Page 2C
YOUR EO NEWS
East Oregonian
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Former DA treks near the top the of world
Former Umatilla County
district
attorney
and
Pendleton attorney Dave
Gallaher recently visited
the monument to Tenzing
Norgay, the Sherpa who
guided Sir Edmund Hillary
to the summit of Mount
Everest in 1953.
The statue is at the
headquarters of Sagamartha
National Park — which is
the Nepali name for Mount
Everest — in the Khumbu
region of Nepal. It’s located
in the ancient trading city of
Namche Bazaar.
The region, Gallaher said,
is home to the Sherpa people
famed for their mountain-
eering skills. With no roads,
all travel is by foot, jokyo
(a cross between a yak and
a cow), an occasional mule
train and very rarely by
horseback.
Gallaher began the trek,
a 14-day REI-guided tour,
at Kathmandu, the capital
of Nepal. Flying to Lukla
in a small plane the group
of four were strangers until
arriving in Nepal, where they
began a nine-day hike. The
itinerary includes Phak Ding,
Namche Bazaar, Tengboche
Monastery, Khumjung, Ghat
and back to Lukla. Part of the
trail, Gallaher said, is on the
route to Everest Base Camp
and the ancient salt route
between Tibet and India.
“We stay in ‘lodges,’
which are fairly rustic but
gracefully old and I love
them,” he said.
The trek includes 12 REI
Nepali staff companions, a
Sirdar, head man, assistant
guides, cook, cook’s boys,
porters and jokyo drivers,
Photo contributed by Melissa Porter
Parks commission recognizes dedicated service
Contributed photo
Dave Gallaher, former Umatilla County district attor-
ney and Pendleton attorney, poses with a copy of the
East Oregonian at the monument to Tenzing Norgay at
the headquarters of Sagamartha National Park in the
Khumbu region of Nepal.
and, of course, some hand-
some black and gray jokyos.
“We are extremely well taken
care of and babied,” Gallaher
said. “But, even so, the hiking
is kicking my butt big time.”
The second day, the group
hiked up — with emphasis
on up — from Phak Ding
to Namche Bazaar, which is
about 8,000 to 12,000 feet. It
took about eight hours. Often,
the ancient stone staircases
are hundreds of yards, nearly
straight up, he said.
“And I was sucking air
like I never have before,”
Gallaher admitted.
Gallaher said the trails are
difficult, and they were sched-
uled to go even higher on a
six-hour hike to Tengboche.
The trekker said the guide
calls it “going to a higher
place,” which Gallaher said
is true in many ways.
Photo contributed by Michele Madril
Students from McNary Heights Elementary students enjoyed a tour of Nike
headquarters in Beaverton, which included meeting Galen Rupp, 2016 Olympic
bronze medalist; Mo Farrah, Great Britain’s four-time gold medalist; and former
Olympian and current coach Alberto Salazar.
Umatilla students run into world-class athletes at Nike
A group of 26 McNary
Heights
Elementary
students recently got to tour
the Nike headquarters in
Beaverton.
During the Nov. 4 visit,
the students met Galen
Rupp, 2016 Olympic bronze
medalist and American
record holder; Mo Farrah,
Great Britain’s four-time
gold medalist; and former
Olympian and current coach
Alberto Salazar.
The
students
were
participants in McNary
USA, a nutrition/track class
organized by teacher Brandt
Lind. He developed a curric-
ulum where students partici-
pated in a rigorous work-out
routine, while incorporating
STEM (science, technology,
engineering and math)
concepts where they also
learned how health, nutrition
and the brain work together
to benefit their body while
running.
McNary USA started
out with 40 students under
the direction of Francisco
Garcia and Max Bedolla,
who both teach at McNary
Heights. Many of the students
had a deep desire to learn
and do as much as possible
with running. During the
eight-week session, the class
participated in four events,
including the final A Very
Poplar Run at the Boardman
Tree Farm.
Tina Ridings, STEM
site coordinator, and the
teachers felt they should do
something big for the end
of the class to recognize the
students’ hard work.
“It was felt their dedica-
tion and attitude deserved
a significant reward so Mr.
Lind reached out to Nike
to discuss a tour. STEM
Academy was happy to
make it happen for them,”
Ridings said.
In addition to the tour
and meeting the athletes,
the students were able to
take a lap around the Nike
track, encouraged by coach
Salazar. They had planned
to do a community cleanup
during lunch at a local
park, but due to unforeseen
circumstances were unable
to. Beaverton Police officer
Chester Lamb stayed with
the group, seeing them safely
off to the next leg of their
adventure to the tune of the
McNary Heights fight song.
Following some fun at
Pump It Up indoor obstacle
course and a stop for
dinner, the students arrived
home two hours later than
expected.
Ridings was extremely
proud of the students. There
were no complaints the
entire trip and they were
very respectful, enthusiastic
and appreciative of the
opportunity to participate,
she said.
Pendleton Senior Center salutes Veterans Day
Contributed photo
Ted Culbertson and Jim Leinweber donned
their military uniforms during the Nov. 10 lunch
at the Pendleton Senior Center.
Veterans and others who attended
the Nov. 10 lunch at the Pendleton
Senior Center enjoyed a special
presentation.
Ken Garrett of Pendleton brought
a Bennington Flag and shared about
its features. The blue field is embla-
zoned with “1776,” representing the
year the Declaration of Independence
was signed. In addition, it features 13
stars — with 11 in a semicircle and
one in each upper corner of the blue
field. The flag also has 13 stripes —
alternating white and red, with the
white as the outermost (in contrast
to other flags that have the red on the
top and bottom).
Among those in attendance were
Ted Culbertson, who retired from
the Army after serving 42 years, 2
months and 12 days.
The Pendleton Senior Center
is located at 510 S.W. 10th St. For
information about meal service,
activities and the thrift store, call
541-276-7101.
Pendleton Parks & Recreation Commission presented plaques of appreciation
for their dedicated service to Joe Engum and Rick Oliver during the Nov. 8
meeting. Pictured from back: Rick Guenther, Deb Airoldi, Dawn DiFuria Mc-
Clendon, Vern Willcox, John Blessinger; front, Alan Kendrick, commission pres-
ident, Joe Engum, Rick Oliver and Donnie Cook, parks department director.
Wildhorse Foundation announces third quarter grants
The Wildhorse Founda-
tion recently announced its
third quarter grants, which
included the largest disburse-
ment of $20,000 going to two
different organizations — the
Helix School District and
Boardman’s Windy River
Elementary School.
In Helix, money will be
used to provide an upgrade
for its dirt track, which will
be resurfaced with a rubber-
ized track. With its first ever
Wildhorse grant, Windy
River will purchase new
equipment and instruments
as well as repair instruments
for its beginning band
program.
The quarterly awards
totaled $210,896, which was
distributed to 30 recipients.
Other local entities receiving
grants include:
PENDLETON:
Arts Council of Pend-
leton, $3,600 for materials
and fixtures used in gallery
preparation and ArtZoom
sessions;
Children’s
Museum
of
Eastern
Oregon, $4,000 to purchase
supplies and pieces for
exhibits; Lost & Found
Youth Outreach, $10,000
to purchase a van for trans-
porting youths for activities,
trips and services projects;
Harris Park - Pendleton
Parks
&
Recreation
Commission, $15,938 to
purchase a building, freight
charges, heavy equipment
rental and installation of
a pit-style toilet facility;
Helping Hands, Inc, $5,000
to assist persons facing
imminent eviction, other
potential homelessness or
who are homeless; Nixy-
aawii Community School,
$10,500 for replacing teacher
desktops, projectors and
cameras, and to add a set of
Chromebooks and a printer;
Oregon East Symphony,
$5,000 to compensate
adult teachers and student
assistants; Pendleton High
School, $9,396 for 35
Chromebooks and a charging
cart to be used in college
level math classes.
HERMISTON:
Hermiston Warming
Station, $8,000 for oper-
ating expenses; Umatil-
la-Morrow County Head
Start, $10,000 to purchase
a Toyota Corolla to be used
by the Healthy Family home
visiting staff.
MILTON-FREEWATER:
Freewater Elementary
School, $7,600 for new
Lego system and science
curriculum for fourth and
fifth graders; Friends of the
Milton-Freewater Public
Library, $5,000 to perform
kindergarten
readiness
assessments,
purchase
program incentives and fund
educational performances;
Walla Walla Basin Water-
shed Council, $1,269 for
supplies, testing reagents,
student equipment for the
STELLAR Camp.
WESTON:
Weston Food Pantry,
$3,000 to hire a licensed and
bonded contractor to remove
the current door and replace
it with an ADA-compliant
door.
OTHER AREAS:
American Red Cross,
Building Healthy Families,
Camp Fire Boys and Girls
Walla
Walla
Council,
Confluence Project, Elgin
Museum & Historical
Society, Fishtrap, Inc., Fort
Walla Walla Museum,
Hells Canyon Preservation
Council, Imbler Education
Foundation, La Grande
High School, SMART (Start
Making A Reader Today),
The Healing Lodge of the
Seven Nations, Wallowa
County Project Heartbeat.
The foundation manages
a community benefit fund
established by the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation. The
board considers quarterly
grant applications in the areas
of public health and safety,
education, the arts, historic
preservation,
gambling
addiction services, salmon
restoration, environmental
protection and cultural activ-
ities. The next application
deadline is Jan. 1, which is
the first time the foundation
is utilizing an online applica-
tion process.
For more information,
visit
www.thewildhorse-
foundation.com or contact
Tiah DeGrofft at 541-966-
1628 or tiah.degrofft@
wildhorseresort.com.
BIRTHS
Hermiston: a boy, Elyzion
Leviticus-Jude Hood.
NOV. 15, 2016
MOSQUEDA — Katie J.
Mosqueda and Michael A.
Mosqueda of Irrigon: a girl,
Elayna Mae Mosqueda.
NOV. 18, 2016
FARIAS — Jasmine N.
Sandoval and Fernando
Farias of Hermiston: a girl,
Alani Jay Farias.
SWANGER — Felicia M.
St. Anthony Hospital,
Pendleton
NOV. 15, 2016
CHRISTENSEN
—
Rena Christensen Walsborn
of Pilot Rock: a girl, Isabelle
Rae Christensen.
Good Shepherd Medical
Center, Hermiston
NOV. 14, 2016
HOOD — Rebecca J.
Hood and Daniel E. Hood of
Lara and Glen V. Swanger
Jr. of Echo: a boy, Ira Cain
Swanger.
NOV. 19, 2016
PASCHAL — Tiffany
Paschal of Hermiston: a
girl, Zoe Rae Paschal.
NOV. 20, 2016
PAULLUS — Morgan
A. Paullus and Kristopher
A. Paullus of Hermiston:
a girl, Brooklyn Avery
Paullus.
Pet of the Week
Husk
Have a Happy
HOLIDOGS!
Hi my name is Husk! I romp and play all day
with the other dogs so I might be a great fi t
with your canine family members. I don’t give
my heart away at the drop of a hat, but if you
will give me some time and space to settle in
and adjust to my new life, we can be buddies.
Once I’m comfortable, I love to go on walks,
play, and spend time curled up with my best
friends. If you like to relax on the couch with
a good book or a favorite movie, I’ll be right
there with you.
Visit HUSK at the Pioneer Humane Society/Paws
Tues - Sat • Noon - 4pm • 517 SE 3rd ST, Pendleton
541-276-0181
Check out the PAWSABILITY Thrift Store
Pupcakes
Pet Grooming~Boarding
Day Care
125 S. M ain St.,
Pendleton
541-276-9292
541-429-8787 for Pendleton
541-910-2727 for La Grande
www.leterbark.com
646 Pets
Ado pted
in 2016!
#OR.1015
Pendleton
Take Off Pounds Sensibly
Weekly Meetings
For information call
Sherry 541-429-2808
Heather 541-969-6997
