June 16, 2008 01:28 pm
Hank Albrecht, the man known to so many by the affectionate sobriquet
“Father Hank,” retired as pastor of Our Lady of the Valley church last
month. It’s cheering to know he’ll have more time to devote to hobbies
and interests. It’s also cheering to know he plans to stay in the
community he has served so well.
Albrecht, after all, has been an important spiritual guide in La Grande
for 20 years. He has offered prayers and given people hope not only in
church on Sunday but also at weddings, funerals, military ceremonies,
at every sort of event that calls for the reassuring presence of a
religious man. In a positive, loving way, he has touched hundreds of
lives.
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June 12, 2008 11:43 am
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Collaboration can do phenomenal things if people are willing to give it a chance.
For years, it seems, lines have been drawn in the dirt regarding how to best manage our forests. Timber industry interests and environmentalists have butted heads and rarely have found common ground. But things might be changing.
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June 11, 2008 01:48 pm
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Popularity of off-road vehicles has revved up dramatically in recent years. Most riders show common sense and respect the resource. But as in every activity, there are a handful of renegades who tear up meadows and hillsides with no regard for other users or damage to wildlife and fish habitat.
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June 10, 2008 01:57 pm
Thanks to increasing or stable enrollment in most Northeast Oregon school districts, and to an additional $200 the state will provide per student in 2008-09, the school finance picture overall looks rosy.
That’s a great relief. For the past decade, it seems, the news has been grim — jobs on the chopping block, declining enrollment, emergency measures to cut back school days and reduce costs in myriad other ways. Northeast Oregon school districts can heave a collective sigh of relief over the summer before next fall rolling up their sleeves and getting on with their critical mission of preparing students for the global and locally challenging
economy.
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June 09, 2008 01:53 pm
Winning a state sports championship in the spring is doubly sweet. It
happens not only on the last day of a season, but also on — or at least
very near — the last day of the school year. A player’s got time to
savor the triumph. She can bask in the memory’s warm glow all summer
long.
When all was said and done this spring, state trophies came home to roost in La Grande and Union. Now, let the basking begin!
Kara Gerst and Josi Lyman, seniors at La Grande High, punctuated their
high school careers with a tennis doubles championship, including a
third-round victory over last year’s champions, Oregon Episcopal’s Erin
Enberg and Gwenneth Johnson.
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June 06, 2008 02:54 pm
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Sen. Ron Wyden is living up to his promise of keeping in touch with Oregonians.
Wyden, D-Ore., recently visited Joseph for his annual Wallowa County town hall meeting. He met with about 100 students and a couple dozen community members and answered questions about topics ranging from the war in Iraq and veterans care to timber payments and the need to thin the forests.
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June 05, 2008 02:16 pm
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Three years ago the La Grande City Council made battling the drug problem a top priority. It held meetings to gather input on the problem. It formed a substance abuse commission. It lauded and endorsed the work of the multi-agency drug task force.
Forward to today. Drugs are still a problem, though the emphasis on the meth epidemic has subsided somewhat. The city’s Substance Abuse Commission is meeting regularly. But the multi-agency drug task force has fallen apart, the La Grande Police Department is embroiled in some personnel issues and the city council is planning to cut funding for a police officer’s position.
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June 04, 2008 02:12 pm
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Young people raising stock for display in the 101st Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, which opens this week in Union, learn a lot about keeping records, budgeting and general problem-solving skills like how to move a 1,200-pound animal off their feet.
The more than 300 4-H and FFA exhibitors who will be involved at Saturday’s stock show junior auction also learn about the narrow profit margins in the livestock raising business. Raising steers, lambs or hogs is not a get rich quick scheme. Particularly not this year.
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June 02, 2008 02:14 pm
A consultant hired recently to take a look at local economic
development saw some good things going on, but he also saw things
leaders can do to improve. With growth stagnant, our basic industries
struggling and the average citizen feeling downright insecure about his
finances, here’s hoping somebody listens.
Dick Gardner, the consultant from Bootstrap Solutions in Boise, visited
the area this spring at the behest of the Union County Economic
Development Corp. He interviewed more than two dozen people, then
compiled his report.
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May 30, 2008 02:46 pm
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Oregon Chief Justice Paul De Muniz is committed to enhancing Oregon’s legal system. Not only is he striving to bring Oregon’s court system into the 21st century, but he’s committed to making sure Oregon’s young people have a chance to see the Oregon Supreme Court in action.
The chief justice recently brought the state Supreme Court to Enterprise and La Grande where it held sessions in the local high schools. The justices heard arguments in Enterprise and La Grande for actual cases pending before the high court, then answered questions from students.
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Opinion