The email came to the newsroom and to say it brought a surge of electricity would be an understatement.

The email announced the return of the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival to the Union County Fairgrounds on Saturday, June 25. This year’s festival will be the eighth and despite some turbulent times during those eight years, the annual event, which is coordinated by and serves as a fundraiser for La Grande Main Street Downtown, seems poised to remain a signature event for the city and county for years to come.

The beer festival took a break — like most everything else — in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it returned in 2021 with an August date and this year will return to its more traditional weekend in June.

The event holds a special place for myself and other longtime employees here at The Observer. Anytime the beer festival comes up, I can’t help but remember back to the event’s first year in 2014 and manning a booth to promote Go! Northeast Oregon — now known as Go! Eastern Oregon. I remember a great day, surrounded by a lot of great people — both current and former coworkers — and some great beer. Lots of great memories and this year’s event, undoubtedly, will bring plenty more.

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If you missed one or more issues of The Observer this week, here are a couple of items you might have missed.

Reporter Davis Carbaugh turned in a nice profile on the Elgin High School band qualifying for its first-ever trip to the state competition. The Huskies took first place at the 1A Special District 4 competition to earn an automatic qualifier to the OSAA state band competition in Corvallis.

Reporter Dick Mason reported on Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen’s change of heart in pushing for a new public safety building to replace the aging structure on the corner of K Avenue and Sixth Street in La Grande. Bowen, who last year had proposed hiring a design firm to develop a conceptual plan for a new public safety building, wants to reevaluate and see if other options should be considered.

Coming next week, Davis will have a story about a new veterans group taking shape in Union County.

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As always, I want to take this opportunity to thank our subscribers for their support. We can’t do this work without you.