Think of it as having oil on your property and not being able to drill.

Consider the numbers: More than 48 percent of Union County and 58 percent of Wallowa County is national forest. Yet due to a reduction in timber harvest, and with jobless rates approaching 10 percent, the counties are struggling for revenue.

Spring is in the air. Daffodils are blooming. Calves and lambs are cavorting in pastures. Birds are staking out territories, and golfers are dusting off the clubs. 

One person wanting work who can’t find a job is one too many. One young person, or older for that matter, who has to move out of Northeast Oregon to points far away to find work is one too many.

To influence economic growth and stability in the region, the La Grande City Council and the Union County Board of Commissioners are sponsoring an Economic Summit from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Blue Mountain Conference Center.

Recycling is nothing new. The first recycling center in the United States opened its doors in 1896, the same year the Ford Quadricycle, the first Ford vehicle ever developed, was completed, and the year William Jennings Bryan delivered his Cross of Gold speech at the Democratic National Convention and got nominated for President of the United States.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” the late musical superstar John Lennon is quoted as saying.

A sustainable ecosystem equals a healthy economy. That’s why we must strike a careful balance between necessary environmental protection and the economy.

Sometimes you know something, no matter how outlandish, is the right thing to do.

Such is the cross-country trek Joe Bell of La Grande is training for. His goal? To make sure that his son Jadin’s tragic story is never forgotten.

It’s no surprise to those who have lived in Northeast Oregon for long that the population on average is getting older. Even in La Grande, with all the youth and exuberance of Eastern Oregon University, census figures show the population as a whole is graying.