One of the biggest changes I’ve encountered in my newspaper career revolves around the evolution of our sense of identity in Eastern Oregon.

When I began my newspaper career more than 20 years ago, our region was divided, for a lack of a better word, into silos. The news that occurred in Union County was distinct from what happened in Wallowa County or Umatilla County.

That’s all changed of course and, I think, the shift can be attributed to the advent and explosion of social media.

The terrain of the newspaper industry in Eastern Oregon changed as well. EO Media Group now covers, for the most part, most of our region.

That means, while specific areas of our region still retain its distinct nature, our news coverage encompasses places as far apart as La Grande to John Day.

In a way, to me at least, that means we’ve become more inclusive while still able to retain our individual features.

For a news organization, it means we must ensure we focus on the news that is important to each part of our coverage area while, at the same time, providing a platform where what occurs in, say, Baker County is relevant to Umatilla County and vice versa.

We have a lot of area to cover but we will continue to offer our readers the best coverage we can.

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

Former sports editor Ronald Bond contributed this week with a story about La Grande High graduate Andrew Peasley and his adjustment to his new school and his new team — the University of Wyoming. Peasley transferred from Utah State to Laramie in January, staying in the Mountain West Conference but moving to a school where he believes he will have a better chance to compete for time under center.

Reporter Dick Mason took a look at a drive that’s been launched to get a pair of initiative petitions on Oregon’s November 2024 election ballot designed to make it easier for parents to send their children to any public or private school in the state. One initiative petition would call for an Open Enrollment constitutional amendment and another would call for a School Choice constitutional amendment.

Reporter Isabella Crowley talked to a La Grande man who found his dog bleeding from a gunshot wound near his home by Bearco Loop and the Rendezvous RV Park. After trying to get the bleeding under control, Jacob Moseley rushed Waylon to a veterinarian, where the dog died. The family — and local law enforcement — is still searching for answers.

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