When Wallowa County residents think back on 2022, it will be the big headlines that come first:

• A devastating hailstorm that hammered Wallowa on Aug. 11, shattering windows and windshields, destroying roofs, causing millions of dollars in damage — and leaving residents with nightmarish memories.

• Wildfires burning again throughout the county in August and September, filling the valley with smoke for weeks on end and, in some cases, triggering evacuation orders.

• Communities struggling, for the third straight year, with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those are among the headlines that initially come to mind, in part because our brains are hardwired to focus first on bad news.

But if you look beyond those headlines, another story starts to emerge — a story of resilient communities and resourceful neighbors who will drop everything to lend a hand.

In many ways, the events of 2022 help to underscore that story. Consider:

• The town of Wallowa still faces a monumental task of rebuilding (you can read more about that on Page A1 of today’s edition). But the same day those hailstones hit the town, residents from throughout the county were converging there to see what they could do to help.

• The Double Creek Fire and the Eagle Cap Wilderness fires offered another test to the county’s residents — but as another fire season ended (others surely will come), residents took stock of the preparations they had made beforehand and found they generally had worked well. County communities still have work to do to improve their resilience to wildfire, but we’ve come a long way.

• COVID-19, of course, still is with us, and it still poses a danger. And the next pandemic is coming at some point; that’s not a question of “if,” it’s a question of “when.” But the county’s medical system survived this stern test, and learned important lessons for next time. And, after three years of social distancing, one big theme throughout 2022 was that the county’s communities started, once again, to gather together.

You could see that happening throughout Wallowa County, week after week, as winter gave way to spring and then summer. Community festivals resumed after two or three years of cancellations. Lederhosen were brought out of closets for the annual Oregon’s Alpenfest; other festivals and parades clogged parks and downtown streets. Community chorales resumed singing in concert. Residents gathered in person again for fundraising events.

Life went on in other ways as well: This was a good year for the harvest (despite the armyworms). High school athletes competed, and in some cases, brought home state titles. The actor Jack Black caused a minor sensation when he and his family spent a weekend at Wallowa Lake.

It’s all part of the tapestry of another year in Wallowa County. We know 2023 will bring more news, both good and bad, to the county. Our commitment at the Chieftain is to cover that news the best we can, and to remember the broader context behind it: communities that, year in and year out, demonstrate their toughness, their resilience and, yes, their compassion and willingness to pitch in to help neighbors whenever they need a hand. The news may change from year to year, but that endures.

And from all of us at the Chieftain and the EO Media Group: Happy new year.