Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2006)
Bessie W et/eil Newspaper Library l University of Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 VOL. 125 NO. 9 10 Pages Wednesday, March 1,2006 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon lone School District approved raise, two- year contract for Superintendent Browning T he lone School probationary teacher Brandi first in the c o n te st and D istrict, at th eir regular Orem, third year licensed Heather Rill, also Heppner, meeting Feb. 21, approved initial two-year contract for was also third. According to 2006 -0 8 fo r te ac h e r teacher Dean Robinson, two a two-year M ichelle Stone; and two- girls were selected for third cont ract year contract extensions for place because not enough and a $600 2006 -0 8 fo r te a c h e rs, boys applied. raise, plus a -en ro llm en t as o f B arb ara C o llin , D ale c o s t - o f Feb. 13 was 164 students; Holland II, Jim Raible, Ryan living -IS D re c eiv e d R u dolf, T hom as S hear, i ncr ease L indsay O regon, K aren $69,552 in Title I funds from f o r H olland, L inda N eiffer, M orrow C o u n ty S chool administrator Dean Robinson and Steve District; B r y n -changes have been Schaber. Browning. Bryn Browning Browning told the m ade fo r the d is tr ic t’s “ For tw o website, including a tab for years she’s done an excellent board that: -lone students Amy teacher pages and a syllabus job and we’re very pleased with her performance,” said Jepsen and Tyler Brown fo r each teacher, course ISD Board m em ber John took second place in the catalog and course schedule; -the shop class is E lk’s Scholarship contest Rietmann. Also at the meeting, and K ristal Tem ple, also gathering their scrap wood, the board approved a one- lo n e, took th ird . L aurie cutting it into uniform sizes year contract for 2006-07 Murray and Mikel Britt of and tying it into bundles to continued on page 6 for first y ear lic e n se d Heppner High School were M elville returns from Afghanistan Dr. Datta announces intent to leave district Dr. Saumyajit “Sam” Datta, a physician employed with the M orrow C ounty Heal t h District in H eppner and very p o p u la r with local p a tie n ts , announced at the d is tr ic t’s re g u la r m e e tin g Dr. Sam Datta M onday night that he intends to seek a jo b e lse w h e re . “ I ’m looking for a job outside for professional growth and for the family,” said Datta, who added that he would like to become more involved in long-term care. He said that employment for his wife, Dr. D eep h sh ik h a D atta, a pathologist, is also a factor. Dr. D a tta ’s announcement was greeted with regret, but not surprise, by board m em bers and district staff. “He has been a gift to Hospice,” said Molly R hea, R .N ., d ire c to r o f nursing, Home Health and H o sp ice at P io n e e r M em o rial H o sp ital in Heppner. “I’m very sorry to see you go, but sure wish you well,” said board Chair Larry Mills. Dr. D atta, w ho is originally from C alcutta, India, began working for the district in May of 2000 on a work visa which stipulated that he work in a rural area. He had lived with his family, which includes two young children, in Heppner until their fairly recent move to Hermiston Dr. Datta said that he and his wife are considering e m p lo y m en t in the T ri- C ities, WA, Portland and Sacramento, CA. Also at the meeting, the board learned from chief fin a n c ial o ffic e r N icole Mahoney that the district earned $429,320 in gross patient revenue for January, “the highest in almost three years and that was when we had the n u rsin g hom e open,” said Mahoney. The district ended the month with a $92,855 gain. In other business the board: -d isc u sse d the possibility of reinstituting intermediate long-term care at P io n e e r M em orial Hospital via the “swing bed” p ro g ram . The d is tric t previously provided long term care at P io n eer Memorial Nursing Home, but the g o v ern m en t reimbursement rate was so low, the nursing home could not stay afloat. The nursing home received $111 a day p er M ed icaid p a tie n t, however costs amounted to $185 per day per patient. Under the swing bed plan, a higher reimbursement rate, perhaps even as much as 200 percent, would allow the program’s viability, however the details and accessibility of the program have not yet been determined. “I think it’s worth a shot,” said MCHD CEO Victor Vander Does. “I think we ought to support the heck out of it,” added Mills. -d ecid ed to not approve a request from the city of Irrigon for funding to establish a skate park in Irrigon. The estimated cost o f the p ro p o sed park is $360,000. The city of Irrigon is seeking a 60 percent grant from Oregon State Parks, am o u n tin g to $ 2 1 6 ,0 0 0 , which would leave $ 144,000 yet to raise. T hose who donate $500, $ 1,000, $5,000 Speedway V P to speak at Econom ic Development m eeting Group works to bring mega motorplex to Morrow County Steve Brucker, Sr. Vice President Operations for the Oregon International Speedway, will be the guest speaker at the Willow Creek V alley E conom ic D ev elo p m en t G roup meeting Wednesday, March 8 . Brucker will give a p ro g ram e x p lain in g the NASCAR style speedway proposed for construction in the B oardm an area (see related story). T he W CV ED G meeting starts at 8 a.m., at Heppner city hall and the public is invited to attend. Booster clubs receive over $3000 each from dinner Mahaley Huddleston, ASB Vice President, accepting the flag donated by David Melville. By Laurie Murray Heppner High School teacher David Melville recently returned from his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Melville, a Chinook helicopter pilot taught junior high math for a year before being called to active duty. On his visit home, Melville and his family stopped at the school to say hi to faculty and students and to bring a flag that was flown and dedicated in honor of Heppner Jr. and Sr. High School. Melville is home for good in Hermiston and is happy to be with his family. The totals have been c a lc u la te d from the combined Heppner and lone Booster Club dinner held Feb. 4 and each club will receive $3419.06. The clubs appreciate the overwhelming support of both communities and look forward to a great dinner next year. Go Kart road course. The complex will also feature a state-of-the-art motorsports country club, RV park and campground, space for retail stores and restaurants, plus utilities, infrastructure and road development needed to support the speedway. “The speedway will d iv e rsify o u r eco n o m ic b a se ,” said G ary N eal, D ire c to r o f the Port o f Morrow. “It will be a catalyst that w ill p ro v id e o th e r entrepreneurial o p p o rtu n itie s for new businesses to open shop in Morrow County.” OIS is one of several g ro u p s in O regon and Washington vying to bring a prem ier speedw ay to the Pacific Northwest. Oregon International S peedw ay w ill fund the M orrow C ounty p ro ject w ith a co m b in a tio n o f private funds and public p u rp o se b onds that are secured and repaid by OIS. O IS is a gro u p o f m o to rsp o rts in d u stry investors led by Bill Gardner, former NASCAR Cup team owner and owner of DiGard R acing. A m ongst the continued on page 6 MCGG GREEN FEED STORE in Heppner I3T A POULTtty SALE! Poultry Layers, Crumbles $ 1 off 50 lb. bag ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. A speedway capable of hosting NASCAR/IRL/ NHRA type events is in the w orks on a 2 ,7 0 0 -acre d e v elo p m en t w est o f Boardman on land adjacent to In terstate 84 and the Columbia River. Plans are to have the track ready for its first event in 2008. The Port of Morrow and M orrow C ounty commissioners have signed agreem ents w ith O regon In te rn a tio n a l Speedw ay (O IS ) to b rin g the first d e stin a tio n sp eed w ay d ev elo p m en t to M orrow County and Oregon. “This speedway will bring people to M orrow County who will spend time, be entertained and spend money that will stimulate our eco n o m y ,” said Terry Tallman, Morrow County C o m m i s s i o n e r . “C o n stru ctio n o f the speedway will bring jobs to our county.” The first phase of the development, estimated to co st $330 m illio n , w ill in clu d e an 81 ,5 0 0 seat grandstand, 60 luxury and garage suites, a 1.2 Mile high banked Super Speedway, 5/ 8 mile oval track, two mile road course, drag strip and or $10,000 would receive a plaque. Options also include the cost of a tree for the park at $300 and donations of labor, equipment or time. Vander Does and the board said that they felt the request w as “ o u tsid e o f th e ir mission,” but added that they su p p o rt the w o rth w h ile project and would consider contributions such as first- aid kits or a first-aid station for the park. M ills asked Vander Does to write a letter to the city of Irrigon to that effect. -a p p ro v e d the disposal of surplus items as Vander Does sees fit. -le a rn e d th at Dr. K enneth W enberg, a physician who has a private practice in Heppner and also w orks at the P io n e e r M em o rial H o sp ital em erg en cy room , has o b ta in e d m a lp ra c tic e insurance for his clinic and thus w ill co n tin u e to be allowed admitting privileges at PMH. -d isc u sse d the im pact the p ro p o sed Boardman race track could have on the health district. If the track is completed, the district could receive 34 percent more tax monies, since the completed facility would be taxable at around $ 3 0 0 -$ 4 0 0 m illio n , according to estimates. The race track would also impact the district in terms of care required for the possible 1,2000 construction workers employed at the track during the construction process and then race track patrons once the facility is operational. However, Vander Does said that it has not yet been d e term in e d w h e th er the h ealth d is tric t or the continued on page 2 Pellets Reg. $9. SO per bag - Morrow County Grain Growers ~ Lexington 9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 * 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 2 -7 3 9 6 h * farm •q u ip m a n t, vt»lt o ur w ah ilt a a t w w w m e m not
