COMMUNITY
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
Local quilting group continues to provide masks
By ANDREW CUTLER
EAST OREGONIAN EDITOR
At a time when many
family-owned small busi-
nesses have temporarily
closed, one niche business
in Stanfi eld has found itself
busier than ever.
Mama Bear Quilt Shop,
a quilting shop owned by
Kristi Ray and her husband,
Chad, is making face masks
for fi rst responders, hospitals
and others who risk exposure
to COVID-19 every day.
Since ramping up produc-
tion of the masks about fi ve
weeks ago — give or take
— the group has made and
donated about 4,000 masks,
including 400 to Good Shep-
herd Hospital in Hermiston,
370 to St. Anthony Hospital
in Pendleton and 300 each
to Astria Toppenish Hospi-
tal and the Washington State
Penitentiary.
Needless to say, the
group, which is made up
of sewers from Stanfi eld,
Hermiston, Echo and Pend-
leton, has been busy.
“They come in here every
day; they’re exhausted,”
Kristi Ray said. “They’ve
been working nonstop,
but they keep coming. It’s
amazing.”
Ray, who’s been in busi-
ness in Stanfi eld since Oct.
2019, said the group is cur-
rently working on an order
of masks for the U.S. Coast
Guard.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Linda Miller stitches masks at Mama Bear’s Quilt Shop in Stanfi eld on April 15. Miller said that
she is usually able to sew 50 to 60 masks a day.
“They’re going all over,”
Ray said of the masks.
One local agency that
benefi ted from an order of
masks is the Horizon Proj-
ect, with headquarters in
Milton-Freewater and addi-
tional offi ces in Pendleton
and Hermiston.
The Horizon Project
recently received 300 masks
from the Mama Bear Quilt
Shop group.
“We are so grateful for
this donation,” said Cheryl
Davis, a registered nurse
with Horizon Project. “It has
relieved a lot of our need and
a lot of stress of being able
to protect our staff and our
clients.”
The Horizon Project,
which has been around since
the late 1970s, provides res-
idential, employment and
social support to adults with
intellectual and develop-
mental disabilities. Dr. Terri
H. Silvis, the chief execu-
tive offi cer for Horizon Proj-
ect, said they have 20 group
homes throughout the county
and employees called “direct
support professionals” who
are in the homes every day,
24 hours a day, seven days a
week.
“They truly are home
health care workers on the
front lines doing everything
from medication manage-
ment and administration, to
helping people attend doc-
tor visits, helping them pre-
pare food, making sure
that they’re eating safely,
because some people have
special food preparations,”
she said.
Davis said she came
across a post on social media
about Mama Bear Quilt
Shop and the donation of
masks. Knowing her organi-
zation was in need of masks
— an order for them placed
in January fi nally arrived in
mid-April — she reached out
to the group to explain the
need. Davis said she ended
up speaking with Chad Ray,
who was familiar with the
Horizon Project from his
time as a pharmacist in the
area and doing fl u shots for
Horizon Project clients.
“I told them how many
clients we have, how many
direct support staff we had,
and he said, ‘Well, how
about I give you 300 now,
and when we get caught up,
we could talk about giving
you more,’ so that we could
have a second set for our
staff. A ‘one to wear and one
to wash’ kind of thing.”
Davis said some Horizon
Project employees are work-
ing on making masks from
kits to return the 300 masks
to the sewing group and help
replenish its supply.
“We’re supplying the
people, but (Mama Bear
Quilt Shop) supplied all of
the materials, all of the kits
and all of that,” she said.
“We’re going to give them
back the 300, or replenish
them with 300 masks that
they gave us.”
Silvis said some employ-
ees had started to make
masks several weeks ago in
anticipation of the growing
need. She said Rosie Rig-
gins, the offi ce specialist in
the Hermiston offi ce, had
made quite a few and exem-
plifi ed the type of can-do
spirit that permeates through
Horizon Project.
“We are very blessed with
some incredible team mem-
bers,” she said.
Horizon Project has cli-
ents who work at a num-
ber of businesses, includ-
ing Walmart, Safeway,
Target and Subway, Silvis
said, escalating the need for
masks, something that wasn’t
always the case in years past.
“Well, in our industry, it’s
not historically common that
we need masks,” Silvis said.
“If a client is ill, they will
get a mask from the doctor,
or are supplied a mask from
their physicians, typically,
and Cheryl would keep a
supply on hand for any staff
members who would be
directly supporting that per-
son. But it didn’t come up
that much really.”
For their part, Kristi Ray
said the response of the sew-
ers is seemingly par for the
course in Eastern Oregon.
“If you ever needed any-
thing and you were in East-
ern Oregon and you put it out
there, you know people will
come through,” she said.
WORSHIP
COMMUNITY
Irrigon senior gets a prom night
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Prom is a night to
remember for many high
school seniors, but a global
pandemic made Kaylee
Seelye’s prom especially
memorable.
Oregon’s seniors saw
their school career come to
an abrupt and unceremo-
nious end when the state
announced schools would
not be reopening this year,
and seniors on track to grad-
uate would automatically be
given a passing grade with-
out needing to complete any
more schoolwork.
Kaylee said she had been
feeling sad about missing
out on milestones like prom
and a graduation ceremony.
“To be honest, I was a
little depressed because I
didn’t get those last few
days with my friends, and I
didn’t get to say goodbye to
my teachers,” she said. “It’s
just a lot of little missed
things.”
She talked with her
mother, Rebecca Seelye,
about how she was strug-
gling, and it inspired
Rebecca to hatch a plan —
she would throw a surprise
prom for her daughter.
Rebecca called Tyler
Lowry, Kaylee’s boyfriend,
and looped him in on the
plan. She rented out a con-
ference room at Oxford
Suites in Hermiston and she
and other family members
decorated the room.
On Saturday night, she
told Kaylee they were going
Contributed photo by Rebecca Seelye
Kaylee Seelye and Tyler Lowry at their private prom in
Hermiston on Saturday.
to go get some family pic-
tures taken, and asked her to
do her hair and makeup and
wear her long red dress.
The family drove to the
hotel and walked into the
room, where Lowry then
made a surprise entrance.
After taking a few pho-
tos, the rest of the family
left, leaving the two teens
alone for a couple of hours
to enjoy a barbecue din-
ner, sparkling cider and a
romantic playlist of songs.
“They had a candlelight
dinner, they played music,”
Rebecca said. “They had the
whole experience, but it was
just for them.”
Kaylee said it was an
“amazing” night she would
never forget.
“If I could describe it, it’s
probably cliché to say, but it
was extremely dreamy,” she
said.
She said she hadn’t
expected to get to expe-
rience prom, and she was
grateful to her family for
making it happen.
Lowry said he was happy
to help when Rebecca called
him, although it was hard
not to say anything about
the surprise when Kaylee
wanted to talk about how
sad it was they would be
missing prom.
“It was really hard keep-
ing it all a secret and not
being able to tell her,” he
said. “I wanted to tell her so
bad.”
Rebecca said she hoped
that other families would
consider ways they might
help their children enjoy
substitutes for activities that
they are missing out on right
now.
“Right now is not normal,
but I wanted to let parents
out there know that even
though life has changed, you
can still adapt,” she said.
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
DAILY MASS:
Monday-Friday .......................................... English 7:00 am
Thursday ....................................................Spanish 6:00 pm
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....................................................................Spanish 7:00 pm
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................................................................Bilingual 11:00 am
....................................................................Spanish 1:00 pm
Office..................................................................... 567-5812
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
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Sunday Worship Service
10:30 am Classes for Kids @ 9:15 am
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SERVING PEOPLE
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With Jesus.
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Family service 9am Sunday
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t. PH: 567-6672
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who welcomes all.
The Full Gospel
Home Church
NEW BEGINNINGS
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
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“Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.”
1 Pet. 5:7
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
First Christian Church
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CHURCH
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541-567-8441
THANK YOU UEC MEMBERS!
We missed the opportunity to see you this spring at the
Annual Meeting and appreciate those who took time
to cast their ballot in the District election. UEC Board
of Directors approved a random drawing for $100 bill
credits for those who participated in our vote-by-mail
elections for Board Districts 5, 6 and 7.
“Proclaiming the Message of
Hope, Living the Gospel of Love”
Sunday School...9:15 am
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232
Pastor David Dever
567-3013
Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am
Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am
Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm
Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston
www.hermistonlmbc.com
Worship Service...10:30 am
Children’s Church 10:45 am
Ramos Bros Ranchers LLC
Ronald N. Anderson
Douglas & Patricia Wagner
Emily Bergstrom
Larry & Jill Pursel
Jeffrey Scott Hardcastle
Michaela Ramirez
Cole Keppinger
Elaine Koester
Mark Larson II
As we continue to do everything we can to keep our
residents safe & support them during this tough time,
we are asking for signs of encouragement, balloons
and words of support to help them feel the love.
Our Lady of Angels
Catholic Church
Seventh-day
Adventist Church
Saturdays
Sabbath School........9:30 a.m.
Worship Service......11:00 a.m.
English & Spanish Services
567-8241
Hermiston Jr. Academy
1300 NW Academy Lane, • Hermiston
Democratic, local control is a hallmark of rural electric
cooperatives, and we appreciate the member involvement
that occurs in our board elections.
Your vote is your voice in shaping UEC. Thank
you for helping us be the best member-owned
cooperative possible.
The bill credits will be applied to the winning accounts; no need to contact us.
Accepting applications.
One bedroom units available.
Contact Pam at
541-564-2595
Hermiston Office
Boardman Office
750 W. Elm Ave.
Hermiston, OR 97838
(541) 567-6414
400 N.E. Eldrige Drive
Boardman, OR 97818
(541) 481-2220
To share your
worship times call
541-278-2678