4A
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2019
The Observer
OUR VIEW
Don’t
forget to
shop local
With the offi cial start of the holiday shopping
season upon us, we would like to urge residents to
shop local, and here’s why.
When you spend money at a local store in, say,
downtown Pendleton or La Grande, you are doing
more than simply purchasing a gift. When you shop
at a locally owned small business, those dollars stay
in the community. That’s because local merchants
often purchase items from other locally owned
stores. Spending money at a small business in our
downtowns helps the overall business health of the
community.
Another element that makes shopping local ap-
pealing is that small businesses offer unique gifts.
But more than that, small business is a distinctive
piece of our small-town character. Small businesses
across Northeastern Oregon counties exude a sense
of place and the communities they set up shop in.
Another key to the benefi ts of shopping locally is
small businesses generally are the biggest employ-
ers at home.
Small merchants also typically invest in the
community. That means your dollars don’t fl y out of
town and end up at a corporate offi ce far away. No,
your dollars recirculate in the community and are
reinvested in many ways. Think about businesses
who donate so the local soccer team can buy new
jerseys or the dance team can travel to competition.
That reinvestment is often unnoticed, but it is im-
portant for a host of reasons, not the least of which
is it helps the community in the long run.
And shopping at a locally owned business can be
an intimate, positive experience. A patron often par-
ticipates in a one-on-one interaction with the person
who owns the business. The customer service is spe-
cialized and specifi c, and that counts for something
in our fast-paced world.
We are not immune to nor dismissive of the
attractions of big-box stores, such as Walmart or
Home Depot. The Walmarts of the world provide a
large array of choices. The convenience of one-stop
shopping offered by big-box stores has its benefi ts,
and most of us this year will journey through the
doors of Walmart or travel down the interstates to
larger metro centers, such as Portland or the Tri-
Cities, to do some Christmas shopping.
We’re not advocating abandoning shopping at a
big-box store, but only suggesting that when you
are out looking for those gifts, don’t forget about the
unique offerings of your local merchants.
The business strength of a small town isn’t exclu-
sive to just one type of merchant. We need Walmart
and we need small businesses. For those businesses
to survive — and if they prosper, we all prosper —
they need patrons.
Saturday is “Small Business Saturday” across the
country. We encourage you to shop local this year.
You won’t regret it.
Your views
LeBold: Electorate needs to
know more about Cap and
Trade Bill
To the Editor:
I am grateful to the La Grande Ob-
server for the Nov. 20 article on the Cap
and Trade Bill House Bill 2020. The
article updated the status of the bill
and the myriad issues that make this
bill extremely important to all citizens
of Oregon. What we need now is for
our elected offi cials to exhibit a little
leadership by informing their elector-
ate, through town hall meetings, on the
purpose, need and some options for this
bill. There is much confusion surround-
ing this bill and this will allow for some
clarifi cation and feedback from a more
informed electorate.
Charles LeBold
Union
Nelson: Why aren’t churches
providing winter shelter?
To the Editor:
It has been interesting to read about
the Union County Warming Shelter.
I question the need for such a facility.
There are dozens of already heated
churches in the area. Why are those
facilities not being used for helping
people in need? They should go beyond
giving them a warm place to stay, but
feed them as well.
Is being a good Christian simply at-
tending a Sunday service? Or a church
social? Church school? I know that
many churches have their own doctrine,
and maybe that is where charity ends.
Are you Christians in name only?
Bob Nelson
Cove
Brown: Grateful for hospice
team’s service during a
diffi cult time
To the Editor:
Last month my mother passed away.
She was 99 years old. Over the last two
years we were blessed to have Grande
Ronde Hospital’s Home Health and Hos-
pice care team administer to her needs.
Whether it was a social worker, nurse
or spiritual adviser, the care team was
always there to assist not only my mom
but also my wife and myself, who were
her caregivers. A hospice nurse was at
our home at 2 a.m. to comfort us on my
mother’s passing. We are very fortunate
here in the Grande Ronde Valley to have
such a dedicated team of individuals
to give us this important service. I am
truly grateful to GRH Home Health and
Hospice for being with my family during
my mother’s stay here in Cove.
Bob Brown
Cove
To the Editor:
There are so many good improve-
ments in the paper, I can’t mention
them all. Thanks to all of you for keep-
ing the paper going in spite of very dif-
fi cult months. I love getting the paper
and hope you are receiving lots of new
subscriptions.
Carol Campbell
La Grande
McHaddad: BMTD has had
year of historic change
To the Editor:
The Board of the Blue Mountain Trans-
lator District is grateful for community
support after a year of historic change.
BMTD has spent the last two years listen-
ing to community concerns and taking ac-
tion, resulting in the Legislature’s adoption
of Senate Bill 393 and 394.
SB 394 allows BMTD to seek new
revenue opportunities by creating a TV
channel with local news and informa-
tion and upgrading to next-generation
TV technology that will enable us to
utilize airwaves for additional data
delivery initiatives. SB 394 also per-
mits BMTD to work with stations to
transmit local emergency alerts on our
signals, and a grant from Wildhorse
Foundation allowed us to purchase new
equipment to upgrade our network
with this capability.
We are grateful for the legislative
support of Sen. Bill Hansell, Sen. Cliff
Bentz, Rep. Greg Barreto and Rep. Lynn
Findley. Our success in Salem was pos-
sible only with the assistance of Union
County; the cities of Elgin, Imbler, Island
City and North Powder; the fi re districts
serving Imbler, La Grande, Medical
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A division of
Springs, North Powder and Union;
Union County Chamber of Commerce;
and Union County Farm Bureau.
Government agencies such as BMTD
are responsible to the people, and we
look forward to continued dialogue with
the community to improve the telecom-
munications infrastructure of North-
east Oregon.
BMTD Board of Directors
Alex McHaddad, executive director
Tim Wallender, president
Jean Innerarity, Mike Kenny and
Christina Wood, directors
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Campbell: Pleased with
newspaper’s improvements
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La Grande, Oregon 97850
Publisher........................................Karrine Brogoitti
Classifieds ........................................ Devi Mathson
Regional circulation director ....................Kelli Craft
Home delivery advisor.................Amanda Fredrick
Editor .....................................................Phil Wright
Customer service rep ......................... Mollie Lynch
News clerk....................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative...............Juli Bloodgood
Sports editor .......................................Ronald Bond
Advertising representative...................... Amy Horn
Reporter................................................Dick Mason
Graphic design supervisor................Dorothy Kautz
Reporter....................................Sabrina Thompson
Graphic design ..............................Cheryl Christian
Chris Rush, Regional Publisher