A6 Senior Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, April 11, 2018 G RANT C OUNTY S ENIORS John Day Seniors Nicky Essex These weeks slip by me lately, with my memory letting me down. I forget more birth- days than I remember. Too much going on I guess. We had a good group at the senior cen- ter on Monday, April 2, with Olivia Cornell and myself at the greeter’s desk. The Hospi- tal Auxiliary was on hand to do our table service, for the sec- ond time back to back, filling in for another group on short notice. Thanks to Kris Labhart and her crew for stepping up so nicely. There were 31 regu- lar and 24 frozen meals deliv- ered that day. Without our volunteers I don’t know how the senior center would function. Thank you so much to every one of you who helps us keep things running! Don Porter opened our time together by leading the flag salute, Nadine Smith won the drawing for the Len’s Drug certificate and Deda Por- ter won the free meal. Dale Stennett gave the blessing on our meal, and we seriously en- joyed breakfast lasagna with hash browns and peaches and then to commemorate Pea- nut Butter and Jelly Day, Lisa made PB and jelly cookies for our dessert. Lisa was off, but prepared them in advance, and Anne Lewis was here helping her hubby, Shay, in the kitchen. Chris Labhart gave an- nouncements, which included a warning not to be taken in by phone calls saying they are call- ing because you failed to report for jury duty. They try to get you to send money for “fines.” Don’t trust anyone who tries to solicit money over the phone that way. On Thursday, April 5, Drew Harmer and Everett King were there to “man” the desk. The Nazarene Church group, led by Trace Andrew, was here doing table service. With Trace was Vickie Harrison, Jessie Elliott, Dale Stennett, Everett King and Duane Andrew. Joan and Joel Tayles took out meals to John Day and Canyon City, while our Step Forward crew had a new leader, Mariah Boyd. Welcome and thanks, Mariah. They took their regular route in Mt. Vernon. Altogether, there were 31 meals delivered. Duane opened our time by leading the flag salute, Vickie won the Chester’s Thriftway gift and Duane Andrew won the Valley View meal. Everett gave the blessing on our meal, and we held our breath as food came out to the tables. This was advertised as our “April Fools” meal, and we never know what Shay, Lisa, Veanne and Danny might come up with, but there is never a dull moment here. There were different entrées, all sponsored by Pat Amling in memory of her husband, Chuck. Some tables had meat- loaf; others had meatballs. There were baked potatoes on some tables, mashed potatoes on others. We had gravy for all and miscellaneous vegetables here and there. But the desserts were all to celebrate the birth- day of the month. Our table had cherry pie. Thursday, we’ll have beef and potato bake, and then Monday, April 16, we’ll have mushroom and spinach quiche. Reminder: The kitchen is a busy and dangerous place. Please don’t come in unless you are serving. Communicate through the window. Thanks. Matthew 28:6 “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said!” Monument Seniors Soo Yukawa We had a scrumptious meal of beef stroganoff, garlic bread, fresh green salad and chocolate cake for our dessert. Did that just make your mouth water, hmm? We thank our great cooks Terry Cade, Carrie Jewell and Teawna Conklin for their efforts and hard work. Our greeters at the front table were Bodean Anders- en, Jimmy Cole and Linda Blakeslee. Bodean led us in the flag salute, made the an- nouncements and prayed the blessing over our meal. Jim- my and Linda collected and counted the money. Working behind the scenes was Jan En- sign. We thank everyone that supports and volunteers their time and service for our Mon- ument Senior Center. Judy Harris had a free raf- fle going so everyone who walked in the door to join us for lunch received a raffle ticket and a chance to win a couple of prizes. The prize winners were Judy Bustar- do from Fossil and Teawna Conklin of Kimberly. Our regular prizes, the Len’s Drug gift card went to Pam Calahan. The winners of the free meal tickets were Judy Bustardo and Mia Yuka- wa. We had some visitors who came to eat with us. We were glad to have Bruce Hansen come and dine with us all the way from Sauvie Island in Portland. He also brought with him a full trailer and truck with items for our upcoming rummage sale. We thank him for hauling all that stuff for us and his donations. I saw some items that I think would inter- est quite a few people. We also had among our guests, Ryan and Nora, our tai chi instruc- tors from John Day. I partic- ipated last week, but I had to go home after lunch this time due to a headache. I definitely recommend the class; it was helpful. Our total number of guests on the books for April 3 was 40 and 10 takeouts. We send our condolences to Jeanne and Bruce Strange. Jeanne’s mom just passed away. We pray for the Lord’s comfort and peace during this difficult time. We have some exciting news for the senior center. We received our grant money, and the Monument Senior Center will soon have in working order a new mixer, a new oven and a new dishwasher. We thank all who helped to make it happen. We appreci- ate everyone’s involvement and dedication for the senior center. Please mark your calen- dars for the sale of the cen- tury! OK, maybe not quite that caliber, but it will still be a great event. You may find your treasure that you’ve been searching for. The Monument rummage sale will be occur- ring April 21-22. There will be all sorts of stuff that might entice you to buy something. There is always something great that one always finds at these sort of events. Lastly, there’s an EMT dinner in the month of May. Please come and help support our EMTs. 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” Prairie City Seniors Rose Coombs Met a fellow pinochle player in the post office af- ter the meal. Her comment: “Where the elite meet.” I like that. Come to dinner and hang out with the other “elite.” The local American Le- gion post held a raffle this spring and the winners are: Iva Gill, $250 worth of items donated by Better Blooms and Gardens; Jenny Workman, $100 worth of items donated by Front and Center; and Carl Swank, the wagon full of goodies. Good job, fellas. Don’t forget the bin- go party on April 13 at the school. We were saddened to learn of the death of our friends Amos Cardwell and Joann Wilson. Our con- dolences to their families. They both were long-time supporters of the Prairie City Senior Center. Seeing as how it was spring break time in Wash- ington state, Nancy Viggers had her son, daughter-in-law and grandson visiting. And they always come to dinner and help clean up. Nice to see them all. Nadine Smith has also returned from win- tering in the south. Larry Wright led the flag salute, and Jack Retherford asked the blessing. The $5 gift card donated by Len’s Drug went to Kathy Lewis. Larry, Ken and Scott made the deliveries. We had 62 names on the registration book. Ginger announced that if you are able, there is al- ways cleanup work to do after the meal. The Viggers boys jumped right in to lend a hand. Thanks, guys. We have decided to have pinochle every Wednesday starting at 10 a.m. Still try- ing to teach the other players how to use the poker chips. Come join us. If you don’t know how to play, come and learn. It’s good for the brain. The meal had turkey a la king over pop-overs, savory rice, green salad, peaches and tropical lime cake for dessert. Scrumdiddlyum- tious. Made it to all the out- of-county medical appoint- ments, and Derrol has been pronounced fit as a fiddle. One more this month. Hal- lelujah. I want to stay home and work in the yard. There is a fundraiser for the fifth and sixth grades’ OMSI trip making the rounds. It’s called “You’ve Been Flocked.” Neighbor Marnie has between 30 and 40 pink flamingos in her yard. You pay to have them removed to someone else’s yard. I must say that they look better than the purple potty that appeared in my front yard several years ago. I want to give a hearty thank you to our faithful jack of-all-trades, Tom Roark. When he learned that the new office needed to have the new sheet rock mudded and taped, he offered to do it for me since I was busy at- tending to Derrol’s medical needs. Thank you so much, Tom. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Church Services In Grant County Come Worship with us at 49256