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
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LEXINGTON. OREGON 97839
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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
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