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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 2018)
HOOPS: Hermiston boys defeat Sunnyside in OT | PAGE B1 E O AST 143rd Year, No. 49 REGONIAN WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Our New Neighbors NAVY VETERAN LANDS AT UAS TEST RANGE Murray brings young family to Pendleton By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Shawn Williams Murray hefts weights most Pendle- ton gym rats dream about. But his brains, not his brawn, com- bined with a love of fam- ily to land him in the Round-Up City this fall so he could Murray help Airbus subsidiary A^3 keep fl ying. The 28-year-old former Navy fl ight mechanic said he had choices of where to work in the aerospace indus- try, and A^3 provided what he sought. “When I got here, I wanted to spend as much with with my family as pos- sible,” Shawn said. Shawn and his wife, Noel Murray, have a girl, 5, and a boy, 2. Shawn said his pre- vious jobs in the aerospace industry meant working 70-80 hours a week, and his last job took him away from home about 90 nights a year. With A^3, he spends most of the time in town and he clocks in at 40 hours a week. He is a transplant from Delaware and adopted at 13. He said he planned to go to college but fi nances and family circumstances pushed him down another path. He joined the U.S. Navy in March 2009 and became a mechanic. The Navy stationed Shawn at its newest and largest master jet base, Naval Air Station Lemoore, where he worked on fi ghter jets, such as the F/A-18 Hornet. After three years, he was ready to move on. “I would have signed up again because I loved my job,” he said, but the town of Lemoore was dismal. He described it as “the armpit of California.” Still, he met his wife there while in the Navy. Her fam- ily roots in the Golden State go back to the mid-19th cen- tury. He recalled going to a bar to celebrate a buddy’s birthday, and he saw her, and Staff photo by Kathy Aney Staff photo by Kathy Aney One-year-old Alanna Raph tackles a roll during BMCC’s Christmas Eve dinner on Monday afternoon at the Pendleton Convention Center. Waiter Noah Espinoza, 8, hands a loaded plate to a diner at the Community Fellowship Dinner on Christmas Day at Hermiston High School. SERVING YULETIDE CHEER PENDLETON HERMISTON BMCC students serve up some good cheer on Christmas Eve By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian J ust minutes after the annual Blue Mountain Commu- nity College Christmas Eve dinner opened, a line of people snaked through the Pendleton Convention Center parking lot. The yuletide dinner has proven popular enough to war- rant a few changes in the annual tradition in recent years. The meal moved from BMCC’s Pendleton campus to the convention center in 2016, and this year, the college made the decision to move the start time up by two hours to accom- modate the 70-80 volunteers who seat the guests, wait tables, cook the ham dinner, and staff the Santa Claus area, but would still like to have some time with See BMCC, Page A6 Community Fellowship Dinner provides friendship, food By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian he coffee and conversa- tion were fl owing freely at Hermiston’s Com- munity Fellowship Dinner on Christmas Day. The holiday meal, which has been an annual tradition since the 1980s, is free and open to anyone, for any reason. The widespread invitation draws an T eclectic crowd, from those who don’t want to spend Christ- mas alone to extended fami- lies enjoying the chance to skip doing dishes and cooking. Frances Howard said she came by herself to the dinner in the Hermiston High School commons, but was able to meet “a lot” of people there. “I’m living in a camper See Fellowship, Page A6 Staff photos by Kathy Aney Left: Micah Olivera delivers plates to diners during the BMCC Christmas Eve dinner on Monday afternoon at the Pendleton Convention Center. Right: Dallin Smith, 10, and his older brother bring leftovers to diners at the Community Fellowship Dinner on Christmas Day at Hermiston High School. A group of friends started off ering the free holiday meal in the 1980s. See Neighbor, Page A3 A white(ish) Christmas Regift or refund? What to do with unwanted gifts By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Snow dusts fi elds just west of Pendleton on Christmas morning. The white stuff quickly melted off as the temperature edged upwards. Everyone has had the experience at least once in their lives: They unwrap a gift with anticipation, only to feel a sense of disappointment. The gift might have been given with good intentions, but it doesn’t fi t right. Or you already have one. Or it’s just plain hideous. What now? Local thrift stores hope people donate their unwanted gifts. Rocky Newtson, manager of Pendleton’s Salvation Army thrift store, said before Christmas that the shop had already benefi ted from a bump in donated items. “I do know a lot of people are cleaning out their closets and toy chests right now to make room,” she said. She expected that to continue after the holidays, in addition to people donating unwanted gifts rather than deal with the hassle of trying to return them. Newtson said any unwanted gifts in good shape —from household goods to clothing — could be a happy fi nd for some- one on a budget, and the money See Presents, Page A3