Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, Aprii z/, 2GGC
2005 Candidates’ Forum: board positions
B allo ts w ill be
mailed out Friday, April 29
for the upcoming May 17
electio n . In hopes o f
informing its readers, the
Heppner Gazette has opened
a c a n d id a te s ’ forum for
those running opposed in the
races for M orrow County
H ealth D istrict, M orrow
County School District and
Port o f Morrow
C an d id ate s w ere
asked
ab o u t
general
background information as
well as questions pertaining
to their individual races. The
questions asked included: 1)
Why would a voter select
you over your opponent9 2)
If elected, what is the biggest
challenge facing you? 3)
What do you feel are the
important issues currently
facing- the Morrow County
Health District, the Morrow
County School District or
the Port o f Morrow9 and 4)
What are some future issues
you feel may affect- the
M orrow C ounty H ealth
District, the Morrow County
School District or Port o f
Morrow?
M orrow C ounty
Health District- Position 2
R unning for th is
position are John M urray
and
M argaret
Hollandsworth
M urray, 41, born
and raised in M orrow
County, currently lives in
Heppner with his wife Ann,
and their five children. He
graduated from H eppner
High School and received his
bachelor o f science degree in
pharm acy from O regon
State University. He and Ann
are the current owners o f
M urray D rugs, Inc., in
Heppner and he also works
as the pharmacist in charge
Murray is an active
m em ber 6 f St. P a tric k ’s'
Catholic Church and in the
past has served as a parish
council member. He has also
served with the H eppner
Planning Commission. He is
a current board member o f
N eighborhood C enter o f
South Morrow County, the
H ep p n er C ham ber o f
Commerce and the Heppner
High School site council. He
was also past president o f the
H ep p n er
E conom ic
D evelopm ent C orp and
Willow Creek Little League
Murray is also active
in medical community as a
member o f the Oregon State
Pharmacists Association and
was a co-w inner o f State
Pharmacist o f the Year in
2002. He is also a member
o f the National Community
Pharmacists Association and
the O regon Rural Health
A ssociation He has also
served as a past pharmacist
in ch arg e o f P ioneer
Memorial Hospital
Question 1) “I have
18 years o f experience in
owning and managing two
su cc e ssfu l p h arm acies
providing care in Morrow,
G illiam and W h eeler
counties I know and have
met the challenges o f day to
day operations o f a health
care com pany in rural
eastern Oregon, while at the
same time trying to be a
contributing member o f the
communities I am a part o f
I care a great deal about
E astern
O regon
and
especially Morrow County,
my home. I would w ork
diligently to be a positive
contributor to the Morrow
C ounty H ealth D istrict
Board o f Directors.”
Q u estio n
2)
“Continuing to be an active
and carin g p a rt o f my
family’s lives while at the
same time trying to help
maintain a high quality o f life
in the communities I’m a part
of.”
Q u estio n
3)
“ M atching the level and
scope of care to the needs of
the people o f M orrow
County within the confines
o f the current health care
environment, specifically the
constantly increasing costs
to patients and the health
care district as well.”
Q u estio n
4)
“Continuing to provide top
quality health care in a rural
en v iro n m en t given the
current trends in health care
o f steadily increasing costs
and the growing number of
people not able to afford this
care. The trend of third party
p ay ers
(in su ra n c e
companies, state o f Oregon,
Medicare, etc.,) to reduce
reim bursem en t to rural
providers to the point that
they cease to ex ist, at)
example being PM Nursing
Home
“Regulatory
agencies have little problem
in assigning new regulations
(i.e. HIPAA) while providing
no way in which providers
can financially cover these
added expenses or tasks
Rural health care district
struggle daily with providing
the best level o f care possible
while at the same time trying
to keep co sts dow n to
patients and cover expenses
which many times are out o f
their control.
“Lastly, the key to
good health care is quality
providers, we need to attract
and retain the very best
people we can ”
Hollandsworth, 57,
and her husband Jim came to
Morrow County in 1996 and
are m em bers o f the
Boardman community. They
have three grown children
H ollandsw orth graduated
from Perris High School in
California and attended San
Bernardino Junior College
Make Mom sparkle.
for a year and graduated
from R iverside B usiness
C o lleg e She has also
received a dental assisting
certificate
She has worked as a
receptionist for Mayflower
M oving C om pany and
currently works in the office
o f Desert Springs Estates.
She w as a PTO
president in South Carolina
for two years and served as
a board member o f Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church
Q uestion 1) “ I am
hard
w o rk in g
and
dependable.”
Q u estio n
2)
“Catching up with all that is
happening.”
Q u estio n
3)
“Balancing- providing the
medical needs o f the county
with the amount o f funding
the county receives.”
Question 4) “I need
to know and understand the
present issues, then I can
look at future issues ”
M orrow C oun ty
School District- Position 2
R unning for this
position are John Renfro and
Nancy Vander Does
R enfro, 68, o f
L exington and his wife,
Pamela moved to Morrow
C o u n ty in 1994
He
graduated from high school
in Clatskanie and received
his bachelor’s and master’s
o f science deg rees from
Portland State University.
He also served for three
y ears in G erm any as a
sp ec ia list in the Army.
R enfro
re tire d
from
Clackamas County, Sheriff
and Juvenile Court, after 25
years
R e n fro ’s political
experience includes tw o
years on the Oregon City
School Board; four years as
Clackamas County Sheriff;
tw o years as Lexington,
Oregon Town Council and
Mayor; and three years and
10 months on the Morrow
C ounty School D istrict
board, currently serving as
chairman.
Q u estio n
1)
“Education, (have Masters in
Teaching), knowledge o f our
schools, have taught in them,
visited all many times, almost
four years experience as
member o f the Board, two
y ears as chairm an
I
u n d e rstan d
and have
k n o w led g e in personnel
matters, budgeting, meeting
laws, boardsmanship, many
hours of specialized training
via Oregon School Board
Association, Chairman o f
Umatilla-Morrow Education
S ervice D istrict B udget
Committee, knowledge o f
benchm ark
te stin g ,
purchasing and contracting
statu tes,
c o n tra cts,
graduation requirem ents,
staff development, English
L anguage
L earn er
Program s, know ledge o f
Elect
Teleflora’s Galway
Irish Crystal
Bouquet
Don Russell
Express your love in
a way she’ll always
remember, with
fresh spring flow
ers in a dazzling
basket created
from lead crystal.
She’ll be thrilled with
the gift... and you.
For local and nationwide
delivery, call or visit
Commissioner
Port of Morrow
1975
1979
1981
1980-1982
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8th
D on H fo rg et P rom /
Heppner Prom is April 30
G ALW AY
IR IS H CRYSTAL
^ Mumy'i thug
INC
217 North Main, Heppner
676-9158 • 676-9426 (Floral)
Serving Heppner Lexington S lone
Site Councils, Community
Ed Councils, Title 1 rules, E
Rate programs, acquainted
w ith all A d m in istrato rs,
good knowledge o f Board
Policy and Procedures (was
inv o lv ed in w ritin g the
manual).”
Question 2) “To be
able
to
co n tin u e
developm ent o f new and
innovative programs, such
as: change in graduation
re q u ire m e n ts,
b udget
development, completion o f
the new PTE program in
Irrigon, having an addition to
the W indy R iver School
c o n stru c te d , w ork on
improvement in high school
curriculum and program
offerings, more development
in long distance learning and
polycom classes Hope to
w ork
on
ad d itio n al
im p ro v em en t
in
communication with District
patrons.”
Q u estio n
3)
“ Im prove m iddle grades
bench mark test scores, high
school math and science
scores, higher SAT scores,
new construction and PTE
program developm ent in
Irrigon Im provem ent in
stu d en t
secu rity
at
Riverside.”
Questions 4) “Three
to five year budget issues,
PERS costs, conforming to
No C hild L eft B ehind
re q u ire m e n ts,
sta ff
development.”
Vander Does, 57, of
H eppner, and husband,
Victor, moved to Morrow
C ounty in 1999. She
g rad u ated from W illapa
Valley H igh S ch o o l in
Menlo, WA and attended
one year o f college
She worked for 24
years as the Willapa Harbor
H ospital business office
manager before moving to
Heppner Here she’s worked
at W illow Creek Terrace
Assisted Living Facility as a
consultant, adm inistrator
and universal worker. She
has also worked as an A/R
consultant for the Morrow
County Health District. She
has also served on the
W illow C reek T errace
Assisted Living Board, the
Hospital Auxiliary and with
the O ffice M a n a g e rs ’
Association
In addition, Vander
Does has served as co-chair
o f the Parent to Parent
program ; was a Special
Olympics coach and worked
with the Babes Program, a
pro g ram to help w ith
children’s self-esteem Also,
both parents were teachers.
Q u estio n 1) “No
preconceived opinions other
than our children need the
very best public education
that we can offer Treat all
parts o f the district equally ”
Q u estio n
2)
“ U n d erstan d in g cu rren t
d istrict policies and th d
fiin
H in « » challenges t to
n m
a lA '
funding
make
g o o d inform ed pQlicy
1982-2001
2001
G raduated from R iverside High
School, Boardman
B.S., Oregon State University
Passed the National CPA Exam
Staff A cco untant, B igej, Scott
& Nichol CPAs
President, Russell Oil Co.
Present Manager, Russell Family LLC
decisions.”
Q u e stio n
3)
“ Unfunded mandates (No
Child left behind), Poor or
in ad eq u ate funding, and
curriculum.”
Question 4) “Same
as ab o v e and sta te and
federal regulations ”
M orrow C ounty
School District- Position 3
R unning for this
position are William Kuhn
and Martin Montes de Oca
Kuhn, 54, and his
wife Ann Spicer came to
Morrow County in 1977 and
th ey c u rre n tly live in
H eppner They have tw o
g ro w n
ch ild ren
He
graduated from Cam eron
C o u n ty H igh School in
E m porium ,
PA
and
g ra d u a te d
from
P en n sy lv an ia
S ta te
University, with degrees in
pre-law and history. He
g ra d u a te d
w ith
high
d istin c tio n and w as a
member o f Phi Beta Kappa
He also g rad u ated from
Lewis and Clark Law School
in Portland
K uhn is a self-
em ployed a tto rn e y in
practice with his wife He has
practiced in H eppner his
entire career.
Kuhn is a member
St
P a tric k ’s C ath o lic
Church He is a past member
o f St. P a tric k ’s Parish
C ouncil and a cu rren t
m em ber o f St P a tric k ’s
Finance Committee He has
also serves as a Sunday
school teacher He is a past
president and past board
m em ber
of
H eppner
Chamber o f Commerce and
a past p resid en t and
secretary o f Heppner Lions
Club He has worked as a
former Heppner swim team
co ach and is a form er
Scoutmaster in Heppner. He
has been a m em ber o f
Heppner High School’s Site
Council for six years and is
a current board o f Heppner
A dopt-a-Teacher He is a
past member o f the Oregon
S tate
B ar
E xecutive
C o m m ittees-
D eb to r/
Creditor; and past member
o f the Client Security Fund;
c u rre n t m em ber o f the
Oregon State Bar Elder Law
Executive Committee and a
past member o f the Oregon
State Bar Local Professional
Responsibility Committee
He is also c u rre n tly a
member o f the following
bars: O regon S tate Bar,
United States District Court
for the District o f Oregon
and United States Court o f
A ppeals fo r th e N inth
Circuit
K u h n ’s p o litical
experience includes being
the incum bent M orrow
C ounty School B oard
member in position 3 since
September 2003 He is a past
and founding board member
o f the Oregon Trail Library
H
i c t r i r t He h
ac Q
prvpH a
n
District
has
served
as c a an
attorney for MCSB and is
the current attorney for the
cities of Heppner, Lexington
and Irrigon He has over 25
years o f experience working
with and for school districts,
c ities and o th e r local
governments.
Q u estio n 1) “ My
experience, background,
knowledge and commitment
to
M orrow
C ounty
education make me a better
choice than my opponent As
a member o f the M orrow
County School Board I have
worked cooperatively with
the o th e r m em bers to
establish an effective and
stable school administration,
successfully negotiate long
term c o n tra c ts w ith all
district personal, expand
cu rric u lu m , estab lish a
D istric t w ide English
Language Learner, “ELL,”
program , improve school
achievement on benchmark
testing and establish stable
b u d g e ts
in tim e o f
constricting state funding I
will continue to work for
academ ic and vocational
cu rric u lu m
ex p an sio n
th ro u g h ad d itio n al staff
hiring, expansion o f distance
learning opportunities and
more effective use o f the
D is tric t’s
polycom
interactive video system
The Board will continue to
be in close communication
w ith o u r le g islato rs to
p ro m o te
expanded
ed u catio n al funding and
insist that state mandates
come with adequate state
funding.”
Q u estio n 2) “ 1.
Getting the district to work
together and use available
resources on a district wide
basis. One o f the District’s
stren g th s is its size and
resources We are sometimes
unable to make effective use
o f this strength when our
various communities do not
work cooperatively towards
the common good.
“2. Motivating our
citizens to becom e more
civically and p o litic a lly
involved with our school
system . U ntil we as a
com m unity
becom e
committed to changing the
crisis in o u r educational
system, it will remain much
less effective than it should
be.
“3. M otivating our
legislature to stabilize and
increase school funding
Sixty to 70 percent o f school
funding is from the state Our
children will not receive an
adequate education until the
sta te-fu n d in g crisis is
corrected.
“4. Increasing the
D is tric t’s
ed u catio n al
success w ith o ur ELL
children, particularly with
resp ect to passing state
benchmark tests. We must
continue to work towards
the right com bination o f
educational and community
re so u rce s to give th ese
children full access to our
society.”
Q u estio n
3)
“ Inadequate funding The
Federal government has set
unreachable standards for
O regon school d istric ts
under the “No Child Left
Behind Act” because there is
no adequate state and federal
funding for this program
Every legislative biennium,
the state government admits
t that
h a t f funding
i i n r l i n o iq
a H p n n a tP t to
n
is in
inadequate
educate our children to the
standards set by the state
The challenge o f educating
our students for vocations in
the twenty-first century with
inadequate funding requires
c re a tiv e
m an ag em en t,
innovative thinking, vision,
and constant commitment I
can supply those qualities to
the Morrow County School
Board
“ E d u catin g
our
Spanish-speaking students
...continued on page 4
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in Heppner is OPEN!
Thursdays: 10 - 2 by appointm ent only
Thursday fee is <5 an hour
3 or more people is <12.50 an hour
Fridays: 10 - 4 .3 0 fo r the public
Past Planning Commissioner for Morrow County
Friday fee is <130 per person
Currently Chairman,
Port of Morrow Budget Committee
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inrr
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for any questions or appointm ents