editor's pick
Oregon voters may soon get to decide whether to lower the voting age to 16.
editor's pick
The Oregon Legislature can’t get housing right, on either side of the aisle. Like almost any spot in Oregon, Wallowa County faces a housing crunch that cripples the livelihood of many and thre…
editor's pick
If any of you are like me, you’re growing weary of the division in our country, our communities … our families. It gets under my skin like nothing else. And being the admittedly sensitive and …
As we report in this weeks edition, the Wallowa County Planning Commission rejected an application by the Joseph Branch Trail Consortium for a conditional use permit to designate a community t…
editor's pick
Over the past week information has come to our attention regarding an issue that we take very seriously. During the coverage of the Joseph vs. Wallowa basketball game on Feb. 8, our reporting …
editor's pickfeatured
As is true across the state, Eastern Oregon is home to a sizable bloc of nonaffiliated voters.
It’s understandable that you might be tired of politics in general right now, and political campaigns specifically.
As a society, we have made such progress against once-common illnesses that we forget they are still around and still potentially life-threatening. The measles outbreak in Southeast Washington…
editor's pickspotlight
The Wallowa County Chieftain boasts a long history of exceptional community journalism. Overwhelming community support and a long legacy of extraordinary editors and publishers account for its…
As the Oregon Legislature prepared to start work this week, its leaders were saying all the right things about working together, respecting rural Oregon and doing what was best for the state a…
Questioning the fundamental usefulness of government is the backbone of some American political factions, notably including the now seldom-mentioned Tea Party. Most of these righteous skeptics…
A new legislative report underscores that PERS could be headed for more trouble.
Some members of the Oregon Legislature and a coalition of environmental groups and small-farm advocates want the state to ban large dairy farms.
There was a time when Americans could expect their federal government to offer service that was both even-handed and helpful. Even timely.
Cattle graze in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest. Ranchers in the area are frustrated by grazing restrictions associated with a new biological opinion for steelhead.
It was disheartening to hear of the resignation of Joseph Mayor Dennis Sands. If the Joseph City Council can now move beyond bickering and animosity, it will be a good thing.
A mass movement is underway in Oregon — a mass timber movement.
“There’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything.”
This newspaper takes its role as a government watchdog seriously. That said, we don’t get much in a bunch if occasionally a city, county or other public entity errs in its duties to keep us an…
No one in Wallowa County is against making improvements to the fairgrounds. There are many needs.
One of the most well-known graduation speeches is often incorrectly attributed to former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.
Generally, news releases from Sen. Jeff Merkley contain the latest condemnation of Pres. Donald Trump, his actions, his appointees. It gets a bit predictable.
A proposal to create a library district in Wallowa County deserves your consideration as you complete you Primary Election ballot. The community has lost too many things that local effort coul…
The 2018 legislative short session is about to wrap up. We are constitutionally limited to 35 days, and as such are constitutionally required to finish by March 11.
Agriculture is still king in Wallowa County.
Driving the residential streets of Joseph is a bit like navigating the craters of the moon. Potholes are everywhere, some of them deep enough to dislodge a hubcap.
The following submission was prepared by representatives of Wallowa Memorial Hospital, Mountain View Medical Clinic, Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness and Winding Waters Community Health Center.
The one-issue ballot that arrived in your mailbox and the complicated question therein is proof that something is rotten in the state of Oregon.
One thing we learned this past year is that Wallowa County residents on average do a poor job of playing the role of government watchdogs.
In 2017, it seemed like we never got a break from politics. And there will be no rest for the weary once we turn the calendar to 2018.
At least a couple times a year one group or another reaches out to the Capital Press seeking advice on how to get their message about agriculture to consumers in urban markets.
Bad news keeps rolling out from the Oregon Health Authority. But instead of taking responsibility, Gov. Kate Brown not only ducked it but also tried to spin it as positive news.
The high-energy discussion of housing needs in Wallowa County has begun losing ground in recent weeks. It’s time to take steps to keep the topic at the forefront and continue the effort to fruition.
The idea to form a library district and tax residents for related services grew out of the white-hot backlash to Wallowa County’s actions this past spring.
In 1977, when the first “Star Wars” movie premiered, few — if any — viewers thought it would predict the future of agriculture.
It has become abundantly clear over the past couple months that housing in Wallowa County is a topic that impacts the lives of many residents on a daily basis.
Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Up until last week, that famous saying often incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain, was true about housing in Wallowa County.
The Legislature closed its 2017 session a few days ahead of schedule, and there has already been plenty of political posturing about the successes, missed opportunities and issues that need to…
U. S. Sen. Jeff Merkley opened his appearance at Wallowa Senior Center Saturday noting that America needed more opportunities for people to come together and be heard.
Reports of Russian interference in an American election should be concerning to everyone in this country, regardless of their political affiliation. A foreign government meddling in our sovere…
One of the popular catch phrases that arose out of Watergate in the ‘70s was “follow the money.” Back then, it generally referred to the attempts by Pres. Richard M. Nixon to “buy” whatever he…
One of the popular catch phrases that arose out of Watergate in the ‘70s was “follow the money.” Back then, it generally referred to the attempts by Pres. Richard M. Nixon to “buy” whatever he…
You don’t to look far to find evidence that we have lost out ability to compromise. Whether it’s the Joseph City Council or the U.S. House of Representatives, finding common ground has become …
Oregon is setting a national example for ensuring that employees are paid equally for performing equal work.
In a few days, high school seniors across Wallowa County will graduate from high school. The ceremony is often referred to as commencement. It is a time of moving forward and also looking back.
If you’re a registered voter –– and we sincerely hope you are –– your ballot for the May election should have already arrived in your mailbox or will shortly.
It has been a bad month for Wildlife Services.
Oregon voters place a top priority on K-12 public schools but don’t really trust the state to tax and spend wisely on education, new opinion polling indicates.
In a way, Oregon finally gets to turn the page on the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, little more than a year after a 41-day standoff came to a close.
Bullying has unfortunately become a staple topic in coming of age stories and young adult fiction. If your child is the victim, bullying is an especially sensitive topic.
We seem to forget about the things that work in America. Or at least we quit paying for them.
What do we make of Presidents Day in 2017? There was a time when Washington’s birthday and Lincoln’s birthday were object lessons for school children. Today it’s the adults who are reflecting …