COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
A6
Thursday, October 7, 2021
So tell me: What’s it going to be?
MATT
HENRY
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
A
s a retired pastor, I tend to stay
connected to local clergy for friend-
ship and support. I was having coffee
recently with one of them, a good, wise,
experienced pastor who serves a community
church in Weston. We both have analytical
minds by nature, shaped and formed by our
Christian faith.
So it was that he asked me the million-dol-
lar question: Do you think we (he didn’t parse
that one) have an unconscious death wish? My
unspoken thoughts immediately crackled like
a dry grass fire. Who is “we” and who is to
decide the definition of that? Unconscious —
or rather, as I suspect, quite conscious? And
perhaps most important: Are there enough
of us that want to live to overcome those of
us who seem hellbent on dying and leaving a
scorched earth behind?
The first sermon I ever preached in a
church setting was as a lay person. The pastor
of the church asked me if I would “give the
message” at the Easter Sunrise Service of all
things. Thinking we were both nuts, I humbly
accepted. I was scared to death. What did I
have to tell anyone, especially fellow believ-
ers who were much more experienced with the
Holy Scriptures than me?
My solution was to not center my reflection
on any specific passage but to rather concen-
trate on the central message of Jesus’ Gospel
itself — that of supreme self-sacrifice. But
my audience could repeat the Easter story in
their sleep so what was left to say? In my own
simple way, I just brought it home, down out of
the transcendent distance and into the immi-
nent moment.
I asked them to merely close their eyes and
imagine their favored child or loved one, the
one for whom they’d willingly take a bullet.
Holding that person in front of their eyes, I
envisioned the classic sci-fi scenario of an
alien race invading earth, possessing the tech-
nology to kill all humans immediately with the
mere thought of it. But here’s the deal — they
will not do that and leave, never to return if
one human would give them their most cher-
ished and loved human to take away. For most
of them, that was their child.
It was that simple. The simple swap of one
— their one — for all, everyone else on the
entire planet to go on, especially those they
call “enemy.” What would be their decision?
What would be yours? That decision had been
both Abraham’s and God’s and we have been
given their responses: The greatest good for
the greater good. The One for the All.
In both cases, I’m sure the decision was
beyond imaginable excruciation.
Now think about Bill’s question and my
inexperienced homily for a second against the
current backdrop of particular, historic and
largely white-induced hyper-individualism
that is drowning the world and casting a future
with much uncertainty and anxiety.
As the second act of “Opera COVID” plays
out, the uber self-centeredness, the classic
American selfishness of anti-vaxxers contin-
ues to stump me, particularly because their
decision has no grounding in logic or common
sense. I continue to hear largely tales of woe
from newly-minted white widows who relate
how, but for nothing more than egotistic bull-
headedness, they no longer have a husband
and their children are now one parent away
from being orphans.
Is this what our frontline health care provid-
ers are sacrificing their own lives for? Simple
childish obstinacy? Or is it rather as I suspect
— they are willing to sacrifice everyone else
on earth so that their own, cherished ideologi-
cal child survives the dominant alien onslaught
above all others? Have we “Americans”
bunkered down with a fallout shelter mentality
towards each other? You come for the last can
of pork and beans on Earth and I’ll shoot you?
Another Abraham, this one surnamed
Lincoln said to someone who was requesting
a prayer that “God might be on the Union side
to win the war,” responded wisely and adroitly,
“Sir, I am not really concerned about whether
God is on our side. I am very concerned we
are on God’s side.”
One theologian puts it like this, “It is diffi-
cult to stand on God’s side. Perhaps that is why
we are so often tempted to believe that God
stands on ours.” So if that vaccination deci-
sion stands the chance of just killing you (your
worst fear, you take it and you die) or saving
all those you claim you care about (your worst
fear: you’ve been wrong, Facebook Fox led
you astray and it’s saved their lives from your
ideological childishness), what’s it going to be?
For bona fide Christians, there can only be
one side. The Gospel of ultimate self-sacrifice
— the greatest good for the greater good —
draws a line in the sand that cannot be breached.
So Pastor Dobos, do I believe “we” collective
human beings have an unconscious death wish?
No, far from it. I believe “I” is quite conscious
and only time will tell if we ultimately pull up
from our headlong tailspin into destruction, or
if we even have the time left to do so.
My challenge to “the other side”? Prove me
wrong. Please. For God’s sake.
———
The Rev. Matt Henry is a retired Amer-
ican Baptist/United Methodist pastor, who
pastored the Pendleton First United Church
and now joyfully makes “hippie food” for the
houseless at the Warming Station.
Herald Reid celebrates 100 years
East Oregonian
MILTON-FREEWATER
— In the 1940s, Milton-Free-
water resident Herald Reid set
out to be a teacher — instead
he decided to go to work for
the government but ended up
being a tail gunner on a B-17.
Born Sept. 29, 1921, in
Emmett, Idaho, Reid recently
turned 100 years old. The
Milton-Freewater man joined
the ranks as a centenar-
ian with the help of several
members of the McLoughlin
High School class of 1964.
Andy Millar, Sherry Mawhin
Sallee and Carolyn Widner
Banek stopped by with a
birthday cake. In addition,
several other former students
sent cards.
The World War II veteran
took a roundabout way to the
classroom — and eventually
administrative duties — he
joined the U. S. Army Air
Forces in 1944. Reid initially
went to pilot pre-training but
ended up in gunnery training.
His crew was assigned to
the 34th Bomb Group, 391st
Bomb Squadron. Reid flew
25 bombing missions, as a tail
gunner over Germany. Being
the tail gunner, he said, was a
very dangerous position.
“I was one of the fortunate
ones,” Reid said.
Honorably discharged
in November 1945, Reid
resumed his career in educa-
tion, teaching chemistry,
physics and general science
at Mac-Hi. He received
his master’s in adminis-
tration from Washington
State University and around
1962, Mac-Hi Principal John
Turbyne asked Reid to be the
vice principal.
After 35 years in educa-
tion, Reid retired in 1981. In
1992, he was honored as the
Milton-Freewater Man of the
Year.
Married in 1941, Reid
proudly noted he and his late
wife, Effie, were married for
69 years and 5 months. The
couple had two children,
Tana and Gavin. Gavin lives
with his father, allowing the
100-year-old to continue
living in his home.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Students in Laura Orr’s science class take part in a lesson
Sept. 3, 2020, at the Ukiah School District building in Uki-
ah. A $7 million project is underway in late 2021 to pro-
vide fiber connectivity between Pendleton and the Ukiah
School District. The InterMountain Education Service Dis-
trict estimated the project will take approximately a year
to complete.
Sherry Sallee/Contributed Photo
Members of the McLoughlin High School class of 1964 —
Andy Millar, Sherry Mawhin Sallee and Carolyn Widner
Banek — helped Herald Reid, the school’s former vice princi-
pal, celebrate his 100th birthday Sept. 29, 2021.
Ukiah School will
get broadband
through $7M in
state, federal grants
East Oregonian
COMMUNITY BRIEFS
dvs-or.org or visit www.
dvs-or.org.
Downtown district
members roll out
Cork & Barrel
HERMISTON — The
Her m iston Dow ntow n
District is again rolling out
its Cork & Barrel event with
wine and beer tasting. Open
to adults 21-and-older, the
event also features food,
dancing and live music with
Frazer Wambeke & Luke
Basile and the Chase Craig
Band.
Cork & Barrel is Saturday,
Oct. 9, 5-10 p.m. on Hermis-
ton’s Festival Street, at East
Main & Second streets.
Advance tickets are $20 and
those bought at the gate are
$25.
Tickets are available at
Hermiston Parks & Recre-
ation, 415 S. Highway 395;
the Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce, 1055 S. High-
way 395, Suite 111; or Lucky
Endz Gifts, 239 E. Main St.
For more information, call
541-667-5018, email hermis-
tondowntown@gmail.com
or visit www.facebook.com/
Hermistondowntown.
Walk with Ease
provides steps
to healthy living
HERMISTON — People
looking for relief from
arthritis pain or just want-
ing to be active can gain
from the Arthritis Founda-
tion’s six-week Walk with
Ease program. Participants
can learn how to safely make
physical activity part of their
everyday life.
Good Shepherd Health
Care System Is offering the
program free of charge. Open
to everyone, pre-registration
required.
Walk with Ease, which
begins Oct. 11, is offered
Mondays, Wednesdays and
Local centenarian
invites residents
to drive-by party
Hermiston Downtown District/Contributed Photo
Visiting was plentiful during Hermiston’s 2019 Cork & Bar-
rel. This year’s event, which is open to adults 21-and-older,
is Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, on Hermiston’s Festival Street.
Fridays from 10-11 a.m. at
Good Shepherd, 610 N.W.
11th St., Hermiston. Join the
group to focus on low-in-
tensity walking, which is
proven to reduce the pain
and discomfort of arthri-
tis, increase balance and
strength, build confidence in
your ability to be physically
active and improve overall
health.
To register, visit www.
eventbrite.com. For ques-
tions, call 541-667-3509.
Domestic Violence
Services plans
virtual fundraiser
PEN DLETON — A
virtual silent auction and
raff le will help support
Domestic Violence Services
in Umatilla and Morrow
counties. The event is being
held as part of 2021 National
Domestic Violence Aware-
ness Month.
People can register via
a link at www.dvs-or.org.
The website also provides
an opportunity for individ-
uals and businesses to make
a donation for the virtual
auction. Raffle tickets are
$10 each or three for $25 for
a chance to win a 5-night stay
at the Oasis Resort in Palm
Springs, valued at $1,285.
Also, “Love Shouldn’t Hurt”
T-shirts are available for $20.
Silent auction bidding
will open Wed nesd ay,
Oct. 27 and closes Tuesday,
Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. A Face-
book Live drawing will be
held for the vacation raff le
Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
D ome s t ic Viole n c e
Services has served Umatilla
and Morrow counties for
more than 40 years. It has
shelters in Pendleton and
Hermiston, as well as advo-
cacy centers in Boardman,
Ione and Milton-Freewater.
Its mission is to provide
help to all victims and survi-
vors of domestic violence,
sexual assault, dating
violence and stalking.
DVS provides safety plan-
ning, support groups, train-
ing workshops and classes.
Services are available in
English and Spanish.
In addition to the shelters
and advocacy centers, the
agency maintains a 24-hour
crisis line (800-833-1161).
For more information,
cont act 541-276 -3322 ,
541-567-0424, events@
HERMISTON — Herm-
iston resident Irene Miller
is turning 100, and she is
inviting people to a drive-by
celebration. The party Satur-
day, Oct. 9,
2-3:30 p.m.,
in front of
the Harken-
rider Senior
A c t i v -
ity Center,
Hermiston,
Miller
t wo d ay s
before she officially reaches
the century mark.
Miller has been an active
part of Hermiston for the past
70 years. Her daughter, Judy
Lovins, said when she and
her two sisters were young,
their mother was their leader
in Camp Fire Girls, Blue-
birds and 4-H. She also was
active in foreign exchange
programs. The Miller family
sponsored two foreign
students. And during a span
of many years was gave 23
gallons of blood and volun-
teered with the hospital
auxiliary.
Several Habitat for
Humanity homes were built
under Irene Miller’s lead-
ership in Hermiston and
Umatilla, Lovins said. Most
recently, she was president
of the senior center and part
of the team behind the build-
ing of Harkenrider Senior
Activity Center. She is now
an honorary member.
For fun, Irene Miller plays
cards and bingo. Whenever
she can, she plays a game
with her with friends, chil-
dren, grandchildren and
great grandchildren.
— EO Media Group
UKIAH — Thanks to
state and federal grants,
Ukiah School is getting
broadband.
According to an Inter-
Mountain Education Service
District press release, the $7
million project will provide
fiber connectivity between
Pendleton and the Ukiah
School District, not only
one of the county’s smallest
school districts, but also its
most isolated. Ninety percent
of the money is coming
from the Federal Commu-
nications Commission’s
E-Rate program while the
rest is covered by an Oregon
Department of Education
grant.
“This is a huge, amaz-
ing win for students in our
district who will have strong,
reliable Internet connec-
tion for schoolwork and so
much more,” Ukiah Super-
intendent Jim Reger said in
a statement. “We so appreci-
ate the dedication and hard
work by IT staff at IMESD to
help bring this opportunity
to fruition.”
The IMESD credited IT
staff Nick Lapp, Melinda
Miller and Jen Thul with
diligently working to secure
funding for the project.
“This amazing group of
IT employees has invested
much over the last three
years by writing letters,
processing E-Rate special
construction applications,
crafting RFPs, applying for
grants and more,” IMESD
chief information officer
Cheri Rhinhart said in a
statement. “Because of their
dedicated work, the Ukiah
School District will soon
have high-speed internet.
Students in this rural and
remote school will enjoy reli-
able access to online learn-
ing opportunities previously
denied them because of very
limited internet access.”
The education service
district also reported the fiber
project will take approxi-
mately a year to complete.
DROP-IN PEER CENTERS
OPEN IN UMATILLA COUNTY
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
Doug Primmer and Jackie Myers, Hermiston city council-
ors, cut a ribbon Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, for the opening
of the Oregon Washington Health Network’s new drop-
in peer center in Hermiston with Amy Ashton-Williams,
the network’s executive director. The network also held
openings the same day for centers in Pendleton and Mil-
ton-Freewater.