Health district approves long term
remodeling, expansion plans
BESSlC WETZEtL
u o r OR E
: : E •« S r A P E R l i p
EU S E N E OR 9 7 4 0 3
VOL. 118
NO. 28
10 Pages
rhe Morrow County Health
District, at its July 5 meeting in
Imgon approved a 10-year long
term plan for remodeling of the
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
facility and expansion of its
services. At the same time, the
district's last available financial
report, for May, indicates losses
of $48,000 for the month.
"I think they all realize they
can't continue to lose the kinds of
money they've lost the last few
years," said George Koffler,
president and CEO of the Bank
of Eastern Oregon, which last
October approved a $225,000
line of credit to the district to
help avert closure of the
hospital. "But the plans they
have are good. If they implement
them I think you'll find revenues
increasing and the new look of
the hospital will encourage
people to use it."
While the district continues to
lose money, it has cut its losses
since hiring Sheila Dahlman as
interim administrator. Koffler
also advised the district to get a
commitment from Dahlman
concerning her length of
employment. "You've got a lot
of momentum," said Koffler. "I'd
hate to lose it by her leaving
early.
The district plans to begin an
abbreviated remodeling project
as soon as possible to
accommodate a new CT (Cat
Wednesday, July 14,1999________ Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Car crashes on Main Street
A '95 Chrysler lands on its side following a crash into a tree on Main Street Monday.
Photo by Andy Sykes
on Main Street in Heppner of the vehicle, Barbara Gilbert,
A Heppner woman lost control bridge
Monday
around 5 p.m.
said she fell asleep prior to the
of her 1995 Chrysler and drove According
to
Heppner
Police
crash.
into a tree near the Willow Creek Chief Doug Rathbun, the driver
New school superintendent on said the
job
that $20,000 was originally
Superintendent Bruce Anderson
Newly hired Morrow County
School Superintendent Bruce
Anderson was on the job at his
first school board meeting
Monday night in Lexington.
Anderson began work for the
district on July 1.
Also at the meeting, Scott
Bauska was elected chairman,
Gary Frederickson, vice
chairman, and newly elected or
re-elected board members,
Frederickson, John Rietmann,
Keith Lewis and Pat McNamee,
were sworn in.
The superintendent's report
included information concerning
the purchase of property in
Boardman and Imgon. The
purchase of the Boardman
property, which is adjacent to
Sam Boardman Elementary
School, has been completed. The
purchase of the Imgon property,
17.17 acres contiguous to
Columbia Middle School, is still
pending, awaiting resolution of
annexation issues pertaining to
sewer and water. According to
Anderson, Irrigon is near sewer
and water capacity and a new
school, which has been discussed
for siting in Irrigon, would put
them over the limit. A hearing on
the annexation is scheduled for
August.
Anderson also told the board of
the Heppner-Lexington Advisory
Committee's recommendation
that an energy-saving project at
Heppner Elementary School be
halted. Anderson said the project
has been stopped and the sheet
rock and insulation to reduce
energy loss from the large
windows in the old section of the
school has been tom down. The
district had received numerous
complaints from teachers and
parents concerning the boarding
up of the windows in the school.
"I personally looked at it and I
don't think it was the right thing
to do," said Anderson. "Everyone
was trying to do the right thing
with the money allocated."
Anderson said that he estimated
that it would take around $30,000
to install energy-efficient
windows, similar to those in the
new wing of the school. He
suggested that the project be
included in bond issue which has
been discussed by the board. The
board has previously discussed
putting a bond issue before the
people which would fund a new
school to accommodate growth
in the north end of the county.
At a Heppner-Lexington
Advisory Committee meeting
held last week, John Moyer, head
of maintenance for the district.
requested for the HES window
project, but added that the funds
were eliminated from the budget
the first year and only $5,000
was approved the second year.
He said the district was doing the
best it could to save energy costs
with the money available. Moyer
said that the new heating and
cooling system at the school was
not sufficient for the area and the
large single-pane windows
contributed to the energy drain.
In a report on the state school
funding Anderson told the board
that in his estimates, the district
would be around $900,000 short
for the upcoming budget year,
which would eliminate cash
carryover.’To cut a couple bucks
throughout the year isn't going to
solve the issue," said Anderson,
who added that the budget
shortfall could prompt "some
tough decisions." Anderson said
that most school districts borrow
money, but added, "The
borrowing doesn't bother me, it's
the lack of flexibility."
In other business, the board.
-approved moving the board
meeting agenda deadline up so
that board members could have
an additional day to review the
agenda;
-approved final readings of
district sexual harassment
policies and the continuing
professional
development
program;
-approved declaration of
surplus property, annual
continued page 2
scan) machine, which will
expand diagnostic medical
services for patients and provide
an infusion of cash for the
hospital Estimated cost of the
CT remodeling project is
between $50,000-$75,000. The
scanner is expected to pay for
itself with increased hospital
revenues.
Long-range plans, outlined by
Kenneth Roberts with R Group
Design in Enterprise, include:
expanding the nursing home 113
feet and adding 22 beds; moving
administrative offices to the
basement; relocating access for
the general public to a "dramatic"
and "more inviting" space in the
basement; adding a pharmacy,
which they propose to contract
with Murray Drugs to operate;
adding a cafeteria; expanding the
emergency room; remodeling
areas for mammography and
ultrasound; and grouping hospital
departments in a more efficient
manner.
Roberts said that the long-term
project, which would be cheaper
if it could be completed all at
once, is estimated around $1.5
million. Dahlman and the board
discussed the possibility applying
for a 40-year USDA loan at 4-
1/2 percent for funding of the
project. Dahlman also brought up
the possibility of the Chemical
Stockpile
Em ergency
Preparedness Program assisting
Window projected
halted
that installing energy-efficient
It was an open and shut case.
Or was it a shut and open? Either
way, the Heppner-Lexington
Advisory Committee, in a special
meeting Thursday, July 8,
recommended that the project to
enclose the windows at Heppner
Elementary School be stopped
and the sheet rock and insulation,
which had been installed to board
up the windows for energy
savings, be tom down. New
Morrow County School
Superintendent Bruce Anderson
accepted the recommendation
and indicated that the work
would be stopped. The project
has since been tom down.
The committee, which
reviewed the issue at length,
opened up the meeting to allow
numerous parents and teachers
speak, a majority of whom spoke
in opposition to the project.
Anderson said that the intention
of the project was to save energy
costs, but added that ideally the
community should have been
made aware of the project when
it was first contemplated by the
district. John Moyer, head of
maintenance for the district, said
that when a new heating and
cooling system was installed,
engineers said that the system
was not big enough to heat and
cool the area efficiently and
recommended that the windows
be replaced or boarded up.
Moyer said that a request for
$20,000 was originally made to
the budget committee for
replacement of the windows, but
the $20,000 was cut the first year
and only $5,000 was granted the
second year of the request.
Moyer said that the $5,000 was
not enough to replace the
windows and boarding them up
was the best the district could do
with the money allotted.
Teachers, however, when
polled at the meeting indicated
that they would rather be cold or
too warm another year rather
than have the windows boarded
up.
Both teachers and parents at the
meeting cited studies which
indicated that children learn
better in natural light.
Moyer said that around $2,500
of the money for the window
enclosure project remained.
Some of that money, which
would have been used for labor
to install siding and remove the
old windows, was to be used for
labor to remove the sheet rock
and insulation.
At the Morrow County School
Board meeting Monday, July 12,
Anderson said that he estimates
windows in the old portion of the
school, similar in size to the
windows in the new wing of the
school, would cost around
$30,000.
in the funding of the emergency
room expansion. According to
Steve Myren, who is employed
with CSEPP, Pioneer Memorial
has been designated as a CSEPP
medical facility in the event of an
accident during destruction of
chemical warfare agents at the
Umatilla Army Depot.
Also at the meeting, the board
spoke with Dr. Ken Wenberg
concerning the termination of his
contract with the district. Newly
appointed board chair Larry
Mills, speaking on behalf of the
board, said that Wenberg's
problems with the IRS preclude
his employment with the district
at this time.
In other business the board:
-swore in Linda LaRue of lone
as a board member. LaRue is
employed with the Bank of
Eastern Oregon;
-approved purchase of a van to
transport
wheelchair-bound
patients for $6,500;
-renewed a line of credit with
the Bank of Eastern Oregon for
the 1999-2000 fiscal year; and
-approved a seven-year flex
lease plan for new computer
software for the district at
$158,000 ($191,000 including
interest).
Car wash set
Saturday
The Heppner High School
senior class will have a car wash
on Saturday, July 17, from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. behind Les Schwab in
Heppner.
Cost is $5 for a wash or $10 for
cleaning inside and out.
Adult swim lessons For offered
more information, or to sign
Adult swim lessons will begin
Monday, July 19 at 5:30 p.m. at up, call the pool at 676-5752 or
Sally Walker at 676-9112.
Willow Creek Water Park.
Fishing derby draws kids
The "Kids Fishing Derby”
was held on June 13 at the
Willow Creek Reservoir.
Seventy-two
children
participated and approximately
$400 worth of prizes was
awarded.
Categories included the
following age groups-five and
under, 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12 years
old for the biggest/most fish
caught in the bass, trout and
sunfish categories. Prizes were
also awarded to three age groups
with the casting contest.
"We targeted all kids ages 12
and under and encouraged any
disabled or disadvantaged kids
to attend," said Greg Lynch of
the Heppner Ranger District.
"There were no classes for
differentiation between sexes, all
who participated did so on an
equal basis."
Refreshments were made
available for all participants and
volunteers.
"The annual derby was a
memorable time for the young
and old alike," said Lynch.
Sponsors included the U.S
Forest Service; Heppner Lions
Club; Mid Columbia Bass Club;
Norihwest Steelheaders; Ducks
Unlimited and Oregon Dept, of
Fish and Wildlife.
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