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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2018)
FROM A1 A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAy, DECEMbER 19, 2018 MEALS Continued from Page A1 Contributed photo Jolene and James Pooley with their sons, Conner and Brayden. The Hermiston family is focusing more on building holiday traditions than buying a lot of presents. TRADITION Continued from Page A1 stressful and it takes away from the true meaning of Christmas.” The Hermiston couple began formulating ideas before Thanksgiving. In addition to online shopping, the Pooleys shopped in the Tri-Cities and locally. “We use a lot of Walmart layaway because it’s a good hiding place,” James said with a laugh. The Hermiston couple has two sons, Conner, 8, and Brayden, 3. With the boys’ birthdays coming up in Jan- uary and February, Jolene said their new approach to Christmas shopping is mak- ing planning for that much easier. “Last year we went so extreme,” Jolene said. “We thought what do we get them because we got them everything for Christmas, so this year we split the gift ideas up.” Shawn Logue, who has four kids ranging in age from 16-25, is sticking to a holiday budget this shop- ping season. In past years, Shawn and her husband, Dan, set an amount but invariably would surpass it because they didn’t com- municate about who bought what. In determining the amount, the Hermiston cou- ple factored in what they spent in the past, what types of gifts their kids preferred and what else they wanted to do with their money during the holiday season. For the past six years, they have taken a family trip to enjoy the festivities in Leaven- worth, Washington. “It’s taken us a long time to learn Christmas isn’t about the stuff and the pres- ents. It’s more about building family traditions,” Shawn said. “Our trips to Leaven- worth are more memorable than buying gifts.” In their second holiday season together as a family, the Halls, too, are creating and melding traditions. This year, they had the younger kids draw names amongst themselves. Set up like a secret Santa, no wish lists were shared. The idea, Deana said, is to have the kids observe and learn more about their sib- lings when making deci- sions about what to buy. The Pooleys also are focusing more on estab- lishing holiday traditions and spending time together. Doing things like heading up to the mountains to chop down their own Christmas tree, sipping hot chocolate around a campfire and going sledding are some things they’ve done during recent holiday seasons. “Christmas needs to be about more than just pres- ents,” Jolene said. “It’s about family.” on the list, but came look- ing for food or gifts for their children, they were asked to come back on Wednesday. “We want everyone to have something,” she said. Volunteer LaVera San- chez said one of her favor- ite memories was from last year, when a woman came in after being recommended for the program. “She didn’t know how her name got on the list,” Sanchez said. “But she couldn’t say ‘thank you’ enough. She was crying; she was very appreciative of everything.” Two women who stopped by on Monday said the program has helped their families during some rough times. “I just moved down from Alaska,” said Chey- enne Blazka, who found out about the program through her child’s school. “It’s really heartwarming to move and start fresh, and see that people still care.” She said her kids were excited about the presents, but she was most grateful for the food donations. “Food stamps don’t BTW Continued from Page A1 have shortened hours — from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. For questions, call 541-567-2882. • • • People are invited to ring in the new year with a murder mystery din- ner theater event to bene- fit Agape House. Tickets, which are $35 each, are now on sale for the barbe- cue pork loin or beef tri-tip dinner. “Murder at Dead- wood Saloon” is Monday, Dec. 31 from 6-9 p.m. For tickets, call Dave Hughes at 541-567-8774. See next week’s Hermiston Herald for a full story about the Staff photo by E.J. Harris Guests look through donated Christmas decorations during the Christmas Express on Monday at Agape House in Hermiston. always cover everything,” she said. “It really helps.” Stephanie Bates got donations from the program last year. “We’ve been so down,” she said. “It’s awesome we could get gifts for the kids.” “It helps keep Santa alive,” Blazka said. In its 49th year, Christ- mas Express gathers donations from commu- nity groups and individu- als, packages them up, and sends them to the Agape House. In addition to the items collected for Christ- mas donations, the program yielded about eight large crates worth of food that Agape House will be able to distribute throughout the year. Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said the program received about $6,500 in cash donations as of Monday, and that the donations from school food drives were the larg- est he’d seen in the 15 years he’s been doing Christmas Express. event. • • • The Stanfield Public Library announced a pair of free events this week. The monthly Family Story Time is Thursday at 6 p.m. In addition to read- ing a book, participants can make a craft and enjoy a snack. Also, 15 families will receive a free book. On Friday, there’s a spe- cial holiday craft. The free activity runs from 2-3 p.m. The library is located at 180 W. Coe Ave., Stanfield. For more information, call 541-449-1254. • • • The public is invited to celebrate the final ser- vices of the advent sea- son at St. John’s Episco- pal Church, 665 E. Gladys Ave., Hermiston. The fourth Sunday of advent is Dec. 23 at 9 a.m. with a service of lessons telling the story of Israel and the Nativ- ity. It also includes music and will conclude with the eucharist. Also, the first service of Christmas is Monday, Dec. 24 at 7 p.m., followed by mass at 7:30 p.m. For more informa- tion, contact Rev. Chuck Barnes at 541-567-6674 or chuckb@eotnet.net. ——— You can submit items for our weekly By The Way column by emailing your tips to editor@hermiston- herald.com. 49th Annual Christmas Express Purchase a vehicle in December and a portion of all proceeds will go towards purchasing new toys for the Christmas Connection. New toy donations will also be accepted at the dealership. TUNDRA NEW 2019 TOYOTA /MO $ 399 $ Up to 36 months. On approved credit. 0 DOWN Stk# 19h108. See dealer for details. Sale Price 43,003.03. GFV 33,265.37. $1500 Toyota Financial Service customer cash included. 10k miles per year USBANK lease. 36 month lease. $0 cash down. 399/Mo. On approved credit. Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee. Offer expires 01/02/19. NEW 2018 TOYOTA /MO $ 295 $ Up to 36 months. On approved credit. RAV4 0 DOWN Stk# 18h1080. See dealer for details. MSRP 27544. Sale Price 26365. GFV 14323. $2400 Toyota Financial Service lease cash. 36 month 12k miles per year 295/Mo. $0 Cash down. On approved credit. Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee. Offer expires 01/02/19. NEW 2019 TOYOTA COROLLA 239 $ /MO Up to 36 months. On approved credit. 0 $ LE DOWN Stk# 19h196. See dealer for details. MSRP 20450. Sale Price 19430. GFV 10225. $1500 Toyota Financial Service lease cash. 36 month 12k miles per year 239/Mo. $0 Cash down. On approved credit. Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee. Offer expires 01/02/19.
