2022 news in review: January through March

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, December 28, 2022

JanuaryJan. 1: Several dozen new year’s revelers wash out 2021 and welcome in 2022 with a cleansing plunge into a frigid Wallowa Lake on New Year’s Day, under skies that seem to be shining blue just for the event. Rechristened the Beth Gibans Memorial Wallowa Lake Polar Bear Plunge, the impromptu event has been going on at least since 2007, said Rich Wandschneider, the only one of the five founders of the event to take part this year.

Jan. 5: An investigation has been launched into possibly neglected cattle — many of which had young calves — in deep snows on U.S. Forest Service land in the Upper Imnaha area, Wallowa County Sheriff Joel Fish says. Wallowa County is investigating potential criminal charges against the Dean Oregon Ranch cattle for neglect, Fish said, adding that the Sheriff’s Office is “assisting with the retrieval of the cattle on the Forest Service grazing permits on the Marr Flat C&H Allotment.” At year’s end, the investigation was continuing.

Jan. 5: Fishtrap, Wallowa County’s premier writing organization, is preparing for a new chapter in its life as it anticipates moving into its new home on Main Street after 20 years in the Coffin House. The reason for the move, according to Fishtrap Director Shannon McNerney, is that the nonprofit had outgrown the Coffin House, and it would have needed major renovations to make it work.

Jan. 5: At the first meeting of the year for the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners, Susan Roberts takes the gavel and will serve as chair for 2022. She succeeds Todd Nash as chair; Nash will continue on the commission, but also is beginning a two-year term as president of the Oregon Cattleman’s Association.

Jan. 12: Destiny Wecks, an 18-year-old from Joseph, is officially in the saddle as Miss Teen Rodeo Oregon, a title the former Chief Joseph Days co-queen will hold throughout 2022. Wecks will be honored during an event at the Enterprise Elks Lodge at 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, unofficially kicking off a year of promoting the sport she has come to love.

Jan. 12: Wallowa High School Principal David Howe submits a letter of resignation to the Wallowa School Board, effective March 8. In an interview, Howe says he’s leaving because of a lack of support from the superintendent and the board. Superintendent Tammy Jones declines comment on the specifics of Howe’s resignation letter, but praises Howe for his work at the school.

Jan. 22: Wallowa County’s population had a growth rate during the last year that put it in the middle third of the state’s counties, according to a Portland State University report. Eastern Oregon counties, including Wallowa, had a combined increase of 0.45%. The eight counties — Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa — had a combined population as of July 1, 2021, of 190,444. In Wallowa County, the increase was 0.43%, or 32 people, to a total of 7,433. Its growth rate was fifth among the eight Eastern Oregon counties, and overall was 22nd in the state.

Jan. 24: Wallowa County surpasses 1,000 cases of COVID-19. The Oregon Health Authority reports 28 new cases of COVID-19 in the county in its Monday, Jan. 24 report, with the total moving Wallowa County to 1,020 cases for the pandemic.

FebruaryFeb. 3: The Joseph City Council agrees to disband its Zoning Ordinance Task Force and replace it with an official Planning Commission. “I think it was a really good step forward,” says Brock Eckstein, the city’s interim administrator. “Joseph’s seen so much growth and expansion and this commission will give good direction to address their rapid growth.”

Feb. 3: Despite a one-year delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Enterprise School District is gearing up for construction projects to be done this year and next. District voters in 2020 approved a $4 million bond measure that was matched with a $4 million Oregon School Capital Improvement grant. The highest-priority project is a new roof for the primary school, middle school and the secondary school buildings, interim Superintendent Tom Crane says. Work is scheduled to begin in May.

Feb. 16: The Wallowa County Board of Commissioners votes to accept a $500,000 federal grant through the American Rescue Plan Act for upgrades to the fairgrounds. Commissioner Todd Nash says it’s not clear which fairgrounds improvement projects will pass muster with ARPA regulations, but says there’s no doubt the fairgrounds needs the repairs. Some of the projects targeted for the fairgrounds include a new roof for the show barn.

Feb. 21: A series of crashes beginning around noon near milepost 230 on an icy Interstate 84 involves as many as 98 vehicles, injures an unknown number of people and shuts down the interstate’s eastbound lanes for about 12 hours and its westbound lanes for about 18 hours. Incredibly, no fatalities are reported.

MarchMarch 2: Local officials welcome the announcement from the state that schools and other indoor public settings will no longer require people to wear face masks as of Friday, March 11. It’s been about two years since such mandates were first ordered because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 2: The Wallowa County commissioners review the results of the 2022 legislative session with disappointment, saying it’s another example of Oregon’s urban-rural divide. Rural communities “lost just about everything we were going for strongly,” says Commissioner Todd Nash. Nash listed examples such as the passage of a bill mandating overtime for many agricultural workers and the failure of a measure to compensate livestock producers for wolf depradation.

March 3: Councilor Tammy Jones resigns from the Joseph City Council. Jones, the superintendent of the Wallowa School District, cites “recent changes in my work commitments and responsibilities” as reasons for resigning.

March 3: Public opposition to a planned “hospitality project” on a parcel adjacent to the Iwetemlaykin State Heritage Site on the southern edge of Joseph leads the property owners to withdraw a request for a zoning change for the project before the Joseph City Council. Local hotel owner Greg Hennes and his partner, architect Ben Gates, were requesting a zoning change from R-2 residential to commercial to allow for the project. It was to include a public bathhouse and sauna, an observatory, cabins, a guest lodge with kitchen facilities and workforce housing.

March 4: Two Wallowa County entities are in line to receive a combined $1.5 million for infrastructure, which will provide funding needed for improvements. House Bill 5202 allocates $1 million to the Wallowa County Fairgrounds from its general fund for “fairgrounds infrastructure,” according to the text of the bill. Additionally, the Wallowa History Center is slated to receive $500,000 to “support the restoration of the Bear-Sleds Ranger District Compound,” according to text from the bill.

March 30: The Oregon Health Authority reports a new COVID-19-related death in Wallowa County, the first the agency has listed that occurred in 2022. The death, originally reported March 11, was of a 98-year-old woman who died Jan 23, just 11 days after contracting the illness. It’s the 15th death of a Wallowa County resident that is attributed or linked to COVID-19, though one of those has been disputed by the family. But there is good news: Overall, COVID-19 cases have taken a sharp drop since the January omicron spike.

March 30: The ever-increasing price of petroleum is putting a hitch in the budget process local governments are going through, as they are forced to increase the amounts allocated for fuel and asphalt. But it’s impossible to put an actual number on what the additional cost will be, officials say. “It’s a moving target all the time,” says Susan Roberts, chair of the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners.