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
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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.