THE UNDERGROUND OPENS, LIBERTY GETS BIG BUCKS – Weekly Newsish Roundup:
NOVEMBER 16TH – 22ND, 2017
Check out your weekly Newsish Roundup for NOV 16-22 2017
In the news today:
- New Stores Downstairs
- Liberty Gets Big Bucks
- Loving the Dying – National Hospice Month
- Get Out and GO
- Sport Spotlight
- Around The Mountain in 90 Seconds
This video was brought to you by Northwest Furniture and Mattress, Grande Ronde Hospital, EONI, Anything2Digital.com, Country Financial, Valley Realty, and Les Schwab Tires
For more local content, visit our website at http://lagrandealive.tv!
hospice, restaurante, business, marketplace, sports, theater
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New Stores Downstairs
After years of waiting, Marketplace Underground is finally opening its doors. And there’s stores! Really nice ones! For nearly six years now the Marketplace Underground has been under-construction on 4th and Washington. They’ve had numerous setbacks including stores leaving, pipes breaking and basement flooding, and not to mention the slow but sure dripping nature of small-town progress. But it’s open, and several new stores including a Thai restaurant, two antique stores, artist exhibitions, potters workshops, and several boutique clothe and shoe stores are open for business. And this week I got the opportunity to sit down with two of the owners of the stores and ask them about what they’ve got going on.
Now, the Marketplace Underground is the brain-baby of Al Adlesburger, a California Real Estate Developer moved to La Grande who has a heart for local business, a butload of money to invest, and a corvette with the license plate “U Ready?” to signal his belief that Jesus is coming back soon. Al doesn’t like to be on camera, so I didn’t get to talk to him. But what’s so singular about many of the businesses on this side of town is the owners’ dedication to Al and his vision.
There will be more stores coming soon including more clothing stores, another restaurant, an art gallery, and several the owners are keeping their mouths shut about. It’s a beatiful space, so even if you don’t buy anything go down and enjoy the atmosphere of local-art, painted ceilings and floors, plus the relaxing cadence of classical music that constantly plays over the PA system.
Liberty Gets Big Bucks
They wanted it and they got it. $200,000 big ones awarded to the Liberty Theatre foundation by the state of Oregon. Last week the Liberty Theatre hosted an arts and music night in celebration of two things: the revealing of the newly-refurbished antique chandelier of the Liberty and the announcement of their award from the State of Oregon. Dozens of acts including singing by Michael Frasier and Brent Smith, a Shakespeare scene by the La Grande Shakespeare troupe, and more all preceded the announcement by Oregon State Senator Hansell about the award. Senator Hansell is the district 29 representative for Eastern Oregon on the state senate. And before the event I got the opportunity to sit down with him and ask him why, exactly, he pushed for this award so much.
Senator Hansell was a soft-spoken yet distinguished speaker who really believed in the power of the arts both to create vibrant communities and also to drive economic development. Art venues create appeal for young families, he said, giving them activities for their children to be a part of as well as entertainment and reason to settle down in small towns like La Grande.
Now, that all being said, not everyone believes in the Liberty renovation. Why are we spending millions of dollars renovating an old theatre, especially millions of taxpayer dollars that could be spent in other ways or just left in the pockets of those who earned them? Well, I asked Mike Frasier, one of the Liberty board members this question, and this is what he had to say.
More information about the liberty theatre can be found on their website. You can also see the full interviews with Senator Hansell and Mike Frasier on La Grande Alive’s Facebook page.
Loving The Dying – National Hospice Month
Dying sucks. At least for many people it does. There’s pain, suffering, and leaving life unfulfilled is a horrible emotional experience. Many people in our modern life don’t die gracefully. And caring for those who are dying is an equally difficult experience sometimes, both physically and emotionally, for those providing the care.
This month is National Hospice Month. And to celebrate it (if celebrate is even the right word) Theresa Smith-Dixon came down the hill from Grande Ronde Hospital to chat with me about hospice. Hospice is care for those who are dying, she said, and it’s been an active profession since about the 1970s. For many people, caring for their loved ones in their last years involves a lot of uncertainty, confusion, and suffering. But hospice helps. Hospice is a team of people all with particular skills and competencies all oriented around helping people be more comfortable in their dying days. And Theresa said that, though she didn’t plan to get into hospice when she was younger, seeing first-hand the effect it can have on a person’s outlook made it her life’s work.
But hospice is a tough gig. My fiancée did hospice home-care when she was in high school and it was difficult. Many times people are very particular and bitter and even the simple fact of being around dying people can have an emotional toll on those who are caring for them. But Theresa said that, though the job is tough, being around suffering connects her through her own suffering to the rest of the human race.
The interview was a fantastic look into the world of end-of-life care that seriously made me consider my own parent’s coming last days. The rest of the interview can be watched on LaGrandeAlive’s website or facebook page.
Get Out and Go!
And here’s your upcoming events with Emily Adair in Get Out and Go!
Sports Spotlight
And here’s your local sports in Sports Spotlight
