Heppner gazette-times., January 22, 2003, Image 1

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VO L.122
NO. 4
10 Pages
Wednesday, January 22,2003
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Over 30 cars collected in clean-up project
Sm ashed cars from city clean-up will be taken to Portland
M o rro w
C o u n ty
S h eriffs Office sponsored a city
clean-up project, Jan. 18-19, to
help the citizens o f Heppner get
rid o f their abandoned vehicles
and collected about 33 cars.
T hrough the com bined
e ffo rts o f M C S O , H e p p n e r
P u b lic W orks a n d Ja y C o il
F a b r ic a tio n th e c a rs w e re
sm a sh e d and loaded o n to a
flatbed trailer and hauled by
M ike T orgeson T ru ck in g to
Portland were they will be sold
as scrap metal.
State threatens to cut aid to Medicaid nursing home residents
Som e people at Pioneer
M em orial N ursing H om e are
getting pink slips. N o, not the
em ployees-although that could
happen dow n the road. Those
targeted are the nursing hom e’s
m ost vulnerable citizens, the
residents. Som e o f P M N H ’s
residents have received notice
from the state that if Measure 28
does not pass, the state will cut
their funds. Certain residents will
no longer meet state criteria and
will no longer be eligible for
M e d ic a id an d w ill b e c o m e
private pay. Unfortunately, many
o f these people have no m oney
and nowhere to go.
“ T h e c r i t e r ia is so
egregious, I c a n ’t im agine that
they could even follow through
with this,” said PMH CEO Victor
Vander Does. “ I’ve never seen a
health care crisis so bad. It’s
beyond comprehension.” But, he
added, “ K icking people out on
the street is not new to the state
o f Oregon."
“ T h is is j u s t c o ld
blooded," said PMH Director o f
Nurses Tammy Henderson. “The
state m ade people give up their
hom es and spend down all their
money (to qualify for Medicaid).
Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home resident, 103-year-old, Bill Lowe, a World
War I veteran, visiting with PMH Director of Nurses Tammy Henderson, is
one of those that could be affected by the state's cut in Medicaid funds.
N ow the state has no money and
th ey 're breaking their contract
with these individuals.”
Vander D oes said that
the nursing home is already facing
steep cuts, even without the loss
in reim bursements. “Obviously
we will get next to nothing in
reim bursements. W e're already
losing a couple hundred thousand
a year. If this w ere to pass, I
d o n ’t have a clue as to w hat to
d o ,” sa id V ander D oes. “ I f
in s t i tu t io n s
keep
th e m
(disqualified Medicaid residents)
and don't get paid, the institutions
go broke. Is the state going to
tell us how to kick people out?
O f course you can’t do that. It’s
m orally and ethically not cool.
These people have now here to
go. I c a n 't support throw ing
people out on the street.”
Vander Does said that
PM H N has tw o priv ate pay
re s id e n ts and 13 M e d ic a id
residents, seven o f w hom have
received notice that their funding
will be cut. IfPM N H closes, for
exam ple, the residents may not
be ab le to be tra n sfe rre d to
a n o th e r fac ility . “ We c a n 't
transfer them anywhere else," he
said. “ W ho would take them?”
continued on page two
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
M ONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
H eppner m ayor, Bob
Jepsen and his wife, Suzanne,
w e re s e le c te d as H e p p n e r
C ham ber o f C om m erce Man
and W oman o f the Year, at the
a n n u a l T o w n an d C o u n try
Banquet held Thursday, Jan. 16,
at th e H e p p n e r E lk s C lu b .
C e n tra l R ed A pple M ark et,
o w n e d by B e rt a n d K im
H ou w elin g , w as selected as
Business o f the Year. Retired
teacher, C herry W ebber was
honored as Educator o f the Year,
D iana M cElligott, lone High
School senior, w as aw arded
Y outh o f th e Y ear and B ill
Rietmann received the honor o f
the Lifetime Achievement award.
E x te n sio n ag en t Bill
B roderick presented the OSU
E xtension C o o p erato r o f the
Y ear a w a rd to th e P o rt o f
Morrow, which was received by
G ary N eal, port m anager, and
Larry Lindsay and Gerry Healy,
Port o f Morrow Commissioners.
The “rifle with a history,” from the
Heppner Chamber raffle went to
John Gochnauer.
M an and W oman o f the
Year, Bob and Suzanne Jepsen
have served the com m unity o f
H e p p n e r,
to g e th e r
and
individually, through numerous
involvements.
Bob Jepsen has served
the a re a fo r o v e r 30 y ears.
Currently he serves as the mayor
o f Heppner. He was president o f
the O reg o n W heat G row ers
League and was president o f
W illow C reek Country Club in
1972. He w as chairm an o f the
state A SC S com m ittee from
1973-75. He served as Secretary
o f A g ricu ltu re to the W heat
Industry Council in 1980. He was
on the board o f d irecto rs to
N A W G on th e W h e a t and
W heat Foods Foundation. He
s e rv e d as c h a irm a n o f th e
M orrow C ounty R epublican
C om m ittee in 1986. He also
served as director o f the E.R.
Jack m an
F o u n d a tio n , a
developm ent area o f O SU , in
1992. He also served on the
M orrow County Road Advisory
C o m m itte e a n d A d v is o ry
C o m m itte e to th e O S U
Extension.
In 1972, Jep sen w as
honored as Father o f the Year,
sponsored by the C ow B elles
(W o m a n ’s A u x ilia ry o f the
O re g o n
C a t tl e m a n ’s
Association). He taught outdoor
school to the sixth graders at Bull
Prairie for m any years, helped
organize bringing eighth graders
from Portland up to the area for
a week o f rural life experiences,
and taught surv ival skills to kids
atTupper.
Jepsen also a member of
the Mazamas Mountain Climbing
Club, and went on many climbs,
his last in 1977 on Mt. Hood. He
has been a Ham radio operator
since 1964 and was a w eather
records keeper for the State o f
Oregon for 20-plus years.
Jepsen attended Pacific
University and Eastern Oregon
State C ollege w here he played
fo o tb a ll fo r b o th s c h o o ls .
According to family legend, he
and w ife Suzanne meet while
skiing. Supposedly, Suzanne fell
and broke her arm while skiing,
and Bob was on ski patrol and
rescued her.
S u z a n n e Je p se n , our
Woman o f the Year, has not only
been instrumental in helping her
husband along his way, but has
been very active in m any city
projects herself. She, along with
others, put m uch effo rt into
c reatin g and b rin g in g about
W illo w C re e k T e rra c e , the
assisted living facility.
She has been active in
All Saints Episcopal Church,
Heppner mayor, Bob Jepsen and his wife, Su/anne, were selected as Heppner
Chamber of Commerce Man and Woman of the Near
the Lifetime Achievement award
Diana McElligott, lone High School
senior, was awarded Youth of the
Year
Bert and Kim Houweling selected as Business of the Year
Retired teacher. Cherry Webber (shown here from her hospital bed with
Cara Osmin), was honored as Educator of the Year
teaching Sunday school, getting
things set up for the coffee hour,
milking sure church bulletins were
available and ready. She has
helped w ith the co m m u n ity
T h a n k sg iv in g d in n e r at the
Episcopal church.
She was always active in
her children’s school lives and
continues to be active in her
grandchildren's. She volunteers
with her daughter, helping create
car seat clinics, to help keep
children safe.
Jepsen helped to take
care o f her m other as she faced
A lzheim er’s, m aking sure her
m other was taken care o f and
loved, making trips to Pendleton
to see her.
S h e a lo n g w ith h e r
h u s b a n d h a s s e rv e d th e
com m unity o f Heppner and the
area at larg e tire le s s ly and
gracefully.
B usiness o f the Year
h o n o r é e s , B e rt a n d K im
I louweling o f C entrai Red Apple
continued page 2
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