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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2019)
C2 YOUR EO NEWS East Oregonian Saturday, January 5, 2019 Filipino group celebrates Christmas The Eastern Oregon Philip- pine American Community ended 2018 with a fun-filled Christmas celebration. Noemi Wiseman, the group’s president, said the gathering fea- tured a 1920s dress-up theme. The food was abundant food and the event included games, raffle draw- ings and photo shoots. In addition, several trophies won by the group during the Dress Up Parade were on display. “The group continues to embrace their Philippine culture and is proud to share with their families and friends,” Wiseman said. Also, Wiseman said the group extended their gratitude to sev- eral local businesses for their gen- erosity, including Elvis’ Bar and Grill, Shari’s Cafe & Pies, Golden Fountain, Denny’s Restau- rant, 40 Taps and McDonald’s. “Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon” (translation: Merry Contributed photo Christmas and a Happy New Year). For more about the group, con- Members of the Eastern Oregon Philippine American Community enjoyed a Christmas gathering. Those present included Elsa Edmiston, Legaya Bernabe, tact Wiseman at noemiventurina@ Aida Baisley, Salvie Humphrey, Prima Schultz, Noemi Wiseman (group’s president), Ailea Rock, Rosemary Thomas, Liza Boyer and Hermie Van Elsberg. Not pictured: Jenny Breashers. yahoo.com. Echo Kiwanis draft open letter of thanks Photo contributed by Vicky Hart Members of the Eastern Oregon University soccer team kicked off the holiday season by contributing to Operation Christmas Child. EOU soccer kicks off holiday season Children around the world will receive gifts from Eastern Oregon Uni- versity‘s men’s soccer team this year. After their competitive season came to a close, stu- dent-athletes from the team met with a local representa- tive of Operation Christ- mas Child, and learned how to shop for, pack and wrap items to be sent to communities in need. Team members filled 14 shoe- boxes with toys, hygiene items, school supplies and other gifts to send to needy kids around the world. Brittany Hargrove, who has been involved with Samaritan’s Purse and its Operation Christmas Child project since she was very young, spent an afternoon introducing the program to student-athletes and coach Zach Mills. “[Hargrove] led an activ- ity where the guys had to show off their best wrap- ping skills — it wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done,” Mills said. “Then she left us with all the mate- rials and the guys grouped up and went to work. Some of the guys knew exactly what they would fill the boxes with, but some of them took a while to figure it out because they wanted the gifts to be just perfect.” Sophomore Kaleb Rainsberry of Kennewick took particular interest in the service project. He said his family has partici- pated in OCC since he can remember. He got in touch with Hargrove, and pro- posed the idea to his coach. She met with the team to drop off specially suited gift boxes and give advice about what types of items to include. Rainsberry said the gift wrapping challenge she gave them got him and his teammates into the spirit of the season. “She had us partner up with somebody and then wrap a shoebox with wrap- ping paper while we had one of our hands tied to the other’s,” he said. “It was quite challenging, but it brought the competitive- ness out of all the guys and it was funny to watch.” Rainsberry estimated that each of his teammates spent a couple of hours on the project. “I think that it just shows our community that we as a team and school care,” he said. “It’s something that others can rally behind and participate in themselves.” This was the first time EOU men’s soccer partici- pated in OCC, but the orga- nization celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018. Since 1993, the project has deliv- ered more than 157 million shoebox gifts to children in 160 countries and territories. “The most memorable thing was how some of the guys responded to the idea that their boxes were going to be shipped all across the world to kids who don’t have as much,” Mills said. “You could tell that some of them completely under- stood the feeling and wanted those children to enjoy the boxes.” Mills believes that it’s important for student-ath- letes to give back to the community. And, it has a myriad of benefits. “The guys see this kind of opportunity as a way to help others, and I hope the com- munity sees that students are always willing to help,” Mills said. Cycle Oregon awards grant for Pendleton after-school program Cycle Oregon donated a $5,000 grant to Pendleton Parks and Recreation to help create an after-school program. Cycle Ore- gon received $579,300 in requests, but awarded only a few grants. The after-school pro- gram is a new initiative by Pendleton Parks and Rec- reation, a partnership with Pendleton School District and InterMountain Edu- cation Service District. The program came about in response to the commu- nity survey administered by Campbell and DeLong Resources, Inc. earlier this year. The community-wide survey showed that the larg- est unmet recreation need in the community is after- school care. The program will take place in the elementary schools and consist of phys- ical activity, a nutritious snack, and rotating art, music and STEM activi- ties. The program costs $8 per child per day. The Cycle Oregon grant will be used to purchase supplies for the activities. Partial and full scholar- ships will be made available to those who need them. Pendleton Parks and Recre- ation is currently fundrais- ing to start that scholarship fund, with a goal to pro- vide as many scholarships as needed so no one is turned away. The parks department anticipates serving up to 100 children the first year. BIRTHS St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton DEC. 28, 2018 HODGES — Lindsey L. Hodges of Hep- pner: a girl, Oakleigh Rae Hodges. DEC. 31, 2018 ARNOLD — Michelle Aguirre and Neil Arnold of Pendleton: a girl, Liliana Giady Arnold. Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston DEC. 29, 2018 RANGEL — Adriana Mendoza Nunez and Juan C. Rangel of Irrigon: a boy, Carlos Adrian Rangel. DEC. 30, 2019 GALLEGOS — Cassandra Johnson and Andrew Gallegos of Hermiston: a girl, Had- ley Gallegos. JAN. 1, 2019 PALMER SANDOVAL — Tyan J. Palmer and Luis A. Sandoval of Hermiston: a girl, Abagaile Hope Palmer Sandoval. Thank You from Echo Kiwanis and … especially Wal-Mart DC. Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Hermiston has been very helpful over the years with in-kind and grant funds contributions to the efforts of the Echo Kiwanis. This last week, Kiwanis held their monthly Food Pan- try at the Masonic Lodge building, which is operated by city of Echo. The pan- try was named in honor of Chet Prior, who initiated the project in 2010. Just days before the Christmas holiday, it was the Echo’s largest Pantry ever with service to 44 house- holds, including 124 individ- uals. In a town of about 700, over 17 percent were treated to food, including a turkey for dinner at Christmas, by Chester’s Food Pantry. In 2016, Wal-Mart DC provided grant funds to pur- chase a commercial quality refrigerator, which has been in constant use by the Pan- try since first arriving. With about nine or so volunteers each month, the group pack- ages large boxes of food, Photo contributed by Michael Duffy The Echo Kiwanis expressed appreciation to the Walmart Distribution Center for its help over the years in support of Chester’s Food Pantry and other projects. and sometimes other con- tributed items, for distri- bution to Echo residents. Agape House, RiverPoint, Amstad’s, Echo second grade, Girl Scouts, FFA students, Echo Ridge Cel- lars as well as the local har- vesters at JOB Enterprises have been among the dozens of local sponsors that keep Pantry going. OkotoberFest is a pro- duction of Echo Kiwanis. The group has also assisted with other events including Red2Red, Sage Trail Run, Memorial Day Car Show and the annual yard sales. This year, Wal-Mart DC contributed grant funds to support traffic safety with which Kiwanis could pur- chase Uniform Traffic Code approved devices such as barricades and delineators which will be used in sup- port of local events. At this time of year, it is good to reflect with appre- ciation. We want to pub- licly say thank you to those who take the time to share; especially, Wal-Mart DC of Hermiston — thank you for helping to make our com- munity a better place to live. Michael Duffy, past president Echo Kiwanis P.O. Box 91 Echo, OR 97826 Community Bank delivers holiday cheer to arts center Randee Bronson and Jana Divine of Commu- nity Bank of Pendleton delivered some holiday cheer to the staff at Pend- leton Center for the Arts during its staff Christmas party Dec. 21, presenting a check of $2,054.50 to help with the organization’s youth art programs. Donors contributed a combination of checks, bills and coins for a total of $1,554.50 during the six week-long charity drive at the Pendleton branch, and Community Bank matched 50 cents on the dollar up to the maximum of $500. Since the Community Contributed photo Randee Bronson, second from left, with Jana Divine, left, presents a check to Arts Council of Pendleton board president Susan DeMarsh and development director J.D. Smith at the Pendleton Center for the Arts staff Christmas party Dec. 21. Bank Charity Drive began in 2010, the total amount given to area charities exceeds $170,000. Recip- ients include a wide range of nonprofit organizations. P et of the Week Melvin is a gorgeous neutered male with a BIG PERSONALITY AND LOVES ATTENTION! Melvin will follow you around like a dog, needs to be the only male cat in the home, (females are fi ne) he is an outdoor/indoor cat. MELVIN 762 Pets Adopted in 2018! Visit Melvin at the Pioneer Humane Society/Paws Tues - Sat • Noon - 4pm 517 SE 3rd ST, Pendleton 541-276-0181 Check out the PAWSABILITY Thrift Store -megumi’s dog grooming- 541.276.6220 920 SW Frazer Ste. 105 Pendleton, OR 97801