Wallowa County third graders complete historic first swim lesson program
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Monday, June 8th, 2026 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
WALLOWA COUNTY — In a major milestone for local youth safety, a newly launched drowning prevention initiative has successfully provided free swim lessons to the area’s third graders. The program marks the first time a comprehensive, county-wide swim lesson effort has been implemented for this age group in Wallowa County.
The initiative was born out of a stark reality identified by the 2025 Wallowa County Community Health Needs Assessment. According to Dr. Elizabeth Powers, local Public Health Officer, the county faces a high rate of unintentional injuries, which includes instances of drowning.
Overcoming Natural Barriers
While Wallowa County boasts numerous scenic water access points—ranging from Wallowa Lake to various rivers and high alpine lakes—almost all of them are unregulated and unmetered. Compounding the danger is a lack of local infrastructure.
“We have no local swim pool, and the waters here are all really cold year-round,” Dr. Powers explained. “It’s really hard to train somebody to swim when they have a panic response every time they touch ice-cold water.”
To bypass these obstacles, the Wallowa Valley Network of Care sought to get “upstream” of the problem by organizing proper instruction in a controlled environment. Funding was collaboratively provided by the WildHorse Foundation and the Roundhouse Foundation to fully launch the project.
A County-Wide Collaboration
The free program was made available to every third grader across the county, spanning public schools in Enterprise, Joseph, and Wallowa, as well as local home-schooled students.
Because Wallowa County lacks a facility, organizers partnered with the ESD to coordinate transportation, busing the children to Veterans Memorial Pool in La Grande. The grant covered all aspects of the trip, including the swim lessons, transportation, and even snacks for the long drives.
The success of the program relied on a massive collaborative effort, extending a huge thanks to the staff and pool coordinators at the Veterans Memorial Pool for being excellent partners in executing the lessons, alongside all of the participating local schools that helped coordinate the students.
This milestone was made possible by the dedicated members of Winding Waters Clinic, who stepped up to manage everything from logistics to hands-on support.
Celebrating Clear Success
Ultimately, the program touched 53 local children, with 52 completely finishing the intensive four-day curriculum, which consisted of an hour of pool time per day.
Though some staff and chaperones admitted to being initially hesitant about the logistical undertaking, the results spoke for themselves. Troy Lewellyn, Community Health Worker at Winding Waters, noted that seeing the sheer joy of the children changed his perspective entirely, watching students transform from being completely terrified of the water to confidently swimming the breaststroke by the end of the four days.
Following the overwhelming success of this inaugural run, the Wallowa Valley Network of Care is actively exploring avenues to secure sustainable funding, with the goal of making these third-grade swim lessons an annual tradition moving forward.
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Pictures are – Mom Karen Rogers gave consent. This is 3rd grader Brielle Robinson.
