Recession? What recession? FBLA students are marching ahead regardless of the state of the economy with optimism about the future — for themselves and for the region. The students’ success bodes well for the area that when the economy gets bustling again, there will be plenty of trained business-savvy students ready to take the helm of small and big businesses alike.

We’re deeply interested in the political process, but even we need a double dose of NoDoz to care much about the race for state superintendent of public instruction. As we’ve said on numerous occasions, this shouldn’t be an elected position at all. The office should be filled by gubernatorial appointment.

Try a little pop quiz:

1) Who’s the incumbent? The answer, for those who drew a complete blank, is Susan Castillo, a former state senator who’s completing her second term.

The South County Health District, like the Elgin Health District, is looking for a funding foundation. It is asking voters within the district, which includes the Union, Cove and North Powder school districts, to approve a three-year local option levy on the May 18 ballot.

Republicans have an interesting field of candidates to choose from for governor in the May primary. Of the nine candidates, two candidates rise to the top as the Oregon GOP’s best chance at taking back the governorship come November. Allen Alley and Chris Dudley are both solid candidates and either would present a formidable challenge to the Democrats’ two decade-plus hold on the office of governor. But of the two, Alley is the Republicans’ best choice.

It makes perfect sense that the Union-Baker and Umatilla-Morrow education service districts will pursue a voluntary merger before the state mandates such a consolidation. The ESDs are just trying to beat the state to the punch. The 2009 session of the state Legislature came close to passing a mandatory consolidation bill. Odds are good that such a bill will indeed pass in the 2011 session.

Too often education is all about lectures and dry, musty books left over from the last round of budget cuts. Cove, though, is proving it doesn’t have to be that way. With the Cove School Board’s decision to approve converting 2 1/2 acres into a school farm, students will be given opportunities for hands-on education — and at the same time even be battling the childhood obesity epidemic. More on that later.

Our region has a lot of people who are concerned about their communities, who care about others. We see it every day in the success groups have in their fundraisers, in special events, in keeping volunteer-run groups functioning. And although the number of people who volunteer seems enormous, there might be more out there who are looking for the right match for their interests and a certain kind of charitable work.

Mother Nature is giving us reasons to smile and frown, and it may seem counterintuitive to people seeking sunny days and warmer temperatures with the arrival of spring.

Blame El Nino. The warming trend of water in the eastern Pacific Ocean has led to a drier than normal January and February and a wetter than normal March and April in Northeast Oregon. That means reduced snowpack, and snowpack is the lifeblood of the Rocky Mountain West.