A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
LOCAL NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017
Intricate quilts gain national recognition
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Shelly
Coykendall’s
quilts are so detailed, most
people would rather hang
them on the wall than use
them to keep warm.
“I used to say I’m a quil-
ter, but I realized people
were saying I’m more of a
fiber artist,” she said.
Intricate patterns of
thread swirl across the top
of each creation, forming
feathers and flowers and
animals. The flowing lines
of stitches, which often pass
within millimeters of each
other, are all free-motion
handiwork by Coykendall,
who steers the needle of her
quilting machine by hand
around the top of each quilt,
following designs she creat-
ed herself.
One of Coykendalls
creations — a two-foot by
two-foot “graffiti quilt” —
is featured in this month’s
edition of Machine Quilting
Unlimited magazine as the
second place finisher in a
national contest sponsored
The dove on a quilt, made
by Shelly Coykendal, is an
example of a raised trapunto
design.
STAFF PHOTOS BY E.J. HARRIS
Quilter Shelly Coykendall holds out one of her quilts in her work room at her home in Hermiston.
Coykendall says her the detailed work on her quilts has been referred to as fiber art.
by the magazine. The honor
is one of dozens of awards
that the Hermiston woman
has earned over 10 years of
quilting, a hobby she picked
up after retirement.
“I think it pushes me, that
competitive edge,” she said
of entering contests and ex-
pos.
The Coykendall house is
full of quilts, hanging over
curtain rods along walls
and draped over furniture. A
large tan quilt with colorful
diamonds and a dreamcatch-
er adorns one wall in the
hallway, while a patterned
bedcover in fall colors sits
in the guest room. The col-
lection is just this season’s
quilts — Coykendall has a
closet full of others ready
for Christmastime, spring
State police give Umatilla bomb robot
Robotics students
will get to learn
from robot used to
inspect devices
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
The students of the Uma-
tilla School District got a
surprise on Monday when
they found out they’re the
new caretakers of a robot.
Not just any robot, either
— a bomb-inspecting robot
formerly used by the Oregon
State Police.
Lt. Mike Turner told the
students of Clara Brownell
Middle School that he and
some other officers had
heard about Umatilla’s ac-
tive robotics program, and
wanted to give the students
the robot to help them apply
the skills they’re learning in
the real world.
“A lot of what state troop-
ers do is going out and pa-
trolling the highway, but
there are many other things
we do as an agency,” he said.
“One of those things is the
bomb technician program.”
Turner and three mem-
bers of the explosives di-
vision demonstrated three
different robots for students:
an ICore robot, a lightweight
machine which can quickly
climb stairs and is primarily
used to observe and reach for
objects, and a Remotec F6A,
a heavy-duty robot which
STAFF PHOTO BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
Cheyenne Clark, a Umatilla seventh grader, talks with OSP
Detective Placido Lopez about the robots the police use to
handle potentially dangerous items.
is used for visibility and to
manipulate or open packag-
es. Both robots had several
cameras attached to them.
The third one, a Green
Cub Robot, had a unique
nickname.
“We call it ‘Dill Pickle’
because it’s green,” said De-
tective Placido Lopez.
The students were excited
to learn that the robot was
there to stay. A student from
each grade was picked out of
the audience to learn how to
drive the machines, which
are operated by remote con-
trol.
“Our motto is ‘start re-
mote, stay remote,’” said
Sgt. Karl Farber, explaining
to the students how robots
allow the team to explore
suspicious packages or ma-
terials, while keeping people
away from potential explo-
sives.
Even if students don’t use
their robotics skills to en-
ter a law enforcement field,
Superintendent Heidi Sipe
said she was excited for stu-
dents to see an example of
the types of jobs available to
kids with knowledge of the
subject.
“Their robots are far
more sophisticated systems
than what we do,” she said.
“We’ll let the kids disassem-
ble them and learn, and ap-
ply the knowledge to what
they work on.”
The newer robots are ra-
dio-controlled, whereas the
old one is controlled by fiber
optics. Farber said that is a
little more cumbersome.
But students were happy
with the older model.
“We get to drive it, and
make improvements if we
want,” said Cheyenne Clark,
a seventh-grader at Clara
Brownell who works as a
programmer on the school’s
robotics team.
After the assembly, offi-
cers let students test out the
robots. The Remote F6A is
strong enough to pull a per-
son across the gym floor —
a feature several Umatilla
students had to test out for
themselves.
Turner said he looks
forward to checking back
in with the team in a few
months to see what they
have learned.
MEDICAL DIRECTORY
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• Confidential and Professional Care
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~ N ew Patients Welcome~
541-567-8161
995 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston
Ryan M. Wieseler, D.D.S .
COUNSELING
“Proclaiming the Message of Hope,
Living the Gospel of Love”
Sunday School 9:15am
Worship Service 10:30am
Children’s Church 10:30am
567-3013
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston
Our Lady of Angels
Catholic Church
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday
...............................English 7:00 am
Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm
SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm
...............................Spanish 7:00 pm
SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am
..........................Bilingual 11:00 am
..............................Spanish 1:00 pm
Offi ce..............................567-5812
Seventh-day
Adventist Church
Saturdays
Sabbath School........9:30 a.m.
Worship Service......11:00 a.m.
English & Spanish Services
567-8241
855 W. Highland • Hermiston
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
Family service 9am Sunday
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
t. PH: 567-6672
We are an all inclusive Church
who welcomes all.
First United
Methodist
Church
Hermiston
191 E. Gladys Ave , Hermiston OR
Sunday Worship 11am • 541-567-3002
Nursery available Check us out on Face Book
Worship Livestream at herfumc.com
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor
LANDMARK BAPTIST
CHURCH
125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232
Pastor David Dever
Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am
Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am
Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm
Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm
www.hermistonlmbc.com
The Full Gospel
Home Church
235 SW 3rd
Phone 567-7678
Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker
Sunday:
Sunday School........10:00 am
Worship...................11:00 am
Evening Service........7:00 pm
Wednesday Service..7:00 pm
“Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.”
1 Pet. 5:7
Grace Baptist Church
VISION CARE
PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY
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URGENT CARE
541-289-5433
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We accept Medicare & some Advantage Medicare plans
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Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm
541-567-1137
First Christian Church
Nursery provided for all services
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:45 AM
6:00 PM
Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM
“Proclaiming God’s word,
growing in God’s grace”
115 W. Hermiston Ave. Suite 130
541-567-1837
HOURS: Mon.-Sat.
7:30am-7:00pm
COMMUNITY
555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
Optometric Physician
HERMISTON FAMILY MEDICINE &
WORSHIP
331 SE 2nd St.,
595 NW 11th St.,
866-343-4473
Pendleton, OR 97801
Hermiston, OR 97838
Office: 541-276-6207 WWW . LIFEWAYS . ORG Office: 541-567-2536
Eye Health & Vision Care
Robert D. Rolen , O.D., LLC
URGENT AND FAMILY CARE
and summer.
Many of Coykendall’s
quilts mix styles, meshing
pieced quilting with em-
broidery, raised trapunto
designs and free motion
stitching overlaying lines
she first sketched out with
a water soluble pen. While
the thread often matches the
color of the material it over-
lays, for her graffiti quilts
Coykendall uses colors that
stand out against the back-
ground, starting at the center
of the fabric and improvis-
ing patterns as she works
outward.
“Every single one is go-
ing to be different,” she said.
Coykendall said she al-
ways had an artistic nature
growing up, but she didn’t
indulge it much past her art
classes at school until she
retired from Eastern Or-
egon Telecom and began
experimenting with quilting
techniques. She is mostly
self-taught using DVDs and
webinars.
Her husband Dennis,
who says he’s immensely
proud of her, has his own
hobby, woodworking, and
has custom-built a number
of racks, tables and desks
for her quilting room.
Coykendall sometimes
gives quilts away to family
members and friends, but
she doesn’t have an interest
in taking orders or selling
the ones she completes.
“I’m not in it for busi-
ness, I’m in it for fun,” she
said. “I don’t want to take
the joy out of quilting.”
1255 Hwy. 395 S. • 567-5834
oasisvineyard.us
Worship 10:00 AM
“come as you are”
NEW BEGINNINGS
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Worship Service 10:30 AM
Sunday School 9:00 AM
Pastor J.C. Barnett
Children’s Church &
Nursery Available
700 West Orchard Avenue
P.O. Box 933
Hermiston, Oregon
541-567-8441
Echo
Community Church
21 N. Bonanza Street, Echo OR
Phone: (541) 376-8108
Sunday School • 9:30am
Worship • 10:45am
Children’s Church • 11:15am
Potluck & Communion ~
First Sunday of the Month
1060 W. Elm, Suite #115,
Hermiston, OR
www.apd4kidz.com
236 E. Newport, Hermiston
(across from U.S. Bank)
To advertise in the Medical Directory, please call:
Jeanne at 541-564-4531 or Audra at 541-564-4538
1520 W ORCHARD AVE
Sunday Worship Service
10:30 am Classes for Kids @ 9:15 am
SEEKING JESUS, SHARING LIFE,
SERVING PEOPLE
www.hermistonnazarene.org
To share your
worship times
call
541-278-2678