Better times ahead

Christmas is near and we have snow, which is as it should be.

It is in the main old snow, though, and rather threadbare.

The beauty of newfallen snow is of course ephemeral. This is especially so in the cities, even modestly sized ones like our own, where it is quickly shoveled and plowed and pounded to slush by passing tires.

Few sights seem to us as sad as a mound of grimy snow piled at the far corner of a parking lot.

That scene could serve as a symbol for 2009.

It has been a difficult year for our country and our state and our county.

Unemployment statistics say we have locally weathered the recession better than many other parts of Oregon and the nation.

Which is not to say we have been immune.

Some of Baker County’s major employers have been affected by layoffs, changes in ownership and mandated furlough days; and our farmers and ranchers have been hurt by low commodity prices.

Changes in our business have affected each of you, our readers, as well. Since June 1 we have delivered a newspaper to you three times a week instead of the five-day schedule we had kept up for more than 20 years.

We appreciate your continued readership.

We’re just as committed now as we were before June 1 to tell you what’s happening in the community we share.

Along the way we hope to not only inform you, but to make you think, and laugh, and, sometimes, even to make you cry.

Thanks for sticking with us. Your letters, story suggestions and advertising continue to make us a uniquely Baker County newspaper.

Ultimately, we’re confident that the same qualities which have served Baker County well during these trying times, among them the loyalty and optimism of our people and our readers, will go a long ways to making 2010 better than 2009.