Page 2C
YOUR EO NEWS
East Oregonian
Saturday, November 5, 2016
ENGAGEMENT
Boardman sews up 12th annual quilt show
Lila Killingbeck of
Boardman and Jane Stark
of Hermiston received the
people’s choice awards during
the Boardman Quilt Show.
Held Oct. 7-8 at the
Boardman Senior Center,
more than 120 visitors viewed
74 quilts on display during the
12th annual event. In addition,
a pair of mini-classes featured
quilting tips. Killingbeck
and Cheryl Tallman led
Quilt As You Go and Carley
Schriever presented Extraor-
dinary Trunk Show.
Also, Create a Block for a
Charity Quilt was a popular
activity. Quilters of all ages
selected precut squares and
strips to arrange in a heritage
block pattern. The blocks
were sewn by Nancy Pace
and Glenda Bozarth. As a
winter activity, quilt group
members will sew the colorful
blocks into charity quilts.
A couple from San
Francisco won the Christ-
mas-themed raffl e quilt.
They were traveling through
Boardman as they explored
the Pacifi c Northwest, said
Carol Michael of the quilt
group. While traveling from
Spokane to Oregon coast with
a friend, the pair returned to
Boardman after seeing the
“Quilt Show” sign at Love’s
Truck Stop. A Tri-Cities
woman took the Red & Black
Romance raffl e quilt home.
Proceeds from the raffl e
quilts will be used for
community needs. Boardman
Quilt Group members are
often involved in community
service projects, including
constructing a quilt and
raffl ing it to benefi t the Gavin
Roberts Scholarship Fund,
sending quilts to victims of
wildfi res in Fort McMurray,
Canada, and providing quilts
to area nonprofi ts and social
service agencies, as well as
Doernbecher
Children’s
Hospital in Portland. Also, a
pair of members teach quilting
classes during an after-school
program at Windy River
Elementary School.
Plans
are
already
underway for the 2017 show
with Killingbeck as the
featured quilter.
McConnell-McBride
Ellie McConnell of
Portland and Paul McBride
of Belfast, Northern Ireland,
are
announcing
their
engagement.
Ellie is the daughter of
Jacqueline Lusby of Seaside
and Robert and Monica
McConnell of Pendleton.
She is a 2010 graduate of
Pendleton High School and
a 2015 graduate of Port-
land State University. She
currently works in property
management in Portland.
Paul is the son of Adrian
and Michelle McBride
of Portavogie, Northern
Ireland. He graduated from
Regent House Grammar
School in 2010 and spent
fi ve years with the Royal Air
Force. He works as a JavaS-
cript engineer for PiggyPot.
When Selene Torres-Me-
drano talks about her
childhood, you can tell it’s
not an easy subject for her to
discuss. She grew up with no
father and a mother who was
physically and emotionally
absent. Selene and her sisters
had to take care of their many
siblings and in her words
“learn to be tough growing
up.”
Selene’s escape was
school.
Her
teachers,
who knew of her home
life, described Selene as
“resilient.” Her third grade
teacher, Mr. Emmons,
noticed her interests and gave
her back issues of National
Geographic. Mrs. Wilson,
her fourth grade teacher, read
“The Chronicles of Narnia”
every day to the class, and
got Selene interested in the
school’s Battle of the Books.
“My teachers all went
above and beyond to help
me,” Selene said.
In fi fth grade, Mr. Lorence
instilled in her a love of
science, which continued the
next year when Mrs. McElroy
helped her do a science project
extracting DNA from onions.
According to Selene, this
project “stunk up the entire
sixth grade hallway,” but what
she remembers is the support
of her teacher and how she
Photo contributed by Michele Madril
Selene Torres-Medrano
believed in her.
Although things were
good at school, her home
environment continued to
deteriorate. Her sisters, 13
and 14, left home. She had
become interested in sports
and was pursuing volleyball,
basketball and track. But she
still had to care for her siblings
and after the family moved to
Hermiston, it was diffi cult
for her mother to drive her
to Umatilla. Tensions esca-
lated, Selene became angry
and despite being a good
student previously, her grades
faltered. She said she put up
walls and didn’t allow her
teachers to reach out to her
anymore.
Then, her sophomore
year she got pregnant. The
people she turned to were Mr.
Cotterell, Mrs. Swarat and
Ms. Guentert. Their unwav-
ering support and that of other
Milton and Laura Casper
Photo contributed by Carol Michael
Marsha Connley of Boardman participates in a Create A
Block activity during the Boardman Quilt Show, which
was held Oct. 7-8 at the Boardman Senior Center.
Milton
and
Laura
Casper’s 65th wedding
anniversary was held in
Lake Havasu City, Ariz.,
with friends and neighbors
where they have spent their
winters.
Milton
and
Laura
graduated from Hermiston
High School on May 29,
1948. They were married
Nov. 3, 1951, at the
Trinity Lutheran Church in
Hermiston with a huge
reception following
at the ARC
Building
M i l t o n
w o r k e d
with
the
Department of
Defense for 19
years after one
enlistment with the
Army artillery in Okinawa
and one enlistment with the
Army Combat Engineers in
Korea. He accepted DOD
assignments in Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Alabama,
Colorado and southeast
Asia. His family joined
him in all assignments
except Asia. They returned
to Hermiston in 1964 and
staff was still there, and Selene
says “something clicked when
I found out I was pregnant.
I had to do something great
in my life, this other person
coming into existence was
depending on me.”
She got a job at Good
Shepherd Medical Center
and started her junior year of
high school pregnant, but she
worked hard at her classes.
Her mother had kicked her
out, but she moved in with
her boyfriend’s family. Her
daughter, Ariana, was born
in January 2010. That spring,
Selene returned to school and
her teachers were still there,
supporting her. “They rooted
for me and believed in me
and saw that I was much more
than a teen mom.”
During her senior year,
Selene played varsity volley-
ball, she was a member of the
National Honor Society and
she participated in student
government. She graduated
in the spring of 2011. She was
accepted to Eastern Oregon
University and moved with
her daughter to La Grande
where she worked 30 to 40
hours a week at McDonald’s
and attended college. Eventu-
ally, this pace took its toll and
she moved back to Umatilla,
where she got a job at McNary
Elementary and commuted to
Washington State University
in Tri-Cities. Her son, Hendri,
was born in December 2014.
In spring 2017, Selene will
earn her bachelor’s degree
in biology. She is taking the
MCAT next summer and
plans to apply to medical
school. She is hoping to attend
an osteopathic medical school
in Lebanon, Oregon.
Selene will tell you again
and again, there is no way she
would be where she is today
without the support of the
Umatilla School District.
“My teachers are a huge
part of my whole life. They
told me ‘you can do whatever
you want to do in your life.’
They made me love books
and get interested in science
and they always, always went
the extra mile for me,” Selene
said.
Recently, Selene was
presented with an opportunity
to return some of the good-
will received from Umatilla
schools. She is heading up
the political action committee
of citizens helping to support
the Umatilla School Bond
on the Nov. 8 ballot. When
Umatilla
Superintendent
Heidi Sipe asked her to
help, Selene didn’t hesitate,
because she said she wants
the best learning environ-
ments possible for Umatilla
students.
“I am who I am because of
the Umatilla School District
and everyone there who
touched my life. This is my
chance to give back.”
Laura and Milton
Casper in 1951
began a real
estate devel-
opment
and
management
business.
Laura worked
in the banking
business in Oregon
and Colorado. They still
maintain some commercial
ventures in the area.
The couple had two
sons, both deceased.
When asked the secret
of their living a long and
healthy lifestyle, they
agreed good communica-
tions and patience were
their daily habits.
BIRTHS
St. Anthony Hospital,
Pendleton
OCT. 25, 2016
MILLER — Trista I.
Roe and Anthony J. Miller
of Pendleton: a boy, Logan
James Miller.
OCT. 26, 2016
ABBOTT — Varonica
A. Abbott of Hermiston:
a girl, Lindsay Rose Pearl
Abbott.
OCT. 27, 2016
ZOLLMAN — Casey
M. White-Zollman and
Casey C. Zollman of Pend-
leton: a boy, Ryder Austin
Zollman.
OCT. 31, 2016
DOWNS — Afton G.
Downs and Michael D.
Downs of Pendleton: a boy,
Hermiston potato harvest donated to CAPECO
In spite of early fall
rains, the third annual
potato harvest to benefi t
families
served
by
CAPECO took place
Wednesday, Oct. 19 under
sunny skies.
Approximately 65,000
pounds of fresh potatoes
were harvested thanks to
community support from
several companies. The
plantings were funded
by the Oregon Potato
Commission and grown
by the Plant Pathology
program at the Hermiston
Agricultural Research
and Extension Center
(HAREC). The plantings
The couple will be
married in a small private
ceremony in Belfast. A
reception will be held in
Portland on April 8, 2017,
and another in Belfast on
May 19, 2017, after Ellie
emigrates to the United
Kingdom.
ANNIVERSARY
One Umatilla graduate’s road to success
By MICHELE MADRIL
InterMountain ESD
Paul McBride and Ellie
McConnell
are provided as a service
to growers in the area to
confi rm the quality of the
potato seed purchased and
grown. Harvesting the
potatoes at the conclusion
of the growing season
provides much needed
food assistance to local
families, as well as fami-
lies throughout Oregon.
Community
part-
ners this year included
HAREC, Herb Stahl of
Stahl Farms, Medelez
Trucking, John Walchli
Potatoes, Botsford and
Goodfellow, Steve Walker
Photo contributed by Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Farms, and Farmers
A crew harvests potatoes on October 19 at HAREC to
Ending Hunger.
Graham Michael Downs.
Good Shepherd
Medical Center,
Hermiston
OCT. 28, 2016
EARNS — Kelly M. Shy
and Matthew C. Earns of
Hermiston: a boy, Beau
Charles Earns.
OCT. 31, 2016
WILLIAMS — Nicole
E. Williams and Markus
D. Williams of Hermiston:
a boy, Prestyn Daniel
Williams.
NOV. 1, 2016
MUNOZ — Cheyenne
Munoz and Jesus Munoz
of Hermiston: a boy, Jared
Lou Munoz.
SUBMIT YOUR EO NEWS
Submit Your EO News information and high-resolution
photos to: community@eastoregonian.com or drop off to
the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St.,
Hermiston, or Renee Struthers-Hogge at 211 S.E. Byers
Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818
with questions.
donate to a local food bank.
Pet of the Week
Photo contributed by Nick Bejarano
Buttons
Good Shepherd Health Care System’s nurse residency program recently
graduated 17 new registered nurses.
Pupcakes
Pet Grooming~Boarding
Day Care
Good Shepherd celebrates nursing class
Good Shepherd Health Care System
in Hermiston recently celebrated its largest
graduating class from its nurse residency
program — 17 new registered nurses
completed requirements on Oct. 19.
“This is truly exciting for us,” Theresa
Brock, VP of nursing, said in a press
release. “We have an exceptional group
of new graduate RNs who joined our
program because they were either from
our community, enjoyed their clinicals at
Good Shepherd, were impressed by our
onboarding process and even wanted to
work in a rural community.”
Good Shepherd’s next residency
program will begin in August 2017.
Nurses expecting to graduate prior to that
time may apply for the 2017 program at
www.gshealth.org/jobs. For more infor-
mation, call 541-667-3546.
Buttons is a sweet senior cat who loves to sit and
watch the world go by. She would love to be in
a low-key home as an only kitty. While she loves
attention, it must be on HER terms - go outside
her boundaries and she can be quite prickly (she
may not be the best around young children). If
you’re interested in adding this feisty kitty to
your household, please come visit her in the free-
roam cat room. She is spayed, vaccinated, tested
negative for FeLV, and treated for worms and
fl eas. Come visit her in our lobby during open
hours (12pm-4pm Tuesday-Saturday) or call to
make an appointment (541) 276-0181.
541-429-8787 for Pendleton
541-910-2727 for La Grande
www.leterbark.com
125 S. Main St.,
Pendleton
541-276-9292
506 P
e
Ado pt ts
ed
in 201
6!
Visit our Buttons at the Pioneer Humane Society/Paws
Tues - Sat • Noon - 4pm
517 SE 3rd ST, Pendleton
541-276-0181
Check out the PAWSABILITY Thrift Store