>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Observer news Yellow Pages NE Oregon Classifieds Web
web powered by Web Search Powered by Google

Today's front page

Image of The Observer's Front Page

Get Home Delivery of The Observer for only $8.50 per month, $9.50 for motor routes. Just click here and after filling out one simple and secure online form you could be on your way to learning more information about local, state and world news.

manage your account »

Home arrow Opinion arrow Editorials

Union clinic is valuable resource

Medical care is hard to get these days, especially in rural areas. The brutal fact of life is, people needing care far outnumber those providing it. Here in Union County, a three-week wait for an appointment is the all-frustrating norm.


That’s one good reason why the Union Family Health Center, now operated by a local health district, should have ongoing community support. No question, the clinic fills a vital niche in the local health care network.

 

Senators’ town halls give voice to rural Oregon

Anti-government zealots are in ample supply these days. And they’ve got a lot to howl about — tax dollars flushed down the toilet, flagrant hypocrisy, the entitlement mentality, new and unwanted regulation.

Beyond the bellyachers and the dangerous absolutists, however, are many ordinary people concerned about whether small businesses can offer health insurance at a reasonable cost to their employees. There are people concerned about preserving Social Security. There are people concerned about jobs that have gone away and jobs that seem in a precarious state. There are people concerned about getting timber out of the national forest to support local mills that are standing idle.
 

Comments due soon on forest travel plan

The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is going to implement a travel management plan to regulate motorized vehicle use on the forest. Anyone who wants to have a voice in the decision the forest supervisor makes has until Thursday to submit comments.


Supervisor Steve Ellis is faced with a momentous and difficult decision. Choosing between the various alternatives, which were determined after a series of public input sessions over the last couple of years, won’t be easy. Ellis has to weigh and balance ecological concerns with the interests of the public, which range from wide-open use to severely restricted use.

 

Bee heroes show tremendous courage

Good citizenship equals personal responsibilties. And sometimes it equals doing the right thing when the right thing is very difficult. The workers who rescued 18-year-old Forest Service worker Zach Gray from a bee attack near the Northeast Oregon Interagency Fire Center deserve a big round of applause for their heroism.

 

Darla Sunderman: 1940 - 2009

Spending a day in court is an arduous experience for most people.

La Grande High School graduates might beg to differ — that is, if they had Darla Sunderman as their mock trial coach.

Sunderman helped many students experience some of the most fulfilling moments of their lives in courtrooms.

 

What happened to service with a smile?

At a time when customer appreciation should be a priority it seems to be going in the opposite direction. A simple “thank you’’ at the close of a transaction not only confirms that you made the right choice for your purchase but that you are also appreciated for making that purchase.

 

Community comes through for LHS

The response to La Grande High School and the Tiger Booster Club’s recent fundraising dinner and auction, held to raise funds to keep athletics and other extra-curricular activities going at LHS, was great to see. The community, despite these tough times, really came through for the kids.
 

Restore Pioneer Amtrak route

It would be great if Amtrak’s much anticipated preliminary report recommended restoring the Pioneer route from Salt Lake City to Portland. It has been 12 years since the passenger trains stopped to pick up passengers in

La Grande. For many people the train travel option was very popular. The route should be revived if it can be made more financially feasible and gain a higher passenger and freight usage.

 

Letters and Comments for August 27, 2009

Letters and Comments for August 27, 2009

 

MERA fire protection agreement makes sense

Union County and the Oregon Department of Forestry showed great common sense recently by working out a special fire prevention agreement for the Mount Emily Recreation Area.

The pact, approved by the county board of commissioners last Wednesday, gives off-highway vehicle operators more freedom to enjoy MERA trails than they would normally have during ODF-mandated regulated use closures.

The MERA is built at least in part for those who love riding ATVs, motorcycles and other OHVs off the beaten paths. In fact, Union County bought the MERA land with money from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s ATV fund.
 
 
<< Start < Previous page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next page > End >>

Results 76 - 90 of 1559
News
Local / Sports / Business / State / National / Obituaries / Public Notices
Opinion
Editorials / Letters / Guest Columns / Columnists
Features
Outdoors / Ag / Spiritual / Go Magazine / Portraits
Classifieds
View all classifieds / Jobs / Autos / Real Estate / Rentals / Place an Ad
The Observer
About / Contact / Commercial Printing / Subscriptions / Terms of Use / Site Map
Also Online
Photo Reprints / Slideshows / Weather and Valley Cam / /index.php?option=com_rss&feed=RSS2.0&no_html=1">RSS Feed ?> RSS Feed

Follow La Grande Observer headlines on Follow La Grande Observer headlines on Twitter

© Copyright 2001 - 2010 Western Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. By Using this site you agree to our Terms of Use

LaGrandeObserver.com works best with the latest versions of Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Apple Safari