A8
LOCAL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Rotary’s impact felt near, far in 2021 ‘House on Mango
Rotary Club of
Wallowa County
ENTERPRISE — Schol-
arships, potatoes, coats and
peace poles are all a part
of the picture as the Rotary
Club of Wallowa County
looks back on the service
activities it performed in
2021. The club’s projects
served Wallowa County, but
they also spread around the
world, to Uganda, El Salva-
dor and Mexico.
Due to the COVID-19
pandemic, the Rotarians
made some adjustments to
the Lostine River Run, held
on the Fourth of July each
year, with proceeds support-
ing local high school schol-
arships. More than $9,000
was handed out in 2021.
The local Food Drive
Challenge between the
Rotary Club and the Sorop-
timist Club collected money
for the food bank at Com-
munity Connection. This
friendly competition is
repeated yearly by the two
Marilyn Dalton/Contributed Photo
Head Start children show their new winter coats through
Rotary’s Coats for Kids project.
service clubs, and has been
going strong since 2008.
This year, the Soroptimist
Club came out on top, with
more than $3,000 raised.
With additional matching by
Community Bank, the total
given was $6,936.
Rotary also collected
potatoes for the food bank in
the Great Potato Drive which
was conducted in Novem-
ber and December. With the
purchase of more than 155
pounds of potatoes from Pat-
rick Theil at Prairie Creek
Farms, Rotary members sold
bags of potatoes and carrots
to community members and
contributed vegetables to the
food bank. This was another
fundraiser for scholarships,
as the money gained from
the sales will be used to help
this year’s graduating Wal-
lowa County high school
seniors in their second year
of study at college.
Rotary’s Coats for Kids
project and Building Healthy
Families again gave out 50
new warm coats for children
r
e
h
t
e
g
o
t
s
k
l
o
f
g
Bringin
since 1884!
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY
209 NW First St.,
Enterprise, Oregon
541-426-4567
in the Head Start Program,
Building Healthy Families,
and others. Children’s new
winter coats are still available
by calling Building Healthy
Families at 541-426-9411.
A new program Rotary
started this year is to install
two Peace Poles in the county,
as part of Rotary Interna-
tional’s focus on world
peace. The poles have been
acquired from Jim Zacha-
rias and are being carved by
Steve Arment. They should
be completed sometime this
year, and installed at loca-
tions still to be determined.
As part of the local club’s
focus on international proj-
ects, Seth Kinzie of Joseph
was granted a Rotary Peace
Fellowship and spent several
months in Uganda study-
ing with peace fellows from
several African countries.
With Rotary’s support he
will be returning to Africa to
conduct research in several
countries. The Rotary Club
of Wallowa County contin-
ues to support tuition schol-
arships for 10 girls in an El
Salvador high school.
The local membership
also celebrated 100% par-
ticipation, with an average
donation of $100 per mem-
ber in the global Rotary
International
Foundation
projects in promoting peace;
eradicating polio; providing
clean water, sanitation, and
hygiene; supporting moth-
ers and children; support-
ing education; growing local
economies; and protecting
the environment.
The Rotary Club of Wal-
lowa County was founded
in 1986. Currently about 30
members meet weekly for
lunch and a short program
to help members under-
stand what is happening in
the community and where
opportunities for service
projects might exist. Meet-
ings are at the Odd Fellows
Hall in Enterprise, on the
second fl oor. For more infor-
mation about how to join
Rotary, contact membership
Chairwoman Anette Christ-
off ersen at 541-398-1148.
Street’ subject of
Fishtrap Big Read
Chieftain staff
ENTERPRISE — “The
House on Mango Street”
by Sandra Cisneros will be
the subject of this year’s
Fishtrap Big Read, with its
kickoff at 6 p.m. Wednes-
day, Feb. 16, according to
a press release from Mike
Midlo, Fishtrap’s program
director.
The event will be live
online from Feb. 16 to
March 16 at Fishtrap.org.
Cisneros’ book is
acclaimed by critics,
beloved by children, their
parents and grandparents,
taught everywhere from
inner-city grade schools
to universities across the
country, and is translated
all over the world, Midlo
said.
“It’s remarkable the
number of people who
reached out to tell me how
much this book has meant
to them.” Midlo said.
Cisneros will host the
event live from her home
in Mexico. She will be
joined online by Fishtrap
Executive Director Shan-
non McNerney as they
talk about its story, impact
and take questions from
the public.
Log on for the kickoff
as Fishtrap hosts the live
online interview with Cis-
neros. Viewers also can
access the video after-
wards to share in the
classroom, at book group
meetings and around the
family dinner table, Midlo
said. Then, each follow-
ing week, viewers can
enjoy new online events
and discussions including
resources on Chicano cul-
ture, videos and even salsa
dance lessons to practice
in the family living room.
According
to
the
National Endowment for
the Arts website, “The
House on Mango Street”
is Cisneros’ novel of a
Latina girl growing up in
Chicago. Acclaimed by
critics, beloved by chil-
dren, their parents and
grandparents,
taught
everywhere from inner-
city grade schools to uni-
versities across the coun-
try, and translated all over
the world, it has entered
the canon of coming-of-
age classics.
Since 2006, Fishtrap
has presented the Big
Read as a way to bring a
work of literature to local
communities by providing
public events, discussions
and free books to Wal-
lowa and Union county
schools, libraries, as well
as the general public.
This year, Fishtrap is
expanding the Big Read
even further by part-
nering with even more
Union County organiza-
tions including, Art Cen-
ter East, Cook Memorial
Library, Eastern Oregon
University Library and
the Historic Union Com-
munity Hall. Each is cre-
ating its own set of events
and will be added to Fish-
trap’s Big Read schedule.
The NEA Big Read
is a program of the NEA
in partnership with Arts
Midwest. The program
broadens understanding
of the world, our com-
munities and ourselves
through the joy of sharing
a good book.
The program is sup-
ported locally by neigh-
borhood
businesses,
foundations and organiza-
tions including Commu-
nity Bank, The Bookloft,
Oregon Arts Commis-
sion and the Pacifi c Power
Foundation.
Learn more and join
the discussion at Fishtrap.
org.
CALL TO HAVE YOUR ROOMS MEASURED TODAY!
FURNITURE • FLOORING • CARPET • ACCESSORIES
BEDDING • MATTRESSES • ETC.
Up to 50% off
everything*
HUGE SALE!
PRESIDENTS DAY
FEBRUARY
18TH 9 AM - 530 PM
19TH 9 AM - NOON
21ST 9 AM - 530 PM
LA GRANDE
1606 Portland St
541-963-6033
BAKER CITY
2001 Second St
541-523-1533
ENTERPRISE
800 S. River St
541-426-9228
*Save on select flooring at participating stores only. Some restrictions apply. See store for details. Not responsible for
typographical errors. Offer ends 2/21/2022. ©2019 Carpet One Floor & Home®. All Rights Reserved.