|
A new year has begun and with it comes hope that it will be better than the year just completed — especially this year.
We have been through a tough time the past several months. Hundreds of our neighbors are out of work. Food banks are seeing more requests than ever. People are struggling. On the national front, the financial system is in disarray, the subprime mortgage mess popped the housing bubble, people are being forced from their homes, retirement savings have lost nearly half their value and companies are collapsing. Could it get much worse?
For most of us, doing anything about these issues is beyond our control. We have to sit and wait for things to improve.
But we can hope for better days and all make efforts to improve our own lives and that of our families, and to do more for our Northeast Oregon community.
Doing that requires more than making resolutions. It’s about reflecting on those things we can change and making a commitment to do just that — or at least try.
On a personal level, we should look at what we can do better. Maybe it’s the way we interact with others. Or by striving to eat better and get more exercise.
Perhaps it’s making more of a commitment to our families and making sure we make time for family dinners, for game night, for spending time together. For talking with each other.
And then are the needs of the community. Organizations that serve our neighbors and friends are always in need of more volunteer support — and never more than now. We all should look for at least one avenue for helping make our community a better place.
With a little effort and commitment, we can ensure that 2009 will be a better year where it matters most — locally.
Recycle those trees
The holidays are over. It’s time to turn that brittle Christmas tree into something useful.
The Boy Scouts and the La Grande High School Swim Team have an answer: Recycle your tree, help provide funds for the two groups and build animal cover at Ladd Marsh — all at the same time.
The two groups will be accepting Christmas trees for recycling from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday — Boy Scout Troop 511 at Walmart and the swim team at LHS. Both groups will also pick up trees for recycling. The cost is $4 a tree for those brought to the recycling sites, $6 for pick-up. For pick-up, call the Boy Scouts at 962-7980 or 975-2000, or the swim team at 963-0661.
|
Opinion 
