REGION
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
PENDLETON
VFW auxiliary lends an assist
to Veterans Day ceremony
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
If behind every man
in is a strong woman, it’s
certainly true for veterans
and their significant others.
The Veterans of Foreign
Wars Post 922 held a Veterans
Day ceremony in front of the
Pendleton Pioneer Chapel
Saturday morning, a gath-
ering where the wives of
former servicemen filled an
important role.
The ceremony included
music and a speech by World
War II veteran Bob Stangier,
who told the approximately
75 people assembled about
the significance of Veterans
Day.
At the center of the
program was a laying of
the flowers in front of the
stone monuments to every
Umatilla County soldier who
was killed since World War
I. But the individuals who
walked solemnly to each
marker weren’t members
of the post, but the female-
driven VFW auxiliary.
Auxiliary
member
Maxine Tangney laid down
her bouquet of red, white
and blue flowers in front of
the Korean War memorial.
The wife of Tom Tangney,
Maxine said she brought
flowers to that particular
stone because of her
husband’s brother Clarence,
Staff photo by Antonio Sierra
Veterans of Foreign Wars auxiliary member Maxine
Tangney, left, carries a bouquet of flowers to a
monument of Korean War casualties as Dinah Hemphill
stands in silence at a Veterans Day ceremony at the
Pendleton Pioneer Chapel Saturday.
who died during the Korean
War.
Dinah Hemphill, the wife
of Vietnam War veteran
Chuck Hemphill, also took
part in the flower ceremony,
laying her bouquet in front
of the list of Vietnam casu-
alties.
“I always get tears in my
eyes,” she said.
Both
women
are
members of the VFW auxil-
iary, a club for women who
are direct relatives of VFW
members. Maxine said that
the auxiliary helps with
VFW’s various functions
and fundraisers, like the
Cowboy Breakfast during
Round-Up. The auxiliary
also spearheads its own
activities like trying to stoke
patriotism in schoolchildren
by distributing pencils with
the Pledge of Allegiance on
them.
Tom said he and his
wife supported each other
throughout their tenures
in the VFW, noting that
Maxine has been recognized
by the Oregon VFW for her
work.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
HERMISTON
Sacrifices recognized at annual breakfast
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Pastor Dean Hackett had
tears in his eyes as he tried
to tell the veterans in front of
him how much their service
meant to him.
“I appreciate you more
than I can say for the sacri-
fices you have made,” he
said, his voice breaking.
Hundreds of people —
mostly veterans and their
families — had crowded into
the Hermiston Conference
Center Friday morning for
a breakfast and program
honoring veterans. Hackett
conducted the program, wrap-
ping up the speeches with a
passionate recounting of the
attack on Fort McHenry that
inspired Francis Scott Key
to write “The Star Spangled
Banner” when he saw that the
American flag still stood over
the fort at dawn.
“She was severely torn and
tattered by the cannonade, but
Old Glory was still flying,”
Hackett said, thanking the
veterans for continuing the
defense of the flag and the
freedoms it stands for.
Rep. Greg Smith also
thanked the veterans for their
service, asking them to stand
as he praised them for their
valor and unselfish sacrifices.
“They were ordinary
people who responded in
extraordinary ways,” he said
of all the men and women
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Army artillery veteran William Hill, left, and former
Army paratrooper Kenneth Elliot, right, join in a salute
of the flag at the Hermiston Veterans Day breakfast.
who have answered the call
to defend their country since
the first shots of the Revo-
lutionary War were fired in
Lexington.
Smith also had the military
spouses, children, parents
and siblings stand, thanking
them for their own sacrifices
as they kept the home fires
burning and spent countless
nights fearing for their loved
ones’ lives.
Veterans Al Rafferty
and David Gallagher spoke
about their own experiences
serving, and their gratitude
for the support they received
after coming home.
“I lost my best friend
there and I lost a lot of good
friends,” said Gallagher, who
fought in the Vietnam war.
He said the other day
when a tire on a truck blew
he immediately dove for
cover, because 49 years after
his service those wartime
experiences were still with
him.
Rafferty, a Marine Corps
veteran involved in Desert
Storm, said joining the
VFW and Combat Veterans
Motorcycle Association had
provided him with cama-
raderie and support, and he
encouraged other veterans
present to seek out similar
groups.
“Being able to talk to
other veterans who have been
in similar situations has really
helped me cope with some
of the things I’ve struggled
with,” he said.
East Oregonian
Page 3A
OSP releases names of six injured in crash
East Oregonian
Oregon State Police
reported six people suffered
injuries in a multiple car
crash Thursday on Interstate
84 in Morrow County.
The crash occurred at
approximately 12:06 p.m.
near milepost 156 in the east-
bound lanes of the interstate.
Those lanes were closed for
more than three hours.
Investigating
troopers
think traffic slowed or came
to a stop due to construction
work in the area when a
semitrailer, a passenger car,
a pickup and another pickup
towing a trailer crashed. But
according to OSP, “due to
the complexity of the crash
and the number of vehicles
involved, investigators are
still working to determine
the exact chain of events.”
Ground and air ambu-
lance took six patients
with injuries ranging from
minor to critical to regional
hospitals.
According to police,
Arthur O’Neal, 41, from
Prichard, Alabama, was
driving the semi. He was
uninjured.
Christopher Guthridge,
27, and William Guthridge,
65, both of Silverton, were
in a 2012 Dodge pickup.
Christopher Guthridge was
Photo courtesy Oregon State Police
Six people were injured in a multiple car crash
Thursday on Interstate 84 west of Boardman.
the driver and suffered
serious injuries. An ambu-
lance took him to Good
Shepherd Medical Center,
Hermiston, which trans-
ferred him to Oregon Health
and Science University,
Portland. William Guth-
ridge was the passenger and
suffered critical injuries. An
air ambulance flew him to
St. Charles Medical Center,
Bend.
Jamie Starboard, 37, of
Baker City, was driving
with three children in a 2001
Pontiac. She suffered minor
injuries and went to Good
Shepherd. A 12-year-old
girl in the vehicle suffered
serious injuries, and was
transported to Mid-Co-
lumbia Medical Center, The
Dalles. Two other children in
the car were taken to Good
Shepherd for evaluation.
Austin Pendell, 24, of
Summerville, was driving
a 2012 Dodge pickup and
towing a flatbed trailer. He
suffered minor injuries and
was transported to Good
Shepherd.
Troopers
from
the
Pendleton Area Command
are heading up the ongoing
investigation with assistance
from the state police crash
reconstruction unit. The
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office, Boardman fire, and
the Oregon Department of
Transportation assisted at
the scene.
BRIEFLY
Woman arrested for DUII,
jailed for attempted murder
PENDLETON — Roxy Brook Pridgen
of Weston went to jail for driving under the
influence of intoxicants but stayed in jail for
attempted murder.
Oregon State Police
trooper Sean Carothers
at about 6:30 p.m.
Sunday stopped a
Dodge Dakota after
a driving complaint
on Highway 11 near
milepost 9 southbound.
Pridgen, 36, admitted
taking prescription
Pridgen
medication, according
to state police, and
showed signs of impairment during a
sobriety test. The trooper arrested Pridgen for
DUII and took her to the Umatilla County
Jail, Pendleton, where her breath sample for
alcohol showed 0 percent.
She consented to a drug evaluation, state
police reported, and at the end Carothers
cited Pridgen for DUII and released her
to a sheriff’s deputy, who arrested her for
attempted murder and first-degree assault.
Undersheriff Jim Littlefield said Pridgen
reportedly has a mental illness and “allegedly
tried to poison another person.” He added
the sheriff’s office still is investigating the
case and will release a statement later.
According to circuit court records,
Pridgen tried to kill a relative on Oct. 29. The
district attorney’s office charged Pridgen only
with attempted murder during an arraignment
Monday in Pendleton. Circuit Judge Jon
Lieuallen set bail in the case at $250,000.
Pridgen remains in the jail.
County commissioners
head to AOC conference
PENDLETON — The Umatilla County
Board of Commissioners is out of town this
week. Commissioners Bill Elfering, Larry
Givens and George Murdock are in the liberal
stronghold of Eugene for the annual meeting
of the Association of Oregon Counties.
Givens is the immediate past president
of the political lobbying organization that
advocates for counties. The association’s
annual conference at the Eugene Hilton
runs Tuesday though Thursday. The
commissioners are using Monday and Friday
for travel.
According to their meeting schedules,
commissioners plan to take in conference
sessions on topics of interest to the county,
including best practices for jails, renewable
energy, and enterprise zones and the state’s
Strategic Investment Program, which the
county uses to attract big developments, such
as data centers.
What is Diabetes?
Melissa Naff
RD, LD, CDE
Diabetes
Educator
541-278-3249
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of
Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers
Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
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