News
Blue 0ountain (agle
Wednesday, October 1, 2015
A3
Highway 395 to close for 10 days in November
Plans in place to keep 16 Road open
By Kyle Spurr
Blue 0ountain (agle
MALHEUR
NAT. FOR.
26
John Day
STRAWBERRY MTN.
WILDERNESS
Unity
MONUMENT
ROCK
WILDERNESS
MALHEUR
N. F. Road 1 6
Silvies
HARNEY
Proposed
alternate
winter route
ve
r
MALHEUR
NATIONAL
FOREST
395
MALHEUR
NATIONAL
FOREST
i
ur R
he
Seneca
N
10 miles
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
insufficient for water flow.´
If the culverts are not
replaced, Strandberg said,
Continued from Page A1
Contributed photo
Ruthie and Chuck Moore celebrate the last day of
Ruthie’s radiation treatments at St. Charles Cancer
Center.
in other aspects on life.
For her, it was life changing
– even Must sitting in the oncol-
ogist’s of¿ ce the ¿ rst time was
a “surreal´ experience, she
said.
+er Mournal entry that day:
“As I wait my turn, I hear a
woman crying in the bacN, I
watch as a patient is concerned
storms and À oods could pos-
sibly close +ighway 35 S
for much longer than 10 days.
for his health and the health of
others because he has a com-
mon cold, and I watch a lady –
a wonderful, exuberant, beau-
tiful bald lady as she MoNes with
everyone, maNing others smile
and bringing such a light into
that small room, and I TuicNly
determine that this is not your
ordinary doctor’s of¿ ce.´
“In this of¿ ce everyone is
facing death right square in the
face´ the entry concludes.
According to 0oore, it was
right then and there she decided
she would more fully enMoy each
and every day of her life, and maNe
it a goal to approach life with a
new sense of wonderment and
delight.
It was also important to
0oore, from the start, to “pay
it forward.´ She is a “support
sister´ for St. Charles Cancer
Center, where she is teamed
up with a newly diagnosed
breast cancer patient.
“This has been so rewarding;
I would love to get something
liNe this started here in *rant
“It’s unfortunate, but the
bigger concern is if we don’t
taNe care of this now, it
could be closed for a month
or more,´ he said.
ODOT officials will dis-
cuss the closure plan with
residents at the *rant Coun-
ty Court meeting Wednes-
day.
*rant County and state
transportation officials are
worNing on an agreement
that would Neep the county’s
16 Road open through the
winter in case +ighway 35
South is closed.
The 16 Road is a low pri-
ority road for the county and
is often closed during the
winter due to high snowfall.
*rant County Road De-
partment Supervisor Alan
+icNerson is worNing with
ODOT officials on an agree-
ment that would allow the
state to ensure 16 Road re-
mains open if +ighway 35
is closed this winter for any
reason.
“We are planning on try-
ing to Neep 16 open Must in
case a mudslide or some-
thing liNe that happens and
35 south is closed,´ +icN-
erson said. “It was the state’s
idea and I thinN it’s a great
idea.´
The agreement would
call for ODOT to main-
tain 16 Road from Sen-
eca to Summit Prairie
Road until +ighway 35 is
reopened, which would al-
low motorists to use the
county’s 62 Road to reach
Prairie City and John
Day.
Reporter Sean Ellis con-
tributed to this report.
County,´ she said. “It helps to be
able to talN to others who have
been there, done that.´
0oore said the medical
people at the Cancer Center
became liNe family to her –
closer in some ways.
“0ere words cannot even
begin to describe how at-
tached I became to them, and
to this day, I love going to the
Cancer Treatment Center and
seeing these people,´ she said.
While 0oore remembers
vividly that “dreaded phone
call,´ she also feels as if breast
cancer has been part of her
life forever.
“Because of this cancer
Mourney I’ve been on, I am a
much better person than I was
¿ ve years ago,´ she said. “I
have come to accept the fact
that I will deal with cancer for
the rest of my life, and that
I will never feel completely
safe from it again.´
She said she can live with
that because it renews her
faith, Neeps her spirit humble,
reminds her to be vigilant in
the ¿ ght, and Neeps her fo-
cused on what really matters
in life.
“I am now, and forev-
er will be, grateful for my
dance with cancer,´ 0oore
said.
Grant County
Your Rural Fa mily Health Clinic
HEALTH
Department
528 E. Main, St. E,
John Day
Monday - Friday
8am - 5pm
Karen Triplett, FNP
Services Provided:
her “daily dose of inspiration.´
0oore surmises her family
is no different from what most
others go through when hear-
ing a loved one has cancer.
+er family members’ reactions
varied from choNing up to be-
ing positive and strong – “at
least while on the phone with
me,´ she said – to not being
able to contain their fear and
sadness at all.
0oore’s daughter, Kalli,
wrote a letter to her mother’s
cancer, which reveals some of
her reactions. An excerpt: “I
tooN it personal that you had
the nerve to mess with some-
one that I care so much about,´
and later, “I want to thanN you
for bringing my family closer
together ... Because of you, I
am stronger. Because of you
I cherish each day. You made
me realize that the person most
dear to me in my life, can be
taNen from me in the blinN of
an eye.´
)rom the beginning, 0oore
chose to be open about her
cancer, and for that, she is glad.
“It was the support and
love that I received from so
many that helped me deal
with my entire cancer Mourney,
along with the Nnowledge that
I could “trust in the Lord with
all my heart, and Nnow that he
would direct my path,´ 0oore
said.
“0y faith provided me
with such peace, courage, and
hope throughout my Mourney,´
she added.
0oore said she doesn’t
believe a person could go
through such a serious health
ordeal, with themselves or a
loved one, and not be affected
26
ver
John Day Ri
RUTHIE
Although she had no symp-
toms alerting her anything
might be wrong – and in fact
said she had never felt better,
healthwise – she felt she was
prepared mentally for such a
diagnosis. Still, the doctor’s
words left her numb – a word
she says “best describes my
state of being that ¿ rst weeN.´
“It was a matter of going
through each day, trying to act
normal, yet Nnowing that my
life was about to become any-
thing but normal,´ 0oore said.
There were a few melt-
downs, but 0oore said for the
most part, “I had things to do
and some cancer butt to NicN,
so that’s what I set out to do´
2ne of the most dif¿ cult de-
cisions she said she’s ever had
to maNe was choosing between
a mastectomy or lumpectomy
and radiation. She researched
and sought out information
from others who’ve been in
the same situation. And she
prayed.
She opted for the lumpec-
tomy, which was done under
the care of Dr. Keith Thomas
at %lue 0ountain +ospital.
That was followed by 33 radi-
ation treatments at St. Charles
Cancer Center in Bend, and
hormone therapy, which she is
still undergoing.
0oore Nept a Mournal, log-
ging appointments and mile-
stones, thoughts and emotions.
+er denial rings loudly in
the early Mournal entries.
When she went in for her
¿ rst radiation treatment, she
Tuestioned the techs to maNe
sure it was indeed her they
were supposed to be treating.
After their assurance they had
the correct patient, she wrote
in her Mournal that evening,
“2Nay, it’s a done deal – I had
breast cancer´
+er initial strength waned
the following year as anniver-
sary days neared. She became
emotional, and said that’s
when everything really hit.
Through it all, she had the
love and support of many fam-
ily members, including her
“ama]ing co-survivor´ hus-
band, ChucN, and her children
and grandchildren who were
OREGON
Prairie
City
GRANT
Mount
Vernon
Bates
26
395
62
wy.
Co. H
-2+1 DAY ² +ighway
3 South will close in 1o-
vember for about 10 days
while crews worN to improve
two culverts at Sheep *ulch
and 9ance CreeN.
The closure ² beginning
1ov. until 1ov. 1 ² will
span between milepost 2.5
and 17, near where the two
culverts are located.
1o local detours will be
made available. The Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion will worN to accommo-
date nearby property owners
and emergency services.
Travelers will need to use
alternative routes during the
closure, and are advised to
stay on main highways due to
potential winter weather.
ODOT spoNesman Tom
Strandberg said crews will
replace the existing culverts
with larger and wider box
culverts that will more easily
handle a À ooding event. Be-
cause of the widespread dam-
age caused by the 110,000-
acre Canyon CreeN Complex
¿ re, there is concern that a
mudslide or À ooding could
result in +ighway 35 being
closed temporarily.
“The Forest Service is ex-
pecting some potential maMor
flooding issues because of
the erosion due to the fires
and all of the trees and brush
that were burned out there,´
Strandberg said. “The cul-
verts are considered to be
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Heather Hansen, MD
St. Charles Rheumatology
St. Charles Medical Group is pleased to welcome
Heather Hansen, MD, to our team of providers.
Board certified in both rheumatology and internal medicine,
Dr. Hansen attended medical school at Wake Forest University
and the University of New Mexico. She completed her residency
at the University of New Mexico and her rheumatology
fellowship at the University of Arizona. In addition to general
rheumatology, Dr Hansen’s interests include rheumatoid
arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome and lupus. Dr. Hansen and her
active family love to ski, cycle, play soccer and paddle board
with their dog, Summit. She is also fluent in Spanish.
The St. Charles Rheumatology clinic offers comprehensive
services for patients with a variety of rheumatology-related
diagnoses. To schedule an appointment, call 541-706-7735.
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