Ric Bobier, Hells Canyon Complex manager for Idaho Power in Oxbow, sits atop an armored vehicle and sights down the barrel of a machine gun during last weekend’s Bosslift. BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH / The Observer

Two-day outing to Boise educates employers about challenges their National Guard citizen-soldiers face 

An Army National Guard Sherpa C-23 took flight from Salem last Friday, touching down briefly in Portland, The Dalles and La Grande on its way to Boise, Idaho. 

At each stop, the boxy-looking little plane picked up a few more civilians, whisking them away on Operation Bosslift, the annual event organized especially for business people who employ National  Guard or Reserve soldiers. 

Travis Boyd of Wallowa Valley Network installs an internet tower bringing the Wallowa Lake community high-speed Internet.

As the world becomes increasingly dependent on the internet, reaching remote areas has become more and more of a challenge for companies providing broadband access.

Wallowa Valley Network of Enterprise connected Wallowa Lake to high speed connectivity this year and is reaching out to the remote regions of the county. 

The Northeast Oregon Economic Development District is among state and local entities in Oregon sharing more than $2.1 million in EPA Brownfields funding to help breathe new life into contaminated properties and revitalize former industrial sites. 

EPA Brownfields grants fund site assessments and site cleanups, supporting local efforts to clean up contamination or otherwise make land useable for housing, community space or commercial development.

Environmental clean-up of the IOOF/State Theater building at 1106 Adams Ave. is slated to begin in June. The project, mounted by the City of La Grande’s Urban Renewal Agency, will abate asbestos and lead-based paint, and repair roofs. The work will be funded with the help of an Oregon Coalition Brownfields Cleanup Fund grant. BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH /The Observer

Clean-up effort aims to make neglected building marketable  

A bit of blight blemishing downtown La Grande will start going away in June, as work crews converge on the historic IOOF/State Theater Building on Adams Avenue to do a massive clean-up.

The building, also known as the Renegade building for a big sign left on its facade by a long departed business, has fallen into disrepair over the years and is chock-full of environmental hazards such as lead-based paint and asbestos.  

New AirLink has reciprocity agreement with different network of providers; local citizens with memberships could be impacted

A change in ownership at Bend-based AirLink Critical Care Transport could have consequences for local people who bought into the service’s air transport membership program.

AirLink formerly operated a fixed-wing base in La Grande and sold memberships that insured people against the costs of medical air transport.  

whitetop: Area landowners are encouraged to report infestations of whitetop to the Tri-County Cooperative Weed Management Area office so that new weed-infested locations can be surveyed, treated and recorded for future follow-up treatments.

Tri-County Cooperative Weed Management Area  awarded $17,490 to help Union County residents and landowners combat whitetop 

That prolific white-flowered plant that appears in areas throughout Union County during the spring each year is not a desirable ground cover. 

DIRT DIGGERS’ PLANT SALE: Two hundred plants were sold at the plant sale by noon Friday. From left, are Phyllis Thompson, Mary Davidson, Barbara Hawes, customers Gail Pope and her mother, Dorothy Pope, (rear) Renee Rose and Eva Way. TRISH YERGES photo

The Elgin Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the planting of about 100 flower barrels last Friday with the help of 25 green-thumbed volunteers from the community.

Maureen Smolkowski and Jessica Anderson from the chamber led the beautification project in association with members of the Dirt Diggers garden club, community volunteers, employees from U.S. Bank and Community Bank, students from Elgin High School’s Future Business Leaders of America organization and the National Honor Society.  

The La Grande Medical Center, including offices for Interpath Laboratory, opened for business April 2. An open house is slated 4 to 7 p.m. June 1.

Construction of La Grande’s newest medical clinic is complete at the corner of Fourth Street and Jefferson Avenue downtown, and the doctors practicing there say they love the results.

The La Grande Medical Center, built by a group of family practitioners collectively called Independent Medical Providers, opened April 2, with a grand opening celebration scheduled for June 1. The facility houses four medical practices, employs about a dozen people, and was built at cost of $1.1 million.

Terry Hughes, owner of Farmers Insurance and the president of the Blue Mountain chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, talks about NAIFA and its mission Tuesday to MaryEllen LaBerge and Teresa Crouser of Shelter from the Storm. Hughes presented a check for $1,000 in support of Shelter’s 3 Rivers Race. BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH / The Observer

A key Shelter from the Storm fundraiser got a big boost this week from the Blue Mountain chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

With the 3 Rivers Race coming up June 2, Terry Hughes, NAIFA chapter president and owner of Farmer’s insurance in La Grande, handed over a $1,000 check to Shelter from the Storm in support of the event.