>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Photo courtesy VERN STEWART

Vern Stewart of Joseph recently shot this photo of cloud formations from the outskirts of Joseph. Stewart titles this photo, “Polar Bear with Cub At Sunrise.’’ Some people also see the mama bear carrying a fish in her mouth.

ELGIN — U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith plans a stop in Elgin Monday as part of a campaign swing through Eastern Oregon.

Smith (R-Ore.) will make a 9:45 a.m. appearance at the Elgin Family Health Center, 1400 Division St., before pushing on to Baker City for meetings with citizens on Main Street and a Rotary Club luncheon.

Health care will be the focus of Smith’s talk at the clinic, said Elgin Mayor Carmen Gentry.

ENTERPRISE — Aug. 26 is the filing deadline to run for city offices in the Nov. 4 election.

In the four cities of Wallowa County, mayor and council positions are up for election.

In Wallowa two positions will be open, and in Joseph three positions will be open.

The La Grande School Board formally adopted a resolution establishing the language for an $18.186-million bond for facility maintenance and construction in the district, which will go before voters on the November ballot.

The board needs to submit the bond levy to the Union County Clerk’s Office by Sept. 4.

In other business, the board approved an increase in school meal prices, reflecting higher costs faced by many districts, according to Gary Howland, plant operations director. 

The statewide spotlight on Oregon’s less populated areas will soon be brightened.

The first Oregon Rural Congress is gathering Thursday and Friday in Cascade Locks “to organize and unify the vast rural areas of Oregon into a cohesive voice for rural issues,” according to a fact sheet supplied by the Eastern Oregon Rural Alliance.

Union County Commissioner Colleen MacLeod is a co-chair of the EORA and one of the organizers of the congress.

UNION — A restroom grant for $36,739 was recently awarded to the city of Union. This is the largest grant the city has received in many years. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department awarded the grant.

The project began about a year and half ago when Mayor Kyle Corbin appointed committee volunteers to work on a grant-writing committee. The committee’s approach was to find funds the city could benefit from economically. Meanwhile, Union United, Inc., a local nonprofit in Union, recognized the need for new restrooms and began the “Pennies for Potties” fundraiser.

ENTERPRISE — An Enterprise teenager may be in serious condition after a motor vehicle wreck Friday afternoon.

Details are sketchy and the incident is still being investigated.

Casey O'Leary, 15, is thought by police to have sustained serious injuries when he was ejected from a 1988 Suzuki Samurai about 2:30 p.m.

Peter Brandt of Alpine Auto in Joseph - Photo/Gary Fletcher

Yes, he’s heard plenty of anxiety over the Legislature’s decision last year to require ethanol be blended in gasoline.

And yes, he’s heard griping about reduced fuel economy and the potential for engine wear from ethanol — a grain alcohol that can act as a solvent.

Those out in the timber and rangelands of Northeast Oregon this weekend should take heed of a short-term weather pattern rife with wildfire potential.

Temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s and low humidity are expected over the next several days, as a strong high pressure system remains over the area through Sunday.

Meanwhile, an approaching low pressure system is predicted to cause isolated thunderstorms east of the Cascades beginning Saturday. The northern Blue and Wallowa mountains are more likely to see storms Sunday or Monday.

Location! Location! Location! Everybody has stories of place worth telling — of stirring events, of unique and beautiful landscapes, of conversations in passing outside a favorite downtown shop or eatery.

To celebrate local writing and writers, in association with the Crossing the Blues: La Grande Summer Festival, join the Blue Mountain Writers Aug. 23 in the Colleen Johnson Community Room at the Cook Memorial Library, corner of Fourth and Adams in downtown La Grande.