“Big H” construction workers smooth out asphalt near the newly installed accent wall at Sterling Bank Tuesday. Finish work on the wall is continuing through this week. BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH - The Observer

“Big H” construction impacts in downtown La Grande will be similar this week as in previous weeks, according to the City of La Grande’s latest project update.

The city said the alley between Elm and Depot streets behind Sterling Bank will be partially closed for a least a portion of this week. The concrete there is slow to dry and cure due to temperature and shade.

Homeowners in Union County take advantage of  low-interest loans to finance solar-powered hot water systems through a program spearheaded by Oregon Rural Action

The sun’s got some extra work to do in Union County, now that Oregon Rural Action’s first Solarize Union County project is nearing completion. 

David Johnson, a chemistry professor and nanotechnology expert with the Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry, displays a mobile communications device that has more information stored on it than some computers on college campuses in the 1980s. With Johnson is Andy Bedingfield, the center’s director of outreach and education. BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH - The Observer

Professor visits region in effort to help Ore. companies create better products for digital marketplace  

Struggling to explain the science of nanotechnology for a completely science-ignorant newspaper reporter last week, David Johnson held up a mobile communications device that fit neatly in the palm of his hand.

Three combustion chambers were delivered to the Integrated Biomass campus Friday afternoon that will help power the mill and run a kiln that creates pest-free wood products. KATY NESBITT - The Observer

Long-awaited combustion chambers arrived last week that will power the Integrated Biomass mill in Wallowa.

Wallowa Resources of Enterprise raised more than $1 million in federal, state and private money to build a power plant at the Integrated Biomass campus in Wallowa. The power generated will offset the mill’s power needs and run its kiln.

The chambers were expected in to arrive in February, but the delivery date was pushed into March because of a production delay, said Nils Christoffersen, Wallowa Resources executive director. The kiln was built last winter and has been running off a wood-fired box that needed tending every six hours. 

Island City Walmart associates take a big pair of scissors and cut through a red ribbon during the grand re-opening event Friday that marked the store’s 20th year of business. BRAD MOSHER - The Observer

Walmart on Island Avenue in Island City uncorked a celebration Friday, observing its 20th birthday with a “grand re-opening” ribbon cutting in front of the store.

Walmart started out in Union County as a small store, but a major expansion in the summer and fall of 2006 turned it into a supercenter. With the addition of a full service grocery section and expansion of departments throughout the store, the local outlet grew from 73,000 square feet to 179,000. 

Trish Yerges photo Conditions were just right Aug. 15 for several field burnings, including one on Courtney Lane in the Grande Ronde Valley.

In the past three years, propane burning has nearly replaced open burning by the majority of farmers in Union County.