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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 31, 2017)
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017 Our Community E-mail your community news items to: community@hermistonherald.com Memorial Day: A penny isn’t much Middle school musical to make a splash I Music and artistic ex- ploration by Sandstone Middle School students crescendos with a trio of upcoming performances. Students and staff will present “The Little Mermaid Jr.” Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Sandstone Middle School commons, 400 N.E. 10th St., Hermis- ton. Tickets are $3 or $2 with a canned food item. Concessions during in- termission will be served by Sandstone leadership students. For those unable to attend the performance, it will be live-streamed on spent 45 minutes and left a penny on the headstones of 75 veterans Monday at the Hermiston Cemetery. It’s not much — not even an hour and not even a dollar. But, for me, it’s a way to commemorate Me- morial Day. Sometimes people forget the meaning behind the holiday. It’s not merely a day off from work (al- Tammy though I did Malgesini work swing INSIDE MY hours) or a SHOES day to have a family barbecue. It’s a small gesture — extremely small. It doesn’t even compare to the sacri- fi ces made by the men and women who have served in our nation’s military. I became aware of the tradition of leaving coins on headstones nearly a decade ago. Every year since then, sometime during the Me- morial Day weekend, I have grabbed a bag of pennies and headed to the cemetery. According to informa- tion I’ve read, the tradi- tion is a way of paying respects. As the coins in- crease in value, so does the level of connection the person leaving it has with the deceased: • A penny means a per- son visited the grave of the veteran that is buried there. • A nickel means the person trained or was at boot camp with the de- ceased veteran. • A dime represents military personnel who served together. • A quarter indicates the person was present when the deceased was killed. Reading the headstone, I learn the date of birth, date of death and the branch of the military the veteran served. Then, I say their name and thank them the district’s website Under the direction of Dan Allen and Lisa McElroy, nearly 100 are participating in the mu- sical. The performance features an orchestra pit crew of about 25, directed by Allen and 25 dancers with Kelsey Tew in charge of choreography. In addition, 34 costume de- signers from Chelsea Geer’s exploration class planned and created each costume. Stu- dents helped sew sequins and feathers, and for many it was their fi rst time sewing some- thing. Also, under the guidance of Ray Davis, a new set tech- nology using reverse projec- tion and a stationary set de- sign, which was designed and will be implemented by 32 art students. The production incorpo- rates reading, drama, music, art and outreach objectives. Students are excited to show- case their talents and invite members of the community to attend one of the perfor- mances. The musical is made pos- sible by funds from the Herm- iston Education Foundation. Allen, McElroy, Geer and Davis wrote a grant request in the fall and were awarded about $3,000 to assist in put- ting on the theater production. New Hope presents sexuality seminar STAFF PHOTO BY TAMMY MALGESINI At the Hermiston Cemetery, numerous coins grace the headstone of Lance Cpl. James B. Huston Jr., who died in 2004 while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq. According to tradition, coins on the headstone signifi es visitors to the veteran’s grave. for their service while set- ting a penny down. Sometimes, I have to brush away grass that has been cast onto the head- stone during the mowing process. And, I’ve even poured water from my bottle to wash away bird droppings. Again, small gestures for people who have made sacrifi ces to serve our country. Every once in awhile, someone asks what I’m doing. Such was the case Monday, when an Air Force veteran and his wife noticed the “U.S. Air Force Acade- my” T-shirt I was wearing. They said they had come across a pair of headstones — a man and wife who both served in the Air Force. Dismayed that there were no fl ow- ers or fl ags, they returned with a pair of small bou- quets. I thought that was pretty cool. Of the section I vis- it each year, I personal- ly know the relatives of less than a handful. And, to me, that makes it even more signifi cant. Those veterans didn’t know me — yet they served our country so that I may reap the benefi ts of the free- doms we have. Each year I post a photo on Facebook — not because I want attention — but in hopes that maybe someone else will be moved to do a little something to pause a moment and remember to thank our veterans. ——— Tammy Malgesini is the community editor. Her column, Inside my Shoes, includes general musings about life. Contact her at tmalgesini@eastore- gonian.com or 541-564- 4539. A special seminar for parents and those working with youths will highlight our culture’s fascination with sexuality The session will ad- dress how to have im- portant conversations with youths about gen- der, social media, sex and porn. The discussion will include when it’s best to have particular conver- sations with children and youths. Parenting in a Sexual- ly Charged World is Fri- day from 5:30-9 p.m. at New Hope Community Church, 1350 S. Highway 395. It includes dinner at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $3 each or $10 for a family. Also, free childcare is pro- vided from 6-10 p.m. In order to plan, registration is requested by calling 541-567-8441. The special speaker is Jason Soucinek of Proj- ect Six19 in Spokane. He’ll talk about the cur- rent cultural landscape in America, what kids are being exposed to and provide a bib- lical framework for having conversations with kids about God’s design for sexuality. For more information, call 541-567-8441 or visit Face- book. Printed on recycled newsprint VOLUME 111 ● NUMBER 20 Gary L. West | Editor • gwest@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4532 Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4539 Jayati Ramakrishnan | Reporter • jramakrishnan@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4534 Jade McDowell | Reporter • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536 Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531 Shannon Paxton | Offi ce coordinator • spaxton@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4530 Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538 Dawn Hendricks | Circulation District Manager • dhendricks@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4540 To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St. • visit us online at: hermistonherald.com ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES Delivered by carrier and mail Wednesdays Inside Umatilla/Morrow counties .......... $42.65 Outside Umatilla/Morrow counties ....... $53.90 Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR. Postmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838. The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN 8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838, (541) 567-6457. Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2017 0 % APR for 60 mo. on 13 different 2017 models 2017 Prius rius ck Liftback 2017 Corolla 2017 RAV4 also incl includes udes d 2017 Corolla iM 2017 Camry 2017 Camry Hybrid 2017 Prius c 2017 Prius v 2017 Avalon 2017 Avalon Hybrid 2017 Yaris iA 2017 Sienna 2017 RAV4 Hybrid Or take advantage of special leases on nearly every model! 2017 Camry SE /mo $ 179 $ 159 /mo 2017 Corolla LE for 36 mos. for 36 mos. $ 19 199 /mo 2017 RAV4 LE f for 36 mos. 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