A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Funny money supports Special Olympics athletes People of the world
Comedy festival
raises funds for
local program
By TAMMY
MALGESINI
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Orga-
nizers with Hermiston/
Pendleton Special Olym-
pics Local Program No. 510
might not be laughing on
their way to the bank, but
they certainly have bright
smiles on their faces.
K r isti Smalley, the
nonprofit organization’s
communications manager,
said it recently received
a major boost in funding,
thanks to Midway Bar &
Grill. Owner Stuart Rice
handed over a check for
$3,500 — proceeds from the
2022 Melonville Comedy
Festival — to help support
the local program.
The comedy festival
has provided support for
the local Special Olympics
program for many years.
And when Warren Smith,
who coordinated the event
stepped back several years
ago, Rice, whose establish-
ment had been providing
bar service during the show,
increased his involvement.
“I think this is an import-
ant event in raising money
for our local Special Olym-
pics athletes,” Rice said.
Smalley expressed appre-
ciation to Rice for the gener-
ous donation. In addition,
she said the money comes
just in time to help support
local athletes as they return
to in-person training in
bowling after a two-year
hiatus.
Training sessions for
Hermiston-based athletes
begin Friday, March 11,
10-11:30 a.m. at Desert
Lanes Family Fun Center,
1545 N. First St., Herm-
iston, and Pendleton-area
athletes will practice Satur-
day, March 12, 10-11:30 a.m.
at Quaking Aspens Lanes
at the Wildhorse Family
FunPlex, Mission.
Athletes must have a new
medical form and COVID-19
waiver form on fi le. The fi rst
40 athletes who register and
submit forms can participate.
Special Oly mpics
provides year-round training
and athletic competitions for
people of all ages with intel-
lectual disabilities. There
is no charge for athletes to
participate.
For more information
about Special Olympics
Oregon, including forms,
search www.soor.org. For
questions about participat-
ing or volunteering locally,
call/text Angela Schneider,
local program coordinator,
at 541-314-0166 or search
www.facebook.com/herm-
istonpendleton.
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Local gun show
packs in vendors
PENDLETON — Billed
as Eastern Oregon’s largest
gun show, this weekend’s
event will feature more than
100 tables of guns and acces-
sories.
The Pendleton Gun Show
opens Saturday, March 12,
9 a.m.to 5 p.m. at the Pend-
leton Convention Center,
1601 Westgate. It continues
Sunday, March 13, 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. Admission is $5 for
adults and free for kids 10
and under.
The Pendleton City Club
previously operated a sports-
man show, which morphed
into the gun show a handful
of years ago. Proceeds from
the event goes to support
local youth activities. For
more information, visit www.
facebook.com/pendletongun-
show or call 541-276-6569.
Share a wee bit o’
fun with assisted
living residents
HEPPNER — With
pandemic restrictions still in
place at Heppner’s Willow
Creek Terrace Assisted
Living, the staff there is
getting creative in helping
residents enjoy this weekend’s
Wee Bit o’ Ireland festivities.
JoAnna Lamb, Heppner
Chamber of Commerce exec-
utive director, encouraged
people who are getting their
Irish on to share their experi-
ences virtually. She said with
a little leprechaun luck, the
facility residents can hope-
fully view activities, includ-
ing the Great Green Parade
and musical entertainment.
If you plan on having a
wee bit o’ fun this weekend
in Heppner, consider send-
ing a link of your livestreams
or Facebook Live to info@
willowcreekterrace.com. For
questions, call the facility at
541-676-0004 or the chamber
at 541-676-5536.
Library district
seeks public input
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Special
Library District is conducting
a community needs assess-
ment.
The purpose of the project
is to gather qualitative infor-
mation, data and statistics
about the makeup and needs
of the residents of the library
district to inform future
goals and efforts. In addi-
tion to providing informa-
tion for the UCSLD Strategic
Plan, it will be shared with its
members and partner librar-
ies to provide current data for
their planning.
The assessment will
explore demographic infor-
mation related to Umatilla
County as a whole, in addi-
tion to the characteristics and
needs of current library users
who reside within the special
library district’s service area.
The study will identify popu-
lations who may not be utiliz-
ing public library services.
The information will be
collected through online and
paper surveys that individuals
can complete anonymously.
In addition, Erin McCusker,
library district director, will
be conducting one-on-one
interviews with community
members.
Input from the public
is critical to determine the
future of public library
services whether you use a
public library or not. Know-
ing the needs of local residents
helps the district in focusing
its services to continually
improve.
To complete the assessment,
visit bit.ly/3sXJpSk. The survey
will be open until April 1. For
questions, contact McCusker at
director@ucsld.org.
Catholic
Daughters to
award scholarships
HERMISTON — A pair of
$750 undergraduate scholar-
ships will be awarded by Cath-
olic Daughters of America,
Court No.1692. To be eligible,
students must be graduating
or recently graduated high
school seniors from Our Lady
of Angels Parish in Hermis-
ton.
Applications are available
at the church offi ce, 565 W.
Hermiston Ave. The offi ce is
open Monday through Friday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed from
noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays
and Thursdays) or email
a request to Delia Fields,
vice-regent, at dorranfi elds@
gmail.com.
Completed applications
must be submitted to the
church by April 7. Scholarship
recipients will be notifi ed by
mid-May and then celebrated
at the baccalaureate Mass later
in the spring. For questions,
call Fields at 541-571-4219.
— EO Media Group
share a common
spiritual DNA
MARC
MULLINS
MARC’S REMARKS
E
ach year, on
March 17,
St. Patrick’s Day
commemorates Ireland’s
patron saint. The man who
would come to be known
as Saint Patrick was born
in Roman Britain around
386 A.D. and died on
March 17, 461 A.D. The
Irish have observed the
anniversary of his death
as a religious holiday for
more than 1,000 years.
In the centuries follow-
ing Patrick’s death, the
mythology surround-
ing his life became ever
more ingrained in the
Irish culture. Perhaps the
most well-known legend
of St. Patrick is that he
explained the Holy Trin-
ity (Father, Son and Holy
Spirit) using the three
leaves of a native Irish
clover, the shamrock.
As a child, I loved the
thrill of looking for the
occasional four-leaf clover
in a cluster of three-leaf
clovers. I spent many
summertime afternoons
down on my knees search-
ing for that treasured
fi nd which, at the time, I
thought would bring me
good luck.
As an adult I’ve taken
great pride in my Irish
ancestral heritage. On
a trip to Ireland, eleven
years ago, I met many
from the Mullins’ clan
while on a visit to the town
of Kilkenny. One of those
I came across and spent
an entire afternoon with –
Tom Mullins with his wife
Chippy – looked and acted
in many ways like my
dad’s younger brother, my
uncle Kayo.
Imagine my surprise
when I later discovered
that my wife, Wendy
(whose maiden name is
Olson), has more Irish
DNA than me! Some time
back we both underwent
DNA tests. Her results
came back showing that
she is some 17% Irish,
while mine came back
showing considerably
less than that. It appears
that my ancestral heri-
tage goes back to France,
as I’ve discovered ances-
tors traced back through
my father’s lineage whose
surname at the time was
Des moulins. It seems that
some from this Hugue-
not clan fl ed to Ireland
and settled in Kilkenny to
escape religious persecu-
tion. There they eventu-
ally changed their name to
Mullins.
Chagrined as I was
to fi nd out that I am not
more “Irish” in my DNA,
I’m grateful that I share
something in common
with all of humanity.
Hebrew and Christian
scripture teaches that God
created humankind in
God’s own image (Genesis
1:27). Therefore, people
throughout the world
share a common spiritual
DNA. We all are people of
God and members of the
family of God. In this and
in all times it’s good to
affi rm this and live in such
a way as to treat others
with the greatest of love,
respect and kindness.
———
Marc Mullins is pastor
of the First Christian
Church of Pendleton, where
he also utilizes his gifts as a
musician, singer and song-
writer.
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