Shoveling out a barn doesn’t take a lot of mental focus. Neither does mowing a field.

Such chores give me a lot of time for thinking. Lately, I’ve been thinking a great deal about the future of Grant County’s economy.

And there’s just nothing very funny about that topic.

The news gets worse by the day. The unpredictable price of oil sapped everyone’s wallet. Then came the national train wreck with those ginned-up mortgage deals. And now comes news that another local sawmill is shutting down.

None of us in the county can persuade OPEC to cut its prices. Henry Paulson at the U.S. Treasury Department isn’t on the line, seeking advice on how to rescue the country’s economy. And smart people have been working for years on ways to keep the mills going.

Was there something, I wondered, that local folks could do?

That led to the upcoming Grant County Economic Summit. The summit will let us all learn about what’s really happening to our local economy, what are some possibilities to improve it, and then settle on a few very real steps to make something happen.

Excellent leaders in several fields have agreed to give up a chunk of their day to help. The summit starts with experts explaining what’s happened by the numbers – in cattle, wood products, tourism, and even government employment. We’ll see what the trends are – and what they are likely to be.

Sally Bartlett, the county economic development officer, will share what’s going on already to boost the local economy. Sally has been all over the county, trying to make something happen. She’s doing her level best to get new jobs, but she can’t do it alone.

Once we have an idea of where we’ve been, another round of local leaders will share where they think we can go. Speakers have been asked to point out ways we can expand industries and businesses here. This isn’t about trying to drag a Microsoft factory into Prairie City. I suspect these speakers will provide some dynamite ideas – and realistic ones to boot.

Then the talking will be over and it will be time to turn to action. Anyone who shows up will have a chance to speak up about what could be done. A thousand good ideas are likely to fly. The hope is to channel those ideas into a few immediate steps. We’ll figure out as a group which ones to pursue – and who should pursue them.

This, really, is about The Possible.

This isn’t about pointing blame for the way things are. This isn’t about just whining about how tough life is in the county. This isn’t about listing – the one millionth time – all the things we CAN’T do in Grant County.

This is about doing what we can, and doing it largely on our own. We can’t wait for Salem or Washington, D.C., to ride to our rescue. Who would want that anyway?

Consider the history of this territory. Consider the ranchers, miners and loggers who moved into the area in the 1800s. You think we’re remote today; think what their lives were like. They were pioneers in many ways. To make it, they were self-reliant. No matter the challenge or problem, those pioneers had to suck it up and solve it themselves.

I think that’s where we are in Grant County. We need to be pioneers. We need to do what we can on our own to make things better. And I’m convinced we can. Grant County has a lot of smart people, hard workers, and dreamers. You might be surprised how many resources – in money and people – are available here to work on creating jobs, growing existing businesses, and encouraging new ones.

As I’ve talked about the summit, a few folks have shaken their heads. “This has been tried before,” they tell me. Their real message is: “What’s the use?” My response: If you do nothing, that’s exactly what you’ll accomplish: nothing.

The doors are wide open at this summit. This isn’t only for the multi-tasking leaders who seem to drive just about everything in the county. This is for anyone who calls Grant County home.

If you’re concerned about the economy, if you’re the least bit interested in where we can go, put the summit on your calendar and drop on by. This is a moment for folks in Grant County to honor the pioneers who opened up this country by showing the same “can do’ spirit they did.

If you feel like shaking off the gloom and linking arms with the rest of us to get moving, I’ll be eager to welcome you to the summit.

Les Zaitz writes occasionally about ranch life from the Middle Fork. He can be reached at zaitzbcr@starband.net.