Wallowa County Sheriff Ryan Moody stands by one of his department's patrol vehicles that he'll rely on during the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo.

JOSEPH — High temperatures? Lots of alcohol? Crowds to control? A bank robbery? What could go wrong with an event like the 78th Chief Joseph Days Rodeo?

Whatever it might be, Wallowa County Sheriff Ryan Moody is ready for it.

He and his four deputies, eight reserve deputies — with assistance from the Enterprise Police Department, Oregon State Police and the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office — are preparing for smooth sailing when the anticipated thousands of visitors come to the county for the annual event.

Moody said the state police will be sending its Mobile Response Team to help out; the team has special training dealing with crowds at large events. And Terry Jones, the president of the Chief Joseph Days board of directors, has hired security staff to watch over the rodeo arena and grounds.

“The biggest concern I’ve had is the large volume of people, the (potential) for heat exhaustion and the alcohol,” Moody said Monday, July 15. “If you’re going to consume alcohol, at least get hydrated.”

The Enterprise Police Department also will help out, as Enterprise deals with much of the overflow from Joseph, both for food and lodging.

The Enterprise Police Department, Moody said, “is always there to help us. … They’re always really good about that.”

The Police Department and the sheriff’s office have an interagency cooperative agreement that, in fact, extends statewide.

Moody may be new as sheriff — he pinned on the badge Jan. 1 after Joel Fish resigned — but he’s no newcomer to the county or to law enforcement. He’s spent most of his more than 50 years as a lawman, serving the Benton County Sheriff’s Office until moving to Wallowa County a couple of years ago. But he wasn’t entirely new to the county then, having visited as a youth on vacations.

He had a variety of duties in the Corvallis-based Benton County office, some of it dealing with the crowds at Oregon State University that are not unlike what he’ll face in Joseph. In fact, his work in Benton County included serving as liaison for security for Oregon State University’s athletics program — including crowds at football games that numbered more than 30,000.

Moody has had a chance to experience Chief Joseph Days, so it’s not all new to him.

After he retired from Benton County in 2022, Moody struck up a friendship with Fish and signed on to work here.

In addition to the sheer number of people who crowd into the county — not just into Joseph, but Enterprise, Wallowa, the lake and campgrounds in between — one of Moody’s primary concerns is the heat. On Tuesday, the first official day of Chief Joseph Days, the high is expected to be 93. On Wednesday, the forecasted high is 95, before temperatures drop into the 80s on Thursday and Friday and the rest of the weekend.

“We’re going to be keeping an eye on the weather for the heat,” Moody said.

With the high temperatures comes the temptation to cool off with a cold beer. And too many of those can lead to impaired drivers behind the wheel.

In previous years, Moffitt Brothers in Lostine ran a shuttle that transported impaired drivers to sites where they could get a ride with someone not under the influence, but that won’t be available this year as the Moffitt brothers retired.

But the Loveland Safe Ride program, founded by Kevin Loveland, the owner of Loveland Funeral Chapel in Enterprise and La Grande, has stepped in to fill that need with a fleet of SUVs to safely transport attendees. The Safe Ride vehicles will be marked with signs.

Moody said he’s also concerned about people who have difficulty finding a place to stay — or camp — and end up pitching a tent just anywhere. That leads to trespassing and leaving trash where it doesn’t belong. That’s where early planning becomes important, he said, and urged people to begin planning now for next year’s rodeo.

“People look for a place to camp and camp just anywhere,” he said, adding that often those who have had too much to drink “pass out in people’s yards.”

At least it looks as if Moody won’t have to worry about a bank robbery — this year. Debbie Scudder, who takes entries for the Chief Joseph Days Grand Parade, said she hasn’t heard anything about a reenactment of the 1896 robbery of the First Bank of Joseph. That reenactment comes every few years at the end of the parade; this year isn’t one of those years, Scudder said.

There’s more Chief Joseph Days coverage available online at the website wallowa.com, including these stories:

• After decades of dedication to Wallowa County volunteer efforts, including Chief Joseph Days, Scott and Doris Noland are this year’s grand marshals.

• There’s more to Chief Joseph Days than just the rodeo: The event is packed with other events and entertainment. 

• The Miles for Mammogram walk on Thursday raises awareness and money for mammograms, the most important screening tool to catch breast cancer early.

• Chief Joseph Days Queen Lauren McBurney is having the time of her life, along with her court. 

• With two new major accolades under its belt, Chief Joseph Days is ready to unleash another week of thunder in Joseph.