Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2005)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 19,2005 First man and woman, business of the year, youth of the year, lifetime achievment award and educator of the year awarded at Town & Country last week conclusion o f the interview, w here she is cu rren tly continued from page one they hired her on the spot S m i t h - G r i f f ith served HHS and lone to such a high calib er she gained the reputation as being “one of the top special education teachers in the state,” Allen said She was not only recognized by the two schools, but also at the district level, regional level and by the O regon Department of Education in Salem After several years in the position, Smith-Griftith began to miss classroom teaching and transferred to Heppner Elementary School, with Smith-Griftith in Spray, Allen said he knew, “ We d id n ’t have to look any further than our backyard to find the best teacher for the position.” He called and asked her to apply He then called Jim B yers, HHS principal at the time, and asked him to join him in just offering her a c o n tra ct without an interview, which was required by district policy Byers, not so nervous about going against district policy as he was about hiring someone he had not met, decided they should still interview her At the HOMES & PROPERTIES — FOR SALE — New Listing! 3 bedroom I hath home \ Located near high school, this home is in great shape Includes attached garage and owner says very effi cient to heat $95,000 3 bedroom near park 3 bedroom home across from park New driveway and pa tio Two bath (one brand new). $75,000 Sale Pending 3 bedroom 1 bath with extra lot Home on double lot Insulated shop with its ow n drive L ots o f sto rag e New low er price! $89,000 Former Kingdom Hall 1470 square foot meeting hall that would make good church or meeting place In Lexington $49,000 3 bedroom in Lexington 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on £ double lot. Garage and shop $85,000 Very nice home by the creek New Lower Price This home is in excellent condition. 2 bedroom, one bath with attached double * wide garage Underground sprinklers and much more. $85,900 2 bedroom in Lexington 2 bedroom single wide with shop, large yard and foun dation already laid for new room Garden space too. $50,000 Two lots above lake R ea d y to b u ild on. O n e lot S20,900 th e o th e r SI 9,500. View o f the lake. ü CUT Il \ \ III SYkCS TO Y IIV \ f i l l SI PROPERTIUS W 4 (141) 676-9228 (lays (541 ) 676-9919 evenings 1 - 800 - 326-2152 www.heppner.nel ll.nM >»*#■«. \jirnl jQ u id ic . REALTOR H 180 W. Baltimore *5 Heppner. OR 97836 www. heppner. net 6 7 6 -5 0 4 9 Have your property listed here! Cal! 676-9228 » teaching grades 5-6. Besides teaching in the classro o m , Smith- G riffith serves the community in a number of other ways. She is a Parent- T eacher C lub member, B o o ster Club member, testing coordinator for HES, Child Study Team member and Social Studies Curriculum and Textbook A doption C om m ittee member She also volunteers for the after school reading party, is a Geography Bee read er and v o lu n teers countless hours this past summer doing paintings on the school walls. D edicated and professional, respected by students, fellow staff, school a d m in istratio n and the community, Smith-Griftith is the “type o f teacher that we all want o ur children to have,” Allen said This year’s Youth of th e Year aw ard was presented to tw o special youths, Kyle Huddleston and Shanna R ietm ann. The aw ard was presented by HHS principal Wade Smith. H uddleston, not a native H ep p n erite, was excited to move to Heppner in grade school, bringing him closer to his grandparents and cousins. His sister, not so joyous, cried for tw o straight weeks and he was there to comfort here and as nice as he could, told her to “get over it.” He has been a 4-H member since the 4th grade, doing projects with sheep and photography. For the last four years he has been a 4-H ambassador H u d d l e s t o n ’s biggest passion in life is to travel the world. With his own money in hand that he earned through 4-H and hard work, he had the opportunity to take two trips; one, an east coast adventure where he visited N ew York, W ashington D C . and Philadelphia; his second trip took him across the globe to Italy, where he some day hopes to study abroad. He enjoys camping and boating on the Columbia River. He plans on attending the University of Oregon and is considering the business field. To follow his plan, he actively works in tw o jobs- at the Shell Station in Lexington and m ow ing law ns w ith his grandfather Rietmann was born and raised on the family c attle ranch. She is an outdoor kid who loves her dogs, horses and cattle. She has never missed a Morrow County Fair and first showed Pee Wee Show m anship when she was only six years old She has also raised and showed market steers every year o f 4-H since fourth grade One o f her favorite activities o f the fair is the lamb fitting contest She also enjoys camping. She has attended the United Church of Christ church cam p at Camp Adams, 4-H camp as a cam per and counselor, Tupper as a camper and a counselor, a couple volleyball camps and many NBC basketball camps, even traveling to England and Ireland with them R ietm ann also enjoys sports. She began in tumbling class, went on to a little ballet and then went on to T-ball, baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball and even track Her favorite day is spent at the Columbia River water skiing, tubing and being with her family and friends. She plans to attend Pacific o r W illam ette U niversity and m ajor in biology. This year’s Lifetime Achievement award went to longtime M orrow County resident Ed Baker. The award was presented by Dick Sargent B aker, who was bom in Bend in 1930, moved with his family to Morrow County in 1938, where their first home was a tent located on the property near Green’s Feed Store. As his family had purchased the Blackburn Mill on Upper Rhea Creek, they soon moved to the millsite He attended school at Rhea C reek w here M argaret G lavey and Margaret Cason were the teachers. The family lived in several places on Rhea Creek, the last being the Ruggs’ ranch. As his father still worked at the mill, it fell to the family to run the farm He honored his parents by respecting their authority and their commitment to honesty and hard work. He was raised with the soil of Morrow County under his fingernails. He knows the value o f a man’s word and the commitment o f a firm handshake. Baker’s love for his brothers and sisters was revealed in his caring and attentive attitude to their w elfare H is classm ates knew him as quiet and hard w orking while attending school in Heppner. He didn’t participate in extracurricular activities at school due to his resp o n sib ilities to his family’s work and farms. In 1952, Baker was drafted into the service. He served for two years at Fort O rd, in the an ti-aircraft division. He carried out his duties with such diligence that his commanding officers refused to transfer him from his post. To his children he is know n as dad and his g ran d ch ild ren call him grandpa and he always has time for them, whether it was baiting a hook or solving a life problem. “Our dad has m ade many acco m p lish m en ts in his lifetime and we are proud of him,” they said Baker also showed his courage and value by achieving his high school equivalence diploma while raising a family. As an employee he rep resen ted the highest regard to those he served and his value o f doing a job well. As em ployers have said, “ He m odels our company’s mission.” He has dedicated 49 years to American Legion Post #87 and the Oregon D istrict as h e’s traveled th ro u g h o u t the state representing our servicemen and women, showing his love o f his country and his countrym en. As he has presented o u r N a tio n ’s colors th ro u g h o u t the community, he’s captured the hearts o f citizen’s young and old, said Sargent He has served the area school children by providing safe, responsible travel through all kinds of weather and conditions, both inside and outside the bus He serves the senior and disabled citizens o f the county w ith resp ect, hum ility, concern and dedication, said Sargent, adding, “He is an inspiration to other volunteers and his service is unequaled ” With the Retired Senior Volunteer Program he has recorded over 2708 lifetime volunteer hours Beyond the scope of RSVP, he continues to answer the call for help from his church, family, friends and fellow citizens in an unassuming attitude This can be summed up by his, “You bet I will,” when asked to do a deed of good will M uch o f B a k e r’s success as a volunteer and person comes from the love and support o f his wife, Grace His list o f attributes and service is extensive, being only briefly sum m arized here, but according to Sargent, “ If there is a more committed M orrow C ounty citizen serving his fellow man I’d like to meet him, because in my mind there is none.” Being honored for its 50-plus years o f service to M orrow County, Pioneer Memorial Hospital and the M orrow C ounty H ealth District was awarded the title o f Business o f the Year The award was presented by Molly Rhea PMH ad MCHD has served M orrow C ounty since the 1950s and representing the institution at the banquet by receiving the aw ard w ere V ictor Vander Does, administrator since 1999 and N icole Mahoney, Chief Financial Officer Another key player also mentioned was former Director of Nursing, Tammy M artin. M artin was accred ited for being instrumental in many o f the changes at hospital Also attributed for many o f the changes, where employees of PMH as well as the board of directors, with Larry Mills as current board chair The turnaround for the business has been gradual. Mahoney, Martin and Vander D oes have actively sought out ways to stab ilize the m edical district’s bottom line They first co n cen trated on “cleaning up the billables.” Mahoney, as the business office m anager, hired excellent staff, which has pulled the days in accounts receivable into an enviable position, said Rhea In 2000, the district purchased and installed a CT machine This high-tech x- ray machine enables many electiv e exam s to be performed at the hospital, as well as assisting providers in the ER with a way to rule out serio u s head and neck injuries. Injuries prior to having the CT available would have necessitated an emergency transfer Having this technology available has brought in health care dollars that would have been spent elsewhere The E m ergency Room was rem odeled in 2001 to include a procedure room to improve patient care and comfort The nurses’ station and work area have also been remodeled to help improve work environment and professional appearance Over the past few years, the lab has added many new m achines to enable PMH to run many of the tests at the facility This not only helps with turn around time, but it enhances the bottom line In 2002, PMH was d esignated as a C ritical Access Hospital, a special federal designation, which enhanced the h o s p ita l's reimbursement A pproxim ately 90 percent o f the staff is cross- trained X-ray technicians can draw blood to help out the lab, and CNAs can set up and run an EKG. The head o f the dietary department is also an ambulance driver; the housekeeper is a cook; and the head of X-ray is pretty good with a snow shovel PMH has had to do more with less money and staff, while at the same time offer more and improved services. They are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Day in and day out, PMH strives to be ready when needed, Rhea said The lab and x-ray departments are both staffed by two individuals Dietary has one full time person Housekeeping and laundry has one s ta ff m em ber M aintenance g ets 1.5 people, but they also take care o f all the d is tric t’s en tities and am bulances throughout the county. The nurses and nurses’ aides work 12-hour shift. There are five full-time nurses, four full-time CNAs and four p art-tim e CNAs. The providers, nurses, aides and EMTs are some of the most highly trained professionals in eastern Oregon The hospital also participates in CSEPP, which has helped them to be ready for a problem at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, as well as many other potential crises or disasters. PMH has gone th ro u g h many, many changes The accounts are all computerized and there are now high tech machines. There are even rem o te- control TVs in every patient room Yet, what it boils down to is that the hospital is still a viable and vital institution The staff cares about each other and about deliv erin g p ro fessio n al quality care to its neighbors and visitors and is striving to adapt to the ever-changing needs o f the community, Rhea said HES 3rd grade students visit Willow Creek Terrace I Y7L HES grade students visited the residents at Willow Creek Terrace and performed a play of Henny Penny for them. The students also sang songs. After the performance, students and residents enjoyed treats. (Students from L-R): Micha Hintz, Courtney Tayloe, Meeka Boyd, Deatley Britt, Colby Hedman, Shane Miles and Johnny Wilson. The students were helped by teacher Mary Ann Elguezabal (background). The masks were made by Vinny Naverrete.
