In journalism there is nothing more paramount than objectively telling the truth. Donald Swart, Sr., Chieftain editor and publisher, epitomized this value, along with a love and support of community, of people, and of the landscapes he cherished.
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- Evans charged with attempted murder, assault
- Zumwalt Prairie's phantom earthquake
- Election results from Wallowa County
- Obituary: Don Swart Sr.
- Enterprise’s storied bookshop begins a new chapter
- Letter to editor: Enterprise Cemetery
- Could Wallowa County join Idaho?
- Wallowa County’s newest company aims to clean up.
- Fish anticipates ‘smooth transition’ to become sheriff
- Obituary: Jean Fischer
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We are all pulling at our tethers. Fettered, hobbled, and haltered by the coronavirus, we are beginning to rear back against our restraints. The sun is shining, the grass is green. Winter is p…
editor's pick
This week those slightly oversized thick white envelopes arrived in our mailboxes: our ballots. In the midst of a pandemic, we are privileged to be able to exercise the most important of right…
As the COVID-19 curve begins to flatten in Oregon, thoughts of partially “opening” Wallowa County and the state are bubbling to the surface like a stove pot about to boil. There is urgency her…
During this coronavirus pandemic, access to accurate and trustworthy information in your community is as critical to life under quarantine and as sought after as hand sanitizer and face masks.
During this coronavirus pandemic, access to accurate and trustworthy information in your community is as critical to life under quarantine and as sought after as hand sanitizer and face masks.
Earth Day began a half-century ago when oil spills and other environmental perils abounded. It remains a serious reminder for us, the stewards of this planet. It’s not just a single event, onc…
In his lengthy poem, A Servant to Servants, renowned poet Robert Frost penned the classic line “…the best way out is always through.” It’s a line appropriate for us today, as is the theme of t…
A fully functioning COVID-19 response requires access to a full data set
By now, even before the disease begins to peak in Oregon and rural America, we are all very tired of hearing about coronavirus, COVID-19, social distancing, and cancellations of seemingly ever…
Norma Paulus would be proud. And she would be amazed. As secretary of state from 1977 until 1985, Paulus was the prime mover of Oregon’s voting by mail. Other states have been slow to follow O…
COVID 19 on our doorstep:.
The State of Emergency: This is not Wallowa County’s first rodeo
‘Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller
When you are 136 years old, sometimes it’s hard to adapt to newfangled ways. The Chieftain published its first issue in 1884. A Jan. 7 1898 issue, yellowed, fragile and faded, is the oldest ed…
The recycling center in Enterprise isn’t closed, but its function seems significantly diminished. We can still take our cardboard there. And plastic with sufficiently low numbers stamped into …
It’s been a rough week. The fire in Joseph Charter School’s gym has upended a school year, challenged Joseph’s winning sports teams in ways they never anticipated, and in the end, seems to be …
About 80 percent of the East Moraine will remain undeveloped now that Wallowa County has taken ownership of the 1800-acre Yanke property.
The four dams on the Lower Snake River are distant and may seem irrelevant to Wallowa County. So why is the Chieftain running a bunch of stories about them?
The new year and the new decade have brought us many new challenges. Some of them, including possible war with Iran or at the least, continuing turmoil in the Middle East are alarming. Others,…
I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions or annual predictions. Instead, in the interest of stirring the political pot, I offer five possibly provocative proposals for education in Oregon.
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It’s 2020. The Christmas season, a time for wishes and presents is past. New Year's is the time for resolutions, for looking forward with 2020 vision and making ourselves and Wallowa County an…
Dear Santa,
Here in Wallowa County, we take well-deserved pride in our schools. Wallowa provides superb vocational education and advocacy for students, with local professionals and artisans contributing t…
Sometimes the onus of trying to stick with a healthy diet can be overwhelming. Not to mention confusing. First, dietary gurus and scientists change their stories. A while back you couldn’t eat…
Generally there’s not much going on in Wallowa County on a Tuesday night. A couple of 6th-8th grade boys basketball games, and not much else. Until now, the weather has been mild and amenable …
The season ‘tis upon us.
This year, Veterans Day, November 11, 2019, is the 100th anniversary of a holiday established to honor living members of the U.S. Armed Services and those who have served. A century ago, it wa…
On Nov. 11, 1969, Operation Fulton Square in the Quang Tri Province was in full force with the assistance of the 1st Marine Division, 101st Airborne Division and the 5th Infantry Division. Thi…
Since 1999, a lot has changed in Oregon: The Ducks became a football powerhouse, thousands of Californians ignored Governor McCall's admonition and decided to visit and stay, and tech fully to…
It’s a scary time of the year. We don’t just mean Halloween. This year there’s everything from our recently–arrived property tax bills to the folderols ongoing in the nation’s capitol. If that…
For most of us, the second Monday in October has been celebrated as Columbus Day, a time when banks and post offices are closed, and we think, however briefly, about Columbus’ discovery of Ame…
It’s all connected: that was the takeaway theme from this year’s Nimiipuu River Rendezvous, the fifth annual paddle rally on behalf of breaching the four lower Snake River dams. “From the moun…
On Saturday, Oct. 12, beginning at 1:30 p.m., Wallowa County will have an opportunity to listen to and talk with Oregon’s senior U.S. Senator, Ron Wyden, at a town hall meeting in the Senior C…
If the recent snowfall, political upheaval, and the steady approach of winter have you either wanting to hide under the bed or come out swinging, there’s an easy remedy to all this stress at l…
editor's pick
The worldwide September 20 climate strike engaged millions of people in 150 countries around the globe. In Enterprise, a group of 30 local residents gathered at the courthouse, talked about th…
Skwumqn’alqs’ words.
Oregon State University archaeologist Loren Davis’ astounding discovery of North America’s earliest known, 16,560-year-old human habitation, at a place known to the Nez Perce as the ancient vi…
So far, the 2019 fire season in the Pacific Northwest and California has been remarkable. In an era of increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation, when raging wildfires have brutally…
Sometimes destiny comes calling. That’s what seems to be happening at the Wallowa County Humane Society this week. Suddenly, instead of moving to adequate, but smaller, remodeled quarters sequ…
Much has been written, discussed, opined, and debated about the denying of a quorum for 9 days, when the 11 Oregon Senate Republicans made the decision to leave. Since I was one of what became…
It’s only Fair…
Dear Anonymous Wallowa County Community Member,
The 74th annual Chief Joseph Days Rodeo in now in the record books. The cowboys’ big horse trailers with living quarters have left. We can cross the street in Joseph again. And getting a meal …
For the Wallowa Mountains Hells Canyon Trails Association and their partners, clearing trails of downed trees and encroaching brush is an arduous task, and also a labor of love. It’s time devo…
A whole lot of us have endured what seems a chilly, wet spring and a July that so far has felt all-too-little like summer. That first cutting of hay was dismal and difficult, held hostage by d…
It was heartening to see the bright green sign inviting hikers and passers-by to contribute to the Campaign for the East Moraine. It’s about time that the people who live here, who know what t…
There is probably not a single sentient being in all of Oregon who has not followed the drama of HB2020’s demise. Some bemoan its loss. Others celebrate its doom. It was a cumbersome chunk of …
The unveiling and consecration of Doug Hyde’s emotive sculpture ‘etweyé·wise, “I return from a difficult journey” at the Josephy Center this week marks a turning point in the presence of the w…
EPA crew examines barrel pulled from Wallowa Lake.
This past week has seen Wallowa County endure what might have been a major crisis, if not disaster: the detection, characterization and recovery of one barrel which once contained herbicide, a…
The Oregon Mountain Cruise last weekend presented an inspiring collection of automotive art. From painstaking restoration of fragile antiques to wildly creative manifestations of raw power, th…
Chris Mertz, director of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service field office in Olympia, Wash., says that while the number of small farms continues to grow, larger farms continue to…