TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 23, 2003
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Letters to the Editor
H eppner
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G A Z E T T E -T IM E S
U.S.P.S. 240 -4 2 0
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Morrow County receives monies for
bridge repair
T he
O reg o n
Department ofTransportation
released the distribution o f the
$2 billion package authorized
by the Oregon Transportation
Investment Act o f2003. This
la n d m ark tra n s p o rta tio n
package is the largest road
financing plan Oregon has seen
in the past 20 years.
“ T he
O reg o n
Transportation Investment Act
o f 2003 is going to help jump
start our economy,” said Rep.
Smith. “The public projects
that will be created as a result
o f this bonding will go a long
w ay
to w a rd
g e ttin g
Oregonians back to work. I
am proud to vote for this
package.”
Morrow County will
receive $4,204 million for
bridge repairs as part o f this
project.
The
O reg o n
Transportation Investment Act
o f 2003 is also designed to
create approxim ately 4750
fam ily-w age jo b s in road
construction and maintenance
sustained annually for the next
10 years.
“This package isn’t
ju st about fixing O regon’s
3 -*><«•■*»<«••»>«(••»><«■ •*» <«•
&
H
6
b ro k e n
tr a n s p o rta tio n
system," Rep. Smith stated.
“It’s about getting Oregonians
back to work. Our state needs
to fix our roads and bridges,
and we need to get our citizens
working again.”
DA’s Report
R o b erta L y n n ette
Brown pled guilty to Selling
Alcohol without a Service
Permit- as a violation. Brown
had to pay $95 in fines.
Jennifer Rene Jiminez
pled guilty to Harassment, a
Class-B misdemeanor. Jiminez
w as se n te n c e d to 180
suspended days in jail, 20
hours o f community service,
12 months bench probation,
com pletion o f a dom estic
violence package w ith battery
impact panel and payment o f
$374 in fines and fees.
Luanne Flanagan was
convicted o f Theft-I, a Class-
C felony. F lan a g an w as
s e n te n c e d to tw o y ears
supervised probation, 60 days
in jail, 80 hours o f community
service and payment o f $6521
in fees and restitution.
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^
Does your partner treat you roughly
(grab, push, pinch, hit, call you names)?
Does your partner blame you
for how they feel or act?
* English and Spanish
Tuesdays, from 6-8 p.m.
at the Dept, of Human Services
103 S.W. Klnkade Rd. Room #4, Boardman
Confidentiality.
Open to victims needing support.
Leant more about domestic violence.
;
soeflfT* zocts**
Wed cl inq TaU GS
S a r a G re e n u p & Tqqfi C a m p b e ll
Wedding - Saturday, August 2
J e ssic a V i n W in k le & Jo se p h M c H a n e q
Wedding - Saturdaq, August 9
Kim beelg Becker & B re n t G u n d e r so n
Wedding - Saturdag, August 2 3
Ste p h an ie H aquew ood & S h a u n h i , I er
Shower - Sundaq, August 2 4
Wedding - Saturdaq, September 2 0
217 North Klein • Heppner
,
To the Editor:
A v ery se rio u s
situation is taking place in this
country and it will have a
d e trim e n ta l im p act to
communities like yours and
mine and its residents as well
as to the State o f Oregon.
What I am talking about is the
current A dm inistration in
Washington DC’s mandate o f
im p le m e n tin g
A -7 6 /
Competitive Sourcing on the
Forest Service. If you are not
familiar with A-76/Competitive
S o u rin g , it in v o lv e s th e
elimination o f Forest Service
jobs in Oregon and turning
over that w ork to private
contractors.
If you are wondering
how is this going to cause
detrimental impacts to the
community and its residents,
think about these key points.
I f th e F o re st S e rv ic e
employees (both permanent
and seasonal) that live and
work in your community or
neighboring communities lose
their jobs to contractors, you
and your neighbors could lose
the following items:
Seasonal employment
o p p o rtu n itie s fo r y o u r
residents at their current wage
will no longer exist.
You will no longer have
the revenue coming in from the
b illin g o f F o rest S ervice
employees for utilities such as
water and sewer that they use
in th e ir h o m es in y o u r
community.
The small businesses
in your community will np
lo n g er h av e the rev en u e
coming in from the purchases
o f goods and services by
Forest Service employees.
Contractors are not going to
provide long-term revenue for
yo u r c o m m u n ity ’s sm all
businesses.
T he sc h o o l and
churches in your community
will suffer due to reduced
numbers o f students enrolled
and ch u rc h a tte n d a n c e .
Contractors are not going to
provide revenue and support
because they are not going to
bring their families to your
community.
S pecial ch aritab le
events that take place in your
community will suffer due to
re d u c e d a tte n d a n c e and
participation from Forest
Service employees in your
community.
Your community will
lose the assistance the Forest
Service employees provide
both on and off the job during
times o f emergency. This will
im p act such se rv ic e s as
emergency medical assistance,
search and rescue assistance,
fire assistance, and assistance
to S tate and C ounty law
enforcement.
There is a chance that
the Forest S ervice office
located in your community or
neighboring community could
be closed, if enough Forest
Service employee jobs are
eliminated that work at that
office.
I f F o re st S e rv ic e
employees loose their jobs to
contractors, contractors are
not going to provide long-term
revenue and support that
Forest Service em ployees
provide for your community.
Contractors are not
g o ing to buy hom es and
property and probably very
limited amounts o f goods and
services in your community, so
you have a lost o f revenue for
your community supported/
provided utilities.
As you can see A-76/
Competitive Sourcing is wrong
and bad for the communities
like yours, bad for the Forest
S erv ice, and bad for the
country. I hope you will join
with me in the fight to eliminate
A-76/Competitive Sourcing
by contacting your Senators
and Representatives and tell
them this m andate by the
Administration is wrong.
(s) Theresa H. Weaver
N a tio n a l F e d e ra tio n o f
Federal Employees President,
Local 271
Umatilla National Forest
We need to support growth
If so, you may want to attend
Domestic Violence Services’
Women’s Support Group,
- Morrow County.
^ Muntuj'j Drug
A-76/Competitive Sourcing bad for
for your schools and churches
community
Ua
Country
Rose
676-9158
233 N. Vain • Heppner
Serving Heppner. Lexington t lone
676-9426
|
To the Editor:
H eppner cu rren tly
has a re a s o n a b ly v ia b le
downtown business district
which contributes greatly to
the livability o f South Morrow.
It is unique among small rural
towns, many o f which have
rundown building standing
vacant.
H eppner’s fortunate
state is due to the volunteer
e ffo rts o f co m m u n ity
members, coupled with small
b u s in e s s e s
th a t
hav e
consistently upgraded their
sto re s. H o w ev er, m any
citizens do not realize the
necessity for growth to merely
maintain what we now enjoy.
Costs for all business
constantly escalate; utilities,
p e rs o n n e l,
ta x e s,
m erchandise, rem odeling,
government mandates, etc.,
etc. To meet the constant need
for more capital your small
businesses must have growth
from somewhere.
I f w e w a it fo r
manufacturing jobs to come
here we have much to lose.
We n eed to c o n tin u e
encouraging tourism as we are
currently doing and to actively
encourage more retirees. The
ones that are already here have
co n trib u ted v astly to the
community.
However, continued
g ro w th
depends
on
in fra s tru c tu re an d no
in fra s tru c tu re is m o re
important than an adequate
w ater system for years to
com e. Towns that do not
adequately address this type
o f problem practice deliberate
d o w n siz in g
of
th e ir
communities. And with any
fu rth e r d o w n siz in g th e
business district could vanish.
The cost o f fixing the
water system for growth will
not get any better in the future.
I cannot envision anyone
leaving the area due to a slight
rise in water prices. I can,
h o w ev er, e n v isio n them
leaving if we have no health
care system or any business
district. Currently, people
have been m oving here,
purchasing one o f our own
h o m e s,
but
w o rk in g
elsew here. A really good
community attracts people.
People from lone as
well as Heppner work in the
banks, stores, offices, etc., in
H eppner. P lease support
g ro w th fo r H ep p n er to
continue to make this a reality,
(s) Meg Murray
lone
MCHD to meet
A re g u la r b o ard
m e e tin g o f th e M orrow
County Health District will be
held Monday, July 28, at 7
p.m., at the lone City Hall.
O n the ag e n d a is
election o f officers, the CEO
report (trauma designation/
CAH), and the June financials.
Covering ER with Mid-levels
By Molly Rhea
Open up any newspaper, turn on any news report,
health care dollars are becoming scarcer and scarcer. The
federal government is cutting back wherever they can and the
state o f Oregon’s budget is in shambles. The $64,000 question
- will the Morrow County Health District (MCHD) be able to
hold on through these uncertain financial times? According to
CEO, Victor Vander Does, and the Board o f Directors, the
answer is a cautious “Yes”, but this survival will only be
accomplished by modifying specific services and revenue or
tax support.
Which brings me to the subject assigned. At the June
30 Board o f Directors meeting, it was decided to drop Pioneer
Memorial Hospital’s (PMH) Trauma IV certification. Why
would we want to drop our Trauma designation? Because,
according to Vander Does, this will save the district as much
as $ 150,000 a year.
How could we save that much money by just by
dropping our Trauma designation? First, a few explanations of
terms. In 1985, the Oregon Trauma System (OTS) was
developed to enhance the training of emergency room personnel
and facilitate transfers for victims o f trauma. PMH has been a
Level IV provider within the OTS since the late 1980s. To be
considered as a member o f the OTS, the hospital must pass a
certification survey, one o f the regulations for certification is
that a physician is immediately available to the emergency room
(ER) at all times. The designation “Physician” does not include
Mid-Level Providers, meaning Physician Assistants, such as
Sheridan Tamasky, P.A., or Nurse Practitioners, which was
former Heppner clinician, Wendy Haack’s, title, are not able
to provide emergency room coverage without a physician being
immediately available.
To comply with the OTS regulations, when one o f our
PAs or NPs are “on-call” for the emergency room, PMH has
had to have a physician in town and available. And if you require
a physician to be in town, then you must pay them for complying
with this requirement.
So, how will the discontinuation o f this designation
affect the quality o f the emergency health care available to the
citizens o f southern Morrow County? “ We will continue to
care for victims o f trauma the same way we are now,” states
Tammy Henderson, PMH director of nursing. “When a trauma
victim is brought to our ER, we stabilize and transport.”
Now let’s try to wade through some o f the more recent
uncertainty and misconceptions. The emergency room at PMH
will continue to be staffed by highly qualified providers. Dr.’s
Datta and (Ed) Berretta will continue to cover the ER most
weekdays, with the on-call duties being shared by the physicians
and the m id-level providers, the PAs and NPs, on the
weekends.
Additionally, the RNs that work at PMH are required
to maintain their certification in Trauma Nursing, as well as
being certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, which is
advanced training in caring for victims o f heart attack or stroke.
This involved training mirrors that o f nurses working in urban
emergency rooms.
“When someone presents at our backdoor with an
emergency, not only are they quickly assessed by a RN,”
Henderson assures. “They can start receiving appropriate
treatment almost immediately.”
CHAMBER CHATTER
By Claudia Hughes, Exec. Dir
Have you noticed the w hiff o f baking pies drifting
through Willow Creek Valley windows o f late? These delicious
pies will again be up for auction at the second annual Chamber
Pie Auction during “Celebrate Historic Heppner” this Friday,
July 25. The pie auction was the brainchild o f Chamber Board
member Brenda Sherrell. Sherrell Insurance Agency is the event
sponsor with assistance from John Gochnauer o f John’s Other
Place. Proceeds go tow ard Cham ber projects, such as
Christmas Lighting, Town and Country, marketing, etc.
Chamber member Artisan Village is preparing forth^
Quilt Show on Sunday, July 27, at the City Park from 8 a.m.
until 8 p.m. Check with Bonnie Wenberg for more information.
The weatherman is predicting cooler weather Friday.
When you’ve dunked someone in the dunk tank, shopped the
sidewalk sales and enjoyed the “Go Music Group” on Main
Street, head for the City Park at 5 p.m. with family, friends
and lawn chairs to enjoy the barbecue served by Chamber
members and sponsored by the Bank o f Eastern Oregon.
Entertainment will follow with the Pie auction and Music In
The Park. It’s another Heppner Happening, one that enables
most locals to sit and enjoy instead o f volunteering until they’re
exhausted. Now in this terrific community o f volunteers, that is
rare.
In another month, school will be back in session. If
you’re looking for a way to spend quality time, consider the
SMART program. SMART stands for “Start Making A Reader
Today”. Chamber members were introduced to the program
during a recent luncheon. This is an opportunity to spend one
hour per week reading to or listening to a student read.
Businesses and individuals are encouraged to participate. The
rewards and results are life lasting. Interested persons may
contact Tracy Bunch. Good readers have no limits. A trip to
the library and the world is at one’s fingertips.
Fair and Rodeo is just around the comer. Stop by the
Chamber or call for a parade application. The theme this year
is” Morrow County, True to the Red, White and Blue.”
Thought for the week: “A community is like the pieces
o f a quilt, a unique collage coming together to make a
masterpiece."
Births
~
at Good Shepherd Medical
Cinthya Elizabeth Center in Hermiston, to Jamie
Diaz- a daughter, Cinthya Raelynn and Troy Michael
Stewart, o f Irrigon.
Elizabeth, was bom July 4,
Christopher James
2003, at G ood S hepherd
T ib o n i, Jr.- a son,
Medical Center in Hermiston,
Christopher James, Jr., was
to Oflia Zavalza and Armando
bom July 10,2003, at Good
Diaz Perez, o f Boardman.
Shepherd Medical Center in
C layton Jam e s
Hermiston, to Marilyn Ann and
Stewart- a son, C lay to n
Christopher James Tiboni, o f
James, was bom July 7,2003,
Heppner.