ENTERPRISE — Cassandra Burns, Wallowa County manager of Community Connection, has been on the job for only three months, but there is one thing she’s learned in that short amount of time — she has an amazing staff.

“They are some of the most kindhearted” people, she said. And that’s why, when asked how things are going so far in her new position, she replied, “awesome!”

Of her staff, she said, “they manage their own stuff. They know what they’re doing. They’re teaching me. (It) made the transition incredibly easy.”

Community Connection of Northeast Oregon serves as an umbrella for a number of social services. Its mission is to advocate for and assist senior citizens, children, low-income people and people with disabilities in attaining basic human needs and in becoming more self-sufficient. The organization serves Wallowa, Union, Baker and Grant counties.

The Wallowa County office, in Enterprise, now is fully staffed, Burns said, after adding two new hires — an assistant transit manager and a transit operations assistant.

“Both are doing great in their jobs,” she said.

Burns does not come from a social services background. She moved from the county’s Circuit Court to assume the county manager position. Before that, she had worked at Wallowa Memorial Hospital.

She said the connections she made there stuck with her, and she wanted to go back to working in the community.

She also did volunteer work with different agencies. She was “looking for something that fit. I knew Connie (Guentert, the executive director of Community Connection of Northeast Oregon). We had worked together (on other committees). I didn’t know a lot about Community Connection. I had to do my research. It wasn’t something I was familiar with,” she said.

She gives her husband a lot of credit for encouraging her to apply for the position.

“My husband is a huge supporter. I might not have had the guts to step out of my comfort zone” if it weren’t for him, she said.

Burns is a “Wallowa girl.”

“My roots are in the lower valley. I’m in a unique position. I get to go out and meet people one-on-one. It’s exciting,” she said.

While much of her work is done out of CCNO’s office and the facility’s senior center in Enterprise, Burns also visits the Wallowa Senior Center and the food bank there.

Wallowa’s senior center “is not just for seniors,” Burns said. “Everyone can go.” She said it’s become a community center, especially following the damaging hailstorm that hit the town in August 2022.

Challenges, rewards

As with any social service position, the job has its challenges and rewards.

One of the rewards, Burns said, is knowing that Wendy Quinby, the agency’s senior services coordinator, and Taylor Harshfield, its self-sufficiency coordinator, have an impact on the people they serve.

The challenges? Securing funding, for one.

Community Connection relies heavily on grant funding, and Burns said the agency recently received some “devastating news.” The state Legislature has cut funding for Oregon Project Independence, which provides in-home care for seniors who need personal care, respite for caregivers and other services. Burns said a lot of people are in need now and noted how housing and other costs are going up for seniors and people with disabilities. She said she’s reaching out and partnering with other agencies to see what services they have and what they can offer.

Burns said she frequently meets people who find themselves in situations they did not expect to be in, partially due to a reduction in COVID funding.

“(We’re) making sure people know we’re here to help and taking away stigmas (so people) know it’s OK” to ask for help, she said.

Burns has other plans for Community Connection in Wallowa County.

“The biggest plan is working on outreach and getting to everybody and making sure everybody knows we’re here,” she said.

The senior center in Enterprise is bringing back bingo, which she said she hopes will start in November.

“I’d really love to see the (senior centers) active. Groups teach classes (such as) quilting, art, crafting. Seniors are social. (I want) to concentrate on some of the fun aspects,” she said.

As with any building, there is upkeep and maintenance and Community Connection’s facility in Enterprise is no different. The kitchen is 30 years old. Burns said the agency received a grant to purchase some new equipment.

When asked what she would like the community to know about Community Connection, she comes back to her staff.

“It’s them — nutrition, food bank, transportation, office staff, self-sufficiency, drivers and senior services, everyone who works at Community Connection is important,” she said. “Tammy (Odegaard, office specialist) and the drivers are the face of Community Connection” in the county.

She also includes Community Connection’s cadre of Wallowa County volunteers who deliver Meals on Wheels, provide rides for medical appointments, deliver Fresh Alliance food to Joseph, serve on the advisory council and volunteer at the county’s food banks.

“All are critical to us and the community,” she said. “The biggest thing is, I’m one player in a bigger picture.”