A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2015
FROM PAGE A1
Serving others is a family tradition
Volunteers and
attendees from
near and far enjoy
holiday meal
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
Wearing an apron and
armed with tongs to serve
turkey to hundreds in Herm-
iston, Sam Johnson celebrat-
ed Thanksgiving the same
way he did when he was
child.
The 23-year-old said he
and his wife Karina now live
in Rexburg, Idaho. While
back in town for the holiday,
he said it felt natural to spend
part of the day volunteering
at the Community Fellow-
ship Dinner.
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was a kid,” he said. “I love it.
It feels great to come and do
this.”
Once the plates were
loaded with turkey, mashed
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and rolls, James Furches was
among the volunteers de-
livering the free food to the
tables. Furches, 17, said this
is the sixth Thanksgiving he
has helped with the meal.
After his older brother vol-
unteered seven years ago,
he and his mother signed up
the following year and have
been back ever since.
“I enjoy it,” he said.
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ing food, you can talk to peo-
ple. I get a lot of interesting
stories.”
Through the years, Furch-
es said he has met a Vietnam
veteran who talked about his
war experience and another
veteran who had to have a
limb amputated after an inju-
ry in Iraq.
Hermiston veteran Dave
Bosley was sitting at a table
FOOD:
STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART
From right, Sam Johnson and his wife, Karina, serve a meal to another volunteer after
she Ànished her shift at the Community Fellowship 'inner on Thanksgiving 'ay at the
Hermiston Senior Center. Sam Johnson said his family has volunteered at the dinners
since he was kid, and although he and his wife now live in Rexburg, Idaho, the family
tradition lives on.
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Community Fellowship Din-
ner.
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see what the community is
all about,” he said, and added
he planned to be back next
year.
Across the room, Tri-Cit-
ies resident Luann Harle was
dining with her mother, Leo-
na Harpster, a Hermiston res-
ident who attends every year.
“This is one of the most
wonderful things could hap-
pen,” Harpster said. “The
meal was wonderful, and I
make so many friends here.”
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time attending and she was
glad she came. She said the
food was excellent.
First-time volunteer Mor-
gan Winchester, 16, of Stan-
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thought it would be a good
idea to serve others in order
to be more thankful for what
they have, Winchester said.
which adds up quickly.
Each child gets the same
set of food, chosen after
considering factors such
as nutrition, convenience
and the ease with which a
small child could transport
it home in one piece.
“Since we have to pur-
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strain on our resources,”
Hughes said.
Deb Sprong, counselor
at West Park Elementa-
ry, said she worries about
what will happen to the
children she sees if the
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ues to drop.
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program,” she said. “The
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it, you can just tell. They
will literally run to my of-
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getting food.”
STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART
Families enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal at the Community
Fellowship 'inner Thursday at the Hermiston Senior Center.
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back and do this again,” she
said. “To see all these people
smile was a great experi-
ence.”
At the dessert table, serv-
ing apple and pumpkin pie
and cupcakes, 23-year-old
Nathaniel Scott said his fam-
ily had been volunteering
on Thanksgiving since they
The Agape House uses specific foods to pack the bags for children participating
in the backpack program. To obtain a list of the foods used, or to make a monetary
donation so that the food can be purchased in bulk, call 541-567-8774 or visit
agapehousehermiston.org.
She said children will
tell her that they fed their
family with the food they
brought home, and teach-
ers will tell her the student
passed on some of their
food to a friend who they
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get three meals a day over
the weekend.
She encouraged people
to give whatever they could
to allow more hungry chil-
dren to be fed.
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any little amount whatsoev-
er would help,” she said.
Heidi Sipe, principal of
Umatilla School District,
said she is extremely grate-
ful to the Agape House
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Free health screenings: blood pressure
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Every Third Friday of the Month
December 18 • 9:00 - 11:00am
GSMC Education Department
EARLY PREGNANCY
One FREE class focusing on the first six
months of pregnancy. Healthcare professional
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December 10 • 6:30-8:30pm
GSMC Conference Room Center 2
BIRTHING CLASSES
Two-day course to prepare each
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December 11 & 12
Friday: 6:30 - 8:30 pm,
Saturday: 9:30 am - 3 pm
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December 2 • 12:00pm - 1:30pm
GSMC Conference Center 3 & 4
For information or to register for a class,
call (541) 667-3509 or email healthinfo@gshealth.org
The city of Hermiston used jackhammers to dig a hole in the
pavement of Northeast Second Street to plant a Christmas
Tree for the holiday season.
will reopen in January after
the tree is removed and the
hole covered.
continued from Page A1
Revitalizing downtown
tor Larry Fetter announced is one of the top priorities
the light show in October, Hermiston residents listed
he said he planned to uti- in a recent survey asking
lize “as many of the festi- what “livability” issues the
val lights as possible” from city should prioritize.
One group that has
the now-disbanded Eastern
Oregon Festival of Lights, been working to do so is
along with the long-emp- the Hermiston Downtown
ty RoeMarks storefront, to Association. The city is
help draw shoppers down- holding a tree-lighting cer-
town.
emony on Thursday in con-
“I hope people say, ‘We junction with the associa-
have 25 minutes to kill WLRQ¶V)LUVW7KXUVGD\HYHQW
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The lighting ceremony
ORRNDURXQG¶´KHVDLG
for the Christmas tree in
Eventually the city of the middle of Second Street
Hermiston plans to make will be Thursday at 6 p.m.,
the block of Second Street featuring Santa Claus and
between City Hall and East live entertainment. The
Main Street a permanent light show will also pre-
“festival street” with deco- miere that night. It will
rative brickwork, landscap- continue each Thursday,
ing, benches and gates that Friday and Saturday every
could be closed to block off 30 minutes from 5-9 p.m.
the street for events. For until Dec. 26, with live en-
now, however, the street tertainment on Thursdays.
TREE:
To donate
continued from Page A1
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
for its help in her district,
where nearly 90 percent of
students qualify as low-in-
come.
The Agape House can
serve only a handful of Mc-
Nary Elementary School
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years prior. He said he plans
to move to Portland soon and
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a similar place to volunteer
for the holidays.
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you get to connect with other
members of the community,”
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doing anything else.”
students with food for the
weekend, but during the
week the district uses fed-
eral grants to provide free
breakfast and lunch to all
students, as well as dinner
to students who participate
in the after-school STEM
program.
“During those formative
years, nutrition is critical
for kids,” Sipe said.
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know if they are going to
be able to eat for the next
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concentrate on schoolwork
or anything else.
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they have to worry about
over the weekend they can
focus on other things,” she
said.
For anyone interested
in helping the backpack
program, Hughes said the
easiest way is to make a
tax-deductible
monetary
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marked for the program. If
people would rather have a
food drive he said he could
provide a list of items used
in the food bags.
FREE
FRIDAY
MEDICARE
MADNESS
Medicare Open
Enrollment
Oct. 15 - Dec. 7
Join us for this FREE event!
FREE Medicare Counseling &
Information from trained
SHIBA volunteers.
December 4th
Trained volunteers are available in the
SHIBA office all year round, call for an
individual appointment.
GSMC conference
rooms 5 & 6
(by the GS Cafeteria)
*Bring a list of all the medications you take.
For information call
(541) 667-3507
or email
shiba@gshealth.org