Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1995)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 1, 1995 County begins forming ree. district The Morrow County Court, at their meeting Wednesday, Jan. 25, signed an order which began the process of forming a county-wide recreation district. The district was sought to help solve the Morrow County School District's problem con cerning extra-curricular activi ties. The school district, faced with budget cuts because of Ballot Measure 5 and the state school funding plan, is con sidering cutting extra-curricular activities next year, including sports, FFA, drama, music and outdoor school, among others.(The state school fun ding plan would equalize the amount of spending per stu dent around the state. Districts, such as Morrow County, which spent more per pupil will receive less funding and dis tricts that spent less will receive more funding per student.) The co-curricular committee seeks to provide funds to fund the extracurricular activities. According to a legal opinion funded by the co-curricular committee, a co-curricular district could be formed, and boundaries could overlap ex isting park districts, as long as services don't overlap. Because co-curricular activities are not determined to be educational or support programs, they are not limited to the $5 school funding cap. George Koffler, a member of the co-curricular committee, presented the court 1,314 signatures of county ìesidents who were in favor of the recrea tion district, 737 of whom were from Heppner, 361 from Board- man, 131 from lone, 54 from Ir- rigon and 31 from Lexington, according to court minutes. The court also received resolutions of support from Heppner, Ir- rigon and Lexington. In order to be included in the district, the city councils must approve resolutions of support. The Boardman City Council had not vet met to consider Hie issue by Jan. 25, and the lone council was deadlocked on the issue of supporting a recreation district, 3-3, so both of those cities will be excluded from the resolu- tion. The boundaries of the district can be redrawn if those city councils opt in at a later date. The committee also present ed letters of support from other taxing districts (the Irrigon Rural Fire Protection District, Willow Creek Park District, the lone-Lexington Cemetery Dist rict and the Boardman Park and Recreation District) which will be impacted fii ancially by for mation of another district. Because of Ballot Measure 5, taxing entities are restricted to levy no more than a combined $10 per thousand, except for schools which are now limited to $5 per thousand. Even if fun ding for a new district is ap proved, city taxpayers will not pay out more taxes because the tax asking is already $10 per thousand. So, existing taxing entities, such as cities, fire pro tection districts and cemetery districts, will get less to accom modate funding for a new district. When a new district is funded county wide, rural tax payers may pay more because they don't pay for city services and their $10 limit has not been capped. In the co-curricular program, the recreation district would be the funding source, but the school district would continue to administer the programs. It has been estimated that it costs the school district around $360,000 to operate the co- curricular program. This year the school district initiated a pay-to-participate program at $50 per sport per student, with a $200 yearly family limit to help budget woes. The co-curricular committee is aiming for a May 16 election of board members, who will probably be elected by zones, similar to the health care and school districts. A public hearing on the sub ject is scheduled for Feb. 27 at the Riverside High School auditorium in Boardman. MCGG to display 2100 Series Hill House fills need in community Nella Britt, Heppner, has created a special niche in the Heppner community for some very special people. Britt and her husband, John, remodeled a home on Chase Street for use as an adult foster care home. The home, called Hill House, was designed as a step between living at home and care in a nursing home. Hill House provides a home like setting for people who aren't able to do completely for themselves at their own homes, but who are not ready for a nursing home. "Each has a different reason for being here," says Nella. "Sometimes they're having trouble getting around, or not eating properly. They can't quite do for themselves." The five people now residing in Hill House are Betty Spaulding, Anna Ball, Florence Holt, Myrna Toll and Alda Baker. Britt has a waiting list of five people and says she receives an average of a call a month from people who once lived in the area or have fami ly here and want to live at Hill House. Hill House has room for five residents, two of whom share a room. Britt accepts women only and does not take Alzheimer's patients because of the security problems involved. She says that there is a misconception that Hill House Hope Lutheran plans annual meeting The brand new 2100 Series combines w ith the high visibili ty operator cab from Case IH, will be on display at the Mor row County Grain Growers an nual Customer Appreciation Day next Saturday, February 11, from 8 a m. to 12 noon. The revolutionary design of the new cab is *vider, more comfortable and designed with convenient cab-forward con trols and instrumentation. A multi-function propulsion lever puts most operations right in the palm of the operator's hand, and an all- new right-hand console moves in tandem with the driver's seat. At the heart of the 2100 Series remains the Axial-Flow com- bine-the exclusive, patented rotor. And the recent addition of the Cross Flow cleaning fa* provides a remarkably uniform, powerful airflow throughout the entire sieve area. The new combine will be on hand for inspection during the entire Customer Appreciation Day. The annual congregational meeting of Hope Lutheran Church will be held Sunday, February 5 at 1 p.m. A service of Holy Commu nion will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Pastor Stan Hoobing's ser mon will be entitled "Called and Sent By G od" based on reading of Isaiah 6:1-13. Hoob- ing will deliver a children's ser mon entitled "What About All Those Fish" based on Luke 5:1-11. A potluck dinner will follow the service. All members are urged to attend the meeting as they will discuss and vote on the church budget. .C.G .G . CUSTOM ER APPRECIATION DAY n Saturday, February 11 m -* 8 a.m. - 12 noon Hi FACTORY REPRESENTATIVES From these Companies will be present Calkins - Implements Case/IH - Implements Cenex - Livestock Equipment & Chemical Century Welding Ciba - Chemical Danner Boots HyQual - Livestock Equipment JenSen-Byrd - Hardware Monsanto - Chemical New Zealand - Fencing Santoz - Chemical Scottsco - Small Engines Stark & Norris - Engine Repair Terra lnt. - Chemical Phone 989 8221 i 4 L-R: Alda Baker, Nella Britt and Anna Ball visit at Hill House takes only private pay residents. At Hill House, Britt, 50, pro vides cooking, cleaning, laun dry, arranges for appoint ments, orders and picks up medications and helps the residents take their medica tions, but, she stresses, does not provide skilled nursing care. Britt is adament that the residents feel at home. "This is their home. They're free to come and go." Britt encourages the residents to do what they are able and welcomes visitors, even for meals, with notice. "This is a normal household," she adds. "If they want to stay up late, they can. If they want to sleep in, they can." Meals and medications, she stresses, however, must be on time. Nella says that the residents also have input as to what they would like to eat. Britt says that the families of the residents have been ex tremely helpful and suppor tive, visiting and bringing goodies, especially fruit. She adds, however, that she doesn't encourage anyone to bring candy, cakes or cookies without her prior knowledge, because of special diets and special needs. Someone is at the home at all times. Nella takes the 9 a.m. to 7 or 7:30 p.m. shift and is on call in the event of an emergen cy. If she has to be away, she has a backup phone number. Nella also installed a monitor in every room for safety of the residents. When a visitor comes, the monitor may be turned off for privacy. In addi tion to smoke detectors, fire ex tinguishers and a floor plan posted, the building has special windows that a person could get out of comfortably. Nella hopes to have the local fire department and EMT's visit, both for educational purposes and to get an idea of the layout of the home. Britt says that the Home Health nurses and local doctors have been "wonder ful". Besides Nella, other staff members at Hill House include: Tareena Nash, who works three nights a week; Ruby Steers, who stays on week THE VALENTINE G IFT SHE LOVES BEST IS THE ONE THAT LA STS! V E DOOR PRIZES ‘ D ir e c to r C h a irs ‘ J a c k e ts & V e s ts ‘ B e lt B u c k le s ‘ B o o t D ry e r ‘ G a s - T r im m e r ‘ D re m e l T o o l K it ‘ Toys ‘ O il c h a n g e s fo r C a r /L t. T ru c k *& M o re r County Browers.,. 800-452 7396 * LEXINGTON. OREGON 97839 P 0 Box 367 ends; Nella's daughter, Melin da, who stays when she can; and daughter, Sarah, who runs errands and stays occasionally. Britt says that her husband John has been extremely sup portive, especially when she first started the business and was on duty pretty much round the clock. "I appreciate John so much," she says. "H e has been just wonderful. He doesn't complain. And at first 1 was here all the tim e." She says that in the beginning, the work was more than she an ticipated, but now that she has gotten into the rhythm and has good help, she is able to keep up with the bookwork, which is extensive. "It will get easier as time goes o n ," she adds. In addition to a supportive family, Britt credits the success of the operation with a love of people. "You have to have a love of people to do this," she says. "I can't understand the people that go into this just as a business. It's just not that profitable, especially the way I blow money," she laughs. Britt says she worries about the adult foster care business as a whole. "There are homes that aren't reputable and unfor tunately those are the ones that are in the media. It's hurting the industry real bad.” -Adultfostercare facilities are strictly regulated by the state, which requires annual inspec tions and 36 hours a year in education. Britt has some special plans for the future at Hill House. The home, located on Ceme tery Hill, has a beautiful view of the city and Britt wants to have a deck built for the residents. "I just want a place for them to sit and watch the sun coming down," she says. Although she is impatient and wants the deck "n o w ", the project will have to wait for a bit because of finances. She also has plans for a raised garden spot so the residents can do a little gardening. But for now' everyone seems satisfied with the arrangements in their new home. "I'm hap py here," said Anna Ball, "O f course I would rather be home, but it's a nice place and I'm not too far from home." y Pancake Breakfast Special Interest Groups Rodeo Court Recreation District Campfire Girls Class Rooms For kids Carnations to first 300 Ladies F ree Knife Sharpening Fine jewelry doesn’t have to be expensive, either. You’d be sur prised at how many attractive rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets there are for a minimum price. Visit us and see the lovely fine jewelry gifts we have in store for Valentine's Day. They are the ones she’ll treasure the longest. Fine Jewelry When Your Feelings Are For Real. Member Jeweler« of Amenca. Inc Peterson’s Heppner
