How many times have you heard business owners complain that they’re struggling to stay open because they can’t find enough willing and qualified workers? And how many times have you heard about young people leaving the small, rural communities of Eastern Oregon in search of opportunities they just can’t find at home?

A recent event at the Grant County Fairgrounds was an attempt to flip the script on both of those depressing narratives.

Trades Day, held on March 21 and 22, brought together employers in the building trades and related occupations such as logging, auto repair, electrical work and welding with potential employees in those fields. 

Unions, trade schools and training organizations were also represented. There were panel discussions, live demonstrations, displays of heavy equipment and plenty of information about training and educational resources for people interested in pursuing a career in any number of good-paying blue collar occupations.

The second day was set aside for high school students, and by all accounts, they loved it.

“I’m super happy to be able to ask questions and expand my knowledge,” Norbert Volny, a 17-year-old student from Long Creek School, told Blue Mountain Eagle reporter Neil Nisperos after watching the manager of the John Day Les Schwab Tire Center remove a giant tire from a loader truck.

It was an opportunity for employers to recruit for hard-to-fill positions, a chance for area residents to find good jobs, and an eye-opening experience for local high school students. It was also an opportunity for Neil to show off his video-making chops. You can find Neil’s story about Trades Day — and his short video on the event — on our website.

Other highlights of last week’s edition include Justin Davis’ story about about a vending machine stocked with books at Prairie City School, my report on a revived quilt-making tradition at the John Day Elks Lodge and three pages’ worth of essays from Humbolt School fifth-graders on how to make Grant County a better place for all of us.

As always, I want to take this opportunity to thank our subscribers for their support. We can’t do this work without you!

— Bennett Hall, Editor