Anita Olson is shown here in Miami about 10 days ago next to her adopted Haitian daughter, Erlande, 3. - Submitted photo

The three children from Haiti they adopted into their families are now thousands of miles from the earthquake-ravaged country, safe in their parents’ Salem and Portland homes. But the challenges Olson and Wilkins, who have strong Union County ties, face are not in the rearview mirror.

It may have been the suddenness of the cold that had made us all shiver so early on this winter. It seemed a little unusual when the temperature dropped from the 70s and 80s down to the 30s and 40s just overnight with snow on the hilltops, but maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised since nothing is seen as “normal” around here.

Nonetheless, we all shivered in our shoes and couldn’t seem to get warm, at least that’s the way it was for me.

Regretfully, and maybe a little provoked in having to turn up the heat and use my precious costly fuel, I turned on the furnace, wrapped up in a blanket and sat down to pout. At least I’m sure it was that whiny little girl with whom my sister Betty had little patience who was sitting in that chair, shivering in spite of the wrappings.

La Grande has lost one of its best known and popular businessmen and community leaders.

Bob Wilkins, 79, died Thursday in Lake Oswego.

Wilkins was a man whose life was devoted to reaching out to the community, said Carol Tate of the La Grande Lions Club, which Wilkins was a longtime member of.

Congressman Greg Walden will stop in La Grande and Enterprise during a swing through Eastern Oregon Sunday and Monday.

Walden, R-Ore., plans to address Union County Republicans at a breakfast meeting at 8 a.m. Monday at the Flying J Travel Center. He will update those attending on recent political events.

After that, Walden will move on to Eastern Oregon University for a 9:45 a.m. meeting with President Bob Davies, university vice presidents and foundation officers.

Nellie Hibbert said this week she will not run for a second term as Union County Commissioner.

Hibbert, who took the commissioner’s oath back in January 2007, said she plans to retire from public service when her term ends Dec. 31.

“At the end of this term, I will have been an elected official 26 years,” she said. “When I ran for county commissioner, I made the promise it would be for only one term and I am honoring that commitment.”

The Ninth Circuit Court has ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service in a seven-year-old lawsuit regarding the Lord Flat Trail in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

Hells Canyon Preservation Council filed suit claiming the Lord Flat Trail was in the Hells Canyon Wilderness, a roadless area.

HCPC alleged that the Forest Service violated the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Act by failing to maintain the original version of the congressional map depicting the boundaries of the Hells Canyon Wilderness Area; defined the wilderness boundary in a way that was arbitrary and capricious; and violated the Wilderness Act by allowing motorized use on the Lord Flat trail.

A view of Wallowa Lake's east moraine depicts timber and grazing land covered by Oregon Department of Forestry's fire protection. - Oregon Department of Forestry photo

In the early 2000s it was determined that private grazing and timber lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s fire division were 40 years behind in their classifications. The Wallowa County Forest Land Classification Committee was formed and broke new ground, making way for the rest of the state to do similar work.

The passage of Measures 66 and 67 Tuesday represents the first genuine good financial news many Union and Wallowa county school leaders have received in years.

None was happier to hear the news than Enterprise School District Superintendent Brad Royse.

UNION’S ATTRACTIVENESScould be jeopardized by placement of wind turbines near Union, cites a recently completed study by a city-appointed committee. - Observer file photos

A city-appointed committee recently completed a 10-page study of impacts the proposed 300-megawatt facility might have on the community.

La Grande Swim Club members work out Monday at Veterans Memorial Pool. Save Our Pool supporters point out that young people currently using the pool include 60 members of the swim club and the 19 youths on the La Grande High School swim team. Save Our Pool members also stress that the pool can benefit people of all ages, noting that because swimming is a non-weight bearing activity it is easy on one’s joints, providing an opportunity for people with health problems to exercise. - CHRIS BAXTER/The Observer

The possibility of closure has sparked the formation of Save Our Pool, a community group focusing on keeping Veterans Memorial afloat.