La Grande Rotarian Gordon Kohler, right, accepts the Outstanding Service Recognition award from Dennis Wickham, Rotary District 5100 governor. Kohler is one of 60 members in Rotary’s La Grande chapter. The local club hopes to enlist more members to help with projects. - Submitted photo

They see the results of their work. There is no doubt they are doing good.

Growing his own: Determined to take control of supply issues, Jerry Grant, is raising his own hops on land he owns in rural La Grande. This year he started 1,000 plants in four varieties — Cascade, Centennial, Nugget and Willamette. - Observer photos/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

“I thought it would be fun. I could make good beer cheaper than I could buy it,” said Grant, managing member and head brewer at the soon-to-open Mt. Emily Ale House in downtown La Grande.

C-Zers Drive-Inn was named after Cecil Churchill of Elgin, whose logging CB handle was C-Zer. Churchill could not have foreseen the role this business would play in his life or that his business would one day become an enduring icon for Elgin - Submitted photo

Under new ownership since June 2006, Andy and Kimmie Campo are the sixth owners of the small, family-friendly drive-in. With it, they inherited a strong patronage and a 50-year-old piece of Elgin’s history.

Craig Thompson, executive director of the Union County Economic Development Corporation, resigned his position last week to move to Ohio.

Thompson said last Friday he is taking a job in Ohio, though he declined to be specific.

“An opportunity came up and I have accepted it. There’s an opportunity in the area for my wife, too, so we’re going home,” Thompson said Friday.

built for comfort: Paul Shorb, left, and Carl Bond show off one of the 13 exam rooms in the clinic’s new wing. The rooms feature infrared radiant heat, call bells, and, in some cases, electric beds specially designed for patients with mobility problems. - The Observer/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

Four new physicians will join the clinic staff this fall, easing the community’s chronic shortage of medical professionals, said Paul Shorb, senior director of support services.

“We’ve got two doctors coming in August and two in September,” Shorb said. “Having the clinic helps us tremendously with recruitment.”

When fully built, the facility will include 31 exam rooms and four procedure rooms. Services offered will include family medicine, internal medicine and general surgery. 

Entrepreneurs for Humanity: John Winters, right, headed up the committee to establish Habitat for Humanity’s Re-Store in the old Dome building on R Avenue. Ryan Hildebrandt, left, wrote the business plan. Both are members of Habitat’s local board of directors. - Observer photos/PHIL BULLOCK

Grande Ronde Valley Habitat for Humanity is venturing into business, opening a “Re-Store” to finance its charitable operations.

Staying busy: Jim Hollandsworth makes the rounds at Eagles Hot Lake RV park Monday. Hollandsworth, owner of the park for 3 1/2 years, said business this summer has been good, though a couple of groups canceled reservations because of high fuel prices. - Observer photos/BILL RAUTENSTRAUCH

Formal statistics have yet to be compiled, but an informal survey this week by The Observer indicates that tourists in healthy numbers are still finding their way to the Grande Ronde and Wallowa valleys.

Union County’s manufacturing and construction industries in May recorded their largest job losses in at least seven years, according to a report from the Oregon Employment Department.

The manufacturing sector, which includes recreational vehicle makers, shed 80 jobs between April and May of this year.

Records dating back to 2001 show no losses to match May’s number, though in September and October 2006 the industry did sustain consecutive losses of 60 and 70 jobs.

PENDLETON, ELGIN ROUTES ADDED: Union County Community Connection’s public transit program has begun Monday through Friday bus service to Pendleton. It also launched Saturday bus service to Elgin, with plans to make runs five days a week later this year. - Observer file photo

And expanding some more.

Frank Thomas, transportation manager for Union County Community Connection, announced last week his agency, which already operates fixed-route bus service in La Grande and a Dial-a-Ride service for seniors and the disabled, has begun Monday through Friday bus service to Pendleton.

Angela Eytchison displays one of the automated external defibrillators offered through Lifeservers Northwest, a new company owned by she and her husband, Robert. - The Observer/PHIL BULLOCK

Angela and Robert Eytchison of La Grande did just that recently, starting a company that deals in automated external defibrillators, those electronic wonders that shock a quivering human heart back to its normal rhythm, saving thousands of lives every year.

In America today, about 350,000 people die from sudden cardiac arrest annually. The American Heart Association says as many as 50,000 lives could be saved if AEDs were more widely used.