/
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.
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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. R.N.,
& m
siw
h e ll-d riv e n e n tilin g u n it
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Lexington
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