Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1987)
County approves emergency funding for Morrow County Neighborhood Council Morrow County s Home-Owned Newspaper The Heppner imes VOL 105 NO 2 Wednesday, January 14. 1987 Heppner, Oregon 25* 8 Pages Die Morrow County Court list Wcdncvlay approved a pavmcnl of SI .l*X> to the directors ot the M or row Counts Neighborhood Council The counts said it w ould he ncccssarv to have a signed agree ment stipulating public use o f the moncs to maintain operations pen ding incorporation ot the Morrow Counts Neighborhood C ouncil before pas men! c*>uld be mask The Ncighborhiod Council has filesl lor status as a nonprofit cot poration. but nonprofit status was tux official at last Wednesday's Court meeting The commissioners considered but ti>ok no action con ceming. a S7N*I donation during January and an additional donation of Slut*) the first o f eas h ot the nest fise months which would total the amount included in this year's budget but inX already paid for the Neighhorhiiod Center Morrow Counts Judge 1 ouis Carlwin asked the esecutise heard ot directors it thes could operate the Neighborhood Council very long on an aU soluntcer basis "W e can do it because the need is so great Neola Mackey, presi dent ot the council's board ot diree tors said W e plan to have a cheese distribution in February. and w ill continue local food drives which always do well A ll tocxJ distributed during the last Thanksgiving and C hristm as distributions w ith the esception ot a Boardman firm s ' donation o f turkeys, was collected in the Heppner Is lin g to n area, she said We are making plans to hold food drives in Boardman and Irrtgon and store the loud there tor distribution in that area IHinng the past July Dec . the Hcrmiston Neighborhood Center distributed 4.42M ¡sounds of food in tJse Boardnun area and 1.171 pounds o f tood in the Irrtgon area The Court also considered bills fur labor and materials at the founda tion building on the h ill hs Heppner Moslual Clinic The foundation minister health care funds A public hearing on the proposed medical district will be held .a 7 p m January 20 in Heppner. and later the counts court w ill nuke a linal dcci sion on what to do Hearings have already been field in other areas ot the county In other business at the meeting the hotel renovation project in Hcpp ner was discussed lo ca l resident Ciexirge K ottlcr asked what (he cits council needed from the town to show that there was support for the Kents troni apartments in the hotel would be used to pay o ff the debt, but Kuhn said the city council has shown reluctance to commit to the project, tearing it may go defunct However. Kuhn said that further delay on the project could jeopardize the 1500,000 grant already •approved Mayor Cara Cuoia pointed out that the cits is indeed being asked to put its name on a loan o l 5 tbO.OU). but that it would be fully secured by the hotel She said the value o f the hotel would exceed the amount o f the loan ' l he project definitely would be a shot in the anil lor downtown development," she said Discussion of the school levy elec tion also was aired at the meeting Superintendent Doyle McCuslin said that the public is asking lor bet ter ¡subtle relations and mo-c com munteations over budget matters in the district He said the district is considering a survey to feel out public opinion in the county On the reputation o f the district when it is having budget problems, McCaslin said "w e have wounded ourselves in a ttra ctin g new teachers "W'< are competing nntionwijc tor teachers I think it the statt sees another good effort in May (when (he 19X7 KM budget is voted on) then I think it w ill help," he said Bob M iller of (he Port of Morrow also spoke al (he meeting, giving a hriel overview ol lami and utilities available at (he port M iller said the ¡sort is geared up to handle large or small industrial development, and that it hopex! to in crease its shipping through a con tamer shipping dock located on port property Several concerns aired at Heppner Town meeting addition made to the clinic to house the ambulance The committee also recommend cd tfiat a rapid response vehicle should be located in Irrtgon. and that space should be provided at the North Morrow Annex in Irrigon tor use by a physician on a part time basis. For Heppner the committee "s tro n g ly " recommended that the Board ot Pioneer Memorial Hospital take immediate steps to reduce operating costs there It said that the hospital beds should be reduced from 1 2 to four and the nursing home beds be increased by eight The committee felt that the proper ty laves used by the hospital be reduced by the same amount need ed to fund the committee's recom mcndations tor improvements in the other communities, thus causing no overall increase in taxes It this could not be accomplished it was recom mended that the district board "review the status of the hospital for change to an emergency center Medical districts, school levy elec lion, the Port o f Morrow and the c i ty o f Heppner were the main topics o f discussion at a tow n hall meeting held in Heppner last Wednesday night About 150 people came to the meeting to discuss problems facing Morrow County Discussions about a proposed medical district in the county look up most o f the time at tJie meeting, with l-arry M ills, Jhoneer Memorial Hospital Administrator Jotui Hempel and Boardnun doctor Steve /ic lin ski the main participants M ills is chairman o f a committee which |ust finished work on a three page studs o f the needs end funding o f health care in the county Made up ol citizens from all areas o f the cisunty. the committee recom mended, after one month o f work, that a single health district be set up to oversee health care and provide for equitable distribution of health care funds in the county The committee was formed earlier by the county court after the court received petitions from both ends o f the county requesting health districts be set up One petition from (he Boardnun area asked that a separate health district he formed in the county with the dividing line at the Willamette Baseline North ot l-cxington A se cond petition from the Heppner area asked the court to consider forming one county wide district The Boardnun petition was in mated because o f what residents there saw as unequal distribution of funds in the county The Heppner signatures were gathered later feel ing that one district would better serve the needs o f the county as a whole At Wednesday's meeting M ills said that during the committee's work it was learned that lone is in terested in having an ambulance and crew in that town, and that Board man needs new equipment tor its TM I s (including a new ambulance), improvements made to the North Morrow Medical Center and a new Hospital A d m in istra to r John Hempel said cost cutting measures arc already underway at the hospital, however, fie stressed that the single biggest thing the people can do to preserve the hospital " is to use it 'It we had two more patients per day using the hospital there would be no more need lor a tax asking." he said "People need to utilize in town physicians Jhcsc are things people have to look at II (hev want a h< ispital here in the long run they better use i t , " he said Has ing one medical district in the counts received strong support from those present at the town hall meeting, with ms>st saying they did not wish to see the county split l)r /ic ltn s k i o f Ik ardiiun spoke out against the committee's recom mcndation, saying he felt it was a stalling tactic, and that a single district would provide no "fo rm u la " for distribution o f funds Under the single health district, representatives would be elected from all areas o f the cisuntv to ad project The city has v i tar received a AN*),ouii grant to renovate the old hotel into a senior citizen housing and recreation center A loan of $ iqtl.(M ) has also been approved bv the state o f Oregon tor the project In addition S ltX l.lM ) has already been committed to the project local ly . said attorney Bill Kuhn, who has been w orking closely on the renov at ion Dial is a show of support." said Kuhn Building is being remodeled to housc Justice Court, the Morrow County M ental H ealth Services, and Juvenile Services The Court asked (hat contractors Dennis M iller ami David Allsiott submit their bills tor contracted services rattier than an hourly billing, since the county w ill approve payment based on the contract I'ndersheriff V erlin Denton ask ed tfse Court's approval tor purchase o f seven bullet proof vests required by the deptuies' contracts " Ihc vests we have are 7 10 years old ami apparently thev deteriorate amt arc- only good lor live scars.” he said (Quantity price for the vests is 5 7 0 0 each The Court approved the pur chase Irons S h e rilf s Dept funds Die Court also approved renewal of a service contract tor ntdintruame o f a m icrofilm camera in the Sheriff's Dept and the puis have ol a ST77 computer terminal tor the S h e riffs Office The terminal is necessary, the um lrrshcnlt explain ed because the department is behind in filing reports which road deputies write on the word processor because they can get back on the road much taster than if they had to write the lom is by haml The other three ter initials in the S heriffs Office are in almost constant use. he said In other business, the Court approved payment of SI2,4bM lor the addition at the North Morrow Annex Bldg in lrngon and withheld S4.0b<l from payment until the win down, doors, ami the floor arc repaired satisfactorily approved purchase ol v h I iu iii lights lor the front ot the Courthouse Bldg in Heppner approved refunds six p ro p e rly lax heard a road report from Road Supervisor Don Ball approved ¡suiting an overhead computer wire from the hospital to the Foundation Bldg so the offices there would be connected with the county's computer system heard that county Budget ( Miner lasRayne Bowman is sending out budget worksheets to the various county departments Ihc first budget workshop was scheduled lor 9 a in January 10 held an executive sesison regat ding personnel reappointed Mary Brvant to i three year term on the Revenue Sharing Committee reappointed Batten a BloodvwxHlh to the Morrow County Museum Board approved claims alter Comnns sioncr Irv Rauch determined that shoe polish which tin- Sheriffs I Vp< purchased was actually 574 worth of leather dye which the S h e riffs Deputies use to keep their leattier gear from looking worn Rauch spayed a dab o f the bias k dye on Ins brown shoe then voted approval Lifeguard begins registration service Mustang Power Mustangs Wayne Wilgers (32), Gene Garrett (40). and Trent Harrison (34) plot to p6ofc> try Joycu Mxzgfs#« take the ball from Stanfield during last Saturday's game The Mustangs went on to win the game 60-51 See story page 8 1 ileguard Medical Transport, a non profit air ambulance based in Pendleton has announced the inccp turn ot the 1 ileguard Medical Transport Rural R egistration Sy stem Rural Registration is available to anv individual or business living or working outside the limits o f any ci ty. town, or municipality w ithin the Lifeguard Medical transport service area ( 150 milcv in anv direction from Pendleton) Anyone wishing to register need The committee viewed the pur chase of a defibrillator for the North Morrow Medical C linic, a solution warmer lor the North Morrow Am bulance. and a training fund lor PMTs as critical, immediate needs The provision of revenue sharing funds was suggested as one option lor meeting those immediate needs The committee asked the county court to act on the recommendation within .10days, the same time period the committee had to complete its in vcstig a tio n and present a rcconmicndat ion Members o l the audience applaud cd the committee lor its efforts, recognizing the time restraints the committee lacexl. hut the recommcn dal ion was not without opposition Several people testified in oppovi tion to creating new government to address an old issue and urged the court to deal w ith the issue themselves I have a lot o f respect for the com m ittee." said Ed Glenn, hut I think they missed the boat I'm tell ing you folks, we don't need more government We ¡ust need the pre sent government to operate more ef ficientJy That's the problem, tfse on ly problem ." Glenn urged Ihc court to make a decision " W e ’ ve let a problem develop and it s gotten out o f hand." he said "D o n 't pass the buck fcllax. ymi take the hull by the horns and solve the pnsblem " Steven Rowe, a member o f the Norih M orrow Medical Board and a proponent o f separate medical districts, voiced no confidence in r county wide health care system " The north end has petitioned to (he County Court, the county court appoints a board, the board recom mends appointing another board." Rowe said "W hat assurance do we have that ihc new board w ill address the concerns.'' he queried, "n o one as done H now Rowe stressed lhal the north end was looking (or provision ol needs, not a gold ¡slated system At the end of the hearing. Judge Continued page 2 County hears recommendations and objections for one health care district County Court in early December to review health care throughout the county, read the recommendation before County Commissioners Irs Rauch. (> W " J e rry " Peck. Judge I ouis Carlson, and an attentive Court at the conclusion of the first public bearing Jjnuary b concerning the formation o f separate medical districts within the county l-arry M ills, chairman of the ad hex committee appointed by the By Donna Schmidt Boardman F lite r prise A vinglc county wide health care dislncl governed by an elected board o f directors was the recommendation presented to the Morrow County G-T begins new weekly publication «TRADER Times. I he trader w ill feature classified ads and short community DX, e lo n e Ir r ig o n C Pi w *5? 01 13 Yes (U n o ffic ia l R esu lts) School Levy y' Yes y ' No / 353 No 471 Passed / 192 / Yes y / 713 No S ' No No No z ' / 1 16 / S23 / 222 / 168S / $366,736 per year for three years Yes a X Yes y Yes Total As an introduction, tree i lassiticd ads w ill be ottered in Die 1 radcr lor the next two weeks lasok lor yixir copy ol The Trader and use Ihc tree H a rd m a n nonces Sp ecial Electio n Ja n u a ry classified .id coupon found inside Free classifieds w ill not be taken over the phone To place display ads in The I rader contaci an advertising representative at the Heppner Gazette H eppner A new publication, Ihc Morrow County Trader, begins publication this week Look lor the free shop per in stores and businesses)» in lone. Lexington, and Heppner Published by the Heppner Gazette B o a rd m a n S t"'"' CO»1'* 1 14 Passed bv Passed by 161 357 / 59 / 89 / 259 Passed bv Passed by Passed by 163 27 264 / crowd of about 50 people In the course of its review, the committee talked with members o f (he current health care boards, reviewed operating budgets, looked at existing medical equipment and facilities, and examined current county policies governing health care In Ms tact finding report, the com iTiiltcc stated it found " the current system ol funding and operating the health care delivery system in the county neither lair nor adequate for the needs o f the county's residents and that a change needs to be made to provide a system lhat is dedicated to solely providing health care Part o f the proposed system would include a seven member board of directors composed of three elected representatives from the north end of the county. three tnwn the south end, and one position at large The board would oversee Ihc dclivercncc o f health care in the county while re taming the cxisiting medical hoards in an advisory capacity In the event a county wide health care district were formed and a hoard o f directors elected, the com mittec suggested changes or im provetnents he made in each o f the five cities within the county (see box) Funds for the improvements should be acquired by reducing the lax requirem ents fo r Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner. (he report said No specific guidelines were recommended on the armsunt o f funds necessary to satisfy health care needs w ithin the county or on the manner o f distribution o f funds to each end o f the counts Passed bv 972 Continued page 2 Weather Report t>T C*y x ■•<•< lam i.irv 7 Januars 1.1 High 1ove Kain Snow Wed Thur X 1 h Sat Sun Mon 1 ues .17 18 .17 15 37 51 47 7‘» 20 Ib IM V» 22 11 0 0 .0 0 0 0 0 Market Report ol ffv# Mr*»rn* County (*<•*'- (, Tuesday, Jan II Soft White Jan Feb March New Crop »7 ‘ 2 07 »2 »2 *2 ob ok >/o 75 Barley Jan »Ml »H4 5() M *b0 New Crop Hard Red Winter • »rdinanes ‘ 2 01 Jan PIK |0 b 1 Cash hy Fri KIM 51 On account
