Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1987)
•V ' *• «* * '• - * - • * I HP1# » - â -* c * * W V» — < * - *- — — ¿ •* - •* v « w « r* # ► < c . » ■< #• - - * ~ «- Heppner to vote on hotel project Thf Heppner Morrow C ounty's Horn#-Owned Newspaper Bv Avon Melliv It w ill be neecssarv to change the charter ot the City ol Heppner so a loan riiuv be obtained to remodel Heppm-i Hotel Phis w ill necessitate a vole ol the people lax Counsel Harvev Rogers, ol lb .. imes VOL 105 NO 4 Wednesday. January 28. 1987 Heppner, Oregon 25* 8 Pages County Court close to decision on short term health care plan Lhe County Court is coming dose to an agreement on a short term plan to meet the immediate health care needs ot the county. Judge lo u ix Carlson told members ol the county Planning Commission Monday night The court has been dealing with the problem o f unequal distribution o f health care funds between north and south county since October, when a petition was filed by North county residents asking for two separate health care districts The issue was complicated by a se cond petition filed by South counts residents asking for a single districi In response, the county appointed an ad hoc committee composed ol citizens from each o f the county's five cities to study the problem The Court scheduled public hearings to gather public opinion During the hearings a third option, to leave health care as it is. under the lurisdiction o f the county, was voiced Carlson said that he and commis sioners Irv Kaiu h ansi Jcrrv Peck were close to agrccnx-nt 'but not set ready to announc'd short term as lions “ Our philosophy is based on the ad hoc committee's rccommen dalions and the three needs (voxed at the public hearings) which must be m et,'’ he said "W e hase heard that there must be no increase in the lav load, no additional layers ol bureaus ras s . and that there must be equality ol care based on need Our goal was to have a plan this week, but additional information is needed lor a plan which w ill meet the long term needs of the county, he said judge askesl the Plann mg Commission to make one of Us goals the formulation o f a five-year plan to provide for total health care in the county Health care is our lop priority now. Carlson said There are so many phases of it that it's mind bog gling Many areas have been neglected for a long tune It's time to get on with our long range plann ing Koads arc a second priority because areas have been neglected there also County Planner Deane Seeger .id vised the commission that it is charg cd with identifying all future needs and not |ust those related to roads He explained that the commission is further charged with advising the county court Com m ission C hairm an John Hristow said that the commission would await direction on structure ot the d iq rx t or districts and work with Seeger on a plan In other business, the Commission approved changing the county 's Comprehensive Plan to include the limited use overlay /one granted Hoeing for its development of a radar antenna test range near Hoardman Seeger said the County Court w ill need to ratify the change heard that Bonneville Power Ad ministration has agreed to the site ap pmved by the Planning Commission and the County Court for lix al ion of its proposed fish hatchery at Irrigon The nest step. Seeger said, is to relate the choice back to its impact on county roads and schools and to resolve any conflicting land uses such as hunting, fishing, trucks car rvint! pellets to feed fimrerlines. and trucks loaded with fish heard that the county w ill place traffic counters on some ol its roads for an I C O A ( traffic studs heard progress in preparing an evacuation plan required by the Stale o f Oregon heard no further progress had been made bv cits planning commie sions determining possible exten sums o f streets to the urban growth boundaries reviewed a proposed plan bv Boe ing tor public and private roads Little was added to the testimony ot two previous sessions al a Tues day . Jan 20 public hearing on health care held at Heppner Elementary Schixil Speakers from both North and South Morrow Counts reiterated that the county has neglected North end health care needs when distributing tax monies to the North Morrow Medical C linic, Pioneer Memorial Hospital, and the ambulance ser vices, all ot which provide health care for county residents As at previous hearings, opinions were voiced supporting one district, no district but a plan for equitable tun ding, and two districts The situation exploded last (V tober when a petition was presented to the County Court asking them lo form two separate health care distrxts within the county A second petition compounded the problem by asking the Court to lorrn one counts wide district (See related story) The Court responded by schedul ing a series of three public hearings and by appointing an ad hoc commit tee to study the health care problems within the county Icirry M ills, chairman ol the ad lux committee, reported the com m ille r's findings that the vounty should lom i one county wide health care district administered by one board o f directors with represen tatives from all areas ol the county Die committee also listed specific health care needs for each city and possible solutions to them rhe across the Bombing Kange and Boe ing projx-itv The plan scheduled construction ot a public ro id through the Bombing Kange during I‘tos Commissioners prclcred an ultcrnaic site tor a road from the Charles lXihertv Ranch at I Ila to connect with Power Koad No action was taken I * . , f i t Ifc.l fir... ,if I »f C. lv IV O ld Hart notified Citv Attornev Bill Kuhn ol the decision recentlv He had been hired bv the citv to find out what would be ic-quued A grant ol S'Ort OHO hac been oh iaiiic'd by the c itv bui an additional 5 Otti lim i iv vonv ». I..»,-, I »»- -w trs I he stale has tillered the monev but it would be i>n a 40 scar loan and at III d percent interest Both local banks are being consulted on loan ing the money Kuhn said lucsdav I he Bank ol I astern l Itegon has in dicuied a ' l l ve'ar loan at six percent interest may be available Heppner city council w ill be ask ed to nuke a dec ixion al its Monday meeting It an election is to be held the county c lerk has to have a (4 »lav notification before the election Rogers also said the citv w ill have to obtain certification that its in debtedncss does ne*t exceed MO m i II k mi and to obtain cert ilk at ion on development bonds belore the loan can be made When these steps have been car ned out bv the citv a written opinion bv the tax counselor w ill lx- given the citv which can be used to obtain Ihe loan from banks or othei lending institutions Council meeting w ill be al K p m Mondav al city hall lor those who might wish lo attend Conklin to visit China Heppner High School Athletic Director Dale Conklin has been selected as a coach chaperone lor a high school track team which w ill go to China this summci and partieipate III a track meet al Hong Kong I his is the saiix- lour which Heppner s AS ay ne SSilgerx and lone x Deena Hams t>iok last suninx-i l onklin and Norm t K leur ol SS est I vnn high school were selected as the two coaches to accompany a t lass A and Class H team ol high schviol track stets Ihe two coaches w ill decide s . m '11 to which athletes thev w ill extend ins itali»ms. Conklin said Iw o track teams w ill leave Portland on June 21. Conklin xavx lor a 10 dav trip to Hong Kong. Canton atxl Macao During their tour, athletes w ill participate in a track meet at Hong Kong but w ill spend the majority of their m ix sightseeing and learning about Chinese culture Conklin who has been head track coach at Heppner High School lor I I v ears has also been active in the ( Iregon High School coaches Assoc He save Ins selection as a coach tor the tour is. in part recognition bv other track coaches in the stale lor his experience \ Dale Conklin He has been a coach at Heppner High Sc In ml lor Idyears He and his w ile. I mda. have tour children Ashley. Jill Sheryl, and Mark Although there is much w oik in solved getting organized, checking tv< see that everyone has a pass|ioit. etc . Conklin is extremely excited about ihe opportunity. "I'm coun ting the days already." he said Hospital will ask $80,000 less tax monev than last year Settling In Judge Charlotte Cray was l.urlv well settled in her new office lucsdav at the Courthouse Annex on Rock St in Hepner Justice Court Juvenile Services and Morrow Counts Mental Health have moved their olTices to the old dental clinic building across the parking lot from the Heppner Medical Clinic I he ( ountv recently signed a lease option lor the building with the Pioneer Hospital Foundation Remodeling at the annex has taken about a month and w ill cost the county close to 510.000 Hi Avon Melhy Pioneer Memorial Hospital cut its request lor tax lunds by approx imatclv SHU .000 last week A pro posed budget ol 527l4 N t was presented the counts Hospital Manager John Hempel said the trimming ol expenses had lust about gone as lai as it could and still leave adequate lunds lor o|x-ra lion It is a realistic budget.” In sani Ihe biggest expense which cannot be cut is in stami bv keeping adequate personnel on hand on a 74 hour basis this is souxthing the hospital cannot change Judge I ouis Carlson nx-l with the board to disc use its budget and to ex plain the uilormution the court is asking lor It is needed to arrive at a decision on how to nxet the medical needs ol the whole counts Ihe hospital board approved pur chase ol a new machine which llempcl said it would be used to re-culate blood pressure and monitor ing the effect ol mcdicaiton on pa tictitx who have been sent honx- alter heart attacks or heart surgery He said it was a ncccxsilv and Ihe pre sent piece ol cquipnxnf is no longer dependable Cost w ill lx- between 5 V200 and SC htii) Ihe money ix available in thè capitai lum i Attumptud murder chiuseci Jo Jesus (ìonzalez. 'n. Irriguo, was .inaiglieli Mondav moining in Just ice Court al Heppixr ori i harges ol Attempted Murder. Attempici! R.qx- Kidnapping I. Poxxexxion ol a Controllexl Subslance. and C ix r cion Hall was set al SU' tR0) Gonzalez was arresici! Ihurxdav alternoon hy thè Morrow ( ountv S h criff x IX-pi following a donxxtic metileni iuxt outsule o f Irngon He was lodged al thè Um ulill.i City Jail prior lo his arraignuxnl Following thè arraignnxnt. don /a le / was trnnsponcd lo Hermiston City Jall where a warrant troni M unii ipal Court chargcd him svilii Contempi Indirect A x h e rilfx Dcpt xpokexpcrxon sani no minors wcrc mvolvcd in thè incidcnl and other poxsihle c harges are pending Irngon («ilice assistcd in thè arresi A preliminare hearing ix set lor Icbruary 5 Fate of Morrow County health care still up in air after public hearing “ We have to remember that changes cannot happen immediate ly . " he said, “ because health care is highly regulated We need to remember, whether we like it or not that Pioneer Memorial Hospital operates uiulci ihe same regulations as St Vincent s in Portland Ihe committee was only seven people We spent quite a lot ol time study ing the issue, and came up with a possible solution, but we don't pre tend to speak lor everyone in the county Martlee Trotter, a former Hcpp ner resident, asked the Court to renx-mber that health care is layered and d illcrn t types o f cases are refer red to different facilities Pioneer is a vinaII. primary level lacilitv which stabilizes and translers patients re quiring more sophisticated services Statistics such as I H patients per dav distorts the actual service ot the hospital lor outpatient and nursing home care, she said Ihe county does not currently have a health can- district, she cmphasi/ed. and now is the time to form one Krebs hired to Port position Port ol Morrow (icrxra l Manager Hob M iller announced that Ihe new ly created position ol Maintenance Planner laib Technician w ill be fill cd by Dorothy Krebs, a resident of Hoardman tor the past two years Krebs was selected from 12 highly qualified applicants and is currently employed by Hoardman Farms as a (>ay roll clerk She brings to the gib a M S Degree in both analytical and inorganic chemistry from Oregon State University followed by work on soils and forages analysis, she had done research in buxhemixtry and animal nutrition as well Krebs has held the following post lions Morrow County Commis sioncr (1978-191*2), chairperson. Fast Central Oregon Asvxiatm n of Counties, chairperson. Regional Services Institute, Eastern Oregon Slate College Vice Chairperson, among many other public service positions In her job at the Port she w ill be in charge of the sampling, reporting, and scheduling o f the ellluent water disposal o f on Port land in accor dance with a Departnx-nt ot F.n vironmental (Quality permit Kepor ting lo Jerald Rea. farm A U tility Supervisor, Krebs w ill also assist in the planning and scheduling ol maintenance and inventory control using computerized records Inc rease in both the size and com plexity o f Ihe f) E 0 required sampling program and need lor a computerized maintenance and in ventory program required creation o f this position Kreb's addition brings the current permanent employment at the Port to 11 employees She w ill begin her duties on February 2 * fr * r . »• * ’ .- \\.X Dorothy Krebs •> *> *¥ * « . ... *# ■ • - + : i.- As a Chamber of Commerce, we need to reassure businesses which are considering locating in the area that good health care is available, (icorge K olfler. president ot the Heppner Chamber of Commerce said It's apparent that the current method has not worked Formation ol one district would stabilize health care without Iragnx-nting the court ty or leav ing medical care up to Ihe County Court, he said We have talked about a single health care district as il it were the only alternative lo two districts I d < ilenn ol Hoardman said A health care district would be |ust another laser of government and we alreadv have all the government we can han die We don't want anymore “ A district w ill probable not reduce the total amount ol taxes paid bv counts residents, he continued, “ it comes to a point where we want to say no more tax dollars w ill be spent on this particular item NoNslv wants to close Pioneer MeiiMin.il Hospital or take awav the Heppner ambulance All we want is a little ra tionulity It we shift a little tax monev spent in the South to the North, wouldn't that be better than creating a new board and going through this whole process again ’ Kinzua General Manager Harry Kennison said that his mator concern was providing good emergency medical care lor the 2 '0 Kinzua employees in Ihe area “ No one would disagree with the county's phasing down and cutting back on spending tor the hospital when all hospitals in the country arc having trouble But Kinzua adds SHflH.OOO To the county s tax base, and I'll light like a tiger to keep good emergency care and the nursing home available I intend to keep dose tabs on Ihe situation because our employees are valuable." he said “ We see nothing wrong with realigning the hospital hoard and try ing to do the right thing We think Ihe administration could be spread out to the entire county Kinzua w ill • ' V bac k nx-dical care and leave it to the pcoplc elected lo run the system AA'e feel that we don't have a lull service hospital now AAe feel we have an emergency center We re headed lor rough tinx-s We need to stick together and support what we do have " Kav Michaels, a Bo.irdm.in phar mac ist said that the Hoardman ( itv Council felt that separate health care dixtricts were not necessary Ihe council has diawn a resolution sug gesting Ihe court "d o their |ob and make a decision " Draw up a plan to provide equitable dixinhution ol health care iimuh - v lx challenged the court. ' You have the capubilitv and the legal means to do it Don M cFlligott lornx-r Morrow County Judge, suggested that all medical comcrnx be lell in the hands ol the county court I ach commis sinner could have spec die duties, he said, similar to the way the commis sum is run in Portland ( hie commis sinner could be in charge of the road departnxnt and general lurid except lor health care A second commis sinner could oversee health care and other MKial agencies Ihe County fudge would remain the iiivcmle court |udgc in charge ol juvenile matters Dus plan would require in creasing service by the two commix siom-rs from halftime to tu lltu ix Irn g o n t ity Manager Don I ppen bach reported that Irrigon would probably have nothing to gam and would probably opt out of a county wide medical district It more sup port is shown lor Ihe ad hoc com minee x recommendations to nxet Irngon'x needs lor an emergency response vehicle, however, ihe m y w ill withdraw its recommendation lor a North district and give a county wide district a try . he said Hoardman P.MT IK-an Mason re emphasized his opposition to the tor illation of a single health care district, because “ we think we already have one." he said Two districts would allow lix a l taxes to be used locally II basic health care lundiiig were mvioeu in nail, il would itxan an increase in spending in the North ctxl which would almost meet our needs We re confident that we can go honx- and create a North end district to make up the balance which we are short." In sani The hospital says they a rc iu t ling their budget, hut “ I don't know il they can cut that much We Icel that we have support tor a lix a l elisine t where our own ix-cds w ill i«>t be voted down AAe were elected to make deci sions and we keep hearing people sav thev want us to do that, so now that the public input portion ol the hearing prixexx is concluded, please give us an opportunity to make our decision anil lo impleiix-nt it. ' Judge I ouis ( ailwm said at the conelusion ol the nx-cting Weather Report ti y ( -ty tt January 21 Januarv 27 High 1 ow Rain Snow AS ed 1 hurs Fri Sal Sun Mon 1 ues 42 21 21 4» 4 t 44 41) 11 14 1 A IK 2 1 1 s «I log fog fog ID >2 1 » log 1H " 1 * * 1" spoils Market -■ Report ( . . « ft, ,* •»#» M- Ox*/'»* (*»#■• I lucsdav, Jan 27 Soll SA lute M ID Jan »1 m Feb »1 05 March Mav (Iasi halli »2 94 New Crop •2 75 Harley Jan March ‘ 86 New emp ‘ h6 H.ud Red AS inter ( )rd maries Jan *J 01 PIK Cash pani Fri 106% < )n Account 108% . “ «•SV
