Salvation Army volunteers Art Trice, left, and Nathan Mackie put together Thanksgiving dinner boxes at the La Grande Service Unit on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. 

LA GRANDE — The future of the La Grande branch of the Salvation Army, which has been in limbo since October, is starting to become clear.

While there isn’t an exact timeline available for when the local office will again be operational, the organization is taking the necessary steps to get the La Grande branch up and running, according to Major Jonathan Harvey, the divisional commander from the Salvation Army’s Cascade division.

“We’re looking to fill one position ASAP,” Harvey said.

The local office has been closed due to a series of unfortunate events that rippled outward in effect, according to Harvey.

The divisional commander explained that the person who was running the La Grande office suddenly passed away and the remaining employee resigned, which left the branch without any staff members to operate the location.

Around the same time Grace Bible Church of Union County was undergoing a change in deacon leadership, Harvey said. This impacted the local branch of the Salvation Army because the organization operates out of Grace Bible Church, 1114 Y Ave., through an agreement with the church. The existing agreement was coming to an end and needed to be renewed. However, Harvey said, the church wanted to wait until the new leader was in place before working on a new agreement.

At the same time the Baker City branch of the Salvation Army, which oversees and provides technical assistance to the La Grande location, also had an employee vacancy.

“It was the perfect storm of events,” Harvey said.

Finally it seems the storm is clearing. The divisional commander said that a new person is in place in Baker City and the Salvation Army is currently going through the internal processes of finalizing a new agreement with Grace Bible Church.

With interviews underway to fill the position in La Grande, Harvey is hopeful the branch will reopen soon. He said that the organization is working to get one position filled as soon as possible and then will evaluate the need for a second employee. Harvey added that they will also be reviewing the current needs of the community to ensure those needs are being met.

The Salvation Army, founded in England in 1865, is an international evangelical organization that operates a range of social service programs in 133 countries around the world.

The Salvation Army has had a presence in Union County for decades and has always been a stalwart helper for community members. This is especially true during the holiday season when families rely on the Salvation Army for Thanksgiving and Christmas food boxes as well as programs like the Angel Tree.

The Salvation Army partnered with the Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank to make sure food services would continue to be provided to the region, Harvey said. While the Angel Tree program was not something the Salvation Army could facilitate in Union County this Christmas, local individuals and agencies came together to help close the gap.

Harvey said he is incredibly grateful for how the community in Union County has stepped up to support each other in this time of need.