Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2004)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - THREE St. Patrick’s Senior Center news J o e B u r le s o n , by election at the annual meeting, is a new, tw o-year m em ber at large for the St. P a tric k ’s S e n io r C e n te r B o a rd o f Directors. Archie Padbeig and G race D rake w ere re-elected for tw o -y e a r te rm s. F elix (Pete) Swarzin, Judy Buschke, Tom W ilso n an d F lo re n e Robinson w ere re-elected to th e o f fic e s o f p r e s id e n t, secretary, vice president and treasurer, respectively. Corol Mitchell is ex-officio m em ber o f the Board. M ary G oheen was presented with a certificate o f appreciation for her tim e o f service to the former meal site and to the St. Patrick’s Board. A ction w as taken to revam p and reenergize w hat has been known as “The Trust Fund.” By official action o f the board, any funds, m em orials and other monies received with “ tru st” designation w ill be deposited in the St. P atrick’s S enior C enter E ndow m ent Fund. Only interest and other incom e from these funds are available for deposit in the general fund. M em bers are re m in d e d that m em o ria ls, honorarium s and similar gifts a re w e lc o m e d and e n c o u ra g e d . A n o v e rsig h t committee for this fund is in the process o f being set up. St. P a tric k ’s B oard w ill have representation; other members will be from the community at large. S h e lia P iper, h ead cook, is creating a cookbook o f recipes from senior citizens and others in the com m unity; among them will be recipes she uses in p rep a ra tio n o f the C e n te r’s w eekly m eals. Feb. 2 is the deadline in order for the book to be ready for sale during St. Patrick’s weekend. The funds from the sale o f the b o o k a re fo r th e S e n io r Center. O n F e b . 4 , th e C h r i s t i a n L ife C e n te r volunteers are hosts for the noon meal. The menu is beans ‘n ham , green beans, Jell-o salad , fru it, corn m uffins, coconut pudding and milk. Elks announce scholarship winners T h e H e p p n e r E lks Lodge is pleased to announce the w inners in their annual “ M ost V alu ab le S tu d e n t” scholarship com petition. The local L odge aw ard s $700, $ 3 0 0 , and $25 0 cash scholarships to the first three places, respectfully, in both a y o u n g m e n ’s a n d y o u n g w om en’s divisions. First place w inner in the young m en’s division was Paul N eiffer o f lone. Paul is the son o f D uane and Linda Neiffer. Second place went to L uke M urray o f H eppner. Luke is the son o f John and A nn Murray. Third place was William “Billy" Gates o f lone. William is the son ofT om and A rlindaGates. Natalie M cElIigott o f lone took first place in the y o u n g w o m e n ’s d iv is io n . N atalie is the daughter o f Joe and Jeri M cElligott. B rooke R u s t o f H e p p n e r p la c e d s e c o n d . B ro o k e is th e daughter o f Tim and Shannon R u s t. B la k e A 11 s to tt o f H eppner w as third. B lake is the daughter o f David and Patti Allstott. T h e a b o v e lis te d w in n e rs w ill be fo rm a lly presented with their awards at their high school graduation cerem onies. T he top w inner from each division will advance to district com petition, and possibly state, regional and national competitions. M is s in g fro m th is y e a r’s com petition w ere the personal interviews that have traditionally been conducted by the scholarship committee. All Elks Lodges in O regon used th e in te rv ie w to a s sis t in d e te r m in in g th e o v e r a ll potential and well roundness o f candidates. The interview has never been a part o f the national Elks protocol, and was officially disallow ed this year. “ We missed the personal in te r v ie w s ,” s a id a lo cal scholarship panel m em ber, “they really helped us to get an overall perspective on a applicant.” It was decreed that a n y lo c a l w in n e r w h o participated in an oral interview w o u ld b e i n e lig ib le fo r advanced regional or national awards. T h e lo c a l L o d g e appreciates the scholarship panel m e m b e rs w ho v o lu n te e re d th e ir tim e to evaluate each application. A n Elks “ Technical Training” scholarship program is currently soliciting entries. In terested stu d e n ts should c o n ta c t th e ir h ig h sc h o o l c o u n s e lo r s fo r m o re information. Morrow SWCD to hold meeting The M orrow SW CD / W eed A dvisory B oard will hold their regular m eeting on Feb. 3 at 10 a.m ., at the Port o f M orrow in Boardman. The m eeting agenda item s and discussion items include: M anager report and a g e n c y r e p o r ts . T h e re is p ro s p e c t o f an e x e c u tiv e sessio n acco rd in g to O R S 192.640(2). The meeting is open to the public. Christian Church to hold Sweethearts Dinner T h e P reteen /Y o u th Ministry o f Heppner Christian C h u r c h is s p o n s o r in g a Sweethearts Dinner and Show on S aturday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m., in the fellowship hall o f Heppner Christian Church. The variety show will include musical performances, com edy, poetry reading and m uch m ore. The cost will be $25 per couple and prepaid reservations must be made. To m a k e y o u r r e s e r v a tio n s , c o n ta c t 6 7 6 -9 2 0 9 o r 676- 8161 before Feb. 6. Sykes named WCVEDG president D a v id S ykes, p u b lis h e r o f the H e p p n e r Gazette-Times new spaper and real estate agent for Heritage Land C om pany in H eppner w a s e le c te d p re s id e n t of th e Willow Creek Econom ic IX\dnpmot G ro u p at its annual m e e tin g Jan . 21. Sykes will re p la c e David Sykes J e r r y B re a z e a le , H e p p n e r C ity manager, who served in 2003. ’ W CV EDG’s goal is to r e c r u it b u s in e s s e s in to Heppner, Lexington and lone and to provide m ore jo b s for local people. Before stepping down Breazeale outlined some o f the a c c o m p li ¡»hrrrents of W CV ED G over the past year in clu d in g : fo rm a tio n o f a business incubator to help new businesses that w ould like to locate here; putting together plans and possible financing for a 5,000 square foot building that could be built to house a new business; continued mass m ailings and other m arketing effo rts to locate interested businesses, and putting on o f an entrepreneur work shop for local people. Sykes said he w ould lik e to c o n tin u e on w ith m arketing and other efforts. “ We are still working to bring business into the area. We have our eye on the ball and w e are not giving up,” he told the gathered lunch crowd. O ther officers elected at the annual m eeting w ere Vice President N ancy Snider and Secretary M arcia Kemp. G ary N eal, G eneral M a n a g e r o f th e P o rt o f M o rro w w a s the fea tu re d speaker and spoke on current and potential projects at the Port. He also told o f marketing efforts by the Port for the South M orrow Industrial Park near Heppner, which is owned by the Port o f M orrow. Births Teagan V ic t o r ia Birt- a d a u g h te r, T eag an V ictoria, w as born Jan. 7, 2 0 0 4 , a t G o o d S h e p h e rd M edical Center in Hermiston to M yrene K. and C laude N. Birt o f Boardman. School board meeting continued from page one p ro g ra m , but had in stead o ffe re d to m ake recom m endations on w hat program s they would fund, if it would help the school district get out o f a difficult political situation. Estes also told the G- T that Renfro had based his c o m m e n ts about d is p ro p o rtio n a te fu n d in g am ong the schools on last y e a r’s financial figures and s tr e s s e d th a t a 2 0 0 4 -0 5 M CU RD budget has not yet been established. She said that M C U R D w a n ts to fu n d comparable athletic programs in all sc h o o ls in M orrow County, including lone. She said that the $ 9 4 ,0 0 0 that M CURD allotted 1SD last year was the same amount M CSD had budgeted for the lone S c h o o ls p r io r to th e ir secession from M CSD . She added that if lo n e ’s athletic b u d g e t w ere re s tric te d to s e v e n p e rc e n t ( lo n e has approxim ately seven percent o f the county’s students) o f the M CU RD budget, it probably could not afford to have an athletic program . “ lone also deserves to have an athletic program ,” she said. Also at the meeting, a R iverside parent raised the issue o f H e p p n e r sch o o ls getting more per student than the more populous schools in the north. Estes told the Gazette that in the past M C U R D has traditionally funded soccer and w re stlin g in n o rth county schools in addition to other sports. In other business, the board: -heard a presentation on te c h n o lo g y from N ate A rb o g a s t, w h o c u rre n tly oversee^ technology for the district. The board sought input as to w h ether they should continue w ith A rbogast or m a n a g e th e ir te c h n o lo g y p r o g ra m th r o u g h E S D . A rbogast said that it depends on the direction the district w a n ts to ta k e . A c tin g s u p e r in te n d e n t G e o rg e M urdock, U m atilla-M orrow ESD, im plied that w ithout A rb o g a s t’s e x p e rtis e , the district might be more likely to opt for ESD management. -heard from Murdock that around eight candidates have responded to the search for an interim superintendent. The board decided to review the inform ation received to narrow the candidates in order to make a selection. -v o te d to s e le c t a panel o f Irrigon residents, including a high school student, a B ooster C lub m em ber, a s e n io r c itiz e n , a r e tir e d educator, a minister, the PTA p re sid e n t an d tw o school board m em bers, to select the colors and mascot o f the new Irrigon High School. Students had e x p re sse d a d esire to select the colors and m ascot themselves and Weikel stated that the board had prom ised to allow the students to make those selections them selves. “ I’m tired o f breaking our word,” she said. -ap p ro v e d a cooperative sponsorship for baseball betw een R iverside High School and A rlington High School for 2003-04. ESTATE PLANNING Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Advance Directives, Elder Law Planning, Real Property, Business Succession Planning, Guardianships and Conservatorships. m DANIEL J. HILL 285 E. Hurlburt Ave. Hermiston 541 567-5400 - -received recognition for their service as school board members during School B oard R ecognition m onth. T h e y e a c h r e c e iv e d a certificate and a notebook from ESD and w ere served cake. -heard concerns from a Riverside High School parent th at i f th e b o ard a llo w e d children o f the Lindsay family to attend H eppner Schools because o f tradition, although the property is in the Irrigon School attendance area, the board should allow Boardman and Irrigon students to attend schools they have traditionally attended. C urrently there are no children in the area aff ected. W e ik e l p o in te d o u t a n a p p a r e n t d is c r e p a n c y in defining the attendance area boundaries. The board voted against a m otion to table the attendance area issue and then approved a motion to adopt a policy on boundaries pending d e v e lo p m e n t o f a c o rre c t description o f the boundaries. W eikel opposed the m otion and Lindsay abstained w ith M ile s , R e n fro , M a tla c k , McNamee and Kuhn voting in favor. -learned that Irrigon and Boardm an schools will h a v e a S p a n ish c la ss fo r grades s e v e n -12. C olum bia Middle School previously had a Spanish class, w hich w as lost and is now is reinstated. - le a r n e d fro m M urdock that district schools lost three days because o f bad weather. While those days are a llo w e d by th e s ta te , i f additional school days are cancelled they w ill be made up on Fridays, said M urdock. -debated the board position on taking a stance on v o tin g m e a s u re s . R e n fro maintained that public bodies should rem ain neutral, while board member Bill Kuhn said that as long as the board does not spend m oney supporting a measure, the board members could say how they feel. At issue is the measure before the voters now, w hich would raise additional taxes for the state governm ent and schools. A motion to publicly support the tax increase went down, with b o a rd m e m b e rs P at McNamee, Bill Kuhn and Julie Weikel supporting the motion and board m em bers Barney Lindsay, Craig M iles, John R e n fro and K en M atlack voting nay. A nticipating that M e asu re 30 w ill fail, the district is basing its budget on a conservative $4.6 million. - a p p r o v e d employment for: Tyson Pratt, temporary RHS ESL teacher; Jerry Cronin, CM S Spanish te a c h e r; N eld a L o n g o ria, C M S T itle I a s s is ta n t; R e b ecca S an ch ez, W indy R iv e r E le m e n ta r y E SL assistant; Esm eralda Luna, RH S ESL assistant; M aria R iv e ra , S am B o a rd m a n Elementary part-time special e d u c a tio n o n e -o n - o n e assistant for special needs student; R enee K auffm an, W RE ed assistant, replacing L orna B o te fu h r; D eborah Riley W RE ESL ed assistant; A lm a Perez, SB E ESL ed assistant; Lizbeth Rodriguez, SBE ESL ed assistant; Nancy R o d rig u e z , S B E ESL ed a ssista n t; D avid M elville, Heppner Junior High School half-time math teacher. -approved personnel changes for: Joe Chavez, from full-time RHS ESL teacher to half-tim e assistant principal assigned to ESL and half-time ESL teacher. -accepted the 2002- 03 audit as prepared by Oster Professional G roup, which said the district had a clean audit. -set the next regular meeting for Feb. 9 at Heppner High School. Health District continued from page 1 o p e ra ted a n u rsin g hom e. Under the sw ing bed program, beds could "sw ing”, that is, be used for either hospital patients or long-term care patients. V ander D oes reported that W illow Valley Assisted Living facility has filled 15 o f 16 spots. He said that the fees for the facility have changed depending on the level o f care the residents require, since the facility is a c c o m m o d a tin g so m e residents requiring a greater level o f care with the closure o f the nu rsin g hom e. The district, w hich m anages the facility for the Willow Valley Assisted Liv ing Board, is still s e e k in g a f u ll- tim e administrator for the center. Sharon B arrick and Degaberto H ernandez, both Boardm an, appeared before the board to solicit the board’s s u p p o rt fo r a p r o p o s e d migrant health care center in B o a rd m a n . A c c o rd in g to G lenn, Dr. R obert Boss, a private Boardman physician, has indicated that he w ould offer his clinic for sale to the proposed program and also accept em ploym ent from the program. Dr. Boss is currently u n d e r c o n tr a c t w ith th e M CH D to provide m edical c a re fo r th e B o a rd m a n com m unity. G lenn told the board that Dr. Boss brought a g r a n t w r ite r b e fo r e th e B o a rd m a n C ity C o u n c il, asking for a letter o f support and hinds from the city. Glenn said that the Boardman mayor w rote a letter o f support for Dr. Boss, but no funds. Glenn also said that Dr. Boss was prepared to front $30,000 to pay for c o sts in cu rred to assemble the grant. The federal program r e q u ir e s b ro ad -b a sed com m unity support, requires those prov iding serv ices to be em ployed with the program , rather than contracting out services, and adheres to a strict application process. While the M CH D Board indicates its support o f the program , and voted to draft a letter to that effect, board m em bers say they believe that the district’s involvement, and consequently d ire c t b e n e f its fro m th e program, w ill be limited. Board m e m b e rs s tr e s s th a t th e program is expected to fill a great need to prov ide health c a re fo r an u n d e rs e r v e d population. Vander Does has met with the M orrow County Health D epartm ent (public health department), the agency taking the lead in coordinating the application process, as w e ll a s n u m e r o u s o th e r agencies. O nce established, the clinic would offer care to the general populace, not just m igrant fam ilies. Estim ates indicate that around 51 percent o f the Boardman com m unity and around 20 percent o f the Irrigon community are Latino, h o w ev er the d e fin itio n o f “m igrant" m ay have a very limited scope within the terms o f the grant. In other business, the board: -voted to authorize the sale o f the d istric t-o w n ed Boardman Clinic, vacant for som e tim e, to Pam and Scott N e a l o f B o a rd m a n fo r $ 150,000. M ahoney said that the N eals plan to turn the building into a video store. -heard from Vander Does that the district is still s e a r c h in g fo r a n u r s e practitioner. f-------------- — ~ Order Magnetic Door Signs HERE Heppner Ga z e t t e - Ti me s 676-9228
