The Stanfield Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts sponsored a canned food drive for the Stanfield Food Bank on Jan. 15.

The scouts collected a total of 664 nonperishable food items. The troops also collected $87 in donations and pop cans. The troops are learning about nutrition, coupon shopping and purchasing complete meals to donate to the food bank.

“It was 19 degrees outside and these girls all still had smiles,” said Cecili Longhorn, troop leader. “They were very proud of themselves for doing something good for the community. Every parent seemed proud of their daughter. This was a great thing to be a part of.”

The Stanfield troops are led by Longhorn, Danielle Moss and Brenda Roquet.

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The West Park Dad’s Cake Bake and Auction 2005 was a rousing success.

The event featured 59 uniquely decorated cakes and raised $1,160 for the West Park Elementary Parent Teacher Association.

The theme for this year’s event was “School Days: Past, Present and on to the Future.”

The winning cakes in the following categories were made by:

Most Humorous: The Becca Evans Family, “school lunch” cake; Becca is in the third grade.

Most Original: The Emily Stocker Family, the “presidential” with past, present and future presidents; Emily is a fifth grader.

Best Theme: The Whitley and Troy Schiller Family, Whitley is in third grade and Troy in kindergarten.

Most Elaborate: the Alexis Ashcroft Family; their cake was a tribute to Hermiston Schools; Alexis is in the fifth grade.

Most Scrumptious: The Clayton Burgin Family made a futuristic cake complete with aliens; Clayton is in the fourth grade.

Honorable mentions went to the Ternes family, the Alex Anteau family, the Kianna Ochoa family, the Devin and Ashley Moser family and the Tyler Parish family.

The classroom entering the most cakes was Dawn Johnston’s second grade class with seven entries. The class will receive a PTA-sponsored party.

The judges for the event were Bob Carlson, Jim Stearns and Phil Hamm. The auctioneer was Ford Bonny, who has donated his time for the past several years.

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The Wine and Cheese event at Sun Terrace in Hermiston was an elegant evening of elegant foods, jazz and friends.

On Jan. 25, residents and guests of the assisted living facility dressed in everything from jeans to silks, not unlike the Chamber of Commerce’s version of the same event.

The exotic fare included wines and cheeses from around the world. Festively decorated tables offered fruit glazed, crusted baked brie, dried figs and warmed pistachios.

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The Oregon Trail Riders 4-H group is up and riding again.

The group began another year of learning and growing on Jan. 17. At the first meeting, the club elected officers for 2005, including: Elizabeth Ferge, president; Patrick Linnell, vice-president; Maritza Ibarra, secretary; Tim Sherrett, treasurer; Anna Sherrett, reporter; Hannah Bennett, snack coordinator; and Brian Savard, club photographer.

The group plans to participate in fund-raisers, meetings, group trips and the Umatilla County Fair. The club’s next meeting is Sunday, Jan. 30.

For more information, or to join the club, call Patrick Linnell at 567-1126.

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Monday’s spaghetti feed at the Presbyterian Church sponsored by the Pendleton High School students planning a summer European trip added $700 to their coffers.

It was their last major fund-raiser before the trip. They do have some smaller events planned to help with additional expenses.

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Joanne M. Ott, national president of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, will visit Pendleton and Union Thursday, March 31, and Friday, April 1.

The local auxiliary is planning for her arrival with a reception at the Red Lion, followed by a dinner at the VFW hall. On Friday, Ott will tour heritage Station Museum in the morning and visit Union for a luncheon with the Ladies Auxiliary VFW there. That evening, Ott will attend a no-host dinner at the Red Lion.

“It’s an honor to have her here,” said Dorothy Allstott, hospitality chairwoman for the local auxiliary.

The national president is required to visit an auxiliary in each of the 50 states, Allstott said, but this is the first time a national president has come to Eastern Oregon.

This year’s Oregon Ladies Auxiliary VFW president, JoAnn Seifer of Echo, requested this year’s official visit in this region rather than Portland.