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