Morrow County school district
considers random drug testing
B essio ï e t z a l I
U o f 0 Net»apap«r L i b r a r y
E u g e n a . OR 9 " LJ3
VOL. 123
NO 43
10 Pages
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
B\ Wade Smith, Heppner
Schools Principal
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Health district in the black for September
The Morrow County
Health District ended up
with $24,319 to the black at
the end o f September,
according to the district
financial report released at
the Oct 25 regular meeting
in Lexington
The gain leaves the
district with a $6,204 loss for
the fiscal year MCHD
posted a loss of $33,247 for
the previous month
M CHD voted to
change the term “profit” to
“gain” in the profit/loss
statement, to reflect that the
district is a non-profit entity.
Also at the meeting,
board members voted to
suspend Dr
Kenneth
W en b e rg ’s
hospital
admitting privileges for 30
days until he provides proof
that he has obtained medical
malpractice insurance for his
privately operated clinic, the
Willow C reek Clinic in
Heppner Dr. Wenberg is
covered under the district’s
malpractice insurance when
he is employed as a physician
in the hospital’s emergency
room
In other business, the
board:
-learned that a
federal grant for a proposed
m igrant clinic to be
established in Boardman has
been approved. The clinic,
Colum bia River Health
Services, is to serve the
general populace as well as
the migrant population The
clinic, which, according to
MCHD CEO Victor Vander
Does, has 120 days after
grant
approval
(a p p ro x im ately
mid-
February) to become
operational, is now in need
o f a CEO, chief financial
officer, physicians and other
staff
Vander Does said
that the district would be
happy to forward names of
continued page 3
Willow Creek Terrace takes scarecrow contest
T here will be an
inform ational meeting
scheduled for Tuesday, Nov.
2 from 6-8 p m in the
Heppner High School library
regarding the possibility of
M orrow C ounty School
District adopting a drug
testing policy. Parents,
citizens and students are
invited to attend to both
learn about and provide
feedback
M orrow County
School
D istrict
is
considering adopting a drug
testing policy for students
enrolled in any or all of their
Jr/Sr high schools This
policy will pertain to any
students involved in co-
curricular sports, e x tra
curricular school sponsored
clubs, or other student body
organizations including the
student council and officers
Each Jr/Sr high school, upon
recommendation from their
principal, may elect to
partake in the drug testing
program
The option of drug
testing athletes and extra
curricular students has been
the topic of conversation for
the last year in Heppner’s
Com m unity Education
C om m ittee
meetings
(previously referred to as the
Heppner/Lexington
Advisory Committee), Site
Council and this year’s joint
co u n ty w id e Com m unity
E ducation
C om m ittee
gathering Concerns arose
last year from parents and
com m unity
members
regarding what M orrow
County School District, was
doing to help combat
potential drug and alcohol
abuse amongst its students
Currently, neighboring
schools such as Pilot Rock,
Echo, Milton Freewater,
Ontario and many others
have adopted and are drug
testing their co-curricular
athletes
Follow ing
are
sections taken from the
proposed policy on drug
testing:
S t u d e n t s
participating in co-curricular
activities rep resen t the
community, the school and
their peers When illegal
substances are used by co-
curricular participants, such
use impinges upon general
motivation, cohesiveness
and performance As a result,
the well being o f the
individual and the general
school com m unity is
diminished by a participant’s
use o f illegal substances
M orrow County
School District is conducting
a mandatory drug testing
program for co-curricular
participants in the Jr/Sr high
schools that wish to
p artic ip a te
by
recommendation o f their
principal The purpose of the
drug testing program is
threefold ( 1 ) to provide for
the health and safety o f all
co-curricular participants;
(2) to undermine the effects
o f peer p ressu re by
providing a legitimate reason
for participants to refuse to
use illegal drugs; and (3) to
encourage participants who
are found to be using drugs
to participate in drug
treatment programs This
drug testing program shall be
instituted and conducted
according to the procedures
set forth in this policy.
DEFINITIONS:
Drug: Any substance
considered illegal by Oregon
Statute or which is
controlled by the Food and
Drug Administration
Co-Curricular
Participant: Any student
participating in co-curricular
program s sponsored by
M orrow C ounty School
District, including but not
limited to c o -c u rric u la r
athletics, extra-curricular
clubs and o rg an izatio n s
sponsored by the school and
student body organizations
including student council
Season: Fall, winter
and spring athletic and
cheerleader seasons begin on
the first day of practice and
end the day prior to the next
season as determined by the
Oregon School Activities
Association For other co-
curricular activities, a season
will be an academic quarter
Positive Test: The
presence o f any level o f
illegal drugs o th e r than
prescription medications
PROCEDI RES:
Rules related to this
policy will be made available
in writing as a part o f the
registration process The
rules wiil be reviewed with
students by the coach/
adviser at the beginning of
each sport season/activity in
which
the
student
participates.
An
“Authorization to Test for
Drugs” Agreement will be
signed by each student and
his/her paren t/g u ard ian
before the student will be
allowed to participate in any
co-curricular activity The
policy will be in effect the
entire school year the
student is enrolled at any
M orrow County School
District Jr/Sr High School
and will govern the conduct
of
the
co -cu rricu lar
continued page 2
HHS to host
Veteran’s Day
Ceremony
Local veterans, who
did not receive an invitation
to the Heppner High School
Veteran’s Day ceremony,
please call HHS at 676-9138
indicating w h eth er you
would like to attend the
ceremony.
The ceremony will
be held Wednesday, Nov 10
at 10:30 a m at the HHS
gym Veterans and their
spouses will receive a
complementary lunch after
the service Lunch for all
other guests will cost $2.50.
The public is invited
to watch the celebration
HHS to host
Haunted House
H eppner
High
School will be hosting a
Haunted House at the high
school on Halloween night,
Sunday, Oct 31 from 6-8
p m. Admission is $1
HES 6th grade class combines pumpkins and reading
Residents pose with several of the scarecrows that are displayed outside Willow Creek
Terrace. (L-R ): Lowell Gribble, Floyd Raver, “ Mama and Baby,” Stubby Rogers, George
Jeffries, “Staff Member,” Irene Swanson and Cleo Edwards.
The judges selected
10 category winners from
the 15 stuffed scarecrows
entered into the Chamber
Scarecrow Contest during
the Oktoberfest held Oct 9.
An overall w inner was
announced Oct 25, with
Willow Creek Terrace taking
“Most Excellent ”
“ M ost E x cellen t”
and “ Biggest G roup”- A
View from the Hill by
Willow Creek Terrace,
“Neediest”- Hunter
Patiently Waiting by the
H eppner N eighborhood
Center;
“Most Expensive”-
Blood Sucking Attorney by
Kuhn and Spicer,
“ Safest” - H angin’
Scarecro w by Bank o f
Eastern Oregon;
“Youngest”- Ghostly
Kid by Heppner Library;
“Most Fashionable”-
Little Old Woman by
Mrs. Jannie Allen's sixth grade reading class decorated pumpkins to look like characters
they have read about in books. Pumpkins range from Harry Potter to Dr. Seuss to Dumbo.
(Back Row L-R): Ian Murray, Alex Pickles, Daisy Victorio, Leann Schwarz, Jordan Wright,
Munkers (365 Green St );
“ Wood-z-est”- The Willy Gentry, Nick Kempas, Jacob Sallee, Cory Silvia and Brent Brosnan; (Middle Row L-
H unter
by
H eppner R): Bud Jones, Donald Matthews, Sarah Kendrick, Lindsay Cutsforth, Justin Gutierrez,
Amber Gray, kolleen Chapa, Dustin Taylor, Justin Yocom, Jared Hedman, Connor Corbin
Hardware;
and Brett Harrison; and (Front Row L-R): Joe Armato, Devin Robinson, Taighler Dougherty.
“ H e a l t h i e s t ” - “To make a pumpkin, plant a seed. But to make a character, read, read, read.” - Sarah
Scarecrow by Willow Creek Kendrick
Clinic;
“Most Welcoming”-
Scarecrow by Artisan
Village; and
“Least Welcoming”-
R otten
Rodney
by
Bucknums
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
RV a n d A u to m o b ile
A n tifre e z e in Stock
M o r r o w County G ra in G r o w e r s
Lexington 989-8221
•
1 - 800 - 452-7396
For farm equipment, »i»lt our
w *b
tit* at
WWW m e n
net
f
t
I