A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Thursday, May 27, 2021
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Memorial Day
ceremony planned
in Hermiston
HERMISTON — The Avenue
of Flags is returning to the Herm-
iston Cemetery for Memorial Day
weekend.
The magnificent flag display,
featuring hundreds of flags, will be
erected Friday, Mat 28, and remain
through Memorial Day, May 31.
The cemetery is open from daylight
to dusk.
In addition, a Memorial Day
ceremony is planned May 31 at
10 a.m. at the Hermiston Ceme-
tery. The program includes Amer-
ican Legion Post 37, the Oregon
National Guard and music by the
Hermiston High School band and
choral groups.
Those planning to attend are
encouraged to bring a lawn chair
as seating is not provided. In addi-
tion, COVID-19 guidelines are
suggested.
Olney Cemetery hosts
virtual ceremony for
Memorial Day
PENDLETON — The Avenue
of Flags at Olney Cemetery is being
erected on Thursday, May 27, by
Veterans of Foreign Wars Let ‘er
Buck Post #922. With more than
140 flags, they honor those that
served in the United States Armed
Forces and will continue to fly
through Memorial Day — Monday,
May 31. Olney Cemetery is located
at 865 Tutuilla Road, Pendleton.
A brief and intimate Memo-
rial Day ceremony is planned on
Monday at 11 a.m. by a few VFW
and Auxiliary members at the
Veterans Memorial Stone at the
cemetery, including the playing
of “Taps.” The ceremony can be
viewed virtually as a live feed on
Facebook.
Those that plan to attend in
person are asked to follow all health
guidelines, including maintaining a
6-foot distance between non-house-
hold members. It is highly recom-
mended that people attend online
and then visit the memorial and
cemetery at a less busy time.
For more information, call
541-276-8100 or search www.face-
book.com/OlneyCemetery.
Hermiston library
announces kids’
coloring activity
HERMISTON — Children 12
and under are encouraged to partic-
ipate in the Kid’s Monthly Color-
ing Page Activity at the Hermiston
Public Library.
Starting the first Thursday of
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Let ‘er Buck Post 922 listen as
Post Commander Judith Burger, third from left, speaks during the May
25, 2020, Memorial Day ceremony at Olney Cemetery in Pendleton. Peo-
ple are encouraged to view this year’s event virtually.
the month, children are invited to
stop and pick up a coloring page on
a special table in the library. Using
your artistic abilities, color the page
and return it to the library. Be sure
to put your first name and age along
the bottom of the page and you will
receive a free movie voucher —
limit one entry per child, while
supplies last. The last day to turn
in the coloring sheet is Wednesday,
June 30.
The Hermiston Public Library
is at 235 E. Gladys Ave. It’s open
Monday through Thursday from
10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday/Satur-
day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For ques-
tions, call 541-567-2882 or visit
www.hermiston.or.us/library.
EOPAC celebrates
small gathering
with food
PENDLETON — Members
of the Eastern Oregon Philippine
American Community finally were
able to enjoy a get-together to cele-
brate a simple birthday party.
The recent get-together was
not the usual gathering with a
big crowd, said Noemi Wiseman,
EOPAC president. The pandemic,
she said, really impacted the group’s
monthly meetings and participation
in community events. Wiseman
said they make a conscious effort
to utilize sanitation protocols to
keep everyone safe and are looking
forward to sharing in more celebra-
tions in the future.
For more information about
the group, contact Wiseman at
noemivent u r ina@yahoo.com
or visit www.facebook.com/
This, too, shall pass
CHRIS
HANKEL
LIVING ON PURPOSE
I
genuinely believe there
is no better place to live
than Eastern Oregon.
And there are few better
times than spring. One of
the spring events I enjoy
most is when the brown,
dead fields filled with decay-
ing debris from the previous
year suddenly begin to turn
green as new life erupts out
of the ground. The change is
drastic and happens over a
matter of a few weeks.
Circles that had been
nearly lifeless for months
are now brought back to
their glory of growing
seasons past. For centuries
people have used springtime
as a metaphor for new life,
but at this moment, it feels
like a perfect comparison for
us and our little corner of the
globe.
This past season has been
hard on so many people.
As a pastor, I get a unique
perspective and perhaps see
more brokenness than some.
But in over 30 years of
ministry, I have never seen
so much heartache, diffi-
culty, sadness and tragedy
in such a short amount of
time. Maybe you are reading
this, shaking your head and
saying, “Sounds like my
past year.”
If this has been your
experience, let me offer
some thoughts that encour-
aged my heart in dark times.
First, it is a season. It is
not your whole life. Seasons
change. King Solomon, the
son of King David, knew
this idea well. He penned
these words in Ecclesiastes
3:1: “For everything, there
is a season and a time for
every matter under heaven.”
He then describes the
seasons of our lives, includ-
ing a season to mourn and a
season to dance. Sometimes,
it is difficult to see how our
circumstances could ever
change when we are in the
moment, but eventually,
winter passes, and spring
arrives.
The second thought that
always encourages me, even
when life seems to be at its
worst, is that God’s love for
me is constant and unchang-
ing. The Apostle Paul expe-
rienced famine, shipwreck,
beatings and torture. Still,
he writes this in Romans 8:
“For I am sure that neither
death nor life, nor angels nor
rulers, nor things present nor
things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Perhaps the season you
are in today seems dark,
cold and lonely. Remember
this season will change, and
eventually, new life, new
opportunities and new hope
will spring out of what once
seemed dead and hope-
less. Know you do not walk
through this time alone.
Even in the loneliness of
dark, winter seasons, there
is a God who will never
leave you or forsake you. He
is a God who loves you.
———
Chris Hankel is the lead
pastor at New Hope Commu-
nity Church in Hermiston.
groups/520352961332014.
Free walking program
improves health
HERMISTON — Good Shep-
herd Medical Center announces the
Walk With Ease program.
Regardless if you need relief
from arthritis pain or just want to
be active, the Arthritis Founda-
tion’s six-week Walk With Ease
program can teach people how to
safely make physical activity part
of their everyday life. The free local
program kicks off Monday, June 7,
from 9-10 a.m. at Good Shepherd
Health Care System, 610 N.W. 11th
St., Hermiston.
The program runs three days
a week (Monday, Wednesday and
Friday) for six weeks and features
low-intensity walking. Walk With
Ease reduces the pain and discom-
fort of arthritis, increases balance
and strength, builds confidence in
your ability to be physically active
and improves overall health.
For more information or to
pre-register, visit www.eventbrite.
com. For questions, call 541-667-
3509.
Milton-Freewater
delays opening of
city pool
MILTON_FREEWATER —
Milton-Freewater’s Joe Humbert
Family Aquatic Center is not open-
ing until Thursday, June 3, at 4 p.m.
The city of Milton-Freewater in a
May 25 press release announced it
had to push back the opening.
“Based on the extensive resur-
facing work at the facility and to
allow sufficient time to get the staff,
updated procedures, concession and
beautifully repainted Frog slide in
place for a great summer, we have
delayed the opening a few days,”
according to the press release.
The city touted the “tremen-
dous amount of work taking place
this week to have the pool ready
for our community,” adding the
plaster work could wrap up May
27 — depending on the weather
— and then filling the pool would
commence the next day.
The city then would run mechan-
ical tests on the pumps and filter for
a few days. That could begin May
29 and continue for up to four days
to ensure that water quality meets
established aquatic center stan-
dards.
“This makes it possible for us to
open the pool for your enjoyment on
Thursday, June 3,” the press release
stated.
Safety academy
announces local
graduate
SALEM — The Oregon Depart-
ment of Public Safety Standards
and Training recently announced
that Daniel Foreman of the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office will grad-
uate from the Basic Corrections
class.
A ceremony will be held on
Friday, June 4, at the Oregon Public
Safety Academy in Salem. Because
of COVID-19 safety protocols, the
event is closed to the public.
The academy oversees the train-
ing and certification of more than
40,000 city, tribal, county and state
law enforcement officers, correc-
tions officers, parole and probation
officers, fire service personnel, tele-
communicators, emergency medi-
cal dispatchers and private security
providers. Jerry Granderson serves
as the director, and Darren Bucich,
fire chief of McKenzie Fire &
Rescue, is the board chairman.
For more information, visit
www.oregon.gov/dpsst.
Local seniors earn
scholarships
It’s scholarship season, and area
seniors are receiving financial assis-
tance from institutions close to home
and across the U.S.
Pendleton
Marcus Allen has received three
scholarships from various entities.
The Better Business Bureau Students
of Integrity Scholarship ($2,000)
is an essay scholarship honoring
students who personify and commu-
nicate ethics in the real world, and is
awarded to six students in the west-
ern U.S. states. Allen’s second schol-
arship was one of 15
awarded nationwide
by the Susanna
Foundation of Penn-
sylvania ($1,000) for
students of superior
academic and extra-
curricular achieve-
ments despite the
challenges of a
chronic disease or
other serious health
impediment (he is
a Type 1 diabetic).
His third schol-
arship, the Paul
Gorham Memo-
rial Scholarship
from the Pendleton
Masonic Lodge, is
for $750.
Sam Coleman
was awarded a
$1,000 scholarship
from the Pendleton
Linebackers Club,
renewable for four
years.
Jacob Airoldi
has received an
Oregon Promise
Scholarship in the
amount of $3,900
per year (renew-
able) and the Reggie
Brown Memorial
Scholarship worth
$1,500.
Airoldi
Allen
Coleman
Pratt
Boardman
T he Boa rd -
man Chamber of
Commerce recently
Puerta
awarded 10 schol-
arships to River-
side Jr./Sr. High
School seniors.
Awards for $1,000
were given to Jose
Puerta, Cooper
S z a s z , Mar i a
Silva Gillardo and Silva Gillardo
Hailee Pratt. Pratt
was also awarded
an additional $1,000
scholarship for
being selected as
our Youth Citizen
of the Year at the
2021 Distinguished
Citizens Awards
Szasz
Banquet.
Scholarships for $500 were
awarded to Heriberto Caza-
res, Angela Barragan, Melinda
Cemore, Ricardo Davila, Savan-
nah Morris and Jocelyn Leza-
ma-Magallanes.
The Boardman Chamber of
Commerce scholarships are made
possible through our annual Frost-
bite Scholarship Golf Tournament
fundraising event.
— EO Media Group