November 23, 2009 03:14 pm
The La Grande School District is studying the possibility of presenting
a local option levy to district voters to help overcome the revenue
shortfalls the district is projecting lie ahead. The study is certainly
worth undertaking.
Although the local economy is not in the kind of position that makes
passage of any tax measure very likely, the reality is that a local
option tax might be the best opportunity to try to keep the district
whole at a fairly reasonable cost. Any tax measure right now would be a
tough sell. But when the district could be faced with the prospect of
more cuts every year, including the loss of athletics and activities, a
majority of voters might be able to be convinced that keeping local
schools whole is really in the community’s best interest — both short-
and long-term.
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November 19, 2009 03:24 pm
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Union County has a lot going it, strengths like a low crime rate, cities with lots of trees, being an educational hub, the natural beauty of the Grande Ronde Valley and so on. But as far as tourism is concerned, Union County has been a gateway to other places. That’s OK. Those other place include some of the finest tourism destinations in America, including the rugged and beautiful Wallowa Mountains, Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest gorge, and the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area, Oregon’s largest.
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November 18, 2009 04:21 pm
Some very good news is coming out of Eastern Oregon University. Enrollment is up dramatically. Impressively, in fact.
Eastern has 3,957 students this fall, its most ever. The number
eclipses the previous record, set last year, by nearly 300. And most
significantly, freshman enrollment grew 34 percent.
Some of the growth may be attributable to the economy. A lot of people
decide to go to school when jobs are tight. In fact, all of the
universities in the Oregon University System saw jumps in enrollment.
But for EOU, it’s more than just a sour economy. The university is
doing a lot of things right, from recruiting to making a concerted
effort to retain students — two areas that may have gone lacking for a
few years.
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November 17, 2009 04:54 pm
The drug war may not be totally winnable. But it is a war worth
fighting, to discourage the bad guys, protect the public safety from
petty and major crime, and send a clear message to youth that drug use
and abuse comes with a very high pricetag.
The Union County’s Sheriff’s Department got a boost in the battle
against drugs and their insidious damage to local families and
individuals with several recent grants. One of the biggest is a
$309,000 two-year Recovery Act Rural Law Enforcement Assistance Grant
from the federal government. The grant will help the department beef up
its drug task force known as MERIT, or Multi-Agency Enforcement
Response Interdiction Team, as it battles drug crime in the region.
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November 13, 2009 02:43 pm
Union County businesses have a long history of contributing to good
causes and helping to make their little corner of the world a better
place.
RD Mac Inc. and GCT Land Management are continuing the tradition. RD
Mac Inc. expanded a parking lot and worked with GCT Land Management to
install a sidewalk at Island City Elementary School recently.
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November 12, 2009 03:44 pm
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Of all the news stories we’ve seen lately, the one about swine flu parties beats all.
It
seems that some people around the country are holding gatherings in
which a person infected with swine flu is present. Believe it or not,
the idea is to deliberately catch the flu. The logic is fuzzy, but
apparently people think if they get sick in the first mild swine flu
outbreak, they won’t get sick in a more severe second or third round.
There are many good, sound medical reasons not to go to one of these
parties, the main one being that swine flu is a new virus and no one
can predict its effects on individuals. Suffice it to say that it’s
safer and saner to get a swine flu vaccination as soon as one comes
available to you.
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November 11, 2009 03:32 pm
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At one time there was a great surge of support for investing in
alternative renewable energy sources such as wind, sun and geothermal.
Some green activists pushed hard for more wind power. Today with wind
farms sprouting up around Oregon like mushrooms, and some in prime
visual areas like the Columbia River Gorge and the Grande Ronde Valley,
some people aren’t so sure it’s always the best idea. Their concerns
include habitat destruction, healthy ecosystems, protecting the natural
heritage, preservation of natural resources and viewscapes, and
decommissioning once a project is over.
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November 10, 2009 03:48 pm
La Grande has what appears to be a solid group of finalists for the
position of library director. The hiring decision will be made by City
Manager Robert Strope, who has been assisted in the process by a
selection committee.
The four finalists are Ken Watson of La Grande, Hollis Helmeci of El
Dorado, Kansas, Terri Washburn of Chewelah, Wash., and Geraldine De
Rooy of Vancouver, Wash. All four recently gave presentations to the
selection committee, which planned to then narrow the field to three.
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November 06, 2009 02:35 pm
November 05, 2009 03:12 pm
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La Grande School District Superintendent Larry Glaze recently reported that La Grande High School students are doing exceptionally well at obtaining scholarships and gaining acceptance to colleges and universities. He attributed much of the success to the efforts of the LHS Career Center, the ASPIRE program and the counseling office. The community should be proud that its graduating seniors are doing so well.
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Opinion 
