That was a message heard at a recent Rotary Club luncheon Feb. 24 when three local banking executives brought club members up to date.

“We’ve bucked the national trend. Locally, it’s business as usual. Nothing has changed,” said Craig Nightingale, commercial loan officer for Banner Bank.

PROUD VOLUNTEER: Corrine Dutto, a physical therapist with Mountain Valley Therapy, recently lent her professional expertise to athletes competing in the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise. Submitted photo

Dutto was one of many physical therapists from across the country who volunteered their expertise for the Healthy Athlete Program designed to improve athletes’ health and fitness.

“I enjoyed meeting with the athletes. They were all very polite and worked very hard,” Dutto said.

J.C. Penny’s early presence in La Grande can be seen on the side of the former Mamacita’s restaurant building. Observer photo/PHIL BULLOCK

Gary Van Huffel of the Oregon Community and Economic Development Department, and Nicholas Kalogeresis and Kevin Clark of the Lakota Group, spent two days touring the city, talking with business owners and meeting with city officials.

They said said they found a high level of commitment to downtown revitalization, and enough physical assets to put the effort on a solid footing.

best wishes: Primos owner Dave Ricker, right, gets a handshake from Northeast Oregon Economic Development District board member Terry Hughes. Looking on are board member Jeremy Gilpin, and Donna Talbott of the Eastern Oregon University Small Business Development Center. Submitted photo

Take a couple of people with entrepreneurial daring and grit, add some help from local economic development agencies, stir in a generous portion of private sector financing, and what do you get?

A healthy new business providing 25 jobs.

Primos, a buffet-style pizza and pasta restaurant with an all-you-can-eat menu, has been open in the Wal-Mart shopping complex since December.

On Thursday and Friday, the City of La Grande will be receiving a Resource Team visit from Oregon Main Street, a statewide commercial revitalization program administered through the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.

Last September, La Grande was selected by the state to participate in Oregon Main Street’s Transforming Downtown program.

Mark Goss, president and general manager of M.J. Goss Motor Co. , was among a select group of dealers from around the nation nominated for the award, one of the most coveted among new car dealers.

He was picked to represent the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans in January.

Nominations are open for the second annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards sponsored by the Northeast Oregon Economic Development District.

The award is sponsored by the Northeast Oregon Economic Development District and coincides with the celebration of National Entrepreneurship Week.

Nominations are due by Feb. 13.

Bad news: Housing sales in Union County and Northeast Oregon took a dramatic tumble in the past year.

Good news: the local market still hasn’t plunged to the depths sales have in larger, metropolitan areas.

“Our values haven’t been dropping substantially,” said John Howard, principal broker for John Howard and Associates Real Estate. “It’s nothing like Bend or some areas in California where you had subdivisions leapfrogging out. Our county never got into oversupply. The supply was meeting buyers’ needs, or maybe a little less.”

Wildflower Lodge is home to 43 clients on the assisted living side and 22 in the memory care wing. The facility employs about 45 workers. The Observer/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

The facility, which includes a unit for patients with memory problems, is now owned by Lonestar Real Estate Fund, of Dallas Texas, and managed by LaVida Communities, an operator and manager of value-oriented senior living communities throughout the U.S.

LaVida Communities, a member of the Senior Resource Group family of companies, recently assumed management of 41 facilities formerly owned by financially-troubled Sunwest Management. Inc.

The La Grande Main Street Program is set for an official launch Thursday, as the City of La Grande hosts a “kickoff” event at the Maxine and Thomas W Cook Memorial Library.

The event will take place in the Colleen F. Johnson Community Room at the library, 2006 Fourth St. All community members with an interest in downtown La Grande, and especially those willing to take on an active role in the program, are encouraged to attend.

Charlie Mitchell, La Grande’s Community & Economic Development director, said the Oregon Main Street Program is a volunteer-driven approach to downtown revitalization.