Sunday afternoon Cathy and I decided to go for a drive just to see what we could find. We headed out through Annex and flipped a coin to go right or left when we got to Highway 201. The coin was heads, so we went right. As most of you know, there isn’t a lot to see or do going that direction, at least for quite a while.
When we got to Farewell Bend we flipped the coin again, went right again, and headed toward the railroad town of Huntington. However, just off the exit we noticed an Oregon Trail sign with an arrow. This time we didn’t flip a coin to see what to do. We knew the picking would be slim so we took the opportunity when it presented itself.
We crossed back over the freeway and headed up the hill on a gravel road. Eventually we came to a sign on the right on top of a knoll. There was something a path up to the sign. It turns out the path was the Oregon Trail. We could walk along and follow the Trail for quite a ways, but since we were in flip flops, chose to turn around sooner rather than later. The sign showed a map of the trail from Fort Boise down by Parma up through Baker City. There were also diary entries from emigrants about their experience when they said “farewell” to the Snake River and headed toward the Columbia.
This didn’t count as one of our most exciting experiences, but it was a nice little history lesson for a Sunday afternoon.
Moving on to another subject, economically we at the City are beginning to brace for tighter times. As you are obviously aware, prices are higher and money is not stretching as far. Just this morning, Pat Malay from the Street Department was telling me that that crack sealer for the streets that cost $21,000 last year, cost $45,000 this year for the same amount. These kinds of increases force us to prioritize on a lot of hard choices.
Also, as a community, when the economy is tighter, it becomes more important than ever to support our local businesses. The local business owners have invested their wealth, time, and talents to provide goods and services for your convenience and to make Weiser a better place to live, work, and play. Take a second to think about the goods and services you use that you take for granted and what life would be like if these goods and services were not available. We hardly think about such things as the ability to pop down to the corner C-store or the grocery store to get milk, or the ability to go to the hardware store to get what you need for a repair, or the ability to have lunch, and to have a choice of what type of lunch. There isn’t room in this article to list even half of the goods and services that are available locally.
During tight times, local businesses feel the pinch just as tightly as you do and if we want those businesses to be here when it is convenient for us, we must be there for the businesses when it is not so convenient.
Besides, have you ever taken a look at all that is offered here in Weiser. I have lived in towns both larger and smaller than Weiser and Weiser has a lot to offer!
So, when you are out and about outside of Weiser, rather than going ahead and picking up items that can be purchased here, consider holding off until you get back. Or rather than going straight to Amazon, to buy what you need or want, take a look here before you buy. Supporting local business is part of being a community and being community is what makes Weiser a great place to live, work, and play.
As for City news this week, I just received a call from Ken Anderson from the Recreation Department. The City Pool just received its second inspection for the year from Southwest District Health. Ken was told that the Weiser City Pool is the best- looking, best kept pool in the District. Thank You Ken and lifeguard staff for making the City Pool something we can enjoy and be proud of.
Well, that’s it for this week. Thank you for making Weiser the community that it is!
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