VA clinic, county office to move to Education service District Building

ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County is moving its Veterans Affairs office and clinic to the Education Service Building.

The Wallowa County Board of Commissioners announced the move Wednesday, April 2.

Commissioner Lisa Collier said an open house and dinner are planned for late April or early May to show off the clinic and office to the county’s veterans. No date has yet been set.

“We want to make sure everything’s there so the veterans can see it,” she said. “We have a lot of good veterans services in our area and we want to show them.”

Ted Thorne, the veterans service officer for the county, said he believes about 10% of the county’s population are military veterans — that’s about 750 people. They range from the younger set who served in the War on Terror to aging Korean War veterans.

“I don’t think we have any World War II vets left,” he said. “If we have any, I’d love to meet them.”

Thorne has been the veterans affairs officer for the county since June 2018. He served in the U.S. Army and the Oregon National Guard.

The clinic, which is operated by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, will be on the ground floor of the ESD, right next to the county veterans office at 107 SW First St. Both were in the old Enterprise hospital near Wallowa Resources.

The ESD building also has a “drop-in room,” and a conference room for meetings. Both will be available for the veterans.

Thorne said veterans will use their local health care provider once they get signed up for community health care. They’ll also have TeleHealth if prescribed by their provider.

“Some veterans are accustomed to that and that’s what they’ve been doing here,” he said.

If a veteran can’t get served by a local provider, they can go to a clinic in La Grande or Walla Walla.

But Collier and Thorne are confident most health care needs will be available to Wallowa County veterans in Wallowa County.

“I think this will be an easier access for veterans,” Thorne said. “Being right downtown, it’ll be easier to locate.”

Collier agreed.

“I believe our veterans services can do better from the ESD than they have in the past,” she said. “I do believe this will open veterans up to what they find better.”

Collier emphasized she wants the community to see the new facility.

“We want everybody to come,” she said. “We are going to be able to bolster our veterans services here in the county.”

Grant initiations

Also during the meeting, the county board approved the initiation of six grants totaling more than a half-million dollars from the Oregon Department of Corrections.

Kyle Hacker of the county’s parole and probation department initiated the grants. He got the commissioners’ approval to initiate a grant of $820 for a transitional fund, $7,800 for criminal fines, an $8,500 grant in aid supplemental, $360,000 from the corrections department under 1145 and $50,000 from the department under Measure 57, which increases prison sentences for specified drug and property crimes. He also sought $100,000 from the Criminal Justice Commission for the Justice Reinvestment Program.

County Assessor Ashley Immoos is seeking a grant for the digitization of the assessor’s soils map and a plotter purchase. These will cost $20,000.

In other business, the board:

• Heard a request from Janice Carper of the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance for $2,500 each for the Courthouse Concert Series and the Juniper Jam.

Since the funding requests come from the county’s transient lodging funds, which are paid quarterly, the commissioners approved the request for the Courthouse Concert Series that begins in June, but held off on the Juniper Jam, which is in August. Collier said this is because that puts them in separate fiscal years and more proceeds will come in prior to the Juniper Jam. Hillock asked Carper to return in July to request Juniper Jam funding.

• Approved disposing of a 1986 General Lowboy as surplus equipment from the road department. It will be put up for bids online.

• Approved the delegation to the fair board to receive quotes and award a contract for the power and lighting project at the fairgrounds.

• Changed the date of the second April meeting to April 23 because of a scheduling conflict. Collier will be out of town during what would be the normal meeting date of April 16.