State legislators heard a parade of woes ranging from ruined businesses to crippled conservation education programs to the likelihood of devastating wildfires, all during a fast-paced hearing on Thursday.
Oregon has to prepare for a possible second spike of COVID-19 in the fall, fight wildfires while not spreading the infection to crews, and do it with budgets slashed by the state's dire financ…
In a May 20 Chieftain article about Wallowa Valley Cleaning Products, the Chieftain incorrectly stated that Mike Harvey had spent his career as an environmental attorney for Apple, Intel, and …
Sunday evening, about 9 p.m., Wallowa County Sheriff deputies arrested Phillip Milton Evans, 42, on accusations of attempted murder and assault I on his roommate Michael Zanello.
With 3,835 votes counted in Wallowa County, fewer than a dozen challenged votes remain to be tallied. The preliminary results of last Tuesday’s primary election are in.
Former Sen. Cliff Bentz of Ontario won the Republican nomination for the 2nd Congressional District in Oregon on Tuesday.
Public health measures implemented in March to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19 are having an unprecedented economic impact on Oregon and the United States.
Nearly half of all registered voters in Wallowa County had cast their ballots by late Monday afternoon, County Clerk Sandy Lathrop said, putting the number at 48%.
MAY 11
The Wallowa County Commissioners will take up the subject of recycling Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. when they meet with representatives of the Wallowa County Recycling Task Force. The group inc…
Baker County Circuit Court Judge on Monday declared all executive orders that Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has issued related to the coronavirus pandemic as “null and void.”
Because so many events have been or will be canceled in the next few weeks, we are temporarily suspending the weekly calendar of events (rather than publishing a column of what’s NOT happening).
Nic Powers, the CEO of Winding Waters Community Health Center Clinic in Enterprise, received a Community Health Center Advocacy award for his work advocating for medicine.
UNION COUNTY — Union County has its fifth confirmed case of COVID-19.
The Enterprise Public Library, shuttered since the COVID-19 outbreak hit Oregon, will begin reopening in a modified fashion on May 18.
Gov. Kate Brown announced Thursday that 28 of Oregon’s 36 counties — including Wallowa County — may partly reopen from COVID-19 restrictions as of Friday, May 15.
ELGIN — Another area rodeo is the latest event to be a victim of the coronavirus pandemic.
EO Media Group, an Oregon family-owned multimedia company, has established a Community Marketing Grant Program to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19 restrictions in the markets served by t…
A northeast Oregon rancher legally shot and killed a wolf caught in the act of chasing livestock on private land early in the morning on April 23, according to the Wallowa County Sheriff's Off…
BAKER CITY – On May 15, some local businesses will begin selling standard permits for up to ten cords of personal-use firewood harvested from the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
PENDLETON, Ore. – To accommodate the installation of new variable message reader boards over Interstate 84 we will conduct occasional rolling slowdowns at various locations between Pendleton a…
Enterprise High School will have a graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020, but it will involve more horsepower than usual.
The city of Enterprise is getting ready to reopen after state-mandated closures over the COVID-19 pandemic, as the city council held its last virtual meeting Monday, May 11 and made plans to s…
Wallowa High School has set plans for a unique graduation ceremony May 23.
A group of Oregon churches and individuals, including as lead plaintiff the Elkhorn Baptist Church in Baker City, is suing Gov. Kate Brown claiming her executive orders imposing restrictions d…
LOSTINE — A brief but intense rainstorm was instrumental in a two-vehicle injury crash about 4:15 p.m. Monday, May 11, on OR82 on the western outskirts of Lostine.
A little box full of science and health – an Abbott Covid-19 rapid tester — arrived at Wallowa Memorial Hospital Wednesday, May 6. And a new $166,000 grant to support COVID-19 testing will als…
Inspiration from Wup Winn’s Facebook post has led to the Wallowa County Dinner Cruise Night to help locals get out after being shut in during the coronavirus pandemic and to help local businesses.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden says an extension of unemployment benefits, a likely prospect as more laid-off workers file claims in Oregon and nationally, should be tied to automatic economic triggers.
WALLOWA LAKE — Oregon’s Alpenfest, the West’s four-day festival of Alpine culture and cuisine, is canceling its 2020 festival and making preparations to bring the event back to in 2021.
The commissioners of ten eastern Oregon counties released a joint statement on Thursday afternoon, asking that Gov. Brown allow the opening of all of their “rural and frontier” counties on May 15.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Phase 1 opening guidelines at a news conference this morning. She also announced that live sporting events, festivals, concerts, and large gatherings “should b…
Tall, lanky Christian Morris has spent all of his 17 years living in Wallowa County
Late Friday afternoon Wallowa County applied to open select businesses under Oregon’s Phase 1 guidelines as early as May 4th. Realistically that opening, if approved, won’t happen until May 15…
Chief Joseph Days has been celebrated on the last full weekend of July for the past 74 years. If the CJD board of directors has their way, the 75th annual rodeo will go on as planned this year…
City governments in Wallowa County must take unusual measures in these days of the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to meet the legal requirements of access to the public and public meetings.
Because so many events have been or will be canceled in the next few weeks, we are temporarily suspending the weekly calendar of events (rather than publishing a column of what’s NOT happening).
At a time when promised federal aid can be hard to get, a new partnership of Wallowa County organizations and generous individuals is riding to the rescue. The Wallowa County Business Fund (WC…
Dennis Nord, now of Golet, California, has provided the Chieftain with more information about Nord Motor Court in last week’s Out of the Past. Mr. Nord writes that:
One man has been arrested as a suspect in the after-hours burglary of M. Crow in Lostine that occurred the night of April 29-30, according to a press release from the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office.
UMATILLA COUNTY — Umatilla County is quickly becoming the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in rural Oregon.
Four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District gathered virtually Friday evening for an online forum.
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners will be conducting an emergency meeting on Friday May 1, 2020, beginning at 3:00 p.m., in the Thornton Conference R…
Because so many events have been or will be canceled in the next few weeks, we are temporarily suspending the weekly calendar of events (rather than publishing a column of what’s NOT happening…
The Wallowa County Commissioners want to begin opening Wallowa County, but only with proper safeguards in place. They also want local businesses to provide them with their plans for opening.
Come July 1st, the Wallowa school district will have a new superintendent. But Tammy Jones, who’s giving up her principal’s job in Snohomish, WA, won’t have any trouble finding a place to live…
With no students on campus, the post-fire rejuvenation of Joseph Charter School’s gym — and other smoke and water-damaged portions of the school, is moving right along.
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown announced Thursday she plans to lift restrictions on hospitals, allowing them to reopen for non-essential surgical procedures starting next month as long as they reserv…
April 22 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. In Wallowa County, 4 year old Addie Austin celebrated this worldwide event by helping her family paint a stunningly blue planet, and also desi…
Enterprise Mayor Stacey Karvoski will step down from her post and the council will appoint one of its members to be mayor pro-tem at its May 11 meeting, effective June 1.
Exactly when Oregon Gov. Kate Brown might begin reopening Oregon’s rural counties is uncertain. Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock is thinking May. Wallowa County Commissioner Susan R…
The Rotary Club of Wallowa County has extended the deadline to apply for its 2020 scholarships to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 30, because COVID-19 restrictions may have affected students' ability t…
Two trucks and several firefighters from the Enterprise Fire Department responded to 603 Depot St. the afternoon of Wednesday, April 15, to extinguish a chimney fire believed caused by a build…
