C2
YOUR EO NEWS
East Oregonian
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Contributed photo
Wesley Murack, center, Pendleton Downtown Association executive director, expressed ap-
preciation to the local Pendleton Walmart and store manager Shawna Nulf for a grant to
cover expenses for banners to highlight special events, festivals and promotional activities.
Downtown association
revives banner project
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton
Downtown
Association’s Downtown
Banner Project has been
revived through the support
of local members and com-
munity partners.
PDA Executive Direc-
tor Wesley Murack said
the Pendleton Walmart
and store manager Shawna
Nulf awarded the down-
town group a $1,500 grant
to cover some of the cost
for printing newly designed
banners. The banner proj-
ect, Murack said, will grow
to include directions for
public parking, visitor facil-
ities, promotion of events
and merchant advertising.
“One goal is to have
these banners rotating
throughout the year to high-
light special events, festi-
vals, and promotions com-
ing to our community,” he
said.
PDA President Angela
Thompson shared that the
community driven project
is largely volunteer based.
Design committee chair
Carol Hanks, of Great
Pacifi c Wine & Coffee
Co., said the idea behind the
banners is to present Pend-
leton’s best face for resi-
dents and tourists.
“Our community is
home to some truly amaz-
ing people and we want
our downtown to refl ect the
character of our residents,”
Hanks said. “This is one of
the beginning steps to get
us there.”
Other community part-
ners that have stepped up
to support the program are
the Pendleton Round-Up
Association and the Pend-
leton Chamber of Com-
merce. Also, Master Print-
ers created what Murack
called, “top notch designs”
and he’s excited to see the
fi nished products when they
are printed by Pendleton’s
Creative Signs.
For more about the Pend-
leton Downtown Asso-
ciation, contact Murack
at wmurack@pendleton-
downtown.org,
541-304-
3912 or visit www.Pendle-
tondowntown.org.
Photo contributed by Angela Schneider
Special Olympics coach Jessica Sexton and athletes Misty Larsen, Marsha Ochoa, Jen Wil-
liams and JoJo Garcia participated in the Special Olympics Regional Swimming Competi-
tion in Baker City.
Special Olympics swimmers make
splash at regional contest
East Oregonian
BAKER CITY — A
handful of swimmers from
the Hermiston/Pendleton
Special Olympics Local
Program, along with head
coach Jessica Sexton and
Local Program Coordi-
nator Angela Schneider,
recently traveled to Baker
City to compete in the Spe-
cial Olympics Regional
Swimming Competition at
the Sam-O-Swim Center.
This is the fi rst year
that
Hermiston/Pendle-
ton has offered training
and competition in swim-
ming in decades. The ath-
letes trained at the Board-
man Recreation Center
this fall in preparation
for regional competition
against athletes from the
Union and Baker local pro-
grams. Results from the
competition:
•Jose “JoJo” Angel
Garcia, second place sil-
ver in 50m freestyle; gold
in 25m butterfl y
•Jennifer
Williams,
third in 25m backstroke;
second in 25m freestyle
•Misty Larsen, fourth
in 25m backstroke; third in
25m freestyle
•Marsha Ochoa, second
in 25m freestyle; participa-
tion in 25m breaststroke
Coach Sexton was
amazed at the dedication
and growth that these ath-
letes made in their fi rst
endeavor to participate in
competitive
swimming.
Athletes who trained but
did not travel to Baker City
were: Andrea Eiden, Rian
Middleton and Antonio
Altimarano.
Winter sports, which
begin in January, include
basketball and powerlifting.
For more information, call
Schneider at 541-314-0166.
Police, Walmart drive toy distribution
East Oregonian
UMATILLA COUNTY
— Walmart Transpor-
tation Division and local
law enforcement teamed
up to help brighten the hol-
iday season for kids at area
children’s hospitals and
Ronald McDonald House
locations.
As part of the effort, toys
were collected Dec. 7-8 at
the Hermiston Walmart
store. Offi cer Mike Ell-
wood of the Hermis-
ton Police Department
was active in the project
— knowing fi rsthand the
impact of such acts. His
daughter, Jasmine, was
diagnosed with Ewing sar-
coma a couple of years ago
and spent lots of time in
hospital settings.
A local group hit the
road Dec. 13 in Walmart
trucks, police vehicles and
passenger cars to make toy
deliveries in the Portland
area, including to Randall
Children’s Hospital at
Contributed photo
Contributed photo
Mike Ellwood, left, of the Hermiston Police Department
and Paul Wolverton of the Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
were among a local group that delivered toys as part of the
Holiday Toy Drive. The eff ort was held in conjunction with
Walmart Transportation Division to provide gifts to kids in
children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses.
Legacy Emanuel. Another
group was headed to the
Seattle area on Dec. 18.
Ellwood expressed appre-
ciation to everyone who
donated toys for the cause,
which brought smiles to the
faces of numerous children
receiving medical treatment
during the holiday season.
Keystone helps BMCC food pantry
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — A
large portion of Keystone
RV‘s annual food drive will
be donated to Blue Moun-
tain Community College‘s
student food pantry, along
with an additional $1,500
worth of much-needed
items for the pantry.
Keystone’s annual food
drive among its six pro-
duction lines and offi ces
brings in thousands of
pounds of nonperishable
food each year. Last year,
Keystone donated 4,500
pounds of food to “The
Den,” BMCC’s new stu-
dent food pantry, which
was about to open.
This year, in addition to
the food donations, Key-
stone group leaders from
the 902 production line
donated their time to cut
fi rewood, and then part-
nered with the Pendleton
Grocery Outlet to sell the
wood outside their store.
The effort raised $625, and
they collected additional
funds from co-workers at
Keystone for a total cash
donation of $1,500.
The funds will be uti-
lized to purchase some
much-needed items in the
pantry, which has expanded
to also include personal
hygiene products, feminine
products, diapers and other
everyday needs. Besides
the main pantry in Morrow
Hall on the Pendleton cam-
pus, there are smaller pan-
tries located at BMCC loca-
tions in Milton-Freewater,
Hermiston and Boardman.
“We are so appreciative
of Grocery Outlet of Pend-
leton, Keystone RV, and the
generosity of its employ-
ees,” said Joey Gros-
Jacques, BMCC’s director
of TRiO Student Support
Programs, which oversees
the pantry. “These contri-
butions will signifi cantly
help our students, who
often struggle to pay for
basic needs while attending
college.”
For more information
about BMCC’s food pantry,
contact GrosJacques at 541-
278-5849 or jgrosjacques@
bluecc.edu.
BIRTHS
St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton
DEC. 11, 2019
VANDENAKKER — Elizabeth C. Tin-
nell and Bryon C. Vandenakker of Pendle-
ton: a boy, Nicholas Charles Vandenakker.
DEC. 17, 2019
FRANCO — Olivia D. Pedro and
Enrique Franco Salas of Hermiston: a girl,
Lively Alicia Franco.
Good Shepherd Medical Center,
Hermiston
DEC. 13, 2019
MENDOZA — Crystal S. Gomez and
Teodoro Parra Mendoza of Umatilla: a girl,
Ariela Rosa-Linda Mendoza.
ROGERS — Justyce Cox and Kyle
Strong/Rogers of Boardman: a girl, Alyson
Louise Rogers.
DEC. 14, 2019
NISBET — Makayla L. Nisbet and Mat-
thew W. Nisbet of Hermiston: a boy, James
Roy Nisbet.
DEC. 16, 2019
NUÑO — Selina Abris-Mendoza and
Victor Nuño Estrada of Hermiston: a girl,
Viviana Nuño.
Linda Bevington of L.L. Bevington receives a donation from the Pendleton Downtown Asso-
ciation’s Fire Recovery Fundraiser from PDA executive director Wesley Murack.
PDA pulls together to help their own
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — A
downtown Pendleton busi-
ness
owner
benefi ted
from the generosity of the
Pendleton
Downtown
Association.
The PDA’s Fire Recov-
ery Fundraiser awarded
$1,000 to Linda Bevington
of L.L. Bevington, which
suffered water and smoke
damage from a recent
downtown fi re.
The idea for the fund-
raiser came from PDA
executive director Wesley
Murack‘s own personal
experience. A building in
his hometown burned down
when he was growing up and
he recalled how the commu-
nity came together to help
the surrounding businesses
damaged by the fi re.
Murack said it’s often
unclear how much insur-
ance will cover, how long
the process can take, and
the impact the process can
have on a small business.
The PDA raised $1,000 in
about a month — some from
local donations, but most of
it coming from individuals
that don’t live in Pendleton,
Murack said.
“This goes to show
the impact that our com-
munity has had on oth-
ers throughout the coun-
try and the strong ties that
exist to downtown Pendle-
ton,” he said
The PDA Board of Direc-
tors, Murack said, sifted
through available data about
which businesses were
impacted by the fi re dam-
age. They determined that
L.L. Bevington would see
the most impact from the
donations.
“Overall, we wish we
could help everyone, but we
are happy to help such an
amazing pillar of our com-
munity in L.L. Bevington,”
Murack said.
P et of
the Week
Maverick is a sweet gentle boy who had
a rough start in life. He loves all ages of
people, does not mind other dogs (do not
know about cats). Maverick is a yr old and
will be fixed soon, he is up to date on shots.
601 Pets Adopted in 2019!
Visit Maverick at the
Pioneer Humane Society/Paws
Tues - Sat • Noon - 4pm
517 SE 3rd ST, Pendleton
541-276-0181
Check out the
PAWSABILITY Thrift Store
MAVERICK
-megumi’s dog grooming-
541.276.6220
920 SW Frazer Ste. 105
Pendleton, OR 97801