Nobody is wandering the streets with signs proclaiming The End is Near.

If they were, we might mistake them for Halloween costumes.

But there is an abundant grumbling about what is wrong with Baker, fueled by a laundry list of potential ills: another recall election on the horizon; the costly resolution of discord at Baker School District 5J; a seeming feud over the city manager on the Baker City Council.

Pretty awful, huh? Better pack up and move out. Nothing worth saving here, right?

Well, reader, heal thyself. Trouble and unrest are just ways that problems sometimes work themselves out. And while they might be symptomatic of a community struggling to develop better coping skills, our diagnosis remains optimistic.

Just last week, students at Baker High School revived a dormant tradition, Boot Stomp, and availed themselves of another opportunity to show some school spirit. Thats hardly a sign of students harmed by the far-away machinations of the school board and the teachers union.

Thats right: were convinced you can top any list of ills with a list twice as long of wonderful things about this community. For some reason, some people remember and embrace the ill at the expense of the good.

Meanwhile, your neighbors are busy. This week alone:

Baker High Schools choir and band perform tonight at 7 p.m., and Thursday the Middle School does the same;

Old black andamp; white horror films begin showing downtown tonight at 7 p.m. at 2036 Main Street for only a $1;

The Eastern Oregon Symphony performs Saturday in Baker City;

An artist who walked across Israel with his watercolors and a goat speaks Thursday night;

And Saturdays Baker County Library open house will show not only the pride our community has in the library, but how your voter-approved tax dollars have been spent.

Still not convinced that you live in one of the greatest communities in Oregon?

Heres our prescription:

Wander downtown Wednesday between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and just watch. Next year, youll be back in costume.

If you have never been downtown on Halloween, it is a wonderful sight.

Thousands of children in costume delighting adults at shops and offices all along Main Street and beyond, who in turn treat their visitors with candy and toys.

Weve never heard of anything similar.

But then, weve never heard of anywhere anything like Baker City.