Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2003)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 5, 2003 - THREE November is National Hospice Month Morrow County School District # 1 By Molly Rhea, News Oir. of Pioneer Memorial Home Health and Hospice A s N ovem ber is “N ational H ospice M onth” the v o lunteers and s ta ff at P ioneer M em orial H ospice are celebrating our first full year o f M edicare-certified operation w ith an Open House. The celebration will be Monday, Nov. 17, 2003 from 3-7 p.m ., at the H om e H ealth and H ospice office, which is located behind Pioneer M emorial Hospital. Since our July 2002 start-up, Pioneer M em orial Hospice has provided care to more than 20 terminally ill patients and their families. Having a nationally recognized month offers us a time to reflect upon the m eaning and im portance o f hospice care. The term hospice was used centuries ago to describe places o f refuge along the rugged paths o f the Swiss Alps where weary travelers could find rest and loving care. Today the term is used to describe a system o f care given to those w alking the path o f a terminal illness. Pioneer Memorial Hospice provides support and care for persons in the last phases o f a term inal disease, so that they m ay live as fully and as com fortably as possible. We recognize dying as part o f the normal process o f living and focus on maintaining the quality o f their remaining life. Hospice takes a team approach in caring for the patient and their family. This team consists o f a physician, nurses, a social worker, chaplain and volunteers. O ur goals for end-of- life care include preservation o f dignity, loving support o f family, reconciliation o f the spirit, and re lie f from the suffering o f terminal illness. More and more American are looking for better w ays to face the em otional and practical realities o f serious illness and dying, hospice can assist w ith those needs. The reality o f death and dying need not be all angst and agony, but can be a tim e o f personal growth, resolution and inner peace. Pioneer Memorial Hospice serves Morrow and Gilliam counties, and is a source o f information regarding end-of-life care. O ur hospice team consists o f passionate and practiced advocates for the appropriate care o f dying patients. We offer training opportunities to community members who are seeking more information on hospice care and have a library dedicated to grief assistance and care for the terminally ill, that is available to the public. O ur services are available to everyone. Funding is provided through insurance reim bursem ents and private donations. For information regarding attending Hospice Volunteer Training classes, or having a speaker on hospice related topics, call M olly Rhea, H om e Health and Hospice Director at (541) 676-2946. Neighborhood Center explains donation process A spokesperson for th e N e ig h b o rh o o d C e n te r says, “ We lift our hearts and sin g p ra is e s fo r liv in g in communities o f caring people, for together w e m ake a great team , and it really takes team work to make things happen.” Sharing and caring for others, from house fire survivors and abuse victim s, to the elderly and low-income families, has b e e n th e m is s io n o f th e N eighborhood C enter since 1968. The C enter’s struggle continues in fully meeting the n e e d s o f th e s e t a r g e te d in d iv id u a ls. T h e b u ild in g location on Main Street allows easy access by pedestrian, handicapped and m otorized traffic. All items contributed are cycled through the Center and used to adm inister to these need s. M aterial d o n atio n s ( s o f a s , w a s h e r s , ta b le s , televisions, etc) are utilized to g e n e r a te fu n d s f o r th e operation o f this program. T he N e ig h b o rh o o d C enter is currently suffering “ after hours recycling” that reduces the amount o f income g e n e ra te d fo r a s s is ta n c e . W hen an item is donated, it becom es the property o f the N eig h b o rh o o d C enter, the parking lot o f which is private property. The staff and board members would like to remind “ after hours adm irers” that rem oval o f an article that has b een d o n a te d is th eft and trespass. To assist in regulating lo s s of ite m s , th e N eighborhood C enter asks th a t d o n o rs p le a s e m ak e contributions during operation hours. O perating hours are M onday through Thursday, 8 a.m .-12 p.m . and 1-4 p.m . Benefactors are encouraged to maintain their support through donations o f m aterial item s th a t e n a b le th e C e n te r to produce cash for its programs. W ith assistance from caring individuals, the losses to the C enter w ill be stem m ed and support for neighbors in need will continue. By Dr. Jack Crippen, Superintendent Willow C reek Terrace available for respite care The recent cold spell, along with the play-off games in high school sports all signal that winter is on the way and the first nine weeks o f the school year is now in the history books, or perhaps 1 should say in the databases. 1 hope all o f you with stu d en ts in school w ere able to attend parent teach er conferences. M any o f them w ere student lead, which means your child was able to explain to you how he/she did this last nine w eeks and w hat they expect to accom plish in the next nine weeks. What does “Think before you Ink” mean? “Think Before You Ink” is a voter education project to remind people o f their rights and responsibilities concerning signing petitions as they apply to O regon’s initiative process. They have four points to their education project, which are as follows: You have the right to know the impact o f an initiative; You have the right to protect your signature from forgery; You have the right to know w ho is really behind the measure; and You have the responsibility not to waste your signature. If you are asked to sign a petition and feel you need m ore inform ation before you sign, call the Voter Education Project or the Oregon Secretary o f State or visit their website, 1 (800)295-5597 o r w w w .votereducationproject.org. How are the District’s enrollment numbers this year? The enrollm ent num bers show an increase for the beginning o f the 2003-2004 school year. A t first glance it appears our num bers have dropped from last year. Because o f the opening o f the two new elementary schools one cannot ju st look at the school totals and tell if enrollm ent is up or down. One also, cannot simply subtract last y ear’s total from this year’s total. However, when one subtracts the lone student population from last y ear’s num ber (2331 - 1 5 8 = 2173) and com pares that num ber to this y e a r’s num ber (2243) it shows an increase o f 70 students. We hope this increase continues through the year. Since we now have students in Irrigon Elementary School does that mean that the construction projects are completed? Well, no, it d oesn’t quite m ean that. It means that the actual “building” part o f the project is finished. We have been occupying the buildings on w hat is know n as tem porary occupancy perm its. We have som e “punch list” items to be com pleted by the contractors and we have ju st received our final list from the building inspector o f items that need to be done at each site before he will issue a final occupancy permit for each project. T here is also a lot o f paper w ork to be completed, design drawings to be updated to as built drawings, w orkbooks on how to use and m aintain various pieces o f equipm ent to be assem bled. All o f these item s are in som e process o f com pletion now. There are also som e landscape issues to take care o f at each site. Heery International has sent Eric M anus to finish all the paper work and watch over the last bits o f the project. N an Hall o f H eery International, w ho has over seen the design, bid and build parts o f the projects over the last two years, has left us in M an u s’ hand and she has m oved on to another H eery project closer to her hom e. O n b e h a lf o f the District, I w ould like to say how m uch we appreciate Nan for all o f her help and guidance in all phases o f the bond projects as well as her w illingness to provide advice on questions we had on other district projects. We will m iss her and we wish her well. Sofa area “ E v e ry c a r e g iv e r needs a rest from tim e to tim e ,” say W illo w C re e k Terrace Board C hairperson Suzanne Jepsen, which is the reason for the respite care apartment at the assisted-living facility. O ne o f the sixteen studio apartm ents at W illow C reek Terrace is available to individuals w ho need som e c a re w h ile th e ir r e g u la r care g iv e rs are aw ay for a p e rio d o f tim e. M a n a g e r N ancy Vander D oes reports that “the door is open and we w ould love to help out w ith som eone’s care w hether for a few hours or for several days, whether the caregiver needs to be gone for some shopping or gone for a trip.” W illo w C re e k Terrace provides assistance with daily living activities and features am enities such as laundry and housekeeping s e r v ic e s , T V r e c e p tio n , kitchenettes and meals served in the dining room . N ursing attention is available ifneeded, as is tra n s p o rta tio n . T he apartment used for respite care is fully furnished. T he assisted -liv in g facility at 400 Frank Gilliam D riv e a c c e p ts q u a lif ie d M edicaid residents. Detailed information about this service at W illow C reek Terrace is available on site and by calling 676-0004. Candidates for Student Council elections at HES Did the School Board change the starting time of the regular monthly meetings? Yes they did. Starting w ith the N ovem ber Board m eeting at H eppner E lem entary School, the regular board meetings will begin at 7 p.m. In an effort to streamline the board meeting, they also will be receiving the principals’ reports and the maintenance d irector’s report in w riting each m onth. The board feels this will shorten the board meetings by approximately 45 minutes. The Board will also be having the meeting in a larger room, with a sound system, and a microphone for members o f the audience to use during the time on the agenda for audience participation. The Board will continue to ask patrons to fill out a request to address the Board, with their name and the name o f the group they represent and the topic about which they wish to speak. This enables the Board Chair to arrange the speakers according to topics as well as helping with the taking o f the minutes. Both items help to move the meeting along and keep everyone on task. If you have questions about items in this article or desire an explanation o f items concerning education, please write or e-m ail m e in care o f this new spaper or write to m e or stop in and see me at either the M orrow County School District office at 270 West M ain, Lexington, OR 97839 or on Thursdays or by appointment at 500 Tatone, Boardman, OR 97818 (Windy River Elementary School Room B3). Heppner Elementary School held student council elections Nov. 4. (Top to Bottom): Candidates include. President: Ashley Wolff, i06Ô66Mê696Q6iiÔ3éêôi>caQco-'6C6eorry:rc3oc3eie:eoo;j:a£< KOOÔMKOa0CM0C3OC00OC33C9MC0O(K5CC30:09r9c:cC300::C3:t Catherine McElligott and Emily Thompson; Vice-President: Chance Day. Jared Huddleston and Jared Hedman; Secretary: Taighler Dougherty, Ian M u rra y and Jessica Hughes; Treasurer: To rri Lovgren, M ark McCabe and Brynna Rust; and Publicity Manager: WILLOW CREEK TERRACE ASSISTED LIVING h u a respite ears studio apartment available We w ill be cloted on Veteran’s Day, TUetday, Noe. U W hen Y ou N eed A R est O r A re G oing T o B e G one Y our L oved O ne C an S t a y W ith U s The apartment is nicely furnished. Meals, assistance with laundry, medication, and activities of dally living are provided. Peterson's Jewelers, C all N ancy A t Happnar 676-9200 676-0004 Erin Price, Araceli Zavala and Wacy Coil. 4,h grade representative candadiates: Logan Wanous, Natalie Rauch, Justin Pranger, Justin Bailey, Carrie Haguewood, Chance Raver and Zach Hintz. RCSC to hold meeting T h e R h e a C re e k Social C lub will be holding a meeting Wednesday. Nov. 12, at 1 0 a .m .,a tG D ’s. G e o rg e K o f f le r , president o f Bank o f Eastern O regon, will be the special guest speaker for the meeting. K o f f le r w il l d i s c u s s th e consolidation o f the Bank o f Eastern Oregon and Klamath First. He also said that he is glad to answ er any questions. A nyone interested is w e l c o m e to a t t e n d the meeting.
