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
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Morrow County's Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
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D av id S y k e s .............................................................................................................Publisher
K atie W a l l ..................................................................................................................... Editor
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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
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Many o th ers also co n trib u ted to th e success of th e Steak Feed and Auction:
’
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•
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
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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.