A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Trustworthiness, Inland Musicians tune up with grand gift
the greatest virtue
By TAMMY
MALGESINI
East Oregonian
SARAH
HAUG
LIGHT OF UNIT Y
“T
rustworthiness
… is the door of
security for all
that dwell on earth … He who
partaketh thereof hath indeed
partaken of the treasures of
wealth and prosperity.”
More frequently than is
reasonable, I walk out of the
grocery store with one last
item I forgot to scan under
my cart. Most recently it
was toilet paper, that most
precious of commodities.
I arrived at my car, started
loading my other groceries
into the trunk, saw the toilet
paper, and refrained from
swearing.
Hefting the package, I
trudged back into the store to
run it through self-checkout,
with a sheepish smile and an
explanation of what happened
to the person who had sent me
on my way a minute before.
Paying for whatever you walk
away with means you’re not
shoplifting, which is usually
seen as a good thing, but what
if, instead of walking out with
a raft of toilet paper, I forgot
to tell them about the banana
my child ate while sitting in
the cart? Or what if once I
got home I discovered they
charged me incorrectly for an
item?
To many, the latter situa-
tion might be seen as a wind-
fall, but my mother-in-law
used to reconcile her grocery
receipt with the actual prices
on the groceries and return to
the store to pay what she truly
owed. Personally, I resolved
the banana issue by choosing
a second banana and asking
the checker to charge me for
it twice, but I confess to often
tossing my grocery receipt in
the receptacle on the way out
the door.
In the Baha’i Faith,
honesty is the foundation of
all virtues, the one in which
all other virtues are rooted.
Without it, everything falls
apart (as perhaps we witness
on a daily basis). Without
honesty, nobody can trust us,
and we can’t trust anybody
else. Grocery receipts
don’t get checked and extra
bananas don’t get weighed.
Honesty isn’t only fi nan-
cial, of course. It involves
taking responsibility, admit-
ting fault and accepting
the consequences of our
actions, no matter the cost
to ourselves and even when
nobody else was even aware
that blame might need to be
laid.
Absolute honesty is a diffi -
cult standard to aspire to. We
all fall short. We always will,
but imagine what a diff erent
place the world would be if
everyone held trustworthi-
ness up as the standard to
which they aspired!
“Trustworthiness is the
greatest portal leading unto
the tranquility and security
of the people. In truth the
stability of every aff air hath
depended and doth depend
upon it. All the domains of
power, of grandeur and of
wealth are illumined by its
light.”
———
Sarah Haug is a member
of the Baha’i Faith and has
called Pendleton home since
2002. You can fi nd her most
days walking on the Pendle-
ton River Parkway with her
husband, Dan.
HERMISTON — The
Inland Northwest Musi-
cians will unveil its newest
member — a 9-foot Chick-
ering grand piano during
the upcoming concert of the
Inland Northwest Orches-
tra.
“It’s a grand instrument,”
said R. Lee Friese, the orga-
nization’s music director/
conductor. “It’s a pretty
exciting thing to have an
instrument of its grandeur.”
The Hermiston School
District gifted the piano to
the nonprofi t music group
this past summer. After
a move to the Hermiston
Community Center, the
piano underwent restorative
work in November.
The piano’s “coming
out” concert is Saturday,
March 12, 4 p.m. at the
Hermiston Community
Center, 415 S. Highway 395.
Admission is free.
Friese estimated that the
piano was made in the 1950s
by the now-defunct piano
manufacturer in Boston.
Regardless of its age, after
being refurbished by John
Ashcraft of Newberg, he
estimated that the replace-
ment cost of the instrument
is approximately $80,000.
Ashcraft, who previ-
ously lived in Pendleton
and provided maintenance
on the piano, said Jonas
Chickering and his sons,
who also worked in the
business, were innovators.
The piano manufacturer, he
said, created durable and
quality instruments.
“It’s powerful and rich,”
he said about the piano’s
sound. “It has a tone that
draws the listener’s ear and
it’s a pleasure to play.”
The upcoming perfor-
mance will feature Beetho-
Lori Johnson/Contributed Photo
A recently restored 9-foot Chickering grand piano will be featured in a concert of the In-
land Northwest Orchestra on March 12, 2022, at the Hermiston Community Center.
ven’s “Symphony No. 1” University of Illinois, Urba-
and “Piano Concerto No. na-Champaign.
1.” Accompaniment will be
According to a history
provided by guest pianist of the Chickering, tag No.
Harriet Wong.
003078, it was
acquired used in the
Currently pursu-
ing a doctorate
late 1970s by the
Hermiston Commu-
degree in musical
nity Concert Asso-
arts at the Univer-
ciation. Dr. John
sity of Washing-
Spomer and Phil
ton, Wong was
Hector, concer t
born in Macau, a
special administra-
Wong
association board
tive region of China.
members, contacted
She received the Cultural Leonard Richter of Walla
Affairs Bureau Prize, Walla College to assist with
the highest honor of the locating a piano.
Launching the “88 Keys
20th Macau Youth Music
Competition.
for Hermiston” campaign,
Prior to continuing approximately $8,000 was
her education in Seattle, raised. At the time of its
Wong performed actively purchase, Richter said the
as a pianist, conductor and Chickering was a suitable
accompanist in Macau. She concert piano for the needs
also earned her bachelor’s of the community.
and master’s degrees at the
When the concert asso-
ciation disbanded in the
mid-1990s, ownership of the
piano was transferred to the
Hermiston School District
— with an agreement that
it would be maintained and
available for recitals and
community performance
events.
Founded in 1999, Inland
Nor t hwest Mu sicia n s
features several ensembles,
including a full symphony
orchestra, a chorale and a
youth/preparatory orches-
tra. A classical music orga-
nization with members
from throughout the region,
its mission is to provide free
music to rural audiences.
For more information,
contact 541-289- 4696,
inwm@machmedia.net,
search Facebook or visit
www.inlandnorthwestmu-
sicians.com.
COMMUNITY BRIEFS
Pacifi c Power energizes
museum projects
PENDLETON — The Umatilla
County Historical Society recently
got a boost to support capital
improvements at the Heritage Station
Museum, Pendleton.
The historical society is in the
process of making several improve-
ments to the museum with a focus
on visitor experiences and in a press
release Feb. 10 announced it received
a $2,000 grant from the Pacifi c Power
Foundation.
The funds will go toward the
installation of doors that meet stan-
dards of the Americans with Disabil-
ities Act to create a more safe and
welcoming space for museum visitors.
Other planned renovations include a
redesign of the admissions area.
“These renovations will ensure
that the Heritage Station Museum
continues to be a vibrant community
space and a destination for visitors to
this region,” according to the press
release.
Heritage Station Museum, 108
S.W. Frazer Ave., Pendleton, is closed
for winter maintenance. It will reopen
in March. For more information,
contact 541-276-0012, info@heri-
tagestationmuseum.org, visit www.
heritagestationmuseum.org or search
Facebook.
The Pacifi c Power Foundation is
Local sites: New Hope Commu-
nity Church, 1350 S. Highway 395,
Hermiston (Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursdays through April 14),
and the Port of Morrow, 2 Marine
Drive, Boardman (Mondays through
April 11).
Tax-Aide volunteers are trained
and IRS-certifi ed each year. For more
information, including what to take to
your appointment, visit www.aarp.
org/money/taxes.
Umatilla County Historical Society/Contributed Photo
The Umatilla County Historical Society announced Feb. 10, 2022, that Her-
itage Station Museum in downtown Pendleton received a $2,000 grant for
capital improvements from the Pacifi c Power Foundation.
one of the largest utility-owned foun-
dations in the United States. The foun-
dation’s mission, through charitable
investments, is to support the growth
and vitality of the communities served
by Rocky Mountain Power and Pacifi c
Power. For more information, visit
www.pacifi cpower.net/foundation.
AARP tax program
off ers help in
Hermiston, Boardman
HERMISTON — If things aren’t
adding up, the AARP Foundation
Tax-Aide program can help.
Now
!
g
n
i
r
i
H
Family Medicine Physician
Family Nurse Practitioner
Position listing at
Taxpayers can receive assistance
with fi ling their 2021 state and federal
tax forms in Hermiston and Board-
man. You do not have to be an AARP
member.
While the focus of the program is
to provide help to those who are 50
and older with low- to moderate-in-
come, others may utilize the service.
However, Tax-Aide may not be able to
assist with some complicated returns.
Services are provided in English
and Spanish. Appointments, which
are required, are available on
designated days from 8:30 a.m.
to 2:30 p.m. Call 541-612-1307 to
make arrangements.
United Way to
disburse emergency
food shelter funds
WALLA WALLA — Local
nonprofi t organizations are invited
to apply for federal funding to supple-
ment emergency food and shelter
programs in Umatilla County.
United Way of the Blue Moun-
tains was awarded $120,616 under
the Emergency Food and Shelter
National Board Program. Appli-
cations to request a grant must be
submitted online no later than 3 p.m.
on Friday, March 4.
Emergency food provided can be
in the form of served meals, grocer-
ies or food boxes. And shelter can
include lodging in a mass shelter or
hotel, rent or mortgage payments and
the payment of utility bills.
For consideration, local organi-
zations must be a private voluntary
nonprofi t or unit of government and
be eligible for federal funds, have an
accounting system, practice nondis-
crimination and have demonstrated
the ability to deliver emergency food
and or shelter. In addition, private
voluntary organizations must also
have a voluntary board.
For more information or to submit
an application, visit www.uwbluemt.
org/EFSP. For questions, contact
Christy Lieuallen, United Way exec-
utive director, at 509-529-1183 or
christy@unitedwayww.org.
Sports boosters set
sizzling fundraiser
HERMISTON — Bring a hearty
appetite and help raise money for the
Hermiston sports program during
the Hermiston Sports Boosters Steak
Feed & Auction.
The 21 and older event is Satur-
day, March 5, 5-10 p.m. at the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event Center, 1705
E. Airport Road, Hermiston. Tickets
are $50 each.
For more information or to
purchase tickets, visit hermiston-
sportsboosters.square.site. Also,
while on the site, check out the
Bulldog apparel and other team
swag. For questions, contact
541-567-5215 or hermistonsports-
boosters@gmail.com.
— EO Media Group
Mental Health Counselor I
Integrated Care Mental
Health Therapist