Ione School Board selects Dick Allen
as lone interim principal
Bessie « e t z e l l
U of U Ne'vspaoar Li br ar y
Cubane,
OH
9«.4 J 3
T h e lo n e S c h o o l
B oard has selected veteran
principal D ick A llen as the
d istric t’s interim principal,
effective immediately. Allen will
serve as the new ly-form ed
school district’s fust principal.
T h e b o a rd , at a
M onday night m eeting, cited
Allen’s experience and proven
track record as a previous
lone adm in istrato r and his
extensive involvem ent in the
lone com m unity in selecting
him over two other candidates.
The interim position is until June
30, 2004. The lone School
B o a rd e x p e c ts to b e g in
s e le c tio n o f a p e rm a n e n t
administrator late this year.
A llen, 53, lo n e, is
originally from the tow n o f
K inzua and graduated from
W heeler High School in 1968.
H e attended Eastern O regon
College, now Eastern Oregon
U n iv e rsity , fo r tw o y e a rs
b e fo re tra n s fe rrin g to the
Oregon College o f Education,
now
W e s te rn O re g o n
U niversity,
a
t
Monmouth.
H
e
g r a d u a te d
from O C E
w ith
a
d e g r e e in
elem entary
education in
1972 a n d
m arried his
wife,Jannie,
that year.
Allen worked for two
y e a r s a t F a y e W rig h t
Elem entary School in Salem
before moving to Fossil, where
he taught five years. He was
then hired as superintendent-
principal at Spray, w here he
worked for six years. He was
h ired as prin cip al o f lone
Schools in 1985, w here he
rem ained until accepting a
p o sitio n as H eppner H igh
School principal in the fall o f
2 0 0 0 . A f te r h is o f f ic ia l
retirem ent in 2002, he cam e
back to serv e as a ssista n t
principal at H eppner schools
during the 2002-03 school
year.
Allen was selected the
H eppner C ham ber o f
Commerce citizen-educator o f
th e y e a r in 1993. H e h as
previously been involved in the
lo n e
F o u r th
o f J u ly
celebration, and, along with his
w if e , r e ig n e d o v e r th e
celebration in 2000. He is a
m em ber o f the lone U nited
Church o f Christ. He has been
active in the lone Community
A gri-B usiness Organization
a n d h a s s e rv e d as its
p re sid e n t. He serv ed tw o
years on the lone City Council
and for m any years coached
L ittle L eag u e. H e e n jo y s
hunting, camping and working
on classic cars.
Allen and his wife have
tw o c h ild re n , S tev e, w ho
recently graduated from the
U niversity o f O regon with a
degree in international studies,
and Elizabeth, who is currently
a student.
Bailey and Lindsay named VPs for BEO
VOL. 122
NO. 32
24 Pages
Wednesday, August 6,2003
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Hospital will continue to operate
A story in the July 30
Gazette-Times entitled “Health
D istrict w ill need tax levy or
ru n o u t o f m o n e y ” w a s
erroneous.
M o rr o w
C o u n ty
H ealth D istrict C E O V ictor
Vander Does told the G-T that
even in the event o f a “worst-
case scen ario ” , the district
does not plan to close Pioneer
M e m o r ia l H o s p ita l in
Heppner, as stated in the July
30 article. V ander D oes said
that if the district cannot pass
a tax levy to increase district
revenues, they m ay be forced
to close the two district health
clinics in Heppner and Irrigon,
discontinue support payments
to th e B o a r d m a n C lin ic
operated by private physician,
Dr. R obert Boss, and close
P ioneer M em orial N ursing
Home. In that event, the district
w ould still retain em ergency
se rv ic es at the h o sp ita l in
H eppner (w ith an urgent care
facility), am bulance services
for all communities (Heppner,
L exington, lone, B oardm an
a n d Irrig o n ) a n d P io n e e r
M em orial H om e H ealth and
Hospice, w hich also serve all
communities in the district.
“ T here’s no question
that w e’re going to need more
m o n e y fo r th e d is tr ic t to
o p erate at b reak ev en and
maintain existing services,” said
Vander Does.
C losing the nursing
home would currently displace
13 elderly residents and could
put an estim ated 25 jo b s at
risk, V ander D oes said. The
nursing home is licensed for 19
residents. Closing the clinics
w ould leave the Heppner area
w ith n o d is tr ic t- o p e ra te d
c lin ic .
H o w e v er, one
p h y s ic i a n , D r. K e n n e th
W enberg, operates a private
clinic in Heppner and Dr. Boss
o p e r a te s h is c lin ic in
Boardman. Irrigon would have
no d o cto r’s office at all.
V ander
D oes
anticipates that the district will
probably need an additional
$ 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 - 5 5 0 0 ,0 0 0
in
revenue to retain services at
their current level, but the exact
am ount p robably w o n ’t be
determined until the end o f the
year. Vander D oes says that
he believes the shortfall exists
because the district is not able
to generate enough business
and also because the state o f
Oregon does not reimburse for
costs sufficiently. “It costs us
m ore to p ay for M ed icaid
patients than O regon pays.
T h e y d o n ’t p a y th e ir fair
share,” said Vander Does. He
says that it costs the district
$ 1 8 0 p e r d a y to c a re fo r
M edicaid patients, w hile the
state reim burses the district at
a rate o f only $ 111 per day.
Vander Does says that
leaves the district w ith tw o
options-to increase revenue
by at least 10 percent or com e
up with an equivalent amount
b y in c re a s in g ta x e s . T h e
revenue the district can expect
to generate is lim ited by the
population, he added.
V a n d e r D o e s s a id
previously that the district has
a bare bones budget and there
is little or nothing left to cut.
The board earlier decided that
it could no longer afford to
have a 24-hour physician on
call and has since learned that
the state will still allow PM H
to retain its Traum a Level IV
designation.
M o rr o w
C o u n ty
Health District has around a $4
m illion budget, not including
ta x e s , w h ic h b rin g in an
a d d it io n a l
$ 6 0 0 ,0 0 0 ,
approxim ately. Vander Does
s a y s th a t an a d d itio n a l
$400,000 in taxes w ould cost
the M C H D taxpayer around
52 cents per $ 1,000 assessed
valuation. Vander D oes said
that o f all the entities that pay
property taxes, only around 15
p e rc e n t o f the tax m onies
w o u ld
com e
fro m
homeowners, with the majority
o f the tax b u rd en p aid by
utilities. To retain a 24-hour
physician on call would require
another 16 cents per $ 1,000
assessed valuation.
Vander Does said that
th e fiv e -y e a r lev y w o u ld
req u ire a 50 percen t voter
tu rn o u t (e stim a te d aro u n d
2,400 voters) with a majority
o f yes votes if they put the
levy up before voters in May,
b e c a u s e o f th e d o u b le
majority requirements. If the
levy were to be put before the
voters in Novem ber it w ould
require only a single majority,
but by then it w ould be too
late and the district would run
out o f money.
Vander D oes added
that M C H D ’s situation is not
unusual for rural hospitals. He
says that the rural John D ay
h o s p ita l is p r e s e n t ly
subsidized by $ 1,187,310 in
ta x e s a n d d o es n o t ev e n
operate clinics or ambulance
services, as does M C H D .
iailey and Melissa rpfinanrps
JeffBailey
n stm rtin n
refinances nnrl
and rn
construction
Lindsay have been named vice lending over a wide area.
p re sid e n ts for the B ank o f
D ue
Eastern
to Bailey’s
O regon by
relocation,
th e B o a rd
K a t h y
ofDirectors
Burres has
at
its
b e e n
(Xgpnizaticnal
n a me d
meeting this
branch
spring.
manager
Bailey
of
t he
w as nam ed
Condon -
v i c e
branch.
Katl,y Burres
p re s id e n t
Burres has been with the bank
a n d c h i e f Melissa Lindsay
since 1995
credit
w hen they
officer for the bank. Bailey has opened the
b e e n w ith th e b a n k s in c e C o n d o n
D ecem ber 1996 and has been b r a n c h .
a loan officer in Gilliam County. S h e
B ailey w ill be relocating to r e c e n t l y
H eppner w here the bank has se rv e d as
its main offices, and will oversee operations
the loan portfolio and have other supervisor
lending duties.
there.
L indsay has been the
John
mortgage manager in Heppner Qualls will
John Qualls
for the last seven years. H er m o v e to
m ortgage departm ent is a top-
producing division o f the Bank
o f E a s te rn O re g o n a n d it
specializes in hom e purchases,
MCSD Board deadlocked over
selection of seventh board member
lone Preschool registration begins
C r e a tiv e
C are
P reschool in lone w ill be
r e g i s te r in g s tu d e n ts on
M onday, A ug. 11 from 3-4
p.m . o r 7-8 p.m . C reative
C are offers classes for three
year olds on M ondays and
W ednesdays from 8:30-11
a.m . and for four year olds
on Tuesdays and T hursdays
from 8:30-11:30 a.m . The
c u t-o ff date for the ages is
August 31.
Classes will begin on
Tuesday, Sept. 2. C reative
Care follows the lone School
D istrict schedule, so classes
th a t w o u ld h a v e m et on
Labor Day will meet on Friday,
Sept. 5 instead.
D uring re g istra tio n ,
parents will be provided with a
school handbook, calendar and
all necessary enrollment forms.
It is also an opportunity to meet
C reative C a re ’s new teacher,
Betty Rietmann. It is important
for parents to attend one o f the
tw o reg istra tio n p eriods, if
possible. If it is not possible for
a parent to attend registration,
they m ay receive the handbook,
fo rm s a n d c a le n d a r by
contacting L isa R ietm ann at
4 2 2 -7 1 8 1 , K ari M organ at
422-7410, or Betty Rietm ann
at 422-7120.
Missing boater identified
The
m is s in g
individual, now presum ed
d ro w n e d ,
has
been
identified as 50-year-old
Frank Eugene R andle, o f
Pendleton, stated M orrow
C o u n ty S h e r if f V e rlin
D e n to n . R a n d le w e n t
m issin g a fte r a b o a tin g
accident near B oardm an,
Sunday afternoon, Aug. 3.
The
search
continued Tuesday, Aug. 5,
with R andle’s body still not
h a v in g b e e n f o u n d b y
Tuesday m orning. Search
and rescue w ill continue
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
M ONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
1
G illiam C ountv
ounty to ass
assum e
duties as a lending officer.
Q ualls has been at the bank
fo r
15
m onths as
a
lo a n
o ffic er in
t
h
e
H eppner
branch.
Previously,
Qualls
worked
fo r
th e
O S U
Extension
Service
a n d is a JeffBailey
graduate o f Eastern O regon
University with a degree in Ag
business.
The B ank o f Eastern
Oregon is an $80 m illion full
service com m ercial bank. It
h a s b r a n c h lo c a tio n s in
H e p p n e r, lo n e , C o n d o n ,
Irrigon and B oardm an and
s e rv e s th e r e s id e n ts o f
Morrow, Gilliam and Wheeler
counties.
looking throughout the day and
m ore updates will be received
at a later time.
“ A b o a t w ith an
underw ater cam era has been
added to the search in hopes it
will enhance the ability o f the
s e a rc h e s to s p o t R a n d le ’s
body,” stated Sheriff Denton on
Monday.
The M orrow County
School Board, currently a six-
m em ber board because o f a
vacancy, becam e deadlocked
over selection o f a seventh
member at its meeting Monday
night
The board tied three
to three over tw o candidates
w ho expressed a desire to fill
the seventh board position that
w as vacated w hen the lone
School D istrict w as form ed.
D ebbie R adie w as elected to
the M CSD Board, but resides
in the n e w ly -fo rm e d lone
School District and had to step
down from her position on the
MCSD. She was subsequently
selected as a m em ber on the
lone School Board.
M CSD
B o a rd
m e m b e rs C r a ig M ile s ,
H eppner, B arney Lindsay,
north Lexington area, and Ken
Matlack, Irrigon, voted for Bill
K uhn, a H eppner attorney
who ran unsuccessfully for the
position in the recent election,
to fill th e se v e n th b o a rd
position. Board members John
R e n fro , L e x in g to n , J u lie
W eikel, B oardm an, and Pat
M cNam ee, Irrigon, voted for
Angela Gutierrez, Boardman.
A third can d id ate, D ebbie
Stratton o f Irrigon, received no
votes.
M o rro w
C o u n ty
School Superintendent Dr.
Jack C rippen said that he is
not sure now how the board
will proceed in selecting the
seventh board m em ber. He
says that he expects that the
district will consult its attorney
a n d th e O re g o n S c h o o l
B o a rd s A s s o c ia tio n fo r
assistance in resolving the
matter.
Pre-fair edition
inside
A special pre-fair
edition has been included
in this week's edition o f the
H eppner G azette-Tim es.
T h e p r e - f a i r e d itio n
includes articles about the
fair events and 4-H, as well
as, feature articles on the
various entertainers and
the M orrow C ounty Fair
and R odeo court.
The
M o rro w
C ounty Fair and O regon
Trail Pro R odeo will be
held A ug. 13-17, at the
M o rro w C o u n t y F a i r
Grounds.
We’re Back To Our Regular Hours:
Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday 7 a.m.- 12 noon
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
r . r farm *quipm«nt. »t»it « ir w *. »it. « w w w .m cn .
I