A recent family reunion I attended up in Wallowa County, along with some health issues earlier this year, has really got me thinking about this summer and the opportunity to try something new. 

The past two years have been hard on everyone with the pandemic disrupting nearly everything. So maybe now is the time to re-engage in an activity or try a new one. Mental health is something that nearly everyone struggles with at one time or another, and one way to address that could be to find an activity or event that you enjoy.

So why did I decide now is the time to do this? A recent visit with mainly older family members and their stories about life adventures will make you reevaluate in a hurry. If I didn’t realize before, I certainly do now: Time is precious, why waste it. 

I am treating this as a quasi-New Year’s resolution for the summer, returning to reading for fun. I did this last summer before putting the books (or e-books) down, but I enjoyed it too much not to get back to it. It is certainly not a major change, but one that will be positive.

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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 Dick Mason covered the debate between candidates for the Union County Board of Commissioners Position 1. It was a rather quiet debate — no real sparks or contentious comments — but voters got a chance to evaluate the race’s two candidates, incumbent Paul Anderes and challenger Lisa Hill, in person and on issues important to Union County voters.

Dick also profiled the highly successful a cappella choir at La Grande High School, which won its third state Class 4A state championship recently. The Tigers have now won six state titles in the past 10 years, claiming the title in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 (when it tied for first) and 2019, all under the direction of Kevin Durfee. This is the second time LHS has won three straight state choir titles, winning state championships in 2001, 2002 and 2003 under the direction of Michael Frasier. 

Coming next week, Dick Mason will have a story about a popular coffee shop that is set to reopen at its old location.

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