Richard ShawEnterprise

ENTERPRISE — Richard Shaw moved his family here from the Portland area in 2015, about nine years ago, because of his love for the outdoors.

“We wanted the outdoors, the small town to raise our child here,” he said.

He and his wife, Charlie, have a 17-year-old son, Trenton, in high school.

Shaw is retired from commercial construction and developing. Charlie doesn’t work outside the home, he said.

Shaw said his favorite thing is about Wallowa County isn’t singular — there are, he said, “many.”

“I like the remoteness of it — you don’t come through here on your way to somewhere else; it’s the end of the road,” he said. “The people are great. That’d be No. 1 — the people here.”

Now that spring is settling in, he’s looking forward to at least one thing: “All the yard work I get to catch up on,” he said.

Shaw is aware of the Dollar General chain store being built in Wallowa, but he is relatively neutral on the issue.

“I don’t really have any thoughts on it one way or another,” he said.

Shaw acknowledges the need for more affordable housing in Wallowa County, but he’s not sure what could be done to alleviate that shortage.

“I suppose if the market was right, I don’t think there’s any restrictions on developing residential units here,” he said. “The thing is whether it makes economic sense for the developer.”

He also has an idea of what people should know before moving to Wallowa County.

“It’s best to have money if you come here,” he said. “It’s not easy to find gainful employment here.”