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

I grew up in Union from the fourth grade (1936) through high school and a few years after that.

The article about the old fish hatchery (Dec. 12 , "Of Dams and Dynamite,") was interesting in that I never recollected it as a fish hatchery but as an Oregon State Highway facility. Since the hatchery was closed in 1937 when I was only 10 years old, I guess that would be the reason for that.

Anyway, the father of a high school friend of mine, O'Neill "Buck" Eddy, was in charge of that facility. I only note this since I saw no mention of it in this article. I could be wrong, but wonder if anyone connected with gathering information for the article had heard of that portion of the history of those buildings?

I really enjoy these articles about the history of Union County. My sister, who lives in Auburn, Wash., also reads them and I pass them on to another old "Unionite," R.N. "Bob" Terrall, who continues to be interested in the area and its past.

Keep 'em coming!

David "Swede" Johansen

Beaverton

_________________________

I want to express my disappointment in your articles regarding the Heppner/Union basketball contests (Observer, Dec. 17).

Let's start with the lead on the girls contest, comparing Ford Motor Co. and Heppner Mustangs. "The differences between them?'' the article states. "Well, Ford Mustangs can be found purring along the highway, while Heppner Mustangs can be found losing on the basketball court.''

The lead did not focus on the accomplishments of the Union girls, but a play on the mascot and a negative reference to Heppner.

You continue by quoting the Union coach about the teams having animosity toward each other as opposed to a rivalry. The coach is responsible for the nature of his quote while you are responsible for its accuracy. I reserve judgment on how that quote was obtained.

Regardless, the focus of your writing should not create appearances of negative feelings when schools work hard to foster healthy competition.

This was a wonderfully played game with many superior performances. Your subscribers deserve better.

The article on the boys' game is ridiculous in how you focus on a player's name (ethnic at that) and pepper your article with references to his name and a play on it. Creative writing is for a college class. Focusing on ethnicity is not where you should go with your creativity.

You owe this young man an apology. You need to evaluate what the nature of sports reporting should be for high school sports. You are not writing about professional athletes. You are writing about young, impressionable students who need modeling for positive interaction surrounding sports.

The reference to the Union boys being "ground meat'' is no less offensive. They are deserving of an apology as well.

Consider the words from the Oregon School Activities Association when crafting your future reporting on these events: "These are high school athletes. They are friendly rivals. They are not enemies. This is the fundamental theme of interscholastic activities — the idea of friendly competition and respect for all participants."

Greg Grant

Athletic director

Heppner High School

_________________________

I am writing in response to Sandy Mendenhall's letter about the parking downtown. It is unfortunate that the limit is set to two hours, however the real problem is that the employees downtown won't park three or four blocks away and walk to work. If you go downtown and watch, employees come out of their places of work and move their cars every two hours or so. Even the stylist knew the drill.

If they eliminate the time limit, there would be no parking anywhere close to the businesses. A few businesses have their own private parking but very few. Employers should insist that employees leave the parking for customers. Then maybe parking and business would improve.

Damon Nash

Union

_________________________

I would like to comment on a recent letter to the editor but first state that I do not personally know Mr. Rosenbaum and would call Commissioner MacLeod a mere acquaintance at best.

I found Mr. Rosenbaum's letter regarding post-political afterlife activity suggestions for Commissioner MacLeod to be juvenile, lacking in humor and malicious. His letter should have stopped at the second paragraph and it would have been a mere expression of an opinion about a topic that has become a staple in the letters section of The Observer. I would have taken no offense and would have respected his opinion, whether I was in agreement or not.

I hope that Mr. Rosenbaum and his "small committee" will keep the immaturity and pettiness of their opinions to themselves in the future. To expose this ridiculous behavior to La Grande and Union County is quite pathetic and reflects poorly on the community in which we all try to take pride in.

What happened to expressing good will toward all men especially during the Christmas season? Shame on you, Mr. Rosenbaum.

Kim Justice

La Grande

_________________________

I am writing in response to some of the recent sports stories. I don't know if the writer thinks he just found his sense of humor or what, but it seems like he is taking great pains to make our local teams look less than their best.

I always thought that reporting for our valley should be proactive and shown from our viewpoint — not everyone else's who doesn't get or read the paper.

Our teams are going to lose, that is the nature of the beast. However, does the newspaper have to make them feel worse than they already do after the game?

Everyone cannot be nice all of the time, and when we stink it should say so. But it should say it with a little more class in my opinion.

Deb Savely

Union