Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2007)
t ! * New doctor bails on health district Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 VOL. 126 NO. 9 10 Pages Wednesday, February 28, 2007 previous employer did not require that certification. Hale has worked as a fill-in p h y sician at P io n eer Memorial Clinic in Heppner. Vander Does said that Hale plans to provide emergency room care in Prosser, WA. A nurse practitioner from Florida who had also indicated interest in working for the district has also said no, said Vander Does, and a board member said she has learned that another doctor who continues to show some interest in a position with MCHD does not intend to take that position. Vander Does said that provider staffing for M arch c o n tin u e s to be ad eq u ate. H ow ever, the district's contract with Dr. Ken W enberg is due to expire the end of February and Vander Does said he does not yet know Dr. Wenberg’s plans. Dr. Ed B erretta, P h y s ic ia n ’s A ssistan t Sheridan Tarnasky, Nurse Practitioner Sue Peeples, and Dr. Sam D atta are current providers. Dr. Alter is back from Africa and will begin working for the district the first week in M arch, probably alternating with Dr. Berretta, said Vander Does. Also at the meeting, the board learned from Chief Financial O fficer N icole Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Mahoney that the district had Dr. Zachary Hale '‘is b a ilin g ” on the M orrow1 County Health District, CEO Victor Vander Does told the board at th e ir re g u la r meeting Monday night in Boardman. Dr. Hale, who lives in the Tri-Cities area, was scheduled to come on board full-time in June, after he had received certification, which enabled him to provide care to Medicare patients. His Mustang girls in state playoffs The Mustangs varsity girls' basketball team M ill he playing in the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs at the Pendleton Convention Center on Thursday. March 1, at 1:30 p.m. The Mustangs will play Nestucca, the number two seed from the Northwest League. See page 4 for state tournament brackets and the complete story on their win over the Central Linn Cobras on Saturday night, March 24. UMESD Superintendent Murdock resigns to take I to cut a $49,000 check to repay M edicare for a p re v io u s settlem en t payment. However, on the positive side, the district re c eiv e d $ 3 0,000 in a retrospective payment from their worker’s comp plan for having a good w o rk e r's comp record. M ahoney also reported that the district anticipates a Medicare rate settlement adjustment w hich will reduce the amount of m oney the d istric t w ill receive from Medicare as of March 1. She said that most deductions result from an increase in utilization. In other business, the board: -ap p ro v ed a $185.(MX) Ilex lease. $5,000 more than originally planned, to purchase a telephone system, an ambulance and a defibrillator. -approved the only bid received for purchase of a new am b u lan ce for $110.088 for the Boardman area. The district received a $ 1,000 discount for picking up the am b u lan ce-an employee who has relatives in Iow a, w here the am b u lan ce com pany is located, has volunteered-and a $ 1,300 discount for paying for the vehicle at pickup. The vehicle is the same as the Heppner ambulance, said Vander Does. -learned that board members, Linda LaRue and Larry Mills, have filed for their current positions four and five. -learned that Vander Does attended a hearing in Salem on the pro p o sed sw ing bed program and reported no objections to the program, which would allow Pioneer Memorial Hospital to once again provide long term care. Vander Does said that he c o u n te re d a statem en t that no sm all businesses would be affected by the plan, citing examples of businesses that would be positively affected. Vander Does said that the district’s plan is a go now and plans to consult an architect for proposed renovations that would convert two rooms into rooms appropriate for long-term care. -approved the Home H ealth e v alu a tio n as presented by Molly Rhea, director of Nursing, Home Health and Hospice. -learn ed th at the Boardman Senior Center has received a defibrillator from St. Anthony Hospital, but people there are unsure as to how to use it. Vander Does said he w ould look into providing training in the use of the machine. -heard a rem inder from Rhea that the district -Continued on pat;e two lone School Board hears weight room proposal The lone Community School Board, at th eir reg u lar m eeting F eb ru ary 20, heard a presentation on a proposed B ooster Club plan for a weight room at the school from Keith M orter, who stressed the importance of a speedy decision. The board p o stp o n ed a d ecisio n , however, until they receive a site plan and more detailed information. The board learned that enrollment as of Feb. 12 was 143 students, with 56 in grades K-five, 37 in grades six-eight, and 50 in grades nine-12. In other business, the board: -heard a report from S u p erin ten d en t Bryn B row ning that Mr. Insulation gave the district a reco m m en d atio n on replacirtg and upgrading the high school gym windows and an estimate of around $20,000 for the complete jo b . B row ning said she and another for individual CD p lay ers for each elem entary classroom to accom pany the cu rren t literacy program. -learn ed that Howard Mullins and teacher D ale H olland took the school's geology class to the new ly d onated 4 0 -acres above the Emert Addition to locate the final two corners of the property with the use of GPS units purchased w ith an lone E ducation F o u n d atio n grant. IEF recently received a donation of a 40-acre parcel. -heard a site council report that the school is attempting to increase the number of surveys returned by asking that parents bring th eirs to the spring co n feren ce. O nce the parent's name is checked off, he or she will receive a "small incentive”. Parents who do not attend spring conferences will need to return their surveys prior to the end of the school year or they will not receive their Fellows United Nations Tour contest; and the sch o o l’s speech team is now a member of the Oregon State Athletic Association. -learned that school representatives met with other small school districts from the ESD on literacy curriculums, administering and implementing progress checks. -learned that Feb. 9 was the first professional development under the new plan. -learn ed that 10 students in grades 10-12 met with Dr. Sandra DeBano and Sarah Carlson from the OSU R esearch S tatio n for Introduction to Entomology, a course offered on Fridays through the end of the school year taught by C arlson. Students will earn credit through Blue M ountain Community College. -learned from ESD about the pro p o sed leg islatio n to fund data projectors and docum ent cam eras for each o f 708 i
