Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 1978)
..rr... r.-.; w- '!' BESS 1 E WETZELL U OF ORE 1 ' -NEWSPAPER LIB EUGENE OR 97403 . il'U iTt-j-'-"' Willow Creek iU) am clears hurdles Initial funding, authorization gets congressional OK Decades after it was first proposed, the Willow Creek Dam is a reality. An aide to Senator Mark Hatfield told the Gazette Times in a phone conversation early Wednesday morning, "We got it," referring to initial funding and a change in authorization approved by Congress this week. "The House has accepted the Senate version of the public works bill that will allow construction of Willow VOL. 96 NO. 33 County contracts for study of health care requirements With passage of the Pioneer Memorial Hospital levy last week, the search for doctors and hospital planning has gained a new momentum. Members of the County Court, Doctor Search Commit tee and hospital board met with M.J. Blair, president of NnrthWpst MpHiral Founda tion and contracted with that firm for a study of health care requirements for Morrow County. NorthWest Medical Founda tion is a Seventh-Day Adven tist health care corporation. "We want to make it perfectly clear that we have only contracted with North West Medical Foundation for a study of health care needs in the county and have not entered into any contracts or even serious discussion of possible management of the hospital by the Foundation," said Judge D.O. Nelson. The contract calls for a comprehensive study to be completed in four to six weeks at a cost of $3,500 about $2,500 less than the normal fee for a like study. In addition, the Hyatt Hotel Corporation has offered to do a study at no charge, which was accepted by the joint committee. A public service of the corporation, the study would not be as complete as the NMF study, but it will provide some comparison be tween the two. The NMF study will gather data on hospital utilization, medical staff, economic data On the county, historical financial data on the hospital, future financial outlook for the hospital based on past exper ience and it would also provide a potential relationship for a hospital management con cept. Included in the study will be public opinion and wishes for health care in Morrow County. The foundation will seek community medical needs as seen by a randomly selected group of 250 individuals in Morrow County; community medical needs as seen by the same number of people in Fossil and Condon and needs as seen by 25-35 civic, indus trial and community leaders. A questionnaire will be used to obtain comment from indivi duals and personal interviews will be conducted with the last group. Creek Dam based on the 1974 Corps of Engineers report," said Steve Hickok, field repre sentative for Senator Hatfield. Hatfield made the Willow Creek Dam the centerpiece of his message to Congress this year, citing it as an example of poor water resource plan ning at the federal level. In order to fund the dam originally authorized by Con gress in 1965 a change in wording of that authorization updating it to the 1974 report In addition hospital person nel and the medical staff will be asked their opinions. With these studies the hospi tal board and administration along with the County Court will determine the direction of health care at Pioneer Memo rial after taking the informa tion and alternatives to the public for comment. One area at the hospital that has already been funded Doctor return Dr. Joe Gifford. who left Heppner last March for a residency program at the University of New Mexico, may be interested in coming back to a family practice here. Meeting with members of the County Court, Doctor Search Committee and the hospital board, Gifford and his wife Linda laid out their views on returning to Heppner. Gifford said he was interes ted in opening a family practice on his own at least for the present time at the county-owned clinic in Hepp ner. Gifford told the group he didn't feel the clinic was big enough for two doctors to properly treat patients. He added that when and if he Pioneer Memorial gets emergency radio Pioneer Memorial Hospital has received a remote radio transmitter reciever for the emergency room, as a gift from the Kinzua Corporation. This remote station is an extension to the emergency room from the present radio transmitter receiver located at the nursing station, improv ing and making more flexible the hospital's radio communi cation system. Hospital personnel can now be in radio communication from the emergency room as Veil as the nursing station, with the ambulance; and, had to be accepted by both the House and Senate. Physical characteristics of the 1965 and 1974 dam are essentially the same the dif ference being in the allocation of waters and prime purpose of the dam . In the 1965 version , irrigation, municipal water supply for Heppner, recrea tion as well as flood protection were specified uses. In the 1974 report and plan, the prime use of the dam is for flood protection although the Morrow HEPPNER, OREGON through passage of the levy is remodeling and updating of surgical and emergency facili ties. Some action on planned renovation of emergency and surgical facilities may be forthcoming before the NMF study is completed. "With this information available we will be able to go to the residents of Morrow county with facts and ask them what direction they Gifford contemplates to Heppner practice found the right doctor for a partner or employee he would recommend enlarging the cli nic. The doctor also said that if he comes back to Heppner he doesn't want to be obligated financially or "any other way" to the Doctor Search Committee or the county. Citing health care needs and direction of Pioneer Memo rial, Gifford reiterated com ments he and Dr. Richard Carpenter have made to heal Lii care officials over the past three years. Upgrading of emergency care facilities both ambu lance and emergency room are number one priorities in Gifford's opinion. He said an emergency room at the hospi when necessary, in radio contact with physician spe cialists and others at St. Anthony's Hospital in Pendle ton. St. Anthony's Hospital has been designated as the Med Com Control hospital for our area, which means they have available emergency medical services on a 24 hour-per-day basis to be disseminated via radio to health care providers. The hospital's radio com munication system, as well as being used on a day-to-day basis, is an integral part of the hospital's disaster plan. dam still has multiple-use capabilities. A conference committee of senators and representatives met this week to hammer out differences in the public works appropriation bill which inclu ded the Willow Creek Dam. The bill's language specifies that $500,000 be made avail able to Corps this year for initial engineering and right-of-way acquisition. "At this point the bill goes back to the Senate and the The Heppner County's Award-Winning Weekly Newspaper would like to see the hospital move in with the monies available," said Nelson. Kent Goodyear, chairman of the Doctor Search Committee, also praised the study. s "We can show prospective doctors that positive action is taking place in regards to health care and it will provide much needed patient informa tion that doctors desire before locating in a community," tal with adequate x-ray equip ment was a must if emergency care was to be provided in Heppner.. Ambulance facili ties and equipment both for transfer and emergency use also needed upgrading, ac cording to Gifford. Heptachlor use will be discussed at Dept. of Ag. hearing Aug. 25 Continued use of heptachlor for treating seed grain will be discussed at an August 25 meeting called by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The meeting, set for 10 a.m. in the conference room of the Oregon Department of Agri culture Building, Salem, is in response to a recommenda tion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the departments of agriculture of Oregon, Washington and Idaho assume a leadership role in bringing about early discontinuance of the chemi cal's use for seed treatment. Heptachlor is used by grain growers for the control of wire worms, a serious pest that can greatly reduce grain yields. The Fish and Wildlife Ser vice has voiced concern over the wild bird die-offs in areas where heptachlor-treated seeds have been planted. Center of the die-off area is Umatilla and Morrow coun ties, the Fish and Wildlife Service said. Represented at the August House for a quick vote and then on to the president for his signature," said Hickok. The House of Representatives is taking a recess through Labor Day sothe bill may not be sent to President Carter until after the first of September. By inclusion in the massive public works appropriation bill the Willow Creek Dam is safe from presidential veto unless Carter would veto the entire bill, which is unlikely. THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1978 said Goodyear. "In addition, NorthWest Medical Foundation through its Verticare program (the business side of NMF) has . nacte a request for funds to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which will be very helpful since money is in short supply in the county and hospital budgets," said Good year. The Giffords are looking into practices in several other communities seeking physi cians. The doctor did not wish to speculate on when a decision might be forthcom ing. 25 meeting will be the Oregon Wheat Growers League, Ore gon State University's Exten sion Service and Fish and Wildlife Department, the U.S. World class table tennis championships coming to Heppner World class table tennis coming to Heppner? It's true. Regional wire services and news media last week began reporting on the city's being selected as the site for the seventh annual World Professional Table Ten nis Table Title Match. News releases issued by the Interna tional Table Tennis League, Inc., in Seattle stated that Heppner was an ideal location for the title match, since "there is no terrorism in The initial $500,000 that has been approved for the Willow Creek dam project will be used mainly lor final design planning, expected to be completed in time for a construction contract to be let in September of 1979. Actual construction could begin on the dam as soon as ME V, I f h Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Results of the survey taken in Morrow County by Harold Heppner, no statistical crimes of any kind, and.. .political unrest in Heppner is unknown. The match, to be held Nov. 18 in the Heppner High School gymnasium, will see the current world champion pro team from Haiti defend its crown against the challenging team from Thailand. Needless to say, the arrival of the team members, train ers, and newsmen in Heppner could result in a number of logistical problems in terms of Corps plan told the contract is let, according to the U.S. Army Corps - of Engineers office in Walla Walla. In addition to drafting the final specifications of the dam, the initial funding yill be used to update the 1973 report on the economics of the structure. TWO SECTIONS 26 PAGES Wll 111 (hv Special Fair & Rodeo Section is included in this issue of the Gazette-Times. Kerr, . County Extension Agent were forwarded to Oregon Wheat League office to be included in the testimony presented on September 25. Only 20 growers responded to food, lodging and transporta tion. To iron out these problems, Jackie Jensen, Heppner Elks Club manager and executive director of the Heppner table Weather by Don Gilliam The funding will also go to building a new Willow Creek Bridge just above the back waters of the impoundment. The new bridge will be needed at a highway crossing where a diverted Willow Creek will flow. 20-cents the survey in Morrow County, Kerr reported. Kerr commen ted that he felt the growers are under-estimating the benefits they receive from heptachlor in controlling wire worms. tennis match, has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Elks club. The public is invited to attend and get involved with making the match a success. Hi Low Pre Wed, Aug. 9 99 65 Thurs., Aug. 10 93 56 Fri., Aug. 11 84 53 Sat., Aug. 12 73 59 .20 Sun., Aug. 13 73 51 .23 Mon.,Aug. 14 81 50 Tues., Aug. 15 72 53 .60
