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

The movie "Pay It Forward" detailed the power of how a single act of encouragement and kindness bestowed on an individual can be multiplied when that person passes it on to another person.

Recent news of the passing of Les Schwab, one of Oregon's greatest entrepreneurs, was filled with accolades of this fine man. Our own Bob Moody was a beneficiary of Mr. Schwab's keen work ethic and attention to helping those around him.

Bob said Les showed confidence in him as a young boy, offering him opportunities and challenges that helped shape the man he would become. In true "pay it forward" fashion, Bob did for many of us just exactly what Les did for him.

I first met Bob when I moved to Oregon to take a reporting job at The Observer in the early 1980s. Bob recognized a homesick kid when he saw one and assumed a surrogate father role for me that continues today. He encouraged my work. He called me to task when I needed it, and he offered me challenges and the opportunity to strengthen a work ethic I inherited from my own father. He and his wife, Bev, have always held a special place in my heart.

There are dozens of us who started out at the local newspaper who are the people we are today because of Bob Moody. He was such a professional role model it was impossible not to strive to achieve his heights.

If he gives credit to Les Schwab for starting it all, that's just fine with me. However it came down through the years, it will continue to be paid forward through all of us.

They just don't make them like Les Schwab and Bob Moody anymore, and that's a real shame.

Di Lyn Larsen-Hill

La Grande

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The Union County Museum opened Mother's Day, for the season, with new displays from the estates of Jack Evans, Glen McKenzie, Clayton Fox and the Spain family. Visitors will also enjoy an expanded exhibit of Eastern Oregon Livestock Show memorabilia from the early days, in honor of its 100th anniversary.

There is vintage quilt, donated especially for the museum's 2007 raffle fundraiser, on display. Tickets are $1 or six for $5.

Robert and Pearl Bull keep adding to the extensive photograph collection, and there are many interesting books on local history for sale.

We invite everyone to come visit the Union County Museum at 331 S. Main in Union. It is truly special.

Carolyn Young

La Grande

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I would just like to express my gratitude to the City of La Grande and the local chapter of the Optimist Club, especially Randy Miles and Mark Lanman. As the regional director for the Northern Pacific conferences of the National Club Baseball Association, I wanted to provide a setting that is slowly disappearing from college sports.

I was in search of a neutral location to host the tournament that had a small-town feel. From the beginning I was in contact with the right individuals who were dedicated to having the regional tournament hosted in La Grande. The tournament was a success, and all the teams (University of Oregon, Weber State University, Seattle University and Idaho State University) were impressed by the local support, community and condition of the field.

Whereas most of these teams have to settle for a sub-par field on which to play their conference games, the Optimist field was in spectacular playing condition for college level baseball. The atmosphere around the town and park provided the players with a sense of belonging and excitement. The teams loved the close contact with the fans and community, something they don't get in a 20,000-seat stadium.

When tournaments are conducted in such a manner as the Northern Pacific, it impresses upon the players that they are something special. They see the hard work and dedication that went into preparing the field, they hear the love in the voice of the announcer and they begin to understand the desire for the game.

The Northern Pacific Regional tournament will be back in La Grande because everything I hoped to find and feel from the city was there. See you next year.

Daniel (Dano) P. Jauregui

Northern Pacific Regional Director, National Club Baseball Association

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Oregon recently passed a Renewable Energy Standard. This new legislation will make Oregon more energy independent and will lead to the harvesting of one of our best natural resources: wind

Few people in Oregon realize that more than 40 percent of the electricity we use statewide comes from coal. This bill will allow for the development of clean, renewable resources such as wind, wave, solar and bio-mass. It will also bring more family wage jobs to Union County. And, passage of this bill will help Union County offset the loss of the federal timber tax receipts by providing a new long-term source of property tax revenues.

There are many people responsible for the passage of this landmark legislation. First and foremost is state Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner.

Smith was brilliant in weighing the needs of the electrical suppliers in his district (OTEC, Umatilla Electric) with the needs of the counties to develop and harvest this great resource.

Because of his hard work, our county will likely see hundreds of millions of dollars in new capital investments in the next several years. This investment will provide new family-wage jobs, provide landowners with a new source of income and provide extra funding to the county that may allow the sheriff's office to be staffed 24 hours per day. And because of Smith's dedication, all of Oregon will start to see less reliance on coal.

We all were impressed with Rep. Smith's willingness to work with all sides of the political spectrum to pass this important piece of legislation. He has earned our deep gratitude.

John Lamoreau, former county commissioner; Chris Taylor, director of development, Horizon Wind; Chris Perry, director, Oregon Rural Action;

Boyd Rasmussen, Union County sheriff

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I just finished reading George Grant's "The Importance of the Electoral College." It is approximately 100 pages and clearly written. For those who are curious to read a compilation of all the arguments for the Federal System and against "direct democracy," this is a good place to start.

One argument that he does not cover directly is the argument that without the electoral college the human tendency to factionalism would have no institutional checks in the society.

The argument goes like this: People naturally seek like-minded people in any dispute or competition. The phrases "preaching to the choir" and "living in an echo chamber" come to mind. When any of these groups reach critical mass, you have a mob that tends to both isolate themselves further from alternative views and to brutalize dissenters within. (The Nazis, unfortunately, are more remembered for the specifics of their brutal acts than are the human propensity for totalitarian solutions in large groups of like-minded people.)

The electoral college helps make it so there is no political advantage in insular, like-minded groups to have more than a majority of one in any voting scenario. It, in essence, helps keep the populations more diverse and mixed than they would be otherwise. It keeps the debates lively and the elections often painfully close.

The electoral college is probably essential to holding such a large union together over generations of time. It's not always a pretty sight, but beware the alternative.

David Waln

Summerville

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I have puzzled over the magnetic ribbons that say, "Support our Troops." I want to do that, but this war has asked so little of us.

I have finally found a way to support our troops. Anysoldier.com is a website that provides a place for soldiers to tell us what they need (food, boots, clothing, etc.) along with an address to send it to.

I hope everyone will take a look at this website. We can support our troops until they come home.

Linda Carter

La Grande

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The morning of May 25 I went out with my wife and kids to the Flying J truck stop for breakfast after watching the old steam engine go by.

After a while a gentleman behind us paid his bill and left. Our waitress then told us that he had paid our bill, too. At first I thought it was a joke. She said he was just passing through town. We don't know him, and he doesn't know us. He didn't have to do that. We were stunned.

It's been bugging us and that's why I'm writing this letter. I have to say something about it. Thank you, whoever you are.

There are still good-hearted people in an upside-down world.

D.E. Abram Jr.

La Grande