NEW BOSS: Lorin Preston was recently named La Grande’s new chief building official. Preston started out in the building division last September as a temporary building inspector, and applied for the top spot when it became vacant this fall. The Observer/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

Lorin Preston, who joined the division in September, is stepping up to take the place of Lee Bodine, who resigned this fall.

In an interview this week, Preston said he considers effective communication to be a vital part of his job.

A TRANSIT HUB FIRST: The Greyhound bus shown above was the first to pick up passengers at the newly constructed Northeast Oregon Public Transit Building at 2204 E. Penn Ave. The local Greyhound stop was formerly located at the Flying J truck plaza. The move to the new facility was completed Saturday. Observer photos/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

Monday at 10:25 a.m., a Greyhound bus pulled up for the first time to the new Northeast Oregon Public Transit Building at 2204 E. Penn Avenue. It let off a couple of passengers and took on a couple more.

A half-hour later, a crowd of about 40 people gathered outside the transit building to watch Frank Thomas, Community Connection’s Union County manager, cut a ribbon marking the official opening.

A plan of action is being formulated to improve Union’s economy. Photo/AMBER GLAZE

North Eastern Oregon Economic Development District Executive Director Lisa Dawson was recently hired by the city to create a plan of action.

NEOEDD contracted with Vicki Dugger, Portland, executive director of the Oregon Downtown Development Association, to conduct an assessment of Union. 

Steve Votaw puts some finishing touches on curbside landscaping outside Third Street Station. Votaw and his wife Debbie bought the former Twin Firs Retirement Center in 2003, did extensive remodeling, and gradually turned it into a transitional housing facility. Observer photos/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

In September 2004, the Votaws bought the former Twin Firs Retirement Center on Third Street, planning to transform it into a sort of boarding house, primarily for college students.

The couple thought the place with its 16 residential rooms plus kitchen facilities would help alleviate La Grande’s seasonal housing shortage.

Dennis Poe, left, and Jessy Watson recently added two more stores to their Domino’s chain, bringing the total to four. Both men grew up in La Grande and became business partners while serving in the local Oregon Army National Guard unit. Their goal is to one day own 100 Domino’s stores throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Observer/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

The two recently added a third and fourth outlet to their chain of Domino’s stores. Not a day goes by when they aren’t trying to figure out how to get bigger still.

The hours they work are long and hard. They’ve made sacrifices on top of sacrifices, and they expect to make more.

NEW IDEAS: Agri-tourism proponent Dale Mammen (standing) makes some opening comments during last Thursday’s tourism summit at the Ag Service Center. Mammen, a member of Union County Tourism’s board of directors, chairs a committee looking into developing local agri-tourism attractions. Other panelists included Maurizio Valerio of Rural Development Initiatives (left), Karyn Bishoff of Stargazer Perennials and Ron Jensen, owner of Stange Manor Bed and Breakfast (right).The Observer/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

It looks as though that will happen, on a yet-to-be determined scale, right here at home, according to a plan advanced by Union County Tourism.

THE WAY THINGS USED TO BE: Hayes displays the mural he did of Hot Lake’s surgical suite. He worked from photographs and antique equipment on-site to produce the painting, which reflects the days when Hot Lake was a busy hospital. Observer photos/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

Hayes, a remarkable fellow in more ways than one way, was busy last Friday on the third floor of the resort’s main building, roughing in a large-scale map of the Oregon Trail along one wall.

As he worked, he pondered the immigrants who took to the trail and headed east to west during the 1840s and 1850s.

family legacy: Sharon Coalwell shows off the sign gracing the retirement center her husband built in the early 1980s. Victor Coalwell died shortly after the building was opened; Sharon carried on as manager. Observer photo/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

Coalwell, 64, steps down this month as the manager of the La Grande Retirement Center, the 46-unit apartment complex for senior citizens at the corner of Seventh Street and Washington Avenue.

She’s going to miss her job, but she has some catching up to do in her personal life.

Hermitage Green: Owner Richard Hobbs looked long and hard for the right shade of green with which to paint the Slater Building at the corner of Fir Street and Jefferson Avenue. The color he settled on is a close match to that of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. - Observer photos/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

A lover of architecture, he had nothing but admiration for it. He especially loved the ornate facade on the Jefferson Street Side.

The local real estate market is showing signs of slowing down, according to statistics from the Multiple Listing Service.

La Grande Realtor Andy Lilly, who tracks the information, said some 93 houses were sold in Union County in the first eight months of 2008. In the same period during 2007, 128 houses were closed.

The average price of a home, meanwhile, has fallen from $158,560 in 2007 to $144,248 now.