Check out your weekly Newsish Roundup for January 4-11, 2018
In the news today:
Marketplace Family Foods Customer Appreciation
Friends of Scouting Breakfast
This video was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com and Les Schwab Tires.
For more local content, visit our website at http://lagrandealive.tv! Boy scouts, marketplace family foods, la grande, eastern oregon ==================== Category: Newsish La Grande Alive Youtube Channel: ——————————————
Hey La Grande Alive! This week’s Newsish Roundup is all about food!
We love food too, Will
Me too, little shoulder me’s. Me too.
Marketplace Family Foods is holding a customer appreciation day to, well, appreciate their customers. Marketplace Family Foods is a small-town local grocery store on the end of Adams Avenue. They have groceries, local cut and smoked meats, plus a cute little bistro and a little-known rooftop patio on which you can sit and sip on a local brew and look out at Mt. Emily in her winter coat.
Eh, maybe you should wait to eat outside until summer. And this week I got a chance to sit down with Dion, the grocery manager and brains behind the customer appreciation day, and chat with him about what, exactly, the Marketplace has to offer their customers.
Now, Marketplace is going to be making some changes here in the new future. Instead of being your general run-of-the-mill grocery store, they’re going to start providing specialty items. Items that other stores in the area might not have. Right now they have specialty meats and cheeses. They also have local crafted beer. And who knows what else in the future? The bottom line, Dion said, is that what you, the customer want, they’ll get.
Now the customer appreciation day is two weeks from now on Wednesday the 31st of January. They’re going to have tours of the store plus deals on new items from new brands including Wild Harvest and Everyday Essentials. They’re also bringing back the famous Bistro Burger!And for all of you non-vegetarians out there, that’s a big deal! So if you’re out and about shopping two Wednesdays from now, be sure to head on into Marketplace Family Foods on the End of Adams Avenue and get appreciated.
And speaking of being appreciated, be sure to share along this video and get entered into our January drawing for Marketplace Family Foods $20 gift card.
This video was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com and Les Schwab Tires
What’s the one reason to get up in the morning at 6am? Breakfast.
Well, good news, soon-to-be-egregiously fat Will. On February 7th you can have both. The annual Friends of Scouting Breakfast is happening next month at 6:30 am at the Presbyterian Friendship Center and the breakfast is going to be fantastic. Think eggs Benedict and fresh-cut fruit and other sides provided by our own local taste-expert Merlyn’s Catering.
But there’s more about this breakfast than just the food. The Friends of Scouting Breakfast is an annual honoring of the scouts and their mission which is, according to Eric Valentine, to help young men to develop into virtuous and competent leaders and citizens that make this nation great. And there’s not another organization like it, he said. Every year at the breakfast the scouts honor their Eagle Scouts plus an adult scout who has been a great help over the year. And all the proceeds of this event go to the Blue Mountain Council without which the scouts couldn’t function in eastern Oregon. Now, like I said, the breakfast is at 6:30 ambut Eric Valentine said that the breakfast will be “invigorating.” But I wonder, what happens when already energy-filled Will eats an invigorating breakfast?
Like this story? Share it along to get entered in our monthly drawing for a $20 Marketplace Family Foods gift card.
This video was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com and Les Schwab Tires
And that’s your weekly Newsish Roundup! This food-filled Newsish Roundup was brought to you by..
Be sure to like and share the video and tune into La Grande Alive for more local content. I’m Will Bowman.
Welcome to this shared meditation, the Newsish Roundup, brought to you by these, our sponsors.
Have you ever wondered, why am I here? What’s my purpose? How do I fit in with, well, everything? Well, if you said no, you’re lying. Or your just a really shallow person. But if you said yes, you might be interested in spiritual direction. What’s spiritual direction, Will? Well, according to two spiritual directors I talked to this week, spiritual direction is really just helping someone find God inside themselves.
Now, I know, God is a really loaded term. People might mean a hundred things when they say God from the great and powerful Yaweh to Dwayne the Rock Johnson with his shirt off. But what God really means, according to Laura, is cosmic meaning, the ultimate “why”. And that meaning, said pastor Colleen, is really to be found inside yourself.
Now spiritual directors are not councillors: they’re not giving advice or tools for fixing your family drama or anxiety problem. They’re also not preachers: telling you everything you need to know about god in a nice 5-point sermon.
GOD HATES YOU! Cue the music!
Jesus loves you!!!
Amen! Amen!
Instead, spiritual directors are really friends, Colleen said, equals, people walking with you and helping you to find god inside yourself rather than telling you how to find it.
Now that all being said, this weekend the directors are having what’s called a “labyrinth”. A labyrinth is a circular walking path at a particular location on which you walk while meditating. The path is a circle, symbolizing the journey into your deepest spiritual self. Then, afterwards, you return to the outside of the circle and use any knowledge you gained in making decisions in right here in this world outside yourself.
So maybe you’re contemplating whether you should change your job. Maybe you’re asking what your purpose is in life. Maybe you just want to be a little bit more spiritual. If so, the labyrinth is this Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm at the Presbyterian Friendship Center in La Grande and you should check it out.
Like this story? Share it along and get entered in a drawing for a free 20 dollar Marketplace Family Foods gift card!
This story was brought to you by…Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com and Les Schwab Tires
Do you believe that health is a human right?
Well, a group of La Grande residents who does is advocating locally for a universal healthcare bill to be on the state ballot in 2020. This month Oregon Rural Action will approach both the La Grande city council and the Union County commissioners and lobby for a state ballot for universal healthcare in 2020. Their goal is to get the vote on the ballot, said Bill Whitaker, one of the members, and they’re not the only ones in the state vying for this bill.
The La Grande group is attached to the state-wide organization Health Care For All Oregon, a group that believes that healthcare should be a human right. And society should provide for basic human rights, right?
But who decides what basic human rights are, you might be asking. If I have a right to healthcare, do I have a right to other things as well?
I propose with this here bill that all humans have a right to… popsicles! All in favor? All opposed.
But… What, you don’t like ***** popsicles??
Now, I think most people agree that it’s not the responsibility of the government to provide for people’s popsicles. But when we’re talking about health the question gets dicier. Health is related to survival. And survival is related to people pursuing their hopes and dreams, a right even our own constitution says that we all have. Besides, Bill said, our medical system is broken and with more government healthcare more money goes to actually giving people care
Now, if you agree with this, you should get in contact with Oregon Rural Action, Bill said. They’re going to continue to lobby for this bill, he said, until 2020 at the next presidential election. They can be reached at this number or on their website. But whether you agree with this statement or not, you should comment on this video and let us know your thoughts on the subject.
And remember, share this video and get entered into our monthly drawing for a $20 gift certificate to Marketplace Family Foods.
This story was brought to you by…Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com and Les Schwab Tires
And that’s your weekly Newsish Roundup! One more big shout out to our sponsors.
Be sure to like and share the video and tune into La Grande Alive TV for more local content. I’m Will Bowman.
In this episode of Coffee With Will, Will chats with Russ Hunt, a local mental health specialist and representative for Water Pal, a locally-produced water-treatment machine, about how mental health, clean water, and Christianity could possibly all fit together.
Big shout out to Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, Anything2Digital.com, EONI, and Les Schwab Tire Centers.
NEW YEARS, BLOCK PARTY, LA GRANDE, SAFETY, SAFEHOME
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Category: Newsish Youtube link:
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Your weekly Newsish Roundup for Dec 29 – January 4
Happy birthday Jesus and Happy Almost-New Year La Grande Alive! Get out your bottle rockets and resolution pads, it’s your weekly Newsish Roundup brought to you by these guys!
Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, and Les Schwab Tires
If you’re like me and New Years Eve means Baileys and a good book, don’t be. Get out of your house and head down to the La Grande New Years Eve block party this Sunday on Adams Avenue at starting at 10 pm. There’s going to be burn barrels, a scavenger hunt in local businesses, plus a big-old ball drop with the chiming in of the new year. Now I talked to Ashley O’Toole, the coordinator of the event, and he said it’s important everyone get to events like this because it’s an opportunity for, and I quote, raging liberal snowflakes and die-hard conservatives to get together and be at peace. Also, first place prize for the scavenger hunt is a hundred big ones (a hundred big ones?) a hundred big ones, La Grande Alive. And second place is fifty. The scavenger hunt begins at at the Chamber of Commerce and, just a heads up, the signature of a “local celebrity” is going to be on the list so you might just want to keep an eye out for this bearded Facebook face.
When things aren’t blowing up and people aren’t getting robbed, La Grande feels like a pretty safe city, right? Well actually, La Grande recently won an award for being the 3rd safest city in Oregon. According to a study put on by SafeHome, a security company, we’re the third safest city behind Pendleton and Newburg-Dundee. Now what does that even mean, you might be asking. Well, I talked with Lt. Gary Bell of the LG police department and he said, in his opinion, a safe town is when the people feel safe. And La Grande feels pretty safe, he said, except for all the falling icicles. The reason, he said, that crime like the recent robbery string surprises us (gasp!) is because our town does feel safe normally. And how do we keep LG feeling safe? Lt. Bell said get to know your neighbor!
Getting to know your neighbors is actually one of the best ways to keep your city safe. It familiarizes you with who is familiar and who’s unfamiliar, giving you a safer feeling overall. So get off Facebook, La Grande Alive, and go and introduce yourself to that weird old guy that shovels your side walk sometime. Didn’t you watch Home Alone this Christmas? Odds are he’s probably not a murderer and you might just be contributing to La Grande’s place as third-safest city in Oregon.
And one last update, according to the Observer Newspaper, the lack of parking problem at Central School has been solved. How? They’re gonna tear down the high school tennis courts and build more parking there.
But I love tennis, Will! Eeh!
That’s okay creepy ski goggles man. They’re rebuilding the tennis courts in the place where the old central school was located. Once they get rid of all the asbestos, that is. Also a fact provided by the Observer Newspaper. La Grande Alive will have more on this story as it develops.
That’s it guys! Your weekly New-Years-Newsish roundup all done and wrapped up like a late Christmas present, which I’m sure a few of you have. One more big shout out to our sponsors.
Be sure to like and share the video and tune into La Grande Alive for more local content. I’m WIll Bowman.
EOU is giving trees back to the community! This Christmas Season, EOU put up a bunch of Christmas trees on their campus. Then, they put tags on them with present ideas. Then, people took those tags and returned presents. Then EOU took those presents to charitable organizations around La Grande and gave them to people who needed presents. Some of those organizations included the Salvation Ary, Department of Human Services, Wildflower Lodge, La Grande Post Acute Rehab, Blue Mountain Human Association, and Eastern Oregon Home Start. I talked to Heather Cashell this week and she said that its one of many ways they try to help their community throughout the year. So be sure, if you see someone in Inlow at EOU, give them a big pat on the back and say good job for Giving Trees back to the community.
Local Businessman Gives Out Trees
And speaking of Charity, local businessman Shawn Daggett is also giving away trees, his to needy family who couldn’t afford one. Last year Shawn put out a Facebook Ad saying, hey, anyone know anyone who can’t afford a tree? And he got names. And this year he stepped up his game and got names from DHS and the Oregon House authority and, sure enough, last week he showed up with decorated trees for the families. But he wasn’t alone. Several local businesses donated for the project including Ace Hardware, BiMart, Walmart and Grocery Shawn told them when he was asking them for donations that they wouldn’t get any recognition. “We don’t care”, they said. That’s not what Christmas is about. Good job guys.
Polar Express
The Polar Express has come, and gone. And nobody rode. This week the Union County Public Transit put on the Polar Express program. Every day the local transit sent a vehicle to one community in the county to pick people up and bring them Christmas Shopping. It was great for people who just didn’t have the means or courage with the snow to get into town. But nobody showed up! Not a single person called as of the middle of the week to get a ride. And Angie, the public transit director, told me that it was just bad advertising. Nobody knew about the program! So next year–and there will be a next year, Angie said–if you need a ride, call ahead and ride the Polar Express into town!
Slick Roads, Nobody Dies
And in other travel news, despite the nasty weather, nobody has been injured on the road! Go figure. According to the Observer, there hasn’t been a single injury because of the roads in Union County. There was one accident this week in Summerville. A truck rolled over. But other than that, Union County residents are safe and sound despite that guy that tailgated me all the way out to Elgin last week. You know who you are. Justice will come to you.
And that’s our weekly Newsish Roundup for Dec 21, 2017 – January 4, 2018
In this episode of Coffee With Will, Will chats with Collete Zack, an EOU student and outdoor-enthusiast who founded the Outdoor Women’s Project to help get girls out their doors to enjoy the wilderness and each other.
Big shout out to Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, Anything2Digital.com, EONI and Les Schwab Tire Centers.
Check out your Weekly Newsish Roundup for DEC 14-21
In the news today:
Handel’s Messiah
Around the Mountain in 90 Seconds
This video was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, Country Financial, Valley Realty and Les Schwab Tires
Handel’s Messiah Hallelujah! Messiah is coming to La Grande yet again! Handel’s Messiah is a Baroque classical oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The piece has been put on many times in La Grande between the 1970s and the present. And this Sunday at La Grande High School the piece will be played and sung yet again by a combination of singers and players from all across Eastern Oregon. And this week I got to sit down and talk to several of the members about what makes this piece of music so special to them.
Messiah in La Grande was originally put on by Don Jenson who, for almost 13 years, put on the piece through the La Grande LDS church every year. But several years ago Don passed away, but members of the choir have decided to continue his legacy in part as a testament to the his spirit and memory.
Music is by its nature collaborative, several of my interviewees said. And one thing that makes this experience special for them is the coming together of people from different faiths, political ideologies, age and wealth demographics all with the single goal of making the music the best that it can be.
The concert is this Sunday, the 17th, at 8pm at the new La Grande High School auditorium. Can’t make it? That’s okay! La Grande Alive will be live streaming it to Facebook and our website.
Brought To You By Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, Country Financial, Valley Realty and Les Schwab Tires
Around the Mountain And here’s your EOU sports with Iain and Joel in Around The Mountain in 90 Seconds!
A LITTLE PRINCESS, FEDS PAY THE BILLS – Weekly Newsish Roundup
Check out your weekly Newsish Roundup for DEC 7 – 14
In the news today:
A Little Princess
Feds Pay the Bills
Around the Mountain
This video was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, Country Financial, Valley Realty and Les Schwab Tires
Tags: la grande, oregon, federal taxes, play, theater, elgin ==================== Category: Newsish Youtube link: https://youtu.be/BzzVA_Z-l0E ——————————————
My Little Princess
And I’m not the only one wearing a princess outfit. A Little Princess is coming to the Elgin Opera House! And when I say “A Little Princess”, I’m not referring to the size of the lead actress, though she is, in fact, very short and cute as a panda button. The show is called a little princess, and it’s a good old-fashioned family drama designed to give people a feel-good experience out at the Elgin theatre.
The story of the Little Princess is about Hayley, a ten year old girl who moves to London with her rich military father. But when big daddy warbucks—whoops! Wrong play–when big daddy Crewe is shipped off to the wars, the little girl is left in a religious school with a headmistress who is, well, let’s just say she’s the kind of person that makes people hate Christianity.
*Gasp!* But that’s not the end of the play…
The play ends on a high note, the actors said, and in the process we learn, like they did, a lot about father-daughter relationships.
The play shows two weekends, the 8th 9th and the 15th 16th. So if you, like me, sometimes want to feel like a princess, don’t buy a tiara, dress drag and walk down the streets in La Grande. You’ll get shot. I promise. Instead, head out to the Elgin Opera House and get your princess feels vicariously at The Little Princess. More information and tickets can be found on the Elgin Opera House website.
Brought To You By This title story was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, Country Financial, Valley Realty and Les Schwab Tires
Feds Pay The Bills Jeez, how many democrats are running against Greg Walden this year? Five or six, I think, and it seems like every single one of them has been in La Grande Alive’s studio to talk to me about their platform! Well, I guess I haven’t talked with all of them, but this week I got to sit down with another one, Tim White, a recently-retired-to-Bend ex-CFO who’s got an inkling to take a shot at politics.
Now, like Coleen McLeod-Skinner several weeks ago, Tim White is big on infrastructure: what he really wants to see in Eastern Oregon are more highways and interstates so that more big-business ventures will come into our area to manufacture. Kind of like the Boardman and Hermiston area. But roads mean taxes, you might be thinking, and taxes mean less money for me. And how exactly am I going to afford MORE taxes when I make 10 bucks an hour and have three kids to feed? Well, don’t worry. You won’t pay for the infrastructure, the feds will. And that’s the foundation of Tim’s vision: higher federal taxes on those with bigger tax brackets so that you don’t have to fork over more of your limited income to increase the infrastructure.
Overall the conversation was, well, mostly him talking and me listening. I didn’t do much yacking on this particular Coffee With Will. I just got to shut up and listen, which is nice sometimes, to be honest. The rest of the interview can be viewed on La Grande Alive’s website or Facebook page. For more information about Tim and his bid for District 2, visit his website.
Brought To You By This title story was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, Country Financial, Valley Realty and Les Schwab Tires
Around the Mount And here’s your weekly EOU sports in Around the Mountain in 90 Seconds.
In this episode of Coffee With Will, On this episode, Will chats with Tim White for Oregon CD2, a candidate for US Congress District 2, about how his frustration with the current administration lead him to run for office.
Big shout out to Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, Anything2Digital.com, EONI, Valley Realty, Country Financial – Paul Swigert, and Les Schwab Tire Centers.
congress, district 2, tim white, union county, greg walden
========================= Category: Coffee With Will (Community) Youtube Link:https://youtu.be/I6PWSDH2qxU
TURKEYS, WINS AND SHOP SMALL BUSINESSES – Weekly Newsish Roundup
NOVEMBER 22nd – 29th, 2017 Check out your weekly Newsish Roundup for NOV 22-29 2017
In the News Today:
LOW INCOME BEAUTY
PLAID BEATS BLACK
Around The Mountain in 90 Seconds
This video was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, Country Financial, Valley Realty, and Les Schwab Tires
TURKEYS, WINS, AND SHOP SMALL BUSINESSES – Weekly Newsish Roundup
Low Income Beauty What do you think of when I say low income housing? You probably think of something like this. Or this. When I say affordable housing, most people don’t think “beautiful”. But the Northeast Oregon Housing Association is well on its way to obliterating that disconnection by winning a national award for the beauty and aesthetic new Blue Springs Crossing housing in Island City. Anthis week I got the opportunity to sit down with NEOHA members and talk to them about the story.
Now like I said earlier, beauty and low-income housing aren’t oftentimes associated. But Dale said that it’s important that affordable housing be just that. People who live in affordable housing generally are blue collar workers without a lot of money. And in our society, sad as it is, money oftentimes buys dignity. That being said, it’s very important that people with low incomes have some semblance of dignity in the place they live both for themselves and for their children.
But beauty isn’t just in construction. Maintaining that beauty is equally as important. And Greg, the maintenance manager of the location, says that long days of work helping people feel good about their home makes him feel good about himself.
If you’d like to know more about Blue Springs Crossing or the housing Association, visit their website. You can also read more about this in the weekend edition of the Observer Newspaper.
Plaid Beats Black This Friday, don’t shop black, shop plaid! I know, bad joke, and slightly racist if you read it out of context. Here’s what it means. Plaid Friday is an annual celebration of local business and a low-key alternative to Black Friday. This year, November 24th, instead of getting swarmed like an ant at a corporate big-box store, toss on your favorite flannel shirt and tacky plaid tie and head down to La Grande Main Street to steal some deals at this small-town celebration of shopping local. The metaphor is symbolic of the nature of small, local business: rather than some monolithic and drab style that corporate shopping will give you, shopping local is really a coat of many colors: hundreds and thousands of individual, differently colored threads all woven together into a beautiful, variegated cloth. And this week I got the opportunity to sit down with Chris Hooper, the new main street director, about why it’s a great alternative to Black Friday.
So if you do decide to do Plaid Friday, they’re also doing a raffle. And here’s how it works.
Make a purchase at a participating business on Nov. 24 & 25
Receive a raffle ticket for each purchase you make.
Drop off completed raffle tickets at any participating business
Gift Basket Winners will be announced on Monday, Nov. 27
So this friday, don’t shop black, shop plaid, and if there’s a few black threads in there, even better! Small business sells all colors of the rainbow, even the dark ones. For more information or to RSVP, head to the Facebook event hosted by La Grande Main Street.
ATM And here’s your EOU sports with Iain and Chris in around the mountain in 90 seconds.
In this episode of Coffee With Will, Jamie McLoud-Skinner stops into the studio to chat with me about herself and her candidacy for Congressional District 2 Eastern and Central Oregon.
Big shout out to Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, Anything2Digital.com, EONI, Valley Realty, Country Financial – Paul Swigert, and Les Schwab Tire Centers (2306 Adams Ave, La Grande) Be sure to tune into http://lagrandealive.tv for more local content!
In this episode of Coffee With Will, Grande Ronde Hospital Clinical Social Worker Teresa Smith-Dixon stops into the studio to chat with me about hospice and how it helps.
Big shout out to Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, Anything2Digital.com, EONI, Valley Realty, Country Financial – Paul Swigert, and Les Schwab Tire Centers (2306 Adams Ave, La Grande)
THE UNDERGROUND OPENS, LIBERTY GETS BIG BUCKS – Weekly Newsish Roundup: NOVEMBER 16TH – 22ND, 2017
Check out your weekly Newsish Roundup for NOV 16-22 2017
In the news today:
New Stores Downstairs
Liberty Gets Big Bucks
Loving the Dying – National Hospice Month
Get Out and GO
Sport Spotlight
Around The Mountain in 90 Seconds
This video was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, Country Financial, Valley Realty, and Les Schwab Tires
hospice, restaurante, business, marketplace, sports, theater ==================== Category: Newsish Youtube link:
—————————————— New Stores Downstairs After years of waiting, Marketplace Underground is finally opening its doors. And there’s stores! Really nice ones! For nearly six years now the Marketplace Underground has been under-construction on 4th and Washington. They’ve had numerous setbacks including stores leaving, pipes breaking and basement flooding, and not to mention the slow but sure dripping nature of small-town progress. But it’s open, and several new stores including a Thai restaurant, two antique stores, artist exhibitions, potters workshops, and several boutique clothe and shoe stores are open for business. And this week I got the opportunity to sit down with two of the owners of the stores and ask them about what they’ve got going on.
Now, the Marketplace Underground is the brain-baby of Al Adlesburger, a California Real Estate Developer moved to La Grande who has a heart for local business, a butload of money to invest, and a corvette with the license plate “U Ready?” to signal his belief that Jesus is coming back soon. Al doesn’t like to be on camera, so I didn’t get to talk to him. But what’s so singular about many of the businesses on this side of town is the owners’ dedication to Al and his vision.
There will be more stores coming soon including more clothing stores, another restaurant, an art gallery, and several the owners are keeping their mouths shut about. It’s a beatiful space, so even if you don’t buy anything go down and enjoy the atmosphere of local-art, painted ceilings and floors, plus the relaxing cadence of classical music that constantly plays over the PA system.
Liberty Gets Big Bucks They wanted it and they got it. $200,000 big ones awarded to the Liberty Theatre foundation by the state of Oregon. Last week the Liberty Theatre hosted an arts and music night in celebration of two things: the revealing of the newly-refurbished antique chandelier of the Liberty and the announcement of their award from the State of Oregon. Dozens of acts including singing by Michael Frasier and Brent Smith, a Shakespeare scene by the La Grande Shakespeare troupe, and more all preceded the announcement by Oregon State Senator Hansell about the award. Senator Hansell is the district 29 representative for Eastern Oregon on the state senate. And before the event I got the opportunity to sit down with him and ask him why, exactly, he pushed for this award so much.
Senator Hansell was a soft-spoken yet distinguished speaker who really believed in the power of the arts both to create vibrant communities and also to drive economic development. Art venues create appeal for young families, he said, giving them activities for their children to be a part of as well as entertainment and reason to settle down in small towns like La Grande.
Now, that all being said, not everyone believes in the Liberty renovation. Why are we spending millions of dollars renovating an old theatre, especially millions of taxpayer dollars that could be spent in other ways or just left in the pockets of those who earned them? Well, I asked Mike Frasier, one of the Liberty board members this question, and this is what he had to say.
More information about the liberty theatre can be found on their website. You can also see the full interviews with Senator Hansell and Mike Frasier on La Grande Alive’s Facebook page.
Loving The Dying – National Hospice Month Dying sucks. At least for many people it does. There’s pain, suffering, and leaving life unfulfilled is a horrible emotional experience. Many people in our modern life don’t die gracefully. And caring for those who are dying is an equally difficult experience sometimes, both physically and emotionally, for those providing the care.
This month is National Hospice Month. And to celebrate it (if celebrate is even the right word) Theresa Smith-Dixon came down the hill from Grande Ronde Hospital to chat with me about hospice. Hospice is care for those who are dying, she said, and it’s been an active profession since about the 1970s. For many people, caring for their loved ones in their last years involves a lot of uncertainty, confusion, and suffering. But hospice helps. Hospice is a team of people all with particular skills and competencies all oriented around helping people be more comfortable in their dying days. And Theresa said that, though she didn’t plan to get into hospice when she was younger, seeing first-hand the effect it can have on a person’s outlook made it her life’s work.
But hospice is a tough gig. My fiancée did hospice home-care when she was in high school and it was difficult. Many times people are very particular and bitter and even the simple fact of being around dying people can have an emotional toll on those who are caring for them. But Theresa said that, though the job is tough, being around suffering connects her through her own suffering to the rest of the human race.
The interview was a fantastic look into the world of end-of-life care that seriously made me consider my own parent’s coming last days. The rest of the interview can be watched on LaGrandeAlive’s website or facebook page.
Get Out and Go! And here’s your upcoming events with Emily Adair in Get Out and Go!
Sports Spotlight And here’s your local sports in Sports Spotlight
Dressage, horse, equestrian, union county chamber of commerce, small business, business resources
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Category: Newsish
Youtube link: https://youtu.be/QBLDdLYOQ_c
—————————————— Hey La Grande Alive!
In the news today equestrian dressage and the Union County Chamber hosts a business seminar. Only on your weekly Newsish Roundup! I’m on a horse. Here’s some sponsors.
Do you like horses? If you do, you might be interested in dressage.
What’s that there dressage, I don’t like them there fancy words!
Woah, slow down hillbilly Bill. Put your shotgun and F350 back in their sheaths. Dressage is just an equestrian term for training. And what it really boils down to is just getting better at your horsemanship!
Yee haw! I need some of that there dressage!
Well, if you do, next Wednesday at 6pm at the ag service center in Island City, a union county equestrian organization doing a presentation about dressage. What they’re going to do is go over some of the rules, regulations, and also show a couple videos about what, exactly, the training goals for horsemanship should be directed toward. What does good dressage look like? Essentially, what you’re going to learn is how can you get better and compete in horsemanship!
So if you’re looking to turn this.
Yee Haw!!!
Into this
You should head out to the 4h center next week and learn more about equestrian dressage.
Like this story? Share it along and get entered into our february drawing for a $20 gift certificate to Le Bebe Cakes Bakery.
This story was sponsoredby Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, and Les Schwab Tires
Do you as a business owner sometimes feel like you’re in this all alone? Well, you’re not, at least according to Bob Kavanaugh the director of the Union County Chamber of Commerce. Actually there are hundreds of resources available to you, he said. And Thursday night, February 15th, at 6pm many of those resources are going to be available in the same building at the Business Summit hosted by the Union County Chamber.
The business summit is going to be held at the Union County Conference center on 12h. At this meeting there are going to be dozens of small-business resources, Bob said. The summit is being hosted by the chamber and fits in with their overall mission, Bob said, of connecting business people to resources that they need and deserve. Essentially, Bob said, business functions better when business owners know about their resources.
I feel so alone.
Now, there’s a good chance that by the time you watch this video, the summit will already have passed. But don’t despair! All those resources are still available to you if you just get in contact with the Union County Chamber of Commerce or Union County Commissioner Donna Beverage. Both of these places you can get connected with lots of resources to help you to be a successful business.
*Sigh* I feel so connected.
Like this story? Share it along and get entered into our february drawing for a $20 gift certificate to Le Bebe Cakes Bakery.
And that’s your weekly Newsish Roundup! Horses hillbillies and small businesses, can’t get more Eastern Oregon than that. One more big shout out to our sponsors.
Be sure to like and share the video and tune into La Grande Alive for more local content. I’m Will Bowman.
In this episode of Coffee with Will, we are joined in the studio by Dr. Kate Spangler to talk about the benefits of naturopathic medicine.
Big thanks to Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Anything2Digital.com, EONI, Grande Ronde Hospital, Country Financial, Valley Realty, EONI, Country Financial and Les Schwab Tires.
In this episode of Coffee With Will, Grant Turner, the founder of the La Grande Shakespeare Co., stops by the studio to chat about Shakespeare, the troupe, and their upcoming production of Much Adu About Nothing.
Big shout out to Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, Anything2Digital.com, EONI, Valley Realty, Country Financial – Paul Swigert and Les Schwab Tire Centers (2306 Adams Ave, La Grande)
La Grande, Eastern Oregon, Grant Turner, Shakespeare, Much Adu About Nothing, Eastern Oregon
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Category: Coffee With Will (Community) Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/1mIx1lyGf6E
In this episode, Will talks to Wendy Simer about her work as an advocate for CASA; an organization that helps children who suffer from abuse and neglect.
Big thanks to Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Anything2Digital.com, EONI, Grande Ronde Hospital & SeaBrite Dental P.C..
In this episode of Coffee With Will, local artist May Beltran stops into the studio to chat about her path to art, inspiration, and tips for other artists who want to make their artwork lucrative.
Big thanks to our sponsors Northwest Furniture and Mattress?, Grande Ronde Hospital?, Anything2Digital.com?, EONI?, Valley Realty?, Country Financial – Paul Swigert, and Les Schwab Tire Center?!
Be sure to tune into http://lagrandealive.tv for more local content.
art, artwork, art tips, eastern oregon, la grande, farmer’s market
Marketplace Family Foods is holding a customer appreciation day to, well, appreciate their customers. Marketplace Family Foods is a small-town local grocery store on the end of Adams Avenue. They have groceries, local cut and smoked meats, plus a cute little bistro and a little-known rooftop patio on which you can sit and sip on a local brew and look out at Mt. Emily in her winter coat.
Well, good news, soon-to-be-egregiously fat Will. On February 7th you can have both. The annual Friends of Scouting Breakfast is happening next month at 6:30 am at the Presbyterian Friendship Center and the breakfast is going to be fantastic. Think eggs Benedict and fresh-cut fruit and other sides provided by our own local taste-expert Merlyn’s Catering. 
Have you ever wondered, why am I here? What’s my purpose? How do I fit in with, well, everything? Well, if you said no, you’re lying. Or your just a really shallow person. But if you said yes, you might be interested in spiritual direction. What’s spiritual direction, Will? Well, according to two spiritual directors I talked to this week, spiritual direction is really just helping someone find God inside themselves. 
Instead, spiritual directors are really friends, Colleen said, equals, people walking with you and helping you to find god inside yourself rather than telling you how to find it. 
Well, a group of La Grande residents who does is advocating locally for a universal healthcare bill to be on the state ballot in 2020. This month Oregon Rural Action will approach both the La Grande city council and the Union County commissioners and lobby for a state ballot for universal healthcare in 2020. Their goal is to get the vote on the ballot, said Bill Whitaker, one of the members, and they’re not the only ones in the state vying for this bill. 
If you’re like me and New Years Eve means Baileys and a good book, don’t be. Get out of your house and head down to the La Grande New Years Eve block party this Sunday on Adams Avenue at starting at 10 pm. There’s going to be burn barrels, a scavenger hunt in local businesses, plus a big-old ball drop with the chiming in of the new year. Now I talked to Ashley O’Toole, the coordinator of the event, and he said it’s important everyone get to events like this because it’s an opportunity for, and I quote, raging liberal snowflakes and die-hard conservatives to get together and be at peace. Also, first place prize for the scavenger hunt is a hundred big ones (a hundred big ones?) a hundred big ones, La Grande Alive. And second place is fifty. The scavenger hunt begins at at the Chamber of Commerce and, just a heads up, the signature of a “local celebrity” is going to be on the list so you might just want to keep an eye out for this bearded Facebook face.
When things aren’t blowing up and people aren’t getting robbed, La Grande feels like a pretty safe city, right? Well actually, La Grande recently won an award for being the 3rd safest city in Oregon. According to a study put on by SafeHome, a security company, we’re the third safest city behind Pendleton and Newburg-Dundee. Now what does that even mean, you might be asking. Well, I talked with Lt. Gary Bell of the LG police department and he said, in his opinion, a safe town is when the people feel safe. And La Grande feels pretty safe, he said, except for all the falling icicles. The reason, he said, that crime like the recent robbery string surprises us (gasp!) is because our town does feel safe normally. And how do we keep LG feeling safe? Lt. Bell said get to know your neighbor!
And one last update, according to the Observer Newspaper, the lack of parking problem at Central School has been solved. How? They’re gonna tear down the high school tennis courts and build more parking there.
EOU is giving trees back to the community! This Christmas Season, EOU put up a bunch of Christmas trees on their campus. Then, they put tags on them with present ideas. Then, people took those tags and returned presents. Then EOU took those presents to charitable organizations around La Grande and gave them to people who needed presents. Some of those organizations included the Salvation Ary, Department of Human Services, Wildflower Lodge, La Grande Post Acute Rehab, Blue Mountain Human Association, and Eastern Oregon Home Start. I talked to Heather Cashell this week and she said that its one of many ways they try to help their community throughout the year. So be sure, if you see someone in Inlow at EOU, give them a big pat on the back and say good job for Giving Trees back to the community.
And speaking of Charity, local businessman Shawn Daggett is also giving away trees, his to needy family who couldn’t afford one. Last year Shawn put out a Facebook Ad saying, hey, anyone know anyone who can’t afford a tree? And he got names. And this year he stepped up his game and got names from DHS and the Oregon House authority and, sure enough, last week he showed up with decorated trees for the families. But he wasn’t alone. Several local businesses donated for the project including Ace Hardware, BiMart, Walmart and Grocery Shawn told them when he was asking them for donations that they wouldn’t get any recognition. “We don’t care”, they said. That’s not what Christmas is about. Good job guys.
The Polar Express has come, and gone. And nobody rode. This week the Union County Public Transit put on the Polar Express program. Every day the local transit sent a vehicle to one community in the county to pick people up and bring them Christmas Shopping. It was great for people who just didn’t have the means or courage with the snow to get into town. But nobody showed up! Not a single person called as of the middle of the week to get a ride. And Angie, the public transit director, told me that it was just bad advertising. Nobody knew about the program! So next year–and there will be a next year, Angie said–if you need a ride, call ahead and ride the Polar Express into town!
And in other travel news, despite the nasty weather, nobody has been injured on the road! Go figure. According to the Observer, there hasn’t been a single injury because of the roads in Union County. There was one accident this week in Summerville. A truck rolled over. But other than that, Union County residents are safe and sound despite that guy that tailgated me all the way out to Elgin last week. You know who you are. Justice will come to you.
Hallelujah! Messiah is coming to La Grande yet again! Handel’s Messiah is a Baroque classical oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The piece has been put on many times in La Grande between the 1970s and the present. And this Sunday at La Grande High School the piece will be played and sung yet again by a combination of singers and players from all across Eastern Oregon. And this week I got to sit down and talk to several of the members about what makes this piece of music so special to them.
Music is by its nature collaborative, several of my interviewees said. And one thing that makes this experience special for them is the coming together of people from different faiths, political ideologies, age and wealth demographics all with the single goal of making the music the best that it can be.
The story of the Little Princess is about Hayley, a ten year old girl who moves to London with her rich military father. But when big daddy warbucks—whoops! Wrong play–when big daddy Crewe is shipped off to the wars, the little girl is left in a religious school with a headmistress who is, well, let’s just say she’s the kind of person that makes people hate Christianity.
relationships.
Now, like Coleen McLeod-Skinner several weeks ago, Tim White is big on infrastructure: what he really wants to see in Eastern Oregon are more highways and interstates so that more big-business ventures will come into our area to manufacture. Kind of like the Boardman and Hermiston area. But roads mean taxes, you might be thinking, and taxes mean less money for me. And how exactly am I going to afford MORE taxes when I make 10 bucks an hour and have three kids to feed? Well, don’t worry. You won’t pay for the infrastructure, the feds will. And that’s the foundation of Tim’s vision: higher federal taxes on those with bigger tax brackets so that you don’t have to fork over more of your limited income to increase the infrastructure.
Now, the Marketplace Underground is the brain-baby of Al Adlesburger, a California Real Estate Developer moved to La Grande who has a heart for local business, a butload of money to invest, and a corvette with the license plate “U Ready?” to signal his belief that Jesus is coming back soon. Al doesn’t like to be on camera, so I didn’t get to talk to him. But what’s so singular about many of the businesses on this side of town is the owners’ dedication to Al and his vision.
