There is a lot going on locally and if you missed a few issues of The Observer this week I’d like to point you to a story I think resonates across the region.

Preliminary work on Eastern Oregon University’s Grand Staircase is ongoing and that should be good news for residents in La Grande and across Eastern Oregon.

The vintage architectural structure long ago began to deteriorate and an effort to restore is has been mission of commitment and love for a corps of local residents, agencies and lawmakers.

Now officials are gearing up to finish the restoration project next year but the roots of the venture can be traced back to people who saw a potential opportunity and sought a way to achieve an important goal.

Thanks to $4 million from the Oregon Legislature the project is on the way to becoming a unique success story.

Such projects are hard to beat in terms of enhancing the community but what the restoration effort really shows is the power of people who care about something and decide to preserve it and work to find a solution.

We get too focused sometimes on problems and not enough on how to solve a particular challenge.

That’s why the grand staircase project is important. It is an illustration of what can happen when people band together to do something good for the community.

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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.

Reporter Dick Mason had a feature on the 300,000-pound tower crane that is turning many heads in La Grande. The crane is helping with the $72.5 million Grande Ronde Hospital capital construction project on Sunset Drive. It may be the tallest ever to operate in Union County, according to project manager Jordan Tiegs, of Bouten Construction Co., based in Richland, Washington, the firm in charge of the hospital project.

The Observer reporter/photographer Isabella Crowley reported on Blossom, a victim advocate K-9 specialist and the newest hire at the Union County District Attorney’s Office. Blossom’s primary job is to assist people going through the court process. Blossom will be a consistent and calming presence through highly stressful situations and can be there every step of the way — from meeting with members of the district attorney’s office to speaking with the grand jury to testifying in court.

And for those eager to hit the slopes, looks like there’s good news on that front.

Coming next week, we will update fall enrollment numbers at Eastern Oregon University.

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