Morrow School Board reverses
decision on Lexington attendance
Bessie letsell
U o f 0 Ne w s p a p e r L i b r a r y
E u g e n e , OR 9 / 4 0 3
VOL. 122
NO. 42
10 Pages
Wednesday, October 15,2003
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Pioneer Memorial Nursing
Home to close Nov. 10
P io n e e r M e m o ria l
^Nursing hom e will close its
doors on Nov. 10 after 50
years o f operation, according
to M orrow C ou n ty H ealth
D istrict C E O Victor Vander
Does. (See letter to the editor,
page tw o.) Vander Does said
that the district can no longer
afford to operate the facility,
citing low occupancy, with “no
potential for m ore residents”
and
g o v e rn m e n t
reim bursem ent at below cost
o f operation.
The closure will not
a ff e c t P io n e e r M e m o ria l
H o s p ita l n o r th e c lin ic s
operated by the hospital. In
addition to Pioneer Memorial
Clinic in H eppner and Irrigon
Clinic, the district subsidizes a
private clinic operated by Dr.
R obert B oss in Boardm an.
T he d istric t a lso o p e ra tes
ambulance services.
Vander Does said that
th e low o c c u p a n c y at the
nursing home is the result o f a
num ber o f factors. People are
healthier and are staying in their
homes longer, he said. Vander
D oes, D irector o f N ursing
lam m y Henderson and Sandy
Hanna, resident care manager,
sa y th a t n u r s in g h o m e
occupancy
is
dow n
e v e ry w h e re .
A n o th e r
c o n trib u tin g facto r is that
M orrow County has a limited
p o p u latio n from w hich to
draw. Assisted living facilities
also provide another option.
M C H D m e t in a
special meeting in Boardman,
on Oct. 8, to decide the fate
o f the nursing hom e, w hich
was hom e for 12 residents.
M CHD also expects to lay off
18 f u ll- tim e e q u iv a le n t
em ployees, probably around
12-15 em ployees, as a result
o f the closure. T he w hole
district has a total o f 60 full
time equivalent employees.
Henderson and Hanna
said the new s w as m et by
employees and residents with
“mixed emotions— anger and
s a d n e s s .” “ S o m e w e re
surprised, some weren’t,” they
said. The layoffs affect nearly
every departm ent— certified
nursing assistants-15 full and
part-tim e em ployees to five
full-time, dietary-from five to
1.4, housekeeping-from three
to one, maintenance-from two
to one, business office/medical
r e c o r d s - f iv e
to
fo u r,
adm inistrative-from four to
three. O ne registered nurse
will be absorbed back into the
hospital because o f nursing
shortages there. A savings is
also expected by not having to
hire agency nurses to fill in.
R esidents have until
Nov. 10 to find a new facility.
Vander Does said that som e
o f the residents may be eligible
continued page three
Lexington Grange gives books to HES
The M orrow County
School Board voted to reverse
its decision concerning the
L e x in g to n /P in e
C ity
attendance area at its regular
m eetin g M onday night in
Boardm an. The board voted
four to three to repeal the
blanket inter-district w aiver
which allowed students living
in the L exington-Pine City
area to attend lone schools if
they wish. Bill Kuhn made the
motion, with Kuhn, Heppner,
John Renfro, Lexington, Ken
M atlack, Irrigon, and Craig
M iles, H eppner, voting in
favor o f the m otion and Julie
W e ik e l, B o a rd m a n , P at
M c N a m e e , I rr ig o n , a n d
B a rn e y L in d s a y , n o rth
Lexington area, voting against
the proposal. L indsay had
earlier proposed that M CSD
allow the students in question
to attend lone Schools if they
had already attended school at
lo n e , w h ic h h a d b e e n
approved by the board. Prior
to the M onday night vote,
W eikel said th at she w as
opposed to students being
h e ld h o s ta g e b e c a u s e o f
money and M cNamee said he
was in favor o f leaving the
exception for the Lexington/
Pine City students as it was.
Craig Miles suggested that the
tw o e n titie s w o rk on a
com prom ise, “ Before we do
anything to strain relations with
lone.” “We made a decision,”
said Miles. “ I'm not sure as a
board we want to be reversing
ourselves.”
M ik e A r m a to , o f
Heppner, speaking in support
o f the reversal, com m ented
that the M CSD’s responsibility
is to the students who reside
in the district. "The change in
policy was not created by the
M o rro w C o u n ty S c h o o l
D istrict. It w as created by
lo n e ’s secession. You can
b la m e th e lo n e S c h o o l
District,” said Armato. He also
s a id th a t SA T s c o re s o f
Heppner students were above
those at lone. A rm ato and
Kuhn were earlier proponents
o f a plan to close lone High
School and m erge it w ith
Heppner High School to save
the district m oney w ithout
c u ttin g c u r r ic u lu m and
te a c h e rs d u rin g a se v e re
budget crunch prior to lone's
secession.
A ccording to board
discussion Monday night, the
board believed that the lone
School District was allow ing
students outside the ISD to
attend school in lone without
release from M CSD . State
regulations specify that if a
district does not release a
student from attending in its
district, state school support
fu n d s do not fo llo w th at
student—neither district would
get the funds. According to the
state budget, currently each
student brings $5,219 to his
attendance district. M orrow
C ounty School D istrict had
built its budget based on earlier
projections w ith $4,848 in
s ta te sc h o o l s u p p o rt p e r
student.
A suggestion that the
tw o districts split the m onies
in question was not pursued
b ecau se o f c o n c ern s o v e r
legality.
The board also voted
to recommend for approval to
th e
U m a tilla -M o r ro w
Education Service D istrict
three petitions for boundary
changes requested o f MCSD.
Tw o p e titio n s w ere from
fam ilies residing in M CSD
who requested to have the
boundary changed so that they
w o u ld re s id e in the ISD
attendance area. A third was
from a family residing in ISD
w ho requested to have the
boundary changed so that they
w ould reside in M CSD. All
three families resided near the
boundaries. Kuhn m ade the
m o tio n to a p p ro v e th e
changes, commenting that this
action "will be the end o f it.”
The board voted in
favor o f opening the Irrigon
Junior/Senior High School in
Septem ber o f 2005. At the
b e q u e s t o f an I rr ig o n
d e le g a tio n , th e b o a rd
considered opening the school
in September 2004, but on the
recommendation o f Columbia
Middle School Principal Ron
Anthony and Riverside High
School Principal Dirk Dirksen,
agreed to the Septem ber ’05
date. Their major concern was
appropriate staffing for the two
schools, with shop capabilities,
proposed FFA classes and
athletic scheduling also figuring
in the e q u a tio n . T he new
con fig u ratio n will include
grades seven through 12 and
all grades w ould be affected,
ra th e r th an a p h a se -in o f
stu d e n ts, w hich had been
suggested earlier. “There is a
prom ise (that it w ould be a
phase-in),” said W eikel. “ I
would suggest the board might
c h a n g e th e n a m e o f th e
M o rro w C o u n ty S c h o o l
D is tr ic t th e w a y w e ’re
changing th in g s,” retorted
M cN am ee, referring to the
board’s reversal on that issue
and the L exington/Pine city
issue.
T he n a m e Irrig o n
J u n io r /S e n io r H ig h w a s
reco m m en d ed
by
a
com m ittee, with the nam es
lone High to celebrate Homecoming
lone High School will
be celebrating its Homecoming
on T hursday, O ct. 16 and
Friday, Oct. 17.
D re ss fo r O c t. 16
should show C ardinal pride.
The events o f the day will begin
with a three-legged race at 12
noon. Evening events will begin
at 6 p.m ., w ith Pow der P u ff
f o o tb a ll. M a c h o
M an
volleyball will be held from
6:30-7 p.m. B eginning at 7
p.m., the volleyball team will
sponsor a pizza feed. Finishing
up the e v e n in g w ill be a
bonfire/pep rally at 8 p.m.
H o m eco m in g Day,
Wilbur Jackson, Master of the Lexington Grange presented reading books to the first grade class at
F rid ay , O ct. 17, w ill see
Heppner Elementary School.
activities begin at 4:55 p.m.,
w ith the honoring o f the senior
Regular
S
E
E
.
S
O
girl
volleyball players and their
j
k e y
parents. The volleyball game
against Echo is scheduled to
begin at 5 p.m. At 6:30 p.m.,
D
S & r BLACK
V LOGGER
JE A N S
C LO SE OUT
S A L E P R IC E
$ 1 6 .9 9
{Lim itad ta mtact i an handl
M o r r o w C o u n ty G r a in G r o w e r s
Lexin gton 989-8221 • 1-800-452*7396
F*r fir m
e q u ip m e n t . v l« it o u r w * b l i t « »« w w w m c f f n « t
past state champion teams w ill
be recognized.
Senior football players
a n d th e ir p a re n ts w ill be
honored at 6:55 p.m., w ith the
football gam e against Echo
b e g in n in g at 7 p.m . T h e
Homecoming King and Queen
will be crowned at halftime.
T he H o m e c o m in g
dance will be held from 9 p.m.-
12 a.m.
T h is
y e a r ’s
Hom ecoming court includes:
freshm en. M ason B radfield
and
K a y la
L aR ue;
sophomores, Kyle Palmateer
and Abby Key; juniors, Arthur
E k s tro m
and
B a rb a ra
Holland; and seniors, Johnny
C o llin s , E m ily Key, Tim
D oherty and Tina Tuzarova.
C ro w n b e a re rs, from th e
kindergarten class, are Rachel
H o lla n d a n d B re n d a n
Thompson.
Columbia River Junior/Senior
High and C olum bia Junior/
Senior High also considered.
In other business, the
board:
-h e a rd from Ju d g e
F rank Y ra g u e n , w ho w as
charged w ith resolving the
differences between ISD and
MCSD concerning the division
o f assets and liabilities. Judge
Yraguen said that initially he
b e lie v e d ISD w o u ld ow e
M CSD ,
but
f u r th e r
examination o f the value o f the
buildings resulted in M CSD
o w in g IS D in e x c e s s o f
$100,000. He said he based
his valuation o f the buildings on
rep la ce m e n t co sts and on
assets and liabilities rather than
the district’s bond levies. “The
cost doesn’t equal the value,”
he said. Judge Y raguen also
said that a dispute betw een
continued page two
HES to hold Fall
Carnival
H eppner Elementary
School w ill be having its annual
Fall C arnival on Thursday,
Oct. 23 from 6-8 p.m. It will
be held in the new gymnasium
and is being sponsored by the
Parent Teacher Club.
Bingo, hoop shoot,
duck scoop, ju n k food walk,
face painting and a fish pond
are just a few o f the games and
activities planned for kids, and
kids at heart, to enjoy.
H ot
dogs
an d
popcorn will be available for
th o s e w h o w o rk u p an
a p p e tite and the A d o p t A
Teacher Foundation will be
s e llin g p ie c e s o f p ie fo r
dessert.
City still gets
low interest
water
The H eppner City C ouncil
learned Monday the city is still
eligible for $4 m illion in low
interest loans to com plete a
renovation o f the city w ater
system.
There had been concern that
an earlier-qualified-for one
p e rc e n t loan m ay n o t be
available after the council
scaled back the p ro p o sed
water renovation project. To
qualify for the low interest loan,
the city will decline $1 million
in interim financing and pay
$ 4 2 ,4 9 6 fo r le g a l a n d
administrative fees.
In other business the council
discussed the possibility o f
purchasing the former Klamath
First Bank building on M ain
St. in H eppner for use as a
new city' hall facility. The Bank
o f Eastern O regon recently
purchased Klamath First and
m e m b e rs o f th e c o u n c il
indicated the building might be
for sale. The council decided
to wait and not spend $9,000
for a city hall renovation study.
The council read a letter o f
resig n a tio n from M orrow
C o u n ty S h e r if f R a n d y
Rayburn. Rayburn has been
patrolling H eppner since the
city signed a contract with the
sheri ffdepartment to patrol the
city. Rayburn was reported to
have gone to work for Bruce
Young Logging o f Heppner.
The council heard that Jerry
Roberts, a form er Herm iston
police officer, would help with
patrol in Heppner. Roberts has
been w o rk in g at th e new
county ATV park.
The council voted to put a
n e w y ie ld s ig n at th e
intersection o f G ilm ore and
Pioneer Drive.
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