WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Our Community
E-mail your community news items to:
community@hermistonherald.com
IN BRIEF
Melon festival seeks
volunteers
Enthusiastic individuals
with fresh ideas are invited
to participate in planning
the Irrigon Watermelon Fes-
tival.
The next meeting is
Tuesday, June 28, at 6 p.m.
at Stokes Landing Senior
Center, 195 N.W. Opal
Place, Irrigon. The festival
is Saturday, July 30, with
most activities taking place
at Irrigon Marina Park.
Also, vendor applica-
tions are available at Irrigon
City Hall. For more infor-
mation, call Renee Couch-
man 541-571-0721.
FILE PHOTO
The Cancer Crusaders, a Hermiston Relay for Life fundraising group, is introduced during the opening ceremonies of a past
event. This year’s event is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Umatilla County Fairgrounds in Hermiston.
Hermiston Relay for Life
ights back in 20th year
By TAMMY MALGESINI
Community Editor
In its 20th year in Herm-
iston, Relay for Life has
chosen to honor one of its
founders, Lou Ann Wolfe,
and her husband, Bryan
Wolfe, as grand marshals of
the 2016 event.
The American Cancer
Society through Relay for
Life, raises money and
awareness in ighting the
disease. Cancer can strike
anyone, Lou Ann said, re-
gardless of a person’s inan-
cial status, their age, their
race or religious beliefs.
She refers to the disease as
an “equalizer.”
“Because so many times,
people with more where-
withal can do more than
someone else,” she said.
“But it’s not that way with
cancer — they get hit just
as hard as anyone else.”
Hermiston Relay for
Life is Saturday from 11
a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Uma-
tilla County Fairgrounds,
415 W. Orchard Ave. The
opening ceremonies will
include a survivor’s lap,
followed by a free luncheon
at noon for all survivors
and their caregivers. Other
highlights include a silent
auction from 11 a.m. to
1:30 p.m. and the luminaria
ceremony at 9:30 p.m. Sev-
eral food vendors will be on
hand throughout the event.
Lou Ann Wolfe and Lori
Armstrong, who now lives
in Beaverton, co-chaired
the irst Hermiston event in
1996.
“We sort of pulled in a
few of our friends and said,
‘We’re going to do this,’”
Lou Ann recalled.
At the time, she wasn’t
a survivor, herself, but had
FILE PHOTO
Lou Ann and Bryan Wolfe will be grand marshals of the
2016 Relay for Life in Hermiston, but it is not the irst time
they have served as grand marshals of a local event. This
photo was taken when the Wolfes were announced as grand
marshals for the 2012 Umatilla County Fair.
Bikers ride beneits
Relay for Life event
Area bikers are in-
vited to rev things up
in the fight against can-
cer.
Held in conjunction
with Hermiston Relay
for Life, the Freedom
of the Road Riders are
sponsoring a short ride
to raise money for the
American Cancer So-
ciety.
The event begins
Saturday with regis-
tration beginning at 10
a.m. and kickstands
up at 12 noon in the
northwest parking lot
been a longtime American
Cancer Society volunteer.
Dating back to her high
school days in Wallowa
County, Lou Ann helped
raise money by going door-
to-door with her youth
at Wal-Mart, 1350 N.
First St., Hermiston.
The cost is $20 for rid-
er or $25 for two, with
proceeds going to Re-
lay for Life. The ride
includes silent auctions
and prize drawings.
The ride will end at the
entrance of the Umatil-
la County Fairgrounds
at the Freedom of the
Road Riders RC table.
For more informa-
tion, contact Phil (Har-
ley Man) at 541-720-
2384 or fotrr2010@
yahoo.com.
group.
Shortly after getting in-
volved with Relay for Life,
Lou Ann was diagnosed
with a basal cell carcinoma
and a couple of years ago
she was treated for a com-
mon form of breast cancer.
Bryan was diagnosed with
Stage 4 mantle cell lym-
phoma in August 2015.
A rare form of the disease
— MCL comprises about 5
percent of all non-Hodgkin
lymphomas — it most often
affects men over the age of
60.
“It’s a type of cancer
they don’t talk about a cure
for him. They talk about
longevity and livability,”
Lou Ann said. “We take ev-
ery day we can and so far,
he’s doing really well.”
After serving on the
committee for a decade,
Lou Ann passed the baton
to others. However, Bryan
and Lou Ann have contin-
ued their ties with Relay
for Life — often providing
support for the team from
IRZ Consulting.
Known for their giving
nature and spirit of volun-
teerism, the Wolfes were
surprised by being selected
as grand marshals. Lou Ann
calls it a “pure honor” and
Bryan said it’s a humbling
experience.
Another important as-
pect of the event, Lou Ann
said, is it brings people
from all walks of life to-
gether — providing cama-
raderie among survivors,
family and friends.
“We all get up in the
morning thanking God we
have a new day,” Lou Ann
said. “I think it empowers
people. It’s a good feeling,
it’s a warm feeling.”
For more information,
contact Miranda Hunt at
541-720-0369, mlhunt06@
gmail.com or visit www.
facebook.com/relayfor-
lifeofhermiston or www.re-
layforlife.org/hermistonor.
Hermiston Altrusa installs oficers
LuAnn Davison was in-
stalled as president during
the 39th installation of ofi-
cers of Altrusa Internation-
al of Hermiston.
In addition, other ofi-
cers included Stephanie
Hughes, secretary; Jackie
Dunlap, treasurer; Dawn
Long, second vice presi-
dent; Nancy Lauck, irst
vice president; and Kath-
leen Krosting, immediate
past president. Directors
installed were Cathy Lloyd,
Katie Saul, Lindsay Lloyd
and Karen Cooley.
The event included four
charter members in atten-
dance: Margaret Saylor, Pat
Wheelhouse, Kay Bennett
and Nancy Brown.
As part of an inter-
national
organization,
Altrusa works to make
the community better
through leadership, part-
nership and service. For
more information, vis-
it
www.facebook.com/
altrusainternationalof -
hermiston.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Altrusa International of Hermiston recently installed new oficers for 2016-17.
Summer programs
sizzle in Boardman
Summer recreation pro-
grams started this week in
Boardman. The programs
run through Thursday, July
21.
Funtastic Kidz is for the
younger crowd and is from
8:30-11:30 a.m. The teen
program runs from 1:15-4
p.m.
The activities are spon-
sored by the Boardman
Parks & Recreation District.
For more information, call
541-481-7217.
Western author to
share pioneer tales
Western author and sto-
ryteller extraordinaire Rick
Steber will present a pro-
gram in Irrigon.
Author of more than 40
books, Steber weaves a tap-
estry of words as he makes
characters come alive. The
Prineville-based author has
received numerous awards
for his writing, including the
Western Writers of America
Spur Award, Western Her-
itage Award, Oregon Liter-
ary Arts Award and the USA
Best Book Award.
The program, Oregon
Trail: Honoring our Pioneer
Forefathers, is Saturday,
June 25 at 4 p.m. at the Ir-
rigon branch of the Oregon
Trail Library District, 490
N.E. Main St. Admission is
free. And, refreshments will
be served.
The presentation also
includes Umatilla Coun-
ty author Stuart Dick. A
former teacher and pastor,
Dick operates a construc-
tion company in Pendleton.
He recently released his
second book, “Old Oregon,
Under the Shadow of the
Almighty.” Both authors
will sign books afterwards.
The event is sponsored
by the Oregon Trail Li-
brary District and Friends
of the Irrigon Library. For
more information, call Barb
Huwe at 541-922-4175.
Historical society
plans road trip
A tour bus will take a
group of people to the Saint-
Jean Baptiste Day Celebra-
tion in Walla Walla.
The Morrow County
Historical Society is co-
ordinating the trip Satur-
day, June 25, departing
from Boardman at 8 a.m.
and returning about 3 p.m.
Transportation is provided
and there is no charge. Par-
ticipants are encouraged to
bring some money, as the
Frenchtown Historic Foun-
dation will offer a potato bar
lunch.
In its fourth year, the
event is held at the French-
town Historic Site at 8364
Old Highway 12, Walla
Walla. It includes tours, a
presentation about further
restoration projects, music
and entertainment.
For more information or
to reserve a spot on the bus,
call Dave DeMayo at 541-
676-8017.
Frazier Farmstead
hosts summer festival
It’s almost time to kick
up your heels during the
Frazier Farmstead Summer
Festival.
The 21-and-older event
features dinner, music and
dancing. An annual fund-
raiser for the museum, the
event is Saturday from 6-10
p.m. at 1403 Chestnut St.,
Milton-Freewater. Tickets
are $40 per person.
Dinner will be provided
by Specialty Catering by
Jennifer. Also, many Walla
Walla Valley wines and beer
by Dragon’s Gate Brewery
will be available for pur-
chase. Music features Robin
Barrett and Coyote Kings
with Tiph Dames.
The Frazier Farmstead
Museum is a six-acre site
listed on the National Regis-
ter of Historic Places. It was
settled in 1868 by commu-
nity founder W.S. Frazier.
Money from the event goes
to support the museum.
For more information,
call 541-938-4636 or vis-
it
www.facebook.com/
events/261605557563496.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY LIZ SHARON
Members of Hermiston Masonic Lodge No. 138 pose with
Tad Farley, Jairo Ramirez, Lillian Irving, Emily Sharon
and Elizabeth Doherty, winners of the Bikes for Books
program at Rocky Heights Elementary School.
Top readers ride
away with new bikes
A number of third
through ifth grades students
in the Hermiston School
District are riding into the
summer with new bicy-
cles thanks to members of
Hermiston Masonic Lodge
No. 138 and the Bikes for
Books program.
The
program
pro-
motes independent reading
throughout the school year.
Students were awarded raf-
le tickets each trimester for
achieving their Accelerated
Reader goal. Bonus tickets
were given for doubling or
tripling their goal.
Students receiving bikes
include:
Rocky Heights: Jairo
Ramirez, Elizabeth Doherty,
Emily Sharon, Lillian Irving
and Tad Farley.
Desert View: Avena
Garrett, Kaitlyn Crowther,
Jorge Rodriguez, Anyssa
Garcia and Saoirse Rahm.
Highland Hills: John
Shasteen, Laura Meyers,
Yahir Conejo-Garcia, Me-
gan Joyce and Adrain Ala-
torre.
Sunset: Latavious Jen-
nings, Josh Slavings, Violet
White, Ashlynn Cutburth
and Giovanni Aguilar.
West Park: David Marti-
nez-Melendez, Maria Rojo
Aguirre, Daniel Garza, Je-
sus Guardado and Chloe
Winker.