Working Homes LLC, the newly formed subsidiary of Wallowa Resources that’s focusing on affordable workforce housing in the county, held its second community meeting on Thursday, Aug. 31 to update residents on its efforts.

By any measure, the work the organization has done thus far has been impressive, especially since Working Homes has been a going concern only since the start of the year. It’s working on projects in Wallowa, Enterprise and Joseph — and, in fact, has said from the start that its efforts will be countywide, because the shortage of affordable housing is an issue (possibly the biggest single issue) now facing the county.

The tone of the meeting last week seemed somewhat more relaxed than a previous meeting held in June. That meeting seemed a little — well, “contentious” is probably too strong a word, but it was dominated by legitimate questions, mainly from Joseph residents, about the group’s plans to develop a 20-acre parcel in that city for affordable workforce housing.

Not all those questions have been answered yet (and, again, to be fair, it’s still too early to expect Working Homes to have all the answers). But some of the ideas behind all three projects are starting to come into focus, and a group from Scott Edwards Architecture, a Portland firm Working Homes is collaborating with, offered potential ideas (starting points for discussion, really) for the Joseph project.

But here’s the thing to keep in mind about these questions: Many of the answers won’t come from Working Homes or architects but from the residents of Wallowa County. That’s a point Lisa Collier, the mayor of Joseph, made during the meeting as she urged residents to get involved with the process.

Some of this work almost certainly will involve reshaping city and county ordinances and codes, and those efforts always go better with public input. And all of this work revolves around fundamental questions: What do we want Wallowa County to be in five years? Ten years? Twenty-five years? Where do want to see change? What do we want to be sure to preserve?

Working Homes has made good thus far on its promise to involve the public as much as possible, and will offer additional opportunities this year for feedback. And governmental bodies throughout the county also will be looking for public input as they work to make sure we have adequate and affordable housing for the people who want to live in the county.

Now is the time for county residents to start thinking about these important questions — and to take advantage of opportunities to make sure that their voices help shape the answers.

About sports coverageWe’re at the start of another prep sports season, with football, volleyball and cross-country teams all swinging into action. In general, our plans are to offer game results online at wallowa.com as soon as they’re available, and to run standings and schedules in the Wednesday print edition, along with stories and features about notable teams and athletes.

But, as you likely have figured out by now, the Chieftain has no dedicated sports staff, so we could use some help. If you have suggestions for sports stories — profiles of outstanding student-athletes, for example — let us know. If you’re interested in writing about sports for us on a freelance basis, send us a note. And we’re always looking for good photographs from games or meets — if you’re willing and able to take quality photos at sporting events, send us an email at editor@wallowa.com and let’s talk.