Health district approves Dr. Berrettai contract
'S c W c S '^ U c r t .^ y
The Morrow County
Health District Board ap
proved a part-time hourly
contract with Dr. Ed Berretta
to prov ide emergency room
and clinic patient care at
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
and Clinic.
MCHD CEO Victor
Vander Does also told the
board that another physi
cian, Dr. Nichols, is "mov
ing into employee status.”
Dr. Nichols is expected to
be on board in July.
A lso at the m eet-
ing the board learned that
the district lost $25,589 in
November. The district still
has a $ 151,295 gain for the
year and a $30,259 aver
age monthly year-to-date
gain. C hief Financial O f
ficer Nicole Mahoney told
the board that she expected
December’s bottom line to
be up, with $460,000 in pa
tient revenue anticipated for
the month. The district had
$398,585 in gross patient
revenue for November.
In other business,
the board:
-learned that the dis
trict has purchased a duplex
in H eppner for $93,000.
The district expended an
additional $1,200 expense
for testing an oil tank at the
duplex prem ises. Vander
Does told the board that the
heating system may need to
be upgraded, along w ith the
electrical system to accom
modate the heating system
upgrade. He said that two
electric furnaces are ex
pected to cost around $4,500
and the electrical upgrade
around $3,500, although the
district is awaiting another
bid for the furnaces.
The duplex will be
used to provide housing for
fill-in doctors and nurses.
-learned from Ma
honey that the district an
ticipates financing improve
ments to the hospital with
a combination o f cash and
flex loans. Remodeling is
planned to accommodate
the new sw ing bed program
which would allow the hos
pital to provide long-term
care once again. Vander
Does told the board that six
people are already on the
long-term care list.
- l e a r n e d fro m
Vander Does that a recent
direct mail campaign gar
nered around $4,000. He
said the district also has also
received around $60,000 in
grants. Vander Does and
Mahoney say that Medicare
will pay close to 80 percent
of the costs for the long-term
care remodel project over
15 years.
-learned that the dis
trict can expect no signifi
cant changes in property tax
receipts the coming year.
-heard the following
report: Pioneer M emorial
Clinic had 400 patient visits
in November with 17 new
patients and 76 patients seen
by a nurse; Irrigon Clinic
had 201 patients with 20
new patients, 46 seen by a
nurse and seven no-shows;
Heppner Ambulance had 15
page-outs w ith 11 transports
for $12,244 in rev en u e;
Boardman Ambulance had
17 page-outs and 14 trans
ports for$ 14,477 in revenue;
Irrigon Ambulance had 14
page-outs and six transports
for $5,242 in revenue; Pio
neer Memorial Hospital had
six admissions, 18 adm is
sions for observation, 442
outpatients, 88 emergency
room encounters, 127 x-ray
procedures, 27 CT scans, 27
EKG tests, 37 respiratory
therapy procedures; Home
Health had 138 visits; Hos
pice had two adm issions;
pharm acy had 698 drug
doses for $43,707 in drug
revenue.
-held an executive
session to discuss ph y si
cians' contracts and other
personnel issues.
Deadline nearing for 2008
Wheat Foundation Scholarships
VOL. 127
NO. 2
8 Pages
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Dessert auction to be held SWCD and
MCLG to hold
annual meetings
The Morrow County
Soil and Water Conserva
tion District and Livestock
G row ers w ill have th eir
annual meeting and joint
program on Thursday, Janu
ary 17, at the Heppner Elk’s
Lodge.
The SWCD regular
monthly meeting will begin
at 10 a.m. A hosted lunch
will be held from 12-1 p.m.
Ajoint program will be held
at 1 p.m. The SWCD and
MCLG annual meetings will
be held at 3:30 p.m.
Table displays in
clude:
FFA,
Willow Creek
Clockwise from top left: Sarah Ballard, Kathryn Strouse,
Weed M anagem ent Area,
Lynnell Bowie, Cyde Coil, Katie Kilkenny and Sophie Grant
(center).
Oregon Department o f For
estry, Cattleman’s Beef Mar
The 8lh annual dessert auction will be held by the
keting, OSU Extension/4-H,
HHS cheerleaders on Saturday, January 19, in the gym
Wheat League, Wheatland
during half-time o f the girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball
Insurance, Natural Resource
games.
Conservation Service, and
Cheesecake, sugar cookies, German chocolate
Soil and Water Conservation
cheesecake, caramel pecan cinnamon rolls, and red velvet
District.
cake are among some o f the items that will be auctioned.
Ken Grieb will be the auctioneer.
NOAA issues monthly climate summary
A ccording to pre
liminary data received by
NOAA’s National Weather
Service in Pendleton, tem
peratures at Heppner aver
aged warmer than normal
during the month o f D e
cember.
The average te m
perature was 36.5 degrees
w hich w as 2 .0 d e g re e s
above normal. High Tem
peratures averaged 43.3 de
grees, which was 1.1 degrees
above normal. The highest
was 62 degrees on the 4th.
Low temperatures averaged
29.7 degrees, which was 3.0
degrees above normal. The
lowest was 17 degrees, on
the 11th.
There were 21 days
with the low tem perature
below 32 degrees. There
were 2 days when the high
tem perature stayed below
32 degrees.
Precipitation totaled
1.16 inches during Decem
ber, which was 0.19 inches
below normal. Measurable
precipitation -at least .01
inch- was received on 12
days with the heaviest, 0.46
inches reported on the 7th.
Snowfall totaled 6
inches with at least 1 inch
of snow reported on 4 days.
The heaviest snowfall was
3.0 inches reported on the
7th. The greatest depth of
snow on the ground was 3
inches on the 7th.
The outlook for Jan
uary from NOAA’s Climate
Prediction Center calls for
near to below normal tem
peratures and above normal
precipitation. Normal highs
for Heppner during January
are 42.3 degrees and normal
lows are 26.3 degrees. The
30 year normal precipitation
is 1.46 inches.
The National Weath
er Service is an office o f
the National Oceanic and
A tm ospheric A dm inistra
tion, an agency o f the U.S.
Commerce Department.
The Oregon Wheat
Foundation will provide
up to 12 scholarships for
high school seniors whose
fam ilies are m em bers o f
the Oregon Wheat Growers
League. S tudents w hose
fam ily m em bers are em
ployed by OWGL members
are also eligible. The schol
arship requirements include
an essay on any topic related
to the wheat industry and a
summary o f the student’s
school and community in
volvement.
O ne $500 aw ard
will be made to a qualifying
student from each o f the par
ticipating counties, which
include Baker, Gilliam, Kla
m ath, M alheur, M orrow,
Sherman, Umatilla, Union,
W allowa, and Wasco. In
addition one award will be
made in the Willamette Val-
ley Counties and the Central
Oregon Counties.
A pplication forms
are available from the Ore
gon Wheat Growers League
website at www.owgl.org,
or Cindy Osterlund. schol
arship coordinator for the
Oregon Wheat Foundation,
P.O. Box 322, Condon, OR
97823. Applications are due
February 1.
Grant funds
Elks Hoop Shoot winners available
announced
The Umatilla-Walla
The annual Elks Hoop Shoot was held Sunday
afternoon, January 6, at the Heppner High School gym
nasium. Approximately 40 kids participated in this event
and fun was had by all.
The winners for the 8-9 year old girls were: first
place, Bethany VanCleave; second place, Ryan Wizner;
and third place Siera Robie. Winners for the 8-9 year old
boys were: first place, Logan Grieb; second place, Henry
Padberg; and third place, Wyatt Neal.
The winners for the 10-11 year old girls were: first
place, Maddie Lindsay; second place, Paige Grieb; and
third place, Macy Gibbs. Winners for the 10-11 year old
boys were: first place, C.J. Kindle; second place Brian Rill;
and third place, Tate Gentry.
The winners for the 12-13 year old girls were: first
place, Shadow Kendrick; second place, Alana Wilson; and
third place, Emma Osmin. Winners for the 12-13 year old
boys were: first place, Austin Gutierrez; second place. Trey
Waite; and third place. Garret Robinson.
j ,0 W n
an(j
Country
Banquet to be held
The Heppner Chamber o f Commerce will hold
their annual Town and Country Banquet on Thursday,
January 17, at 6 p.m. at the Elks Club. This year's theme
is “Celebrating Small Time Life” and is sponsored by
CenturyTel.
Prime rib will be served for dinner and tickets
are $25 per person. Tickets can be purchased at BEO,
Murray's, Heppner City Hall, and Heppner Chamber of
Commerce.
Award categories for this year are Woman o f the
Year, Man o f the Year, Citizen-Educator o f the Year, Youth
Recognition. Business of the Year, and Lifetime Achieve
ment.
Dinner will be prepared by the Elks Club and
served by the Heppner High School Senior Class. The
Heppner Garden Club will be providing the decorations.
Jewelry has been donated by Peterson's Jewelers.
Walla-Willow Creek OWEB
Small Grant Team, consist
ing o f members from the
Morrow SWCD, Umatilla
Co. SWCD, Umatilla Basin
Watershed Council, Walla
Walla Watershed Council,
Tiicham SWCD and CTU1R
(Confederate Tribes o f the
Umatilla Indian Reserva
tion), announces the avail
ability o f up to S I0,000
small grants to private land-
owners, and others eligible
for regular OWEB (Oregon
W atershed Enhancem ent
Board) grants, for the pur
poses o f enhancing water
shed conditions to improve
water quality and quantity
w hile m eeting the needs
o f all beneficial uses; flood
plain and upland improve
ment and enhancement; and
reducing erosion, sedimen
tation and nutrients. Projects
w ill also be considered deal
ing w ith invasive plants and
noxious weeds. Funding is
provided through OWEB.
OWEB Small Grant
info rm atio n is av ailab le
on their website at www.
oregon.go\ O W EB index,
shtml. Interested landown
ers can also contact a team
member in their area. A two
week signup for small grants
will be held January 15-31
with funding decisions be
ing made in February. Con
tact (Morrow SWCD) for
application m aterials and