REGION
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Dozens gather for pre-Thanksgiving feast in Echo church
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
ECHO — Since the
February 2020 fl ooding of
the Umatilla River, Pastor
John Marcum of the Echo
Community Church has
lived in a fi fth wheel trailer
in a Hermiston recreational
vehicle park.
The fl oodwaters destroyed
his home. But, as he put it,
“You just had to keep on
living.”
In just two or three weeks,
he’ll be back in Echo, living
in his new home, he said. But
that isn’t all Marcum is grate-
ful for this Thanksgiving. He
expressed his gratitude for
the 40-plus people who gath-
ered in the basement of the
150-year-old church, sharing
a pre-Thanksgiving feast on
a clear and sunny Saturday,
Nov. 20.
“It’s a time to be thank-
ful for all we go through,”
he said. “Because it makes
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Pastor John Marcum, right, of the Echo Community Church, passes through the buff et line,
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, during a Thanksgiving meal put on by the church in Echo.
us better.”
The smells of the massive
feast — complete with 30
pies, four turkeys, one ham,
salad, fruit, stuffi ng, mashed
potatoes, macaroni and
LOCAL BRIEFS
No print paper on
Thanksgiving holiday
PENDLETON — In observance of the
Thanksgiving holiday, the East Oregonian
will not publish a print edition on Thursday,
Nov. 25.
“It’s a chance to give our employees an
opportunity to spend an uninterrupted holi-
day with their families,” said EO editor and
publisher Andrew Cutler.
The EO will publish an expanded edition,
including additional comics and puzzle
features as well as the weekly GO! maga-
zine, on Nov. 23.
An e-edition only paper will be published
on Thanksgiving and will be available to
paid subscribers through the East Orego-
nian website, www.eastoregonian.com. The
Thanksgiving e-edition will include local
stories, an opinion page and sports.
To make sure you are subscribed to the
e-edition:
• Log on to www.eastoregonian.com/
users/forgot, enter your email address and
click “I’m not a robot” then “Reset Pass-
word.”
• An email will be sent to you with a link
to click on, click on the link.
• A website will popup to enter your new
password.
• You’re all set.
For questions or problems, call the EO
Media Group customer service line at
800-781-3214.
County sets single-day record
with six COVID-19 deaths
PENDLETON — Umatilla County set
its single-day pandemic record for reported
COVID-19 deaths with six reported Friday,
Nov. 19.
That raised the county’s pandemic death
toll to 176, according to the health department.
The disclosure comes as the county
reports 22 COVID-19 cases, almost ensur-
ing this week’s total will be the lowest
since early July. The county has reported
declining COVID-19 case counts for seven
consecutive weeks, according to the Oregon
Health Authority. Below is a breakdown of
the six fatalities:
• The 171st victim is an 80-year-old
woman who tested positive Sept. 3 and
died Nov. 2 at Milton-Freewater Health
and Rehabilitation Center, Milton-Freewa-
ter. She had unspecifi ed underlying health
conditions.
• The 172nd victim is a 91-year-old man
who tested positive Oct. 18 and died Nov.
14 at Desire for Healing, Pendleton. He had
unspecifi ed underlying health conditions.
• The 173rd victim is a 67-year-old
woman who tested positive Oct. 25 and died
Nov. 16 at Good Shepherd Medical Center,
Hermiston. She had unspecifi ed underlying
health conditions.
• The 174th victim is a 60-year-old man
who tested positive Oct. 30 and died Nov. 15
at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Boise. He had
unspecifi ed underlying health conditions.
• The 175th victim is a 71-year-old woman
who died April 29 at a private residence. The
health department did not disclose when she
tested positive, though her death certifi cate
”listed COVID-19 as a contributing cause
of death.” She had unspecifi ed underlying
health conditions.
• The 176th victim is a 65-year-old man
who died Oct. 8 at a private residence. The
health department did not disclose when he
tested positive, though his death certifi cate
”listed COVID-19 as a contributing cause
of death.” He had unspecifi ed underlying
health conditions.
As of this week, the county has reported
more than 15,000 confi rmed and presump-
tive COVID-19 cases, according to the
health department.
— EO Media Group
cheese, rolls and more —
wafted through the door and
outside to the street. There,
fl owers, signs for pumpkins
and scarecrows decorated the
front of the church, signaling
exactly what time of year this
is.
Inside, people sat at
tables, chatting about what’s
new around town and what
Thanksgiving means to
them. Women cooked and
carried trays of food and
meandered around the room
fi lled with people who have
frequented the church for
years.
Marcum said there were
about twice as many people
at the meal as last year, when
the pandemic still had much
of America on lockdown.
Though attendance still has
not reached previous years,
where as many as 100 people
would come for the meal,
Marcum said it seemed
people were ready to be out
socializing.
Among them was Ken
Linda Nelson, who joined
the church in 1989. She lives
in Hermiston and makes the
commute to Echo for the
fellowship she experiences
there. And in just more than
a month, she’ll come to the
church and play “Let There
be Peace on Earth” on a fl ute
on Christmas Eve.
“This is a month for being
thankful,” she said. “I enjoy
the fellowship here, and this
is a good way to do it.”
Janice Diggins also has
been with the church for
more than 20 years. She
moved back to Echo to take
care of her mother before she
died at the age of 93 late last
December.
A board member with the
church, Diggins has been
involved with the choir until
about a month ago. Now, at
the age of 84, she said she
enjoys Thanksgiving for how
it brings her family together,
many of whom live in Echo.
“It’s a time of fellow-
ship,” she said. “And a time
of family.”
Sale at VFW closes the door on post
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — After
years of troubles with the
Hermiston branch of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars,
the post is history.
Oregon VFW offi cials on
Saturday and Sunday, Nov.
20 and 21, held a fi nal sale of
whatever was left in the old
VFW Hall, 45 W. Cherry
Ave., Hermiston.
On the first day of the
sale, the offi cials surrounded
themselves with many items
left behind and unclaimed by
former post members. Stack-
able chairs, United States
fl ags and Bradford Exchange
eagles were just some of the
many objects. Even the build-
ing was for sale.
“It’s sad. I didn’t want this
to happen. No one wanted
this to happen,” said Dennis
Pratt, state commander.
The Oregon VFW was
in Hermiston “to help clean
up this mess,” said Allen
Anderson, state senior vice
com mander. A nderson
worked alongside Pratt and
others in the sale.
When speaking of clean-
ing up, he was not just refer-
ring to the physical items,
but the Hermiston VFW.
The local organization, he
explained, was shut down
by the national organiza-
tion after years of troubles
that brought investigations.
The Department of Justice,
the IRS and local police all
were looking into the Herm-
iston veteran group’s aff airs,
he said.
A nderson descr ibed
several allegations, from
breaking bylaws, such as not
being present for the install-
ment of new offi cers, to theft
of $75,000 from the Hermis-
ton group’s account.
This is all disappointing,
Anderson said, as he looked
around at the folded flags
and other items for sale. He
added it was avoidable, as
the Oregon VFW tried to
help the Hermiston VFW
stay open.
“It’s a tragedy, because
you are losing a lot of
history,” Pratt said.
He opened a book,
“History of the Oregon
Veterans of Foreign Wars:
100 Year Anniversary,” to
show a page devoted to the
Hermiston VFW, Post 4750.
The page describes activities,
which the organization main-
tained starting at its begin-
ning in 1945. Pratt and Susan
Teruya, who were both at the
sale, were credited on the
cover of the book.
The book’s entry on the
post ends with mention of its
closure, May, 14, 2021.
The post was a “loose
cannon,” Anderson said,
which is why it needed clos-
ing. He said the state VFW
fi led the post’s back taxes and
cleared up other problems.
The bickering, the “out-and-
out feud” resembled a “war
zone,” the vice commander
added, and it could not be
rectifi ed, despite eff orts.
During the post’s suspen-
sion, Dale Pack worked
closely with the post. As the
state judge advocate, he was
tasked to “keep people on the
right track,” he said. He said
he ran the post during the
past summer and he did not
see a way for the local post to
continue.
Anderson added the post
was divided and members
were not committed to acting
within the bylaws. He said
members had “been kicked
out of the VFW entirely”
over actions at the post.
“What do you do?” he
asked. “Do you let it turn
until somebody is killed?”
He said he was not speak-
ing metaphorically. He said
he thought real bloodshed
was possible.
“It was a volatile situ-
ation,” he said, with one
member making threats
against another. The sale
was, then, a hopeful end to
the group’s problems.
Pratt said the state orga-
nization is healthy overall,
though there are some prob-
lem posts. He expressed a
belief that the VFW was
getting younger and is on
the verge of renewal. He
said he has hope for a new
post formed in Hermiston,
as someone already has
approached him on the topic.
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
www.EastOregonian.com
WE'RE BUILDING...
SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS CRADLE THROUGH CAREER
HEALTHY PEOPLE & THRIVING COMMUNITIES
DISASTER RECOVERY
DONATE TODAY AT WWW.UWBLUEMT.ORG/DONATE