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.

As the national recession deepens, news on the local employment front continues bleak.

According to the latest figures from the Oregon Employment Department, unemployment in Wallowa and Union counties edged upward again in November.

Wallowa County took a hard hit, as the unemployment rate surged a full three percentage points, from 6.4 percent in October to 9.4 percent in November.

good times in the backcountry: Recreational opportunities in the Wallowa River Canyon between Minam and Elgin could expand under a proposed partnership between the the Wallowa Union Railroad and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Above, an angler trudges up the tracks during one of the railroad’s fishing excursions. Local officials see a chance to link the railroad to other forms of recreation, including hiking, biking and camping. The Observer/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

The taxpayer-owned railroad is fine-tuning a proposal by Board of Directors Co-Chair Mike Hayward to sell the 26-mile right of way between Minam and Elgin to the parks department.

As part of the deal, the railroad would be allowed to continue its operations in the canyon. The state and county would work together to develop recreational opportunities in the river corridor.

DETAIL MAN: Robbie Shells of Eagle Cap Campers puts some finishing touches on the exterior of a prototype of the company’s new 711 model. Observer photos/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

Eagle Cap Campers, one of the three struggling RV makers doing business in the Grande Ronde Valley, has designed two smaller, lighter, less-expensive models of campers and plans to start producing them early this year.

It’s hoped the new campers, the Eagle Cap 711 and 890, added to the line of larger campers, will catch the fancy of consumers who are holding tight to their money in the midst of recession.

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.