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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2006)
/ Equal under fire Women suit up for summer wildfire season 11 1 1 > 1 1 ■ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 111 1 1 , 1 ,1 f, I,,, 11 Reprinted from the July 22. 2006 editio n o f "The Spectrum . " Copyright 2006. The Spectrum B\ Patrice St. Germain patrices@thespectrum.com Bessie Wet/ell Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 [Editor's Note: Tiffany Hedrnan is the daughter of Dale and Bobette Hedrnan of Mattawa, WA. She is also the granddaughter of Bob. and the late Sue, Jones and Rita Hedrnan DeZote. and the late Arnie Hedrnan.] VOL. 125 NO. 31 8 Pages Wednesday, August 2,2006 H U R R IC A N E - When school lets out for the summer in Mattawa, Wash., it's not just the students w ho get a break. Third-grade teacher Tiffany Hedrnan trades in her skirts and makeup for dirty T-shirts and jeans for her summer job as a member of the national helitack team in D illon, M ont., to fight wildfires from a helicopter. Hedrnan said with the two careers at opposite ends of the spectrum, it's similar to having a split personality. But the blend works and by the end of the fire season, she is ready to get back into the school routine. “It's perfect because by the time I'm sick of being grungy, it's time to go back to wearing skirts, dresses and makeup,” Hedrnan said. “It’s a transition similar to a Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon split personality, but I'm comfortable in both roles.” Hedrnan said her students find it hard to believe what she does during the summer and the guys on her helitack team ask, “Are you sure you wear dresses?” Standing in a field near New Harmony w ith her lone celebrates remodeling project A party was held last w eek to c ele b ra te the re m o d elin g of the lone library and city hall. The library was expanded and remodeled, city hall was remodeled and a new ADA bathroom was added. The lone Topic Club, which runs the library, presented Mayor Mark Bruno with a plaque in a p p reciatio n for his v o lu n teer work on the project. All of the labor was donated and the funding for materials came from county tippage fees and a grant from the Wildhorse Foundation. The project was started in January of 2006. W hile guests munched on cake and sipped refreshments, Bruno said, “I believe in giving back to the com m unity. I'm old fashioned,” he said. “And this is a great town." He also praised city recorder Gayle Eynetich saying, “She was The Spectrum Tiffany Hedrnan relaxes with the rest o f the n ation al helitack team from Dillon Montana w hile w aiting for an assignment during the Ranch fire near Pintura. Photo by Christopher Spectrum Onstott/The helitack team working on the Ranch Fire, it's understandable why the guys on the crew have a hard time picturing Hedrnan in a skirt. W earing an open weave cowboy hat that her boss calls her “Coyote Ugly” hat, little checks of sunlight dot Hedman's makeup-free face while the hat covers up matted hair and her jeans haven't seen the inside of a washing machine in about a week. Yet Hedrnan. who has spent five seasons on a fire crew, and other women on fire crews say the grime, the dirt and the hard work plus being in the minority in a m ale-d o m in ated occupation - doesn't bother them. “There’s something about it I like. I like being sweaty and dirty and not caring how I look,” Gabriela “Gabby" Mendo, a member of the Angeles Helitack team out of Los Angeles said. “It's fun to me.” Part of the acceptance by their male c o u n terp arts is that the women all pull their own weight and, in some cases, alm ost carry their own weight. Amy Harvey, with the Teton In terag en cy H elitack team out of Jackson. Wyo., is in her sixth ...continuedpage 6 Federally funded clinic refuses to make financials public M.C. Health District approves $70,000 for Boardman Clinic lone City Recorder Gayle Eynetich cuts the cake for the celebration. the driving force behind all this.” The plaque said: “ lone Topic C lub Gity L ibrary 2006 A ddition. Dedicated to Mark Bruno, lone Mayor, with thanks to the citiz en s o f lone for generous financial support. Our appreciation to Wayne Hams, Jim and Gayle Eynetich, the lone Education Foundation and Wildhorse Foundation.” Hetty Kietmann. of the lone Topic Club, presents lone Mayor Mark Bruno with a plaque of appreciation for volunteer work on the remodel project. C onflicting stories presented in possible hit and run Scottie King, 27, of Hermiston, was transported to Pioneer M em orial H ospital on Saturday afternoon, July 29, after being involved in a possible hit and run on Main Street in Heppner. No witnesses were at the scene o f the accident, and King and the alleged suspect, who had left the scene, provided deputies with conflicting stories, said Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack. “There is some evidence on the vehicle that clo u d s the is su e ,” said Sheriff Matlack. He added that the victim's story “was not c o n s is te n t” with evidence found at the scene and additional evidence gathered from the vehicle. “Physical investigation does not show any obvious effort to hit a person,” said Sheriff Matlack. King has claim ed Tiffiiny lledman oversees the fueling of u helicopter that is lighting the Ranch fire near Pintura. Photo h\ Christopher Onstott, The H eppner am bulance crew preps Scottie King for transport to Pioneer Memorial Hospital. that the driver of the vehicle hit and dragged her, while the driver claims King tried to jump into the window of the moving vehicle. Both acc o u n ts have been documented and forwarded to the district attorney's office for any possible charges. “The DA will be decider of fact in case.” said Sheriff Matlack. The DA was not available for comment at press time. Sheriff Matlack also said that the two parties knew each other. King was released from PMH on Saturday evening. C o lu m b ia River Community Health Services executive director, Mindy Binder, and board member Ed Glenn appeared before the Morrow County Health D istrict at their regular meeting Monday night in lone, seeking $70,000 from the district for operations at the Boardman clinic. Glenn told the board that the m igrant clinic received $555,375 in federal grant monies and had a net gain of $277,096 for the year, including the $70,000 pledge from the Morrow County Health District. Glenn and Binder refused to give a copy of the Boardman c lin ic 's audit report to the Gazette-Times, saying that the clinic was not required to make its financials public. The accounting firm that completed the audit, Mike R. Bell & Company, would not take a call from the Gazette and had not returned the Gazette-Times' call by press time. Mike Bell's firm also prep ares financial information for the Morrow County Health District. The MCHD Board ap proved the $ 7 0,000 earmarked for the Boardman clinic, which serves migrant and non-migrant patients in the Boardman area. The clinic is staffed on a part-time basis by Dr. Robert Boss, who previously operated a private clinic at the same location, and two physician assistants who work four days each. Glenn reported that the community is very happy with the clinic, which provides medical and dental services and occupational medicine, including drug testing, fitness tests and other services. He said that the clinic has seen grow th in its patient load, especially among migrant workers and the underserved. But. he added that p h ysician recruitment has been difficult and may become an issue if Dr. Boss elects to retire. Also at the meeting, the board ap proved Dr. Zachary Hale's appointment to the district's medical staff. MCHD CEO Victor Vander Does said that Dr. Hale will be working part-time for the ...continued page 2 MCGG HARVEST HOURS Starting Monday, July 17th MON - FRI 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and SAT 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. P O R T MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. I • A • € «>«>■. ‘«»rtn l»l<' 13 xii|M»rn I i * «* <'o«»llnu; I itl(*>> 48** b e lt-d riv e n , 1-speed co o lin g u n it - - - - D u r a b le o n e -p ie c e p la s tic h o u s in g 3 /4 ** g a r d e n hose c o n n e c tio n s u p p lie s w a t e r U n it a n d w a t e r s u p p ly a r e b o th p o r t a b le 4 * 0 0 0 s q . f t . c o o lin g c a p a c ity /Wv„ availahle as ^ m ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEM ENT DEADLINE: district until June 2007, when he will move into the Heppner community. The board also approved Dr Russel N ic h o ls ’ reap p o in tm e n t to the medical staff. Vander Does said that Dr. Nichols may do some fill-in work for the d istrict, but he and the d istrict have no firm commitment as of yet. C u r r e n t l y P h y s ic ia n 's A ssistant Sheridan Tarnasky is em ployed full-tim e at Pioneer Memorial; Dr. Ed B erretta works for the district in Heppner on a part- time basis; and Dr. Ken Wenberg. who closed his private clinic in Heppner July 31. is still working as an emergency room physician at P io n eer M em orial Hospital in Heppner. Vander Does said that Dr. Sam Datta. who recently left the district for employment in Hermiston, is scheduled to return o c ca sio n ally to perform medical procedures. Another physician's assistant is employed at the district's lrrigon Clinic. Molly Rhea. 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