Heppner gazette-times., April 28, 1977, Image 1

New $1.1
million
expansion view
Hosoital
By Tom Franks
The Pioneer Memorial Hos
pital Board has approved
preliminary plans by Afseth,
Jacobs & Schmitz, architects,
for a $1,158,164 expansion of
the 27-year-old hospital in
Heppner.
Approval of the plan, by the
Medford architectural firm,
along with an application for a
certificate of need from the
State of Oregon, are among
the latest procedures needed
to gain approval for con
Heppner bowlers
on top 8
VOL. 94, NO. 17
News Briefs
Foster grandparents coming
The Foster Grandparent Program is coming to Morrow
County. John Brenne, project director, Pendleton, met with
some key civic leaders in Heppner Tuesday to make plans for
introducing the program in Morrow County in the next few
weeks.
To help sponsor the project, the Thome Family Film will
be shown at Vert Auditorium in Pendleton May 4 from 7 p.m.
to 9 p.m. Tickets are $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children
and senior citizens.
North Morrow tour
There is still time to register to tour the fast growing
northern part of the county, see developments at the Carty
site, Boardman town, and the very modern Gantenbien
Dairy, according to Birdine Tullis. May 5th, the bus will
leave Heppner at 9:00 a.m. to visit the many new
developments, and will return by 4:00 p.m.
All women and men are encouraged to pre-register at the
Extension Office, Heppner, 676-9642, for the guided tour of
north Morrow.
School night planned
A special Back to School Night is planned for the public,
j 7:30p.m. Monday, May 2, at Heppner High School. The event
, will feature a variety of entertainment.
Prom court named
i
I The Junior-Senior Prom Court at Heppner High takes place
Saturday. Prom Court, elected by juniors, is comprised of
Guy Kenny, Deb Holland, Sally Matheny, Dave Allstott, Carl
Christman and Steve McLaughlin.
j Lexington council meet
The next meeting of the Lexington City Council has been
scheduled Tuesday, May 3, 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, according
to Mayor Lee Padberg. Agenda items were not immediately
available Wednesday.
t
Blood drawing low
. Thirty-one persons successfully donated blood during a
. drawing held this week in Heppner. The turnout was poor in
light of a 115 pint quota. Another drawing may be scheduled
this fall.
lone date changed
The lone City Council has re-scheduled its first May
t meeting for the first Monday of the month.
I According to city officials, the meeting will be held at City
; Hall beginning at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 2.
I The meeting had been announced earlier for May 3.
Spring concert May 3
l The annual spring concert for lone schools will be held
; Tuesday, May 3, at the Junior High School cafeteria,
beginning at 7:30 p.m., school officials announced.
The concert will feature work of the high school choir and
four bands.
The junior and senior high bands will combine for the
concert. The fifth and sixth grade bands will also combine to
' present other compositions.
BESSIE WET2ELL
0 OF ORE
NEWSPAPER LIB
EUGE2JE OR 97403
struction of a north wing on
the present facility.
The proposed plan will add
12 nursing home beds to the
facility and place the present
20 acute care hospital beds
into the new section.
The $1.1 million addition will
also allow for expansion of
X-ray facilities, lab facilities,
and respiratory care depart
ment. It will allow for a new
emergency out-patient area
and provide four private
rooms as well as eight two-bed
HEPPNER, OREGON
expansion face
wards.
In addition, there will be
increased space for adminis
trative offices, increased stor
age capacity and more space
for maintenance and laundry
facilities.
The plan calls for increasing
the footage of the hospital by
10,975 square feet and re
modeling another 3,725 square
feet.
Also included in the design
is more waiting room space,
added parking space and
THE -Mw
By Wil Phinney
It's unanimous.
If the area doesn't get a substantial rainfall in the next two
weeks, not only will the drought set a record for April
precipitation, but it may mean the loss of more farm
acreage.
"The situation gets worse every day." Morrow County
Extension Agent Harold Kerr said this week, following a
week that averaged almost 75 degrees daily and brought the
earth no moisture.
Six Eastern Oregon counties may soon be declared disaster
areas because of the dryness, but Morrow County isn't one of
them.
The six counties are Sherman, Gilliam, Malheur, Harney,
Lake and Klamath. Gilliam and Sherman are neighbors to
the west while the southeastern border of Oregon is made up
by the remaining four counties.
The designation, which would be made by the United States
Secretary of Agriculture, would make low-cost government
Voters my NO
Nearly half of the registered
voters in Heppner turned out
Tuesday, April 26, and de
feated, by 20 votes, a proposed
city budget increase over the
six per cent limitation. The
unofficial tally was 190 yes
and 210 no.
A special meeting of the City
Council has been called for
7:15 p.m. Thursday, April 28,
at City Hall to canvass the
votes. The council meeting
will be followed by a meeting
of the city budget committee
at 7:30 p.m.
It was the second time that
the budget went to a vote. The
first vote was held April 5. At
that time, only 265 persons
voted and the budget was de
feated by 7 votes. The tally
was 129 yes, 136 no.
City officials and the budget
committee classed the pro
posed budget as the lowest
possible to propose while
maintaining all expected city
services.
The proposal, put to the
voters, called for a budget of
$46,445 outside the six per cent
limitation for a tax increase of
75 cents per $1,000, using
current valuation.
During the first vote, ap
proximately 31 per cent of
registered city voters turned
out. The second vote drew
location of the nursery near
obstetrics.
According to Bob Ewell,
Tri-County Health Services
administrator, the hospital
design approved by the board
will provide the latest ad
vanced medical service af
fordable to the community.
The plan is not in competition
with advanced medical ser
vices in other communities,
but it does allow for basic
primary care in the service
area without requiring pa
-HP" '
ETTE-T
Till RSDAY.
roug hi
Second budget goes down
almost 47 per cent of the
registered voters. The opposi
tion to the budget picked up an
additional 13 votes in the
larger turnout.
The initial projected budget
was more than $100,000 over
the six per cent limitation. The
initial budget included, among
other items, a 10 per cent
salary increase for city em
ployees, nearly $3,000 for dog
control and other increases for
Heppner
Jerry's Mobil Station in
Heppner was burglarized late
Saturday night, April 23, or
early Sunday morning and an
estimated $500 was taken, it
was reported.
According to police, entry
was made through the front
door. The lock was apparently
pried from the door.
Cash was taken from one
register and two others were
reported missing.
Police said that the case was
still under investigation Tues
day. It was confirmed that it was
the first time that money had
been left in the establishment
tients to travel elsewhere.
One example would be the
updating of X-ray to allow for
upper and lower gastrointes
tinal pictures which are a
basic medical service now
requiring a trip to Pendleton
to complete.
Such service could be done
in Heppner with the physi
cians traveling to Heppner
once the facility is complete,
Ewell noted.
Consideration of the certifi
cate of need is expected to be
APRIL 2d "
worsens daily here
loans available to farmers and ranchers who face crop and
livestock losses because of lack of water.
Governor Bob Straub has asked for federal disaster status
lor all 18 Eastern Oregon counties, along with Jackson
County in southern Oregon.
Gilliam County, our neighbor to the west with the towns of
Arlington. Condon. Fossil and Spray, faces the loss of 40 per
cent of its cattle by sales. The county is hit with little
livestock feed.
So while the drought has had the wheat farmer in the
headlines lately, it adds the cattleman now. Morrow County
is no exception.
"Complaining," that's the word from MC Extension Agent
Mike Howell on the plight of cattlemen in the area. "It looks
like November out there," Howell said of the dryness.
It's pretty dry." Howell said, "in fact, it's real dry."
Howell said he'd had "lots of calls" from concerned livestock
owners who are getting ready to head for the hills.
materials and services.
The budget sent to voters
was cut to $46,455 over the six
per cent limitation by offering
a six per cent increase to city
employees, dropping the pro
posal for dog control, along
with other major cuts.
Action Thursday night is
expected to center around re
moval of $46,455 from the
budget, with cuts made across
the full spectrum of all city
station burglarized
overnight.
Also reported this week
were three arrests in con
nection with violation of the
Oregon minors in possession
of alcohol law.
Scheduled to appear in Jus
School budget under axe
The Morrow County School
District Board and budget
committee met April 21 and
determined to send a modified
budget to the voters on May 24
which is the next legal school
election date.
Instructions have been giv
considered about May 27.
According to Ewell, Good
Samaritan Nursing Home in
Hermiston has claimed Hep
pner and areas further south
to Mitchell within their ser
vice area in a certificate of
need now up for consideration
by the State.
The two certificates are in
conflict in consideration of the
number of nursing home beds
allowable in the region. Pio
neer Memorial would not be
able to support a request for a
HEPPMEU
Ml
services outside of the bare
essentials. Among the cuts
contemplated by some city
officials would be closure of
the swimming pool, reduction
of the police force, reduction
of library services, reduction
of street services and any
other cuts possible outside of
essential services to provide
fire protection, utility and
sanitary services and some
police protection.
tice Court in Heppner May 3
are John Lee Schiller, 18,
Echo. Scheduled to appear the
same day in other cases are
Lawrence David Graham, 19,
and Douglas Tews, 18, both of
lone.
en advisory committees to
study their budget requests
and to return them to the
budget committee with cuts.
The board and budget com
mittee will meet on Monday,
May 2, to receive the adjusted
budget and to set the new levy.
j3
tough
primary care hospital without
nursing home beds. On the
other hand, the approval of the
Hermiston request would take
up the number of allowable
nursing home beds.
Unless there is some give in
requests or in the determi
nation at the State level, the
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
request could conceivably die
on the planning table.
Hospital board members
earlier expressed the opinion
that expansion of the hospital
WEATHER
High-Low
61 27
Wed., April 20
Thurs., April 21
Fri., April 22
Sat., April 23
Sun., April 24
67
77
83
88
43
41
41
46
Howell said allotments from livestock pasture lands in the
Wallowa and Ukiah areas are probable.
Because of the dry grazing lands in the forests, Howell said
cattlemen may be eyeing earlier "turn out" dates. Instead of
September, Howell said August dates could face cattle and
their owners.
The problem then arises as to where to bring the cattle
back to, Howell said. The usual alfalfa and wheat stubble that
greets cattle in the fall, may be gone.
The vicious circle, steered by Mother Nature, brings the
concern back to the farmer.
Howell said he knows of some cattlemen in Morrow County
who are being forced to sell some of their livestock because of
lack of grazing lands. In Gilliam County, 40 per cent of the
livestock herds have already dwindled to the sales.
The threat of a 60 per cent crop less or even greater is still
looming in Morrow County.
Larry Mills, Morrow County Grain Growers' manager,
terms the loss already at half.
"We've got to have rain within ten days or two weeks,"
Mills said. "Shallow spots are starting to burn already.
Normally, they don't show until the end of May or first of
June. They'll just get bigger and bigger."
Some of the wheat in the county is still alright, Mills noted.
Buttercreek, Eight Mile and Heppner flats in the south, along
with irrigated lands in the north, still are okay. The south is
"starting to hurt now" though, Mills said, and the hot, windy
weather this week wasn't beneficial.
"The crop is about 60 per cent of last year," Mills said,
"right now." It'll get worse with no ram. Some fields will be
abandoned.
West of lone, Mills said, if the land doesn't get moisture,
they "won't get anything."
Farmers agree that the worst two elements that can be
cast on the wheat right now are more wind and heat, exactly
what it got this week.
For three days in a row, Saturday, Sunday and Monday,
temperatures reached over the 80 mark, on Sunday reaching
almost 90. Dusty winds dried out what little moisture there
was in the soil. Monday night it rained. But the only way a
person could tell was from the dusty water spots on their car
hoods. The wind made it less than measurable.)
Kerr said the wind and heat are the "worst two things that
could happen." But, he was still optimistic. "If we can get
some storms, some major storms, most can still recover,"
but without it, we'll have a "real serious situation."
"We're looking at half the normal yield for the county,"
Kerr said of wheat predictions. But that figure will be revised
down, as the drought continues, Kerr said.
"Two weeks," Kerr said, "without rain and it'll be really
hard, really hurt." The agent said the rains must yield at
least an inch or two, because the "ground is so dry, the first
inch will be absorbed in dust."
Don Gilliam, weather recorder at MCGG, adds even a
darker shadow to an already dismal report.
The worst April precipitation on record was in 1956 when
the earth received .09 inches of rain. This year, with less than
three days to go in the month, the rainfall measures .07.
The normal for April is a wet 1.33 inches.
Gilliam said that in 1956 some recall, the crop production
wasn't that bad. But the following year it was.
While farmers and ranchers alike ponder their situation
today, they can't help but look to a bleak future. With no
water, the crop can't grow. Without the crop, livestock feed
can't be produced.
The forecast : more of what everyone is getting pretty sick
and tired of: nice weather.
is a necessity at this time.
Modernization is necessary to
keep the hospital from de
clining in the near future to an
out-patient clinic.
Among items behind such
thinking is the X-ray equip
ment which was installed 27
years ago and requires
lengthy exposures to obtain
suitable pictures, especially of
obese or large people. In
addition, the equipment is less
than optimum compared with
newer equipment.
Mon , April 25 83 52
Tues , April 26 65 35
Measurable precipitation
thus far in April .07 hund
redths of an inch. Normal for
April 1.33 hundredths. Lowest
April of record .09 hundredths
in 1956.
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