Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 2003)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 22, 2003 The Official Newspaper o f the City o f Heppner and the County o f Morrow H eppner GAZETTE-TIMES ______ Letters to the Editor______ Editor's note: Letters to the Editor must be signed. The Gazette-Times w ill not publish unsigned letters Please include your address and phone number on all letters for use by the G-T office. The G-T reserves the right to edit. The G -T is not responsible for accuracy o f statements made in letters. (Any letters expressing thanks w ill be placed in the classifieds under *Card o f Thanks' at a cost o f f 7.) U.S.P.S. 240-420 Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper Published weekly and entered as periodical matter at the Post O ffice at Heppner, Oregon under the A ct o f M arch 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid at Heppner, O re gon O ffice at 147 W W illo w Street. Telephone (5 4 1 ) 6 76 -9 2 28 . Fax (5 4 1 ) 6 76 - 9211. E -m ail: gt u heppner net or gt@ rapidserve.net. W eb site: www.heppner.net Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Tim es, P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $24 in M o rro w County; $18 senior rate (in M orrow County only; 62 years or older); $30 elsewhere. D av id S y k e s .............................................................................................................Publisher K atie W a l l ..................................................................................................................... Editor Nawa and Advertising Deadline la Monday at 5 p.m. For Advertising advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p m Cost for a display ad is $4 75 per column inch Cost for classified ad is 50< per word Cost for Card of Thanks is $7 up to 100 words Cost lor a classified display ad is $5.35 per column inch. For Public/Legal Notices public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi cation must be specified Affidavits must be required at the time of submission Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be specified if required) On the HEPPNER WEBSITE: www.heppner.net • Start or C hange a Subscription • Place a C lassified A d • Subm it a N ew s Story • V iew Real E state for Sale • City Council & Planning Minutes • Local Businesses • County Park • Willow Creek Park Reservations • Free Digital Postcards • Senior Housing • and more! Holly Rebekah Lodge to resume bingo sessions M em b ers o f H o lly R ebekah Lodge m et at the IOOF Hall in L exington last T hursday to discuss several forthcom ing m oney m aking e v e n ts and to c o n d u c t its regular business meeting. The fall-winter bingo sessions starts on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. at the IOOF Hall. P a y o u ts a re b a s e d on a percentage. The bigger the crow d, the higher the payout will be. C ards are 25 cents each and there is no lim it on how m any cards a player can have at one tim e. Ten gam es and a blackout game, plus one free gam e for those who have not w on will be played. The public is invited to attend. O n Friday, Oct. 31, the mem bers will be having a bake sale at Central M arket in H e p p n e r. C a k e s , p ie s, cookies and other Halloween goodies will be available. The regular m onthly card party w ill be held on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the hall. The price is $3 per person, w ith refresh m en ts served. All card parties are generally held on the first S a tu rd a y o f e a c h m o n th , e x c ep t for Ju n e, Ju ly and August. T he m em b e rs also discussed starting a m onthly soup supper as a project. P ro c e e d s fro m all events go tow ard support o f the lodge and improvements to the hall. Last year, the lodge was able to rewire the hall, with th e h e lp o f g r a n ts a n d donations. A future need is to install a new heating system and energy-efficient windows. Public support is needed if the hall is to be available to the community, for funeral dinners, receptions, weddings, parties and other events. DINNER SPECIAL T h is F r id a y a n d S a t u r d a y O c t o b e r 2 4 th - 2 5 th PRIME RIB AND (with Fresh Oregon Coast Oysters!) J O H N ’S P L A C E MAIN STREET, HEPPNER Do what’s necessary to keep Pioneer Memorial open To the Editor: I w a n t to u se th is fo ru m to e n c o u r a g e th e s u p p o r te r s o f P io n e e r M e m o r ia l H o s p ita l a n d Nursing Home to do whatever necessary keep the doors o f Pioneer M emorial open. lone seceded from the education district to save their school. It is tim e that the citizens o f South M orrow C ounty and the patrons and supporters o f P ioneer M em orial to form their ow n financial district to protect and sustain the pioneer h e r ita g e th e h o s p ita l represents. It is tim e to stop subsidizing the medical clinic in B oardm an. It is tim e to separate from the Ed G lenn’s o f this w orld that have no com passion for our pioneer heritage or the welfare o f our f e llo w m a n , e s s e n tia l c o m p o n e n ts o f P io n e e r M e m o r ia l H o s p ita l a n d Nursing Home. P io n e e r M e m o ria l H ospital and N ursing H om e m ust be protected and kept in operation for the follow ing reasons. If the N ursing H om e is closed, the hospital will be next. The census at the nursing home may be down at present but in tim es past the N ursing H o m e h a s b e e n fu ll a n d operated in the black boosting the hospital. T he p atro n s o f the nursing home are our precious parents and loved ones. Their care is w ithout equal w ith a dedicated and committed staff and caregivers that cannot be found anywhere else. N o one has the right to throw them out o f th e N u rs in g H o m e . It Excess tribal fishing causing problem To the Editor: W hen th e C o n fe d e ra te d T ribes w ere given the right o f taking fish in the treaty o f 1855 did that include nylon gill nets? The treaty reads in part: “ .. .the exclusive right o f taking fish in the stream s running through and bordering said rese rv atio n is hereb y secured to said Indians and at all other usual and accustomed sta tio n s, in c o m m o n w ith citizens o f the United States.” H e p p n e r B o o ste r Club w ould like to th a n k th e follow ing individuals and organizations for th e ir generous donations to th e 2003 Steak Feed and Auction. W ith o u t th e ir support, this annual event would n o t have been such a success! A llstott C onstruction L.L.C A lpine M e ad o w s G o lf C ourse Arnold A ppleton A rtisan Village B an k of Eastern O regon B an n e r Bank B arb a ra Bloodsworth Bob & P am W o rd en Bob D espain B obbette Lovgren Brian & Susan Thom pson B uffalo P e a ks G o lf C ourse C am p b ell Motors, Inc C a ra Osm in C arrie G rieb. Missy Lindsay. S h e lley R ietm ann C a s e y Moving C en tra l R ed Apple M arket C harlie and M arcia A nderson C o tta g e Flowers C oyote Springs P G E C ro w n Paper & M ark H uddleston D a le Conklin D arle n e Lovgren D av e , Patty. S h a n e & S tefan M ath e n y D avid and V a le rie C am p b ell D e e n a R eid D en nis & Penny M iller & Frances Free! D evin Oil D ick Te m p le D V M D obyn's P est Control D r B radley A dam s D r C harles W e e ks Dr. D en nis T u rn er D M D E cho Hills G o lf C ourse E rnie & M ary Jean M c C a b e Frederickson Farm s G a rd n e r's M e n ’s W e a r G e o rg e & D ebbie Koffler G ordon R obertson & C liff Ellis G o rd o n ’s Electric G re e n Feed G re g ’s C ustom Clubs G w en H ealy H aa s W ind 4 W o od Things H air Expressions H air I A m H ales R estaurant H ep p n e r Auto Parts H ep p n e r D ay C are H ep p n e r E lem entary 5th/6th G raders H ep p n e r G a rd e n C lub H ep p n e r G a z e tte Tim es H ep p n e r H ardw are H ep p n e r High School H ep p n e r High S chool Alum ni Assoc H erm iston G lass H ollom an 's J & G S ervices Jannie Allen Jared W icklund Jean M a rie H ealy J ean nie Kirksey W e e ke n d e rs J eff Cutsforth Jerry & lone M artin John 4 D ia n e Kilkenny John B o y er/G a r A viation John G o ch n a u e r Judy 4 Sandy Photography Judy N orris/H air E xpressions Kelly Holland K elw ayne 4 M ary H aguew ood K en B ailey K lam ath First F e d e ra l Kyle 4 D arcy R obinson/Anipro KR Larry 4 B etty Mills Lea S c h w a b Tire C en ter Louis 4 Betty C arlson M a rc ia K em p M ark 4 Tam i R ietm ann d is h o n o r s o u r p i o n e e r ’s heritage. S o u th M o rro w C o u n t y ’s f u tu r e is as a retirement/agricultural/tourist center. Pioneer M em orial is essential to the future o f South M o rro w C o u n ty . W ith o u t Pioneer Memorial there is little in d u cem en t fo r an yone to com e to H eppner to retire. W hen the citizens o f South M orrow C ounty pull together there is nothing they cannot accom plish. Look at y o u r a th l e ti c te a m s f o r exam ple. A re the H eppner football players or coaches a fra id o f a n y b o d y ? I f the governm ental rules m ake the N ursing H om e tem porarily untenable, th en gath er our legislators together and change the rules. It’s high tim e to stop subsidizing Dr. Boss and say good riddance to Ed G lenn anyway. W e m u s t a d a p t to s u rv iv e . L o o k a t G e o rg e K offler and the grow th o f the B a n k o f E a s te rn O re g o n . Rem em ber how Jerry Gentry and friends turned the outdated H eppner R odeo into one o f the countries best. I lo v e th e w a y H ep p n er and lo n e athletic tea m s c o m p e te and n e v e r m ake the excuse they lack the s tr e n g th in n u m b e r s to com pete w ith com m unities m uch larger. If the politicians o f this land can find $87 billion to build up Iraq they will (by our uncom prom ising stand) support our com m itm ent to keep and sustain w hat our forefathers gave to u s - Pioneer M e m o r ia l H o s p ita l a n d Nursing Home. (s) Stuart Dick Pendleton M ary Ann E lg uezab al M cC orm ick Construction M id -C olum bia Bus C om pany M ike and Kim A rm ato M ike W etherell Miller 4 Sons M orrow C ounty G rain G row ers M urray's Drug O regon S ym phony P an d a Inn C h in es e R estaurant P a p a M urphy's P endleton Bottling - Pepsi P endleto n C ountry C lub P eterson 's Jew elers P iz z a H ut P ortland Youth Philharm onic Rick Britt R iddell 4 M ark E lm blade R obert R eid R oger 4 R en a Henry Rolling Hills Hunting P reserve R uggs R anch Sandi H an na S helco Electric S pout Springs R esort Styling A rena Tim 4 LeA nn W right Tim H ed m a n U m atilla G o lf C ourse University of Idaho W h ea tla n d Insurance W histling W ings Taxiderm y W id m e r B rothers Brew ing C om pany W ilcox Furniture W ild H o rs e G a m in g R esort W illow C re e k D iner 4 B akery W indm ill C a fé W right C hevrolet W y n a W oodford | Many o th ers also co n trib u ted to th e success of th e Steak Feed and Auction: ’ | • H ep p n e r Junior/S enio r High S chool S tudents. Faculty, and S taff Auction C o m m ittee * D in n er C om m ittee • D ecorating C om m ittee Ken G rieb. A uctioneer • And eve ry o n e w h o assisted during the night of the dinner and auction | T h eir h ard w o rk and d ed icatio n m a d e it all possible! I TAanQ you, everyonef Heppner Booster G£u6 T he salm on are now running in the rivers, and it has b e e n d o c u m e n te d th a t on Sept. 23 o f this year at the Port o f U m atilla the Indians were se llin g sa lm o n for $1 p er pound. It w as also w itnessed that said Indians put som e o f those fish into a dum pster at that site. It is m y understanding that they were to fish for their subsistence and could only ta k e w h a t w a s n e e d e d to subsist. W hy are they allowed to continue to leave these gill nets in place if they are going to sell the first or waste them ? T here are tw o groups w ho have eight gill nets in and around the Port o f Umatilla. H ow m uch longer is o u r g o v e rn m e n t, m a rin e fisheries, BPA, sportsmen and O regon D epartm ent o f Fish and W ildlife going to allow these intolerable situations to continue? H ow long are they going to continue to use our tax dollars to subsidize Native Americans, then allow them to take more than they need, then have them scream there is a shortage o f fish? Is it the dam s’ faults? D o they need m ore g ra n ts a n d /o r ra n c h lan d p u rch a se d fo r fis h rehabilitation? M a n y n o n - I n d ia n fish erm en h av e fished for several h o u rs and h a v e n ’t caught any fish. If the treaty reads “ in com m on w ith the citizens o f the United States,” then I ask you shouldn’t all o f the fisherm en be allow ed to fish with modern-day gill nets, or should we change the laws to m ak e us all eq u al and continue to use up all o f our natural resources w ith all o f this docum ents waste? (s) Glenda Christian Uldah Health District continued from page dwtfrict and m ileage logs are not utilized to track their usage. V ander D oes and M ahoney discussed w ays to remedy those situations. In a statem ent in the a u d it r e p o r t s u p p lie d by Vander Does, he listed “ issues facing the district that could result in material changes in its financial position in the long t e r m .” L is te d w e re : lo w utilization caused by decreased population in hospital service area; technological advances that may reduce utilization and revenues o f the hospital and nursing hom e; the State o f O reg o n ’s financial crisis, its reduction in reim bursem ent and reduction in health care s e r v ic e s ; th e fe d e ra l g o v e r n m e n t ’s le s s th a n adequate reim bursem ent for health care services; a nursing shortage that has caused higher wages and resulted in the use o f agency nurses at a w age significantly higher than the h o s p ita l’s ow n sta ff; low r e im b u r s e m e n t fro m commercial insurance payers; the district lost money in 2001 - 02 and 2002-03; pharm acy drug costs that continue to rise higher than inflation; loss o f pro-share o f M U PL m onies from the state; low nursing hom e census; and need for additional tax support. H e also com m ented in the financial report that the “district’s operating expenses increased by 8.5 percent due to in c re a s e in s a la ry a n d benefits o f 5.2 percent or 35 percent o f the total increase. D epreciation is 18.8 percent o f in c r e a s e . P u r c h a s e d services are 14.4 percent o f the increase. M inor equipment is 12.4 percent o f increase. In te re s t is 9.8 p e rc e n t o f increase. C ash increased by $125,000 due to a $300,000 d o n a tio n , o th e rw ise th e re would have been a significant decrease. Accounts receivable decreased by $ 109,908 to 57 days in accounts receivable.” In o th e r b u s in e s s , Vander Does outlined several possible scenarios in the event th a t a p ro p o s e d ta x lev y (am ount as yet undecided) designed to balance the district budget fails. Scenario 1-H ospital ER , H eppner clinic, H om e H e a lth a n d H o s p ic e a n d emergency services remain for a total revenue o f $963,000 and expenditures o f $983,231 for a loss o f $20,231. This scenario w ould see closure o f the Irrigon clinic and cessation o f a $143,000 stipend (soon to be raised to $147,000) to Dr. R obert Boss w ho has a private clinic in B oardm an, loss o f one doctor in exchange for a mid-level provider, such as a n u rse p ra c titio n e r o r p h y s ic ia n ’s a s sis ta n t, and m oving P io n eer M em orial Clinic into the hospital. S cen ario 2 -P io n eer Memorial Clinic, Irrigon Clinic and subsidy to the Boardm an clinic would remain, along with Home Health and Hospice and emergency services, for a total re v e n u e o f $ 7 4 8 ,0 0 0 and expenditures o f $ 1,088,000 for a loss o f $340,000. In this St. Pat’s Church to hold mini-carnival St Patrick’s Church is inviting everyone to attend its annual mini carnival Sunday, Oct. 26 from 12-1:30 p.m. Children and adults can enjoy an assortment of games, prizes, Bingo, a cake walk, and a bargain hot dog lunch. All proceeds from this event will go to the Children’s educational fund. scenario*, the hospital w ould close. S c e n a r io 3 -H o m e H e a lth a n d H o s p ic e a n d emergency services only would rem ain for a total revenue o f $ 6 1 2 ,5 0 0 and ex p en ses o f $605,000 for a $7,500 profit. In this scenario, the hospital, ER and clinics w ould close. Board m em bers said that if a levy fails, they would probably opt for scenario one, w hich provides for the m ost services with losses not much greater than in scenario three, w ith m ost services cut. The board, however, stressed that th e y w a n t to c o n tin u e providing all current services. The different scenarios are only exam ples o f options in the event o f levy failure. Vander D oes and the M C H D B oard estim ate that th e levy, w h ich w o u ld be sufficient to continue operation o f all existing services, would be in the neighborhood o f 32 cents per thousand assessed valuation. Prior to the closure o f the nursing hom e, Vander D oes estim ates that it w ould have cost the taxpayers a little over 80 cents p er thousand, an amount deemed likely to fail at the polls by V ander D oes a n d th e b o a rd . B o a r d m e m b e rs o f f e r e d v a rie d opinions as to w hether a 32- cent per thousand levy could even pass. In other business, the board: - d is c u s s e d th e u p c o m in g c lo s u re o f th e nursing home. Board member John Prag estim ated that the entire health district could have g o n e u n d e r in tw o y e a rs w ith o u t the n u rsin g hom e closure. “ I d o n ’t th in k w e c o u ld have gone a co u p le m ore years,” said Prag. Bell co m m en d ed th e b o a rd for taking a difficult step before the financial situation becam e so dire the district could not have recovered. -heard a suggestion from Prag to have the City o f Boardman take over provision o f health care services for that area. V ander D oes said that he would only consider that if the C ity o f B oardm an w ent back to its original boundaries, before it annexed the Port o f M orrow property. -le a rn e d th a t e ig h t residents still reside in the nursing hom e as o f M onday. A ccording to V ander D oes, tw o out o f 11 residents have m oved to the assisted living facility in H eppner, w ith the p o s s ib i li ty o f tw o m o re tra n s fe rrin g th e re . O ne resident has left the nursing ho m e and a n o th e r w ill be tra n s fe r re d to th e v a lle y . A ccording to Vander D oes, regulations stipulate that the last three residents m ust be transferred to other facilities at the same time. - le a r n e d o f th e possibility o f bringing som e nursing hom e patients back at a later date under a long-term care plan m entioned by Bell. H e said that law allow s five nursing home patients in swing b e d s. T h e p la n , w h ic h is federally funded, has not yet been established in O regon, however, and could take some tim e to im plem ent. “ I d o n ’t think you can continue to incur extensive losses waiting for the s ta te ( to im p le m e n t th e program ),” said Bell. But, he added, “ I ’m optim istic that fiv e or six n u rsin g ho m e p a tie n ts m a y b e b ro u g h t back.” -heard from Mahoney w h o a n tic ip a te s lo sse s o f $150,000 for the m onth o f September. -cancelled the regular m eeting scheduled for Oct. 27, since business had been completed with the exception o f the financial report.
