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

There’s nothing like accidentally touching an electric fence to achieve a higher level of consciousness.

If dogs could talk, my trio of intrepid canines would tell of hair-raising experiences on their morning rounds. And since we share borders with a horse pasture, and a fence that is occasionally electrified, and “horse apples” are so appealing to roll in to start the day ...

Need to renew or apply for an Oregon driver’s license? Be aware that the rules have changed, thanks to an executive order and action by the Oregon Legislature during its special session.

Although the Oregon changes are intended to primarily bring Oregon in line with other states as a way to help stem the tide of undocumented workers, the changes will impact all of us.

The La Grande School District Facilities Committee should be commended for deciding to weigh in on the Willow School issue. The committee will recommend to the school board that the reopening or replacement of Willow be kept as an option as it plans a bond measure proposal to present to voters in November.

“The committee does not think the public will support a bond unless we do something with Willow,’’ Facilities Committee Chairman Dan Mielke said.

Meeting health care needs in rural Oregon can be a daunting task. And the Union Family Health Center, which serves health care needs for an area far beyond just Union, faces some significant challenges as it seeks stable funding and staffing for the clinic’s future.

According to the Office of Rural Health, in 2006 the center pulled 748 patients from Union, 78 from North Powder, 133 from Cove, 885 from La Grande and 39 from Baker City. ORH estimates that within the Cove-Union-Powder Medical Association’s primary coverage area — Cove, Union and North Powder — the clinic could draw more than 10,000 patient visits a year. Keeping the center not just alive but thriving is critical if we are to meet the region’s health care needs.

Richter, Lamoreau, Petersen, Farmer, Gentry, Haddock and teammates, Marcum, Hines, Hawkins, Ballard, Stone

If you have not gone outside much lately, you will not have noticed Northeast Oregon is absolutely crawling with meteorite hunters.

Both of them.

Yes, since the fireball came down a week ago, exploding at 5,000 feet over Tollgate and showering the area with meteorites, people have been keeping a closer eye on the sky for falling objects.

More than two years ago a diverse group of recreationists went public with a conceptual plan that had the potential to put 3,700 acres of private forest lands on Mount Emily into public ownership and management. The group had been meeting with representatives of Forest Capital Partners, the timber management company that purchased a large chunk of Boise Cascade’s timber holdings, to see if a purchase could be arranged.

About two years ago the Mt. Emily Recreation Coalition announced publicly what it was working toward. The group wanted to somehow find a way to purchase the popular recreational and timber lands so that they would remain accessible to the variety of interests that use the area — everything from ATVers to hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers, as well as provide a sustainable timber resource.

The 2nd Congressional District is larger than any state east of the Mississippi River. That’s right, state. So it is welcome news that U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., is opening a regional office in La Grande to complement ones already up and running in Medford and Bend.

The move will allow Northeast Oregon constituents better access to the congressman and his staff and improve the odds that local problems of a federal nature will get solved in a timely manner.

Jaggers, Erwin, Vermillion, Johns, Fischer, Hopkins, Middleton, Felley, Sanderson