Fear Not

Trick-or-treaters notwithstanding, these are scary times for some of our households. As the Times reported last week, more families are showing up at the local food bank needing basic support. Ac- cording to board members who run the Waitsburg Resource Center, 10 more families are stopping by regularly these days compared to the same period last year.

That brings the number of neighbor families in need to 65, for a total of 157 people in Waitsburg alone.

In Dayton, the local food bank puts its number of clients there at 160 per month.

There are other indicators of hard times. Many retailers in Waitsburg and Dayton are showing soft local sales. As reported before, if it weren't for travelers, some small busi- nesses in our valley's economy wouldn't make it.

Behind those reports is competition from big box stores in Walla Walla, but also a challenging labor market. Although well below the state and national average unemployment rate, the jobless rate in Walla Walla has been edging up since June when it was just under 7 percent. It is now at 7.5 percent.

At 9.7 percent, Columbia County's unemployment rate is higher than the national and state average, but it has grown only slightly since July when it stood at about 9.4 percent. Its labor market prospects have been dampened by the postpone- ment of Puget Sound Energy's new wind farm project.

But as our story about the shortage of pickers at Warren Orchards shows, the picture is complex. There are opportuni- ties, perhaps temporary, that go unanswered.

And the long-term outlook is improving. Hard as things may look right now, we're here to tell you things will turn around, and in some ways and some areas, things are already getting better.

There has been a lot of talk in this election about the national economy. What's important to remember is that economies move in business cycles that, like it or not, even presidents have little control over. We may be among the last to experience an economic upturn as it rolls across the coun- try to the Northwest and eventually to our neck of the woods, but we just need to hang in there and wait it out. It will come.

With so many agricultural producers in our two counties, our valley is tied as closely to the ups and downs of global markets as our nation's economy if not more. The price they get for their wheat depends on worldwide demand and the successes or failures of crops elsewhere in the world.

Right now, the price is high and they're doing well, though the ripple effect of their prosperity on our valley's economy depends on how of their income they spend locally.

But there are other reasons we're optimistic. In Columbia County, for instance, we predict the new Best Western Hotel, slated to open next year, will be positive for local employ- ment, retail sales and taxes.

Reports about prospective tenants for the Port of Colum- bia's Blue Mountain Station bode well for the effect that economic development project will have in the coming years.

The future of Waitsburg's economy isn't stagnant either. The Port of Walla Walla recently reported it has a prospect, Harry Johnson Plumbing & Excavating, for its industrial park east of town.

And even though McGregor's purchase of the city's 25 acres does not translate into any immediate expansion plans, it does position Waitsburg to be considered for such plans should McGregor decide to grow its operations in this market.

The best thing for families in need to do is to prepare them- selves as much as possible for these potential employment opportunities through skills training or retraining. And what the rest of our communities can do to help them is support our food banks to assist our neighbors until things get better.