REGION
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
East Oregonian
HERMISTON
Last community dinner at old venue
Group looks for
new home as senior
center set to move
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
The Hermiston Senior
Center
was
bustling
Christmas Day as people sat
down for the final Commu-
nity Fellowship Dinner of the
season.
Over 100 volunteers
helped prepare and serve
ham and all the fixings, as
well as cookies and pies, to
a hungry crowd of about 350
— 250 at the senior center
and 100 home deliveries. The
dinners, which are offered at
Thanksgiving and Christmas
each year, are entirely funded
by donations from local
businesses, organizations and
individuals.
“All aspects of the
community are represented
at the dinners,” said Makayla
Humphreys, secretary for
the fellowship dinner. “The
homeless, fairly wealthy,
business people, laborers. All
areas are represented.”
Jan Cassens, who has
been volunteering with the
meals for 10 years, said the
program is now looking for
a new location in which to
serve food, as all operations
will be moved when work
begins on the new senior
center building, to be called
the Harkenrider Center.
“We’re kind of in
limbo,” she said. “The city
received a grant to build a
new center. But it requires
Kathy Stolz manages the
hotline for meal delivery
and table service.
Photo contributed by T.G. Marks
Lillee Ruiz, 12, pipes whipped cream onto a slice of pie
Sunday at the Community Fellowship Dinner at the
Hermiston Senior Center.
Volunteers lay out pies.
Over 120 pies in nine va-
rieties were served.
five years of no one but the
seniors using it. Community
Fellowship Dinners are open
to everyone, so we couldn’t
use it for five years, anyway.
So we’re looking for a new
venue with a good-sized
kitchen.”
Cassens said for big
meals like Thanksgiving,
volunteers will cook 30 to
35 turkeys in the span of two
days.
years ago.
The current senior center
is on the former Umatilla
County Fairgrounds, at 435
W. Orchard Ave., which was
purchased by the Hermiston
School District for potential
future expansion of the high
school.
The new senior center
will be on Ridgeway Avenue
behind the Hermiston Public
Library.
“It takes a lot of space —
we need a place to cook hams
and turkeys for our meals,”
she said.
The new venue must also
have adequate seating, as the
current hall holds 120 at a
time — and people are fed in
shifts.
“We’ve served as many
as 850 meals in one dinner,”
Cassens said, recalling a
Thanksgiving feast a few
Regional youth art show accepting entries
East Oregonian
Photo contributed by Tamastslikt Cultural Institute
Viola Minthorn views a past ArtWORKz exhibit at Ta-
mastslikt Cultural Institute in Mission. Youths up to
age 19 are invited to enter works for the 2017 event.
Randall Melton, collections
curator. “Young artists are
excited to display their
artwork in a true gallery
setting.”
Only one piece of art may
be submitted for compe-
tition. The show is open
to individuals and groups
of collaborating artists.
All forms of art media are
acceptable and any disci-
pline of artwork including
traditional tribal work, such
as beadwork, weaving and
parfleche painting.
The ArtWORKz show
will be on exhibit in the
Tamástslikt gallery from
Saturday, Jan. 28 through
Friday, March. The submis-
sions will be judged by
recognized
professional
artists and awards will
be presented at an Artists
Reception Saturday, Feb. 18
at 1 p.m.
There are three age cate-
gories: 10 and under, 11-14
and 15-18. Youth artists
will compete for grand
prize, awards of excellence,
awards of merit, honorable
mentions, best emerging
artist and artists’ choice
— voted on by the artists
themselves.
An info sheet with rules
and regulations can be
found at www.tamastslikt.
org. For more information,
contact Melton at 541-429-
7720 or randall.melton@
tamastslikt.org.
PENDLETON
Cleo reunited with family before Christmas
East Oregonian and
Bellingham Herald
Cleo the cat has returned
home.
The 7-month-old Russian
blue, gone missing for nearly
two weeks after a car crash
near Pendleton on Nov. 27
and found in a barn a mile
away, is back with her family
in Bellingham, Washington.
The East Oregonian
published a story on Dec.
14 about the Egan family
crashing while moving
from Cedar City, Utah, to
Bellingham. The four people
in the vehicle weren’t hurt
badly, but their dog was
killed and Cleo was gone.
The Egans didn’t expect
to see her again, but Cleo
turned up in the barn of
Robin Harris, who called the
number on the tag and got
in touch with the owners.
Harris then brought the cat
to Pendleton Animal Welfare
Shelter and together with the
EO file photo
Robin Harris of Mission found this cat, Cleo, in her hay
barn in early December and called the number on her
tags to find the owners.
Egans worked on a plan to
get her back to her owners.
Pet transport services
were too expensive, Amanda
Egan told the Bellingham
Herald, and it was difficult
to find someone who was
headed even as far as Seattle.
A last resort, Egan and Harris
decided, would be to send her
with a shelter board member
Happy New Year!
as far as Portland, which was
still farther than the Egans
had hoped to drive.
The story ran in the EO in
hopes that someone would
come forward and offer to
bring Cleo home. The idea
worked.
The story caught the eye
of the Debbie and Mike
Doyle, a Bellingham family
who had lived in Pendleton
and were making the drive
to Boise, Idaho, where their
daughter, Kaitlin, had just
graduated from Boise State
University. The Doyles were
one of several families who
reached out and offered to
take Cleo, but they were
the only ones going clear to
Bellingham, Harris said.
“I guess we’re just softies
for cats,” Debbie Doyle
said Friday, adding that her
family has two of their own.
“Plus, we know what it’s like
to lose something.”
Cleo reunited with the
Egans on Sunday, Dec. 18.
“I can say it was one of
the best Christmas gifts to
get at least one of our pets
back,” Egan said. “I can’t
really describe the feeling
because we were very
attached to our pets, and we
are still incredibly sad about
losing our dog, but it makes
it a little easier to have Cleo
back with us.”
New Year’s Eve
DINNER
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WITH BAKED POTATO & FRESH VEGETABLE
541-567-4063
405 N. 1st St., Suite #107,
Hermiston
541-215-1888
Verna Taylor,
HAS
Ric Jones,
BC-HIS
BMCC Christmas Eve
dinner serves 800
PENDLETON
—
Hosting
its
annual
Christmas Eve dinner in
a larger venue paid divi-
dends for Blue Mountain
Community College.
In its first year at the
Pendleton
Convention
Center, the dinner attracted
743
guests,
BMCC
outreach program assistant
Abby Pierson said.
Including the 60 volun-
teers who staffed the event,
Pierson said BMCC served
more than 800 people.
“It was extremely
successful,” she said,
adding that the event
usually averages between
500 and 600 people.
Pierson said no one was
turned away from the free
meal.
Photo courtesy of Abby Pierson
Blue Mountain Com-
munity College mas-
cot Timber poses by a
Christmas tree at the
college’s annual Christ-
mas Eve dinner at the
Pendleton Convention
Center.
Rape defendant asks
for release from jail
MISSION
Tamástslikt
Cultural
Institute invites all youth
under the age of 19 to
participate in its upcoming
art show and competition,
ArtWORKz 2017.
Art submissions must be
received at the Tamástslikt
Cultural Institute by Jan.
19. There is no entry fee. An
information sheet and entry
forms are available at www.
tamastslikt.org/exhibits.
cfm.
Young artists, both tribal
and non-tribal, from around
the region are encouraged
to submit an original art
object for competition. Last
year, more than 100 talented
artists of all ages competed
in the event.
“This art show and
competition has grown
every year and the caliber
of art is incredible,” said
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HERMISTON — Hermiston rape defendant Jose Marvin
Antonio Perdomo Funez has a release hearing Tuesday.
Funez. 30, has been in the Umatilla County Jail,
Pendleton, since Hermiston police arrested him at the end
of November. The state accused him of first-degree rape
and sexual abuse of a woman on Aug. 5. He pleaded not
guilty to each count.
Funez through defense attorney Kent Fisher filed a
motion on Dec. 12 asking the court to release him from
jail on his own recognizance or to lower the $100,000
bail circuit Judge Eva Temple set.
The court schedule shows Temple takes up the request
at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Stafford Hansell Government
Center, Hermiston.
BRIEFLY
Recreation classes feature yoga, karate
PENDLETON — Upcoming yoga and karate classes are
great for helping people with their New Year’s resolutions.
No prior experience is needed for the yoga class, which
meets for a three-week session beginning Tuesday, Jan. 3.
It’s offered Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:15-6:30 p.m.
at the Pendleton Recreation Center, 510 S.W. Dorion Ave.
The session fee is $40 or people can pay a $9 fee for each
drop-in class.
Sensei Lars Hansen will teach participants to use
karate as a tool to become better people. The classes start
Tuesday, Jan. 3 and take place Tuesdays and Thursdays
from 5-6 p.m. at the Pendleton Recreation Center. The
fee is $50 per month. In addition, there is a $20 shirt
fee. People may wear black sweats (no yoga pants) or
purchase karate pants from the instructor for $15-$25.
People who plan to take these classes need to
register a week in advance. To register, visit www.
pendletonparksandrec.com or stop by the parks office, 865
Tutuilla Road. For more information, call 541-276-8100.
Students to address Heppner chamber
HEPPNER — A group of Heppner High School seniors
who have been working at Blue Mountain Investment
Management will share about the project during the
Heppner Chamber of Commerce’s annual luncheon.
The no-host event is Thursday, Jan. 5 at noon in the
dining room at St. Patrick’s Senior Center, 190 N. Main
St., Heppner. Pudding on the Ritz is catering the meal,
which features pork loin. The cost is $10.
Those planning to attend must RSVP by Wednesday
by contacting 541-676-5536 or heppnerchamber@
centurytel.net.
Resolution Run kicks of new year
HERMISTON — Whether you’re aiming to accomplish
fitness goals for 2017 or just want to start the year off with
family and friends, the Resolution Run is for you.
Providing a head start for the new year, the event is
Saturday at 10 a.m. at Riverfront Park and the Oxbow
Trail, Hermiston. There is no fee. Families, kids, strollers,
and pets are all welcome to participate.
The main 5K course follows the Oxbow Trail, starting
and ending at Riverfront Park. An optional detour through
the off-road trails north of the park follows the river and
adds an extra mile to the total distance. There are no rules
for how short or how long participants run or walk.
Sponsored by a group of local runners, the finish line
usually greets participants with high fives, hot chocolate,
water and snacks. Resolution Run T-shirts will be available
for purchase, with proceeds going to the Hermiston High
School cross country teams. For more information, contact
Tim Beal at timothybeal@gmail.com or 509-954-8778.
Get ready to rumba
HERMISTON — People can learn how to rumba,
a graceful and sensual dance step — or take a sampler
class that features the cha cha, waltz, one-step swing and
more — during sessions offered through Hermiston Parks
& Recreation.
The classes are Wednesdays from Jan. 11 through Feb.
22 (there’s no class Feb. 8). The sampler class is from
6:15-7:15 p.m. and the rumba is from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the
basement at the Hermiston Public Library, 235 E. Gladys
Ave. The cost for either class is $30 for Hermiston residents
and $38 for non-residents. It’s open to ages 14 and up.
No prior experience is required. Participants should
wear comfortable shoes.
For more information, visit www.hermistonrecreation.
com. To register, call 541-667-5018 or stop by the
recreation office, 180 N.E. Second St., Hermiston.
AFTER CHRISTMAS SALE
50% OFF STOREWIDE
*EXCLUDING FRESH FLOWERS
Flowers • Candles • Jewelry
Plants • Balloons & More!
Put a smile on the heart with
the power of flowers.
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541-567-4305
Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am
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