Oregon Tech’s Hustlin’ Owls show off the best side of college athletics year after year. They absorb the principles taught by basketball coach Danny Miles, quantified in his system of grading team members on “value points,” which measures a player’s overall contributions in a unified system.

It’s a bit of thinking outside the box that goes with Miles’ approach that also includes a commitment to fundamentals, devotion to teamwork and a belief in the importance of a good education. That’s a strong match for Oregon Institute of Technology — excellence on top of excellence. The college, which specializes in highly technical fields, usually — if not always — has the best placement rate for graduates in the Oregon University System. They are in demand and well paid.

Thursday the Owls begin their quest for their third NAIA Division II basketball championship in Branson, Mo., a familiar venue for the Owls, who often bring home the sportsmanship trophy — another hallmark of the Miles’ basketball program.

It’s the culmination of another outstanding season that included a fourth-straight Cascade Collegiate Conference championship. The Owls give local people a rallying point and a reason to look past the economic ills afflicting the city and county that gave birth to OIT, fought for its continued growth and share in its successes.

For that, thanks.

The Owls, 29-4, will play their opening game at 10 a.m. Thursday against Lourdes University of Ohio, 17-15. All of the OIT games will be broadcast on 92.5 KLAD-FM. Sports Editor Steve Matthies will be live updating on Twitter at heraldandnews.com/sports.

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Salem sends message: Is anybody listening?

It’s just a note to the president and Congress, but anything that focuses more attention on Oregon’s need to develop a better economic base is welcome.

The Oregon Legislature has approved a “memorial” to President Obama and Congress that asks support for an effort by three Oregon congressmen — Reps. Greg Walden, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader — to put Oregon’s 2.4 million acres of O&C lands under the management of two trusts, each of which would manage about half the land. One would include lands best suited for production and the other lands best suited for preservation.

The land is mostly in Western Oregon, but includes a small portion in Klamath County. It is named after the Oregon and California Railroad, which got the lands as a grant from the U.S. government to spur development. The government took the land back when the railroad failed to sell it to settlers.

Counties get a portion of the annual revenue from O&C timber sales in proportion to the amount of O&C land in each county.

Rural Oregon counties, including Klamath, are hurting because of a poor economy and the end of the federal county timber payments program, which sent funds to them because of the large amounts of federal forest land they have. The federal government pays no property taxes and that land is generally unavailable for private development.

Thus it seemed reasonable to back an effort to put a stronger economic base under the rural counties, but even a “memorial” that has no legal force didn’t make it through the Legislature unscathed. It had some opposition and underwent some changes. It was approved in its final legislative step in a 21-6 vote of the Oregon Senate.

Still, it’s a message to Washington, D.C., and we hope someone is listening.

Pat Bushey wrote today’s editorials.

The members of the Herald and News editorial board are Publisher Heidi Wright, Editor Steve Miller and Forum Editor Pat Bushey.

The community advisers to the editorial board are Jeff Ball, Kate Marquez and Steve Harper.

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