003 Year in ReviewWeek of 1-2-03

Landon Moore of Joseph was convicted and sentences to 120 days in jail and 10 years probation in Ada County, Idaho, for sexual abuse, stemming from contact Moore had with a minor girl while a resident of Boise two years previous.

Thomas A. Dunaway, 20, of Enterprise was placed under arrest for reckless endangerment and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle after a stolen shotgun in his possession accidentally fired through the wall of his apartment into his neighbor’s apartment.

Newly-elected Wallowa County Commissioner Dan DeBoie of Joseph will be sworn into office at the Jan. 6, 2003 Board of Commissioners’ meeting, replacing Darrell McFetridge.

1-9-03

Liysa Ann King Northon, who was sentenced to 150 month in prison last year for manslaughter for the murder of her husband, filed a request for clemency with Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber.

Stephen Roger of Joseph, an employee of Wallowa Valley Lanes, was cited for Theft II in the disappearance of 235 copies of the Jan. 2 issue of the Wallowa County Chieftain from paper racks in Joseph. That particular issue featured an article about Landon Moore, former manager of the bowling alley regarding his conviction for sexual abuse of a minor.

The Mount Howard Snotel, one of 14 sites in the region where snow pack is measured, was the only Snotel to report an above average reading at 129 percent of normal for snow water equivalent.

1-16-03

A film crew producing a piece for the Discovery Channel on dinosaurs will be filming in Wallowa County in March.

Mischelle Hileman, who is recovering from the amputation of both legs after spending eight days in the woods north of Wallowa in freezing temperatures, returned home to Wallowa to a hero’s welcome.

Local ranchers and hunters let the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife know in no uncertain terms during a town hall meeting that the reintroduction of wolves into Northeast Oregon is not welcome.

1-23-03

The U.S. Parks Service is considering purchasing the Elk Trout Estates property which lies between the foot of Wallowa Lake and the Old Chief Joseph Monument outside of Joseph. The owners, Steve and Paula Krieger, have previously been considering developing a controversial subdivision on that site.

J. Shirly Bothum, 65, well-known area cowboy turned artist, died in a Spokane, Wash. hospital after suffering an apparent heart attack in Lewiston, Idaho while installing a sculpture piece for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial on Friday, Jan. 17.

1-30-03

Measure 28, an emergency tax measure that would raise income tax rates for three years to mitigate state budget shortfalls, went down to defeat in a special election on Jan. 28.

The merger of the Enterprise and Joseph School Districts was determined to be economically feasible by a study conducted by the Wallowa County Education Service District at the behest of the two school districts.

Clyde Delbert Clark of Wallowa was sentenced to six months in jail and ten years of probation as a result of pleading guilty to Attempted Sex Abuse-1 by Wallowa County Circuit Court Judge Philip Mendiguren.

2-6-03

As a result of the defeat of Measure 28 by voters last month, four local Oregon State Troopers were laid off as of Jan. 31, 2003. Layoffs were based on seniority.

State government officials will start the first of a series of hearing on Monday, Feb. 10, regarding proposed legislation dealing with the migration of gray wolves from Idaho.

Wallowa Forest Products is scheduled to resume shipping logs and finished lumber by rail from Wallowa on Saturday, Feb. 8. The last freight use of the Joseph-Elgin rail line was last June.

2-13-03

The Joseph School Board, citing “formidable obstacles”, voted unanimously to reject a proposed merger between the Joseph and Enterprise school districts.

Former Wallowa city recorder Bobbi Long and the City of Wallowa settled their pending lawsuit for her wrongful discharge in June, 2001, out-of-court. Long was awarded $20,000. The Kiwanis Club of Wallowa Valley gave “Everyday Hero” awards to Marilyn Siefert and Bill Lehr, both of Wallowa, for their tireless efforts that resulted in them finding Mischelle Hileman alive after she had been stranded in the woods for eight days.

2-27-03

The Wallowa County Health Care District board publicly floated the idea of building a new hospital at an estimated cost of $10 million. The current facility was built in 1950 and is the second oldest hospital building still in use in the state.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of the estate of Melvin Edgar “Ed” Knutson, who died Sept. 13, 1998, after an apparent beating, was settled out-of-court with the remaining defendants last month.

According to Tom Glassford, land program manager of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (HCNRA), statements released by the Hells Canyon Preservation Council (HCPC) proclaiming victory in a lawsuit against the U. S. Forest Service included many comments that were either inaccurate or misleading.

2-27-03

An array of opinions were expressed Monday night when the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing concerning HB 3326 dealing with non farm dwellings in an exclusive farm use zone, also known as the “trophy home” issue.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has scheduled the replacement of the bridge over the Wallowa River at Minam on Hwy. 82 for 2008 at a cost of an estimated $4.6 million.

A search warrant was served Thursday, Feb. 20, at a residence and the Cowboy Bar, both in Joseph, to further an investigation involving Internet wire fraud. No results have been made public.

3-6-03

The Enterprise School Board cut another $309,000 from the 2004 fiscal budget, eliminating seven teaching and classified staff positions. A total of $1.5 million and 22 teaching positions have been cut over the last five years.

Wilderness survivor Mischelle Hileman spoke to the Joseph middle and high school students about wilderness preparedness during an assembly put on by the Wallowa County Search and Rescue unit. Tim Perales also demonstrated what should be included in a “pocket survival kit.”

3-13-03

With serious snow pack deficiencies looming throughout Oregon and other western states, a series of snow storms in the Wallowa Mountains last weekend brought the snow water equivalent at Aneroid Lake #2, the only working Snotel site in Wallowa County, to 79 percent of normal as of March 10, 2003.

The Wallowa School Board cut an additional $263,185 from its 2003-2004 school budget Monday night, but refrained from taking additional cuts which would have affected sports programs.

In spite of the current economic downturn, Valley Bronze has expanded its staff due to work generated by a $2.4 million contract to produce bronze ornamentation for the National World War II Monument.

3-20-03

According to a panel of law enforcement and social services experts Wallowa County has a rampant drug problem and if something is not done about it soon it will only get worse. Problems drugs are primarily marijuana and methamphetamines.

The “Dollar Stretcher,” formerly the Enterprise Food City, will open next week with a focus on keeping prices low and the selection high with a no frills approach.

Clarence Mallory, 66, who lives 10 miles northeast of Troy in Asotin County, Wash., was flown to Walla Walla, Wash. for treatment of an accidental gunshot wound to the right forearm.

3-27-03

With the start of action in the war with Iraq, many local parents are anxiously waiting for word regarding their sons or daughters that are participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Although Wallowa County’s gas prices are well above the national average of $1.72 per gallon, they are nowhere close to the $2.33 reported in San Diego, Calif., now that prices are starting to fall.

There are still a few milestones left in Wallowa County for women to conquer and one more will fall Saturday night when Diana Stein of Joseph is installed as the Enterprise Elks Lodge’s first female Exalted Ruler.

4-3-03

An in-house marijuana growing operation including 97 plants in Enterprise was busted Tuesday morning by the Enterprise Police Department and the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office on an informant’s tip that was the direct result of the March 11 Wallowa County Drug Summit.

In a hunting accident, Wallowa County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. John Campbell suffered a gun shot wound below his right armpit on Sunday, March 30. He was treated at Wallowa Memorial Hospital and released.

A broad-based organization called the South Wallowa Lake citizens Committee has plans to greatly increase commercial recreation zoned land (CR2) at the head of Wallowa Lake at the expense of residential recreation zoned land (R2).

4-10-03

Megan Rae Dunlap, 24, of Union died in a one car accident when she failed to negotiate the sharp 25 mile per hour corner on the Minam grade, causing her 1997 Honda Accord to roll to the bottom of the steep canyon.

Enterprise superintendent of schools, Brad Royse, reported to the Enterprise school board that declining enrollment is becoming a bigger and bigger problem, predicting that from June, 2002 to September, 2003, the district will loose 22.5 percent of its students.

Erin Lunde, a 1995 graduate of Joseph High School, and Kelly Siebe, a 1998 graduate of Enterprise High School are recipients of prestigious Fulbright Program grants for next year.

4-17-03

The chief of the U. S. Forest Service, Dale N. Bosworth, is coming to Wallowa County next month to find out how his agency is working with local organizations to achieve healthy forests and communities.

Lostine native and 1995 Wallowa High School graduate Reid Wynans is flying C-17 Globemaster air transports for the U. S. Air Force into Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the U. S. military’s efforts in the Mideast.

Lost skier Sam Harriman, 24, of Jackson Hole, Wyo., was found by a Tucker Down Road resident sleeping in his barn on Sunday morning after he was reported missing Saturday night.

4-24-03

Anna Yost continued her family’s tradition in being named 2003 Chief Joseph Days Rodeo queen. Her court includes Joy Kuppinger, Celeste Hillock and Erin Voss.

Mike Bagwell of Enterprise, new manager of the Wallowa Union Railroad Authority, and Robin Morris of Troy, part time employee of Eastern Oregon University’s branch office in Enterprise, share office space as well as a vested interest in the war in Iraq due to the fact that each has a son serving in the military in the Middle East.

Former Enterprise kindergarten teacher Judy Fletcher is back in the classroom as a volunteer as she slowly recovers from a bout of meningitis, which severely damaged her ability to hear.

5-1-03

A civil negligence trial of Gail Eagan v. Jan and Lorraine Swift over a personal injury is expected to wrap up today.

Two seventh graders at Enterprise Junior High were cited for drug-related charges by the Oregon State Police Monday, May 5. The charges involved marijuana and oregano being passed off as marijuana.

Fifth graders and the high school video productions class are teaming up to produce a video reenacting the trials and tribulations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in conjunction with the bicentennial celebrations scheduled for 2005.

5-8-03

A 12 person jury found in favor of defendants Jan and Lorraine Swift of Wallowa in a personal injury case heard in Wallowa County Circuit Court last week, awarding no damages to plaintiff Gail Eagan, also of Wallowa.

After a near-death experience last year, Hells Canyon Mule Days is alive and kicking. Arnold Schaeffer was named grand marshall for the 2003 event.

The Wallowa County Planning Commission shut down the county’s asphalt plant, operated by the Wallowa County Public Works Department, until compliance is met for conditions placed on the plant four years ago.

5-15-03

Legislation aimed at cleaning up the nation’s forests and reducing wildfires cleared a major hurdle last week when it was passed by a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Healthy Forests Restoration Act was introduced by Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon and Rep. Scott McInnis of Colorado.

Five members of a Swedish delegation are touring Wallowa County this week through a program arranged by Rotary International.

Wallowa County Public Works Director Russ McMartin has come up with a plan to appease the Wallowa County Planning Commission and place the county’s asphalt plant back in running order by the time asphalt season comes in late June or early July.

5-22-03

Six months after they defeated one school funding measure, Joseph voters had a change of heart and approved a school bond levy that will cost them $240,000 a year for the next three years.

On Tuesday (May 20), the U. S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation introduced this spring by Congressmen Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Scott McInnis (R-Colo.) to address America’s growing forest health crisis.

Sgt. Clayton Bronson returned from the war in Iraq to his alma mater, Joseph High School, to talk to local young people about his experiences in the Middle East.

5-29-03

A recent transplant to Joseph, Joella Kern, has been indicted on seven counts of wire fraud and is scheduled for arraignment before the U. S. District Court of the Easter District of Washington in Yakima, Wash. on June 3. Kern has allegedly been taking money through the mail and over the Internet for parental adoptive services she had no intention to fulfill.

6-5-03

Collaboration between community groups and the federal government will help restore the region’s ailing timber and ranching industries but it will take time, according to U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth while visiting Wallowa County last week.

An overnight thunderstorm that dumped significant amounts of water in the high mountains and a melting snow pack resulted in high waters throughout Wallowa County and the region Friday last week.

Though the war in Iraq has wound down, it is far from over, and a number of local soldiers who were sent to the Middle East earlier this spring are still in harm’s way. Those with local ties include helicopter pilots Lt. Charlie Neveau and Lt. Mark Haines.

6-12-03

Word came recently that the findings and recommendations in regards to private lands in the Hells Canyon NRA made by a lower court in February have been upheld by U. S. District Court regarding a lawsuit filed by the Hells Canyon Preservation Council against the U. S. Forest Service.

A passenger suffered an apparent broken arm in a one vehicle accident on Hwy. 82 that involved three teenagers. All three were wearing seat belts.

The pink pig barbecue that was previously banned from the sidewalk in front of 1917 Lumber due to a new sign ordinance passed by Joseph City Council two years ago can now legally resume its position with the passage of a revised sign ordinance this week.

6-19-03

Though Wallowa County has experienced an unusually wet spring, the recent rash of hot weather has elevated the possibility of wildfires and drought, according to farmers and forestry officials.

Saturday, June 21, the first day of summer, will be greeted in Enterprise with the sixth annual Summerfest celebration, hosted by the Enterprise Merchants’ Association.

Two Wallowa County residents, Wallowa Valley District Ranger Meg Mitchell and Wallowa County Commissioner Ben Boswell, are among 14 persons selected by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission to serve on a committee organized to formulate policies regarding the future management of wolves in Oregon.

6-26-03

A quick response to a 911 call, consistent CPR efforts and professional work from EMTs and the doctors at Wallowa Memorial Hospital may have saved the life of 17-month-old Kennison Knifong after the young boy fell into a creek and was submerged for approximately 20 minutes Monday morning.

After being kicked in the left side by a Clydesdale horse Friday afternoon while helping lifelong friend Creighton Kooch ready his horses for Saturday’s Summerfest parade, Terry Holbrook of Enterprise is on the mend at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, Idaho.

The Wallowa Lake Tramway will be ready to reopen hopefully this weekend after being closed for repairs later than usual this summer. The repairs included installing 20,000 feet of new cable that replaced the original cable which has been in use since 1969.