E u g e n e d e v e l o p e r la y s o u t p la n s f o r t h e
S o u t h M o r r o w I n d u s t r ia l P a r k
11 1 1 11 1 11 ■ 1 1 1 11 111 11 >I > 11 1 1 11
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University o f Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
Eugene developer
Dan Desler was guest speak
er at the Willow Creek Val
ley Economic Development
G roup annual m eeting in
Heppner last Thursday.
Desler laid out his
plans for the South Morrow
Industrial Park (former Kin-
z u a
mill) if
p u r
chase
o f the
park
from
t h e
Port of
Mor
r o w
goes
though. Dan Desler of West
WCVEDG President David Sykes (left) presents John Edrnund-
son with a certificate of appreciation during the WCVEDG an
nual meeting, for Edmondson’s volunteer work the past year on
economic development in the area.
ern States Land Re
liance Trust
VOL. 125
NO. 5
10 Pages
Wednesday, February 1,2006
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
H e a lt h d is t r ic t e n d s D e c e m b e r w it h g a in
The Morrow Coun
ty Health District ended De
cember with a $71,165 gain
and indications are that the
month of January also looks
positive, according to data
released at the district's reg
ular meeting in lone Monday
night.
Chief Financial Of
ficer Nicole Mahoney said
that the district has good
news with regard to Medi
care reim bursem ent. B e
cause Pioneer M em orial
Hospital has been designat
ed a Critical Access Hospi
tal, it is entitled to cost-based
reimbursement, which helps
the district's cash How.
Reimbursement for
hospital outpatient charges
will remain at 83 percent of
billed charges, however hos
pital inpatient reim burse
ment will go from 113 per
cent to 154 percent. Reim
bursement for the Pioneer
Memorial Clinic in Heppner
will increase from $117 per
visit to $131 per visit. Re
imbursement for the Irrigon
Clinic will increase from
$111 per visit to $121 per
visit. Reim bursem ent for
swing bed patients will in
crease to 200 percent of
billed charges.
Also at the meeting
MCHD CEO Victor Vander
Does told the board that the
Hospital Foundation has do
nated $ 12,000 for two trans-
m ittable EKG m achines.
One of the machines, which
are capable of transmitting
data to cardiologists, will be
placed at Pioneer Memorial
Hospital and the other will
be located at the Irrigon
Clinic. The district will pur
chase a third EKG machine
which will be placed at Pio
neer Memorial Clinic.
In other business the
board:
-learn ed
from
Vander Does that a nurse
practitioner was in town vis
iting the medical facilities.
The district has begun re
cruitment for care providers.
-approved a $150
donation to the St. Patrick's
Committee for the annual
celebration's fund raising
casino night.
-au th o rized up to
$20,000 for renovation of
the district-owned house at
135 Gilmore St.
Currently the hospi
tal administrator is living at
the house, which has provid
ed housing for administra
tors and physicians in the
past. Vander Does said the
district should be thinking
about replacing the aging
house’s windows, bathtub,
front door, kitchen cabinets,
and adding a dishwasher and
insulation, especially if the
district is planning to hire a
new administrator within the
next few years.
“I think we need to
put some money into the
house,” said MCHD Board
Chair Larry Mills. “There
hasn't been any money put
into that house since I’ve
been on the bo ard .” The
board suggested that work
begin with window replace
ment, which could help cut
heating costs. Vander Does
said he may be able to do
some of the cabinet work.
-d isc u sse d
the
board’s request for financial
information from the clinic in
Boardman. prior to the dis
trict committing to any finan
cial support for that clinic.
Board members indicated
that they have requested in
formation but have received
none as yet.
The clin ic, e sta b
lished with federal funds as
a migrant clinic, also serves
the general Boardman pop
ulation. Dr. Robert Boss,
who operated a private clin
ic in Boardman for many
years, is the clinic’s physician
and administrator.
-voted to suspend
hospital admitting privileges
for 30 days for Dr. Ken Wen-
berg, if he does not produce
a certificate of malpractice
insurance for his private
Heppner clinic by Feb. I. Dr.
Wenberg will continue to be
covered by district malprac
tice insurance when he is
employed at the hospital.
-received the follow
ing report: Pioneer Memo
rial Hospital had nine admis
sions in December, 11 admit
ted for observation. 421 out
patients and 64 emergency
room encounters, 1293 lab
tests, 82 x-ray procedures,
35 CT scans, 35 EKG tests
and one treadmill procedure;
the pharmacy administered
965 drug doses for $58,147
in revenue; Pioneer Memo
rial Clinic had 348 patient
visits with 19 new patients
and 42 seen by a nurse; Irri
gon Clinic had 161 patient
visits with 21 new patients,
44 seen by a nurse and 11 no
shows; Home Health had
115 visits; Hospice had three
admissions; Boardman Am
bulance had 68 runs with 47
transports for $41,542 in
revenue; Heppner A m bu
lance had 23 runs with 22
transports for $18,290 in
revenue; Irrigon Ambulance
had 19 runs with nine trans
ports for $7,304 in revenue;
there were two flights for the
month.
Stricter traffic
enforcement
requested by
Heppner
Police
Commission
members
At the meeting of the
Heppner Police Commission
on Thursday, Jan. 26, the
Morrow County Sheriff's
Office, which provides law
enforcement to the City of
Heppner under contract, was
requested to waive the le
niency being shown to traf
fic violation offenders in the
city. A spate of running stop
signs and flagrant ignoring of
speed limits has been ob
served. The danger to pedes
trians, especially small chil
dren and the elderly, has in
creased accordingly.
The C om m issio n
sees a need to stop this be
havior in its tracks before
someone gets hurt and there
fore asked the Sheriff’s O f
fice to tighten its standards
for issuing citations for these
offenses.
Everyone is asked to
please take note.
Desler is managing
trustee o f W estern States
Land Reliance Trust (WSL-
RT), a non profit organiza
tion that has made an offer
to the Port of Morrow for
the entire industrial park, in
cluding on both sides of the
highway. In a deal that has
been reported to be in the
$10 million range, WSLRT
would operate the co-gener-
ation plant at the site, and
also has plans to bring in sev
eral other businesses.
Desler said certain
businesses are able to use
low pressure steam, a by
product of the electrical gen
erating plant, in production.
He said a veneer company,
as well as glue lamination,
mushroom, cellulose insula
tion manufacturing and eth
anol com panies have ex
pressed interest in the indus
trial park and have contact
ed WSLRT.
As of Monday, pur
chase of the property had not
gone through, with the Port
and W SLRT hung up on
how to apply lease pay
ments. Apparently several
environmental issues have
not been resolved with the
industrial park, and the Port
is waiting for a “no further
action” certificate from the
Oregon Department of En
vironmental Quality.
Additional monitor
ing of Willow Creek may be
required for up to two years
to obtain the certificate.
WSLRT, which will not take
ownership of the property
until the certificate is com
pleted, is willing to lease the
site from the Port for up to
tw o years. M onthly pay
ments are reported to be in
the $65,000 range, and WS
LRT wants the entire amount
to go towards the principal
payment for purchase of the
property. The Port of Mor
row reportedly wants the
payment to go to interest
only. As of Monday these is
sues had not been resolved.
Other issues still to
be resolved include: Lease
term, when payment starts,
leasehold im provem ents,
earnest money deposit, lia
bility insurance and perfor
mance bond.
Desler said his orga
nization is dedicated to pro
tecting the environment as
WCVEDG Secretary/Treasurer Marcia Kemp is presented with
a flower bouquet for her work the past year.
well as developing the prop
erty. “The water quality in
Willow Creek will be ad
dressed and monitored,” he
said. “It's easier to do this
right. We believe the prob
lem is solvable.”
D esler, w ho has
hunted in the Heppner area
for many years, said his or
ganization would “start with
the grass roots” in the com
munity and work with local
people to make the develop
ment attractive and success
ful.
He pointed to his
work with a development in
Sweet Home (see related
story, page 2) as a track
record for his community de
velopment. A former mill site
was purchase there and has
just broken ground on new
developm ent. “That will
bring in $8 million a year in
revenue for the city of Sweet
Home," he said.
A cco rd in g to the
rules of the WSLRT, 85 per
cent of the profit from the
organization’s business ac
tivities must be distributed to
community projects. His or
ganization has already ap
proached WCVEDG about
receiving up to $500,000 for
use in training in the local
communities. WCVEDG is
currently applying for non
profit status in order to ac
cept these funds.
“ I am a developer
with a conscience," Desler
told those attending the
Incoming WCVEDG president
George Koffler
meeting last week. “There
are no hidden agendas. Ev
erything is on top of the ta
ble. 1 can't make promises,
but I can work hard and tell
you the truth.”
When the develop
ment will happen? Desler
said: “We want an agreement
signed by Jan. 31. We do not
have any grass growing un
der our feet."
lone City
Council to
hold meeting
The
lo n e C ity
Council will hold its regular
m onthly
m eeting
on
Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.,
at Wheatland Insurance due
to on going construction.
If you would like to
be on the agenda for the
upcoming meeting, please
contact City Hall at 422-
7414.
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