Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2009)
School district outlines protocol in the event o f a sw ine flu epidem ic II.I m L i I i I m III.....IMiiill Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Libran University o f Oregon Eugene. C)R 97403 By April Sykes M orrow C ounty School S u p erin ten d en t Mark Burrows and princi pals, at the district board meeting Monday night at Heppner High School, dis cussed the district’s protocol in dealing with a possible HEPPNER H 1N 1 (swine flu) epidemic. Burrows and the adminis trators stressed prevention and education and outlined contingencies in the event of an outbreak. “We are concerned about a possible epidemic,” said Burrows. Principals said they are tightening the cleaning regimen for the classrooms, emphasizing hand washing, setting up hand washing stations and using Germ-X, especially prior to meals, disinfecting hard surfaces, providing masks for personnel and care givers, providing in formation to parents and asking parents to provide emergency contact infor mation in the event their child becomes ill, a crucial aspect to the plan. Burrows said that the school district is part nering closely with the Morrow County Health Department and plans to have health departm ent personnel at each school's open house and vaccina tion clinics in each building starting in October. He said that the target population ranges from infants six months of age to adults up to 24 years old w ith the in clusion of pregnant w omen, caregivers and those with young children. He said that he w as told that people over 24 are being advised to get their regular flu shots. He said that initial advice was to have two H1N1 immu- See SCHOOL DISTRICT/Page EIGHT Heppner City Manager receives medal for Iraq tour imes VOL. 128 NO. 37 10 Pages Wednesday, September 16,2009 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Sheriff warns of “grandchild” scam Sheriff Ken Mat- lack has put out an alert for people to w atch out for a scam going around that is bilking people out of money using phone calls from people impersonating grandchildren. “ B asically w hat they do is call up some one who has grandchil dren claiming to be that g ran d ch ild and saying they are in some kind of trouble and request money be w ired,’ Matlack said. They somehow find out the grandchild’s name and im personate them, Mat- lack said. Then the person w ires the money to help the grandchild and the money is stolen. “Often times they will tell them they need money for bail or an at torney and then have the money wired to Wal-Mart or somewhere, he said. He said some people have lost $ 1,800 to $2,000 as victims of the scam. Matlack said there was one person in Heppner who fell victim to the scam. “1 don’t know how they get the names of the person’s grandchild, but they do,” Matlack said. “Don't send money until you are sure,” the sheriff added. And he urged people to call the sheriff’s department if they are sus picious or receive a call like this. Public health advisory issued for Willow Creek Reservoir A health advisory prom pted by high algae levels found in Willow Creek Reservoir in Heppner was issued by the Oregon Department of Human Ser vices (DHS). “Water monitoring has confirmed the presence of blue-green algae that can produce toxins harmful to humans and animals,” said Curtis Cude, Hazardous Incident Tracking program coordinator in DHS. These algae levels are likely to be associated with dangerous toxin con centrations in the water, according World Health Organization guidelines. Swallowing or in haling water droplets should be avoided, as well as skin contact with water by hu mans or animals. Drinking water from Willow Creek Reservoir is especially dan- gerous. Cud advised camp ers and other visitors that toxins cannot be removed by boiling, filtering or treat ing the water. DHS advises using another water source not af fected by the bloom. DHS recommends Helfrecht lands 25 pound salmon that people who choose to eat fish from waters where algae blooms are present should remove all fat, skin and organs before cooking since toxins are more likely to collect in these tissues. Exposure to toxins can produce symptoms of num bness, tingling and dizziness that can lead to difficulty breathing or heart problems and require im mediate medical attention. Symptoms of skin irritation, weakness, diarrhea, nausea, cramps and fainting should also receive medical atten tion if they persist or wors en. Children and pets are particularly susceptible. The public will be advised when the concern no longer exists. With proper pre cautions to avoid w ater con tact. people are encouraged - i C » © S i to visit Willow Lake Res ervoir and enjoy activities .‘/ ' s - such as hiking, biking, pic v r. - ./ v nicking, catch-and-release fishing and bird watching. A*. • „» ;+•’ For local informa tion contact the Corps' Wil low Creek Natural Resource Keenan Helfrecht of Heppner caught this 25 pound. 36 inch. Chinook salmon on Labor Day weekend in the Siuslaw River Management Office at 676- 9009. For health informa bv Florence. -Contributed Photo tion, DHS Harmful The Heppner Gazette-Times wants to see pic Algae contact Bloom Surveillance tures o f your trophy animals from this hunting pVogmm coordinator, 97U season. Stop by to have your picture taken, 673-0438 or w ww.oregon. hab; also the drop off photos, or email them to editor@ gov/DHS/ph DHS toll-free information rapidserve.net. line at 1-877-290-6767. j. . / . - » • . * v •' T ' ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 RM. i Heppner City Man- ager David DeMayo (pictured right w ith medal) has receiv ed the Defense Meritorious Ser vice Medal for his recent tour with the US Army in Iraq. The citation accompanying the medal read: For exception ally meritorious achiev ement as Provincial Reconstruc tion Team (PRT) Engineer, Gulf Region South District, United States Army Corps of Engineers, from 25 Decem ber 2007 to 20 November 2008 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As the PRT Engineer for Dhi Qar and Muthanna Prov inces, Major David De- Mayo prov ided engineering oversight for the reconstruc tion efforts in those southern prov inces. He greatly assisted in moving forward the eco nomic stimulus funds recon struction projects. After two months of exemplary efforts. Major DeMayo was selected to become the PRT Engineer for the Maysan Province. Prior to June 2008, before Coalition Forces had access to Maysan, Major DeMayo's oversight of GRS Iraqi engi neers was the key to the suc cess of numerous construction projects including a 12.7 Mil lion dollar surgical hospital, a 1.6 Million dollar roadway, and a 37 Million dollar Loca tion Command. Immediately E-------------------~ ~ 3 Heppner City Manager David DeMayo after the PRT gained access to the prov ince, his technical expertise and ability to man age complex issues led to the rapid approv al of 8.1 Million dollars in Iraqi Commander’s Emergency Response Pro gram funds for a factory and two schools of vital impor tance to the government and citizens of Maysan. Major DeMayo led the effort to successfully implement over 70 Million dollars in roads, water compact units, school renovations, veterinary clin ics and Iraqi security projects. His outstanding ability to pro pose, implement, ov ersee and complete construction proj ects has been second to none. Dav id demonstrated his dedi cation as he worked diligently to increase the capability of May san’s engineers through -See DEMAYO/Page EIGHT City council debates feral cat problem Also hears o f $31,000 in late and unpaid water & sewer hills By David Sykes The Heppner City Council Monday once again discussed how to deal with the ever- increasing number o f feral, or wild, cats living in the city. The subject comes before the council every so often, but a s o l u * ____ tion has never been found. The cats not only cause damage to property, but also could be a health hazard and the cats are suf fering. “Cat ordinances do not work,” city man ager Dave DeMayo told the council. He said the big problem is no one can figure out who the cats belong to, or if they ^ are even domestic or wild. Cats are not licensed like dogs. DeMayo said cat owners should pay to have their animals spayed to cut down on the population, and that the city should not have to pay for this. DeMayo identified two of the most problem areas of the city. Union and Shobe streets and back by the old car wash on Center Street (see letter to editor in this week’s paper). The sheriff’s de partment has a live trap that can be used to catch problem cats, but, once again, no one knows who the cats belong to. On resi dent on Union Street said he has trapped at least 12 cats for relocation elsewhere because they were caus ing such problems on his property. The homeowner said the cats caused $700 in damage to the inside of a trailer he had parked in his driveway. “They basically ruined it," he said. He said also the feral cats had a lit- -See CITY COUNCIL Page EIGHT Canniti waives right to speedy trial A pre-trial hear ing was held on Thursday. September 10, for Wendy Cannin, a former Heppner High School teacher, who has been charged w ith mul tiple sex crimes involving underage students. At the p re-trial hearing. Morrow County District Attorney Elizabeth Ballard objected to Can- nin's release. Judge Dan Hill heard arguments from Cannin’s court appointed attorney Kittee Custer who requested that bail be low ered. Judge Hill lowered the bail to $20,000. During the pre-trial hearing, Cannin waived her right to a speedy trial and her attorney asked for continuance. Another pre trial date has been set for October 8 at 8:15 a.m. Cannin plead not- guilty to the charges on September 1. A trial date will be set at a later time. Cannin is current ly lodged at the Umatilla County Jail. Search continues for missing fishermen The Morrow County Sheriff's Office has learned that five members of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation were fishing on the C olum bia River when the boat capsized and two of the fisherman had not made it to shore and had gone underwater. On Monday, September 14. the sheriff's office received a phone call from a Union Pacific Railroad supervisor near the 3 Mile Island boat launch area near Boardman who stated that a large wave had capsized a boat on the Columbia River. M em bers o f the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office Search and Res cue were dispatched to the area. Calls for additional assistance were made and See M ISSING F ISH E RM A N / Page EIGHT Precision Agriculture Precision Solutions For All Seasons AqGPS £Z GUIPE 250 AqGPV E2 GUIDE SO(l AqGPS F M 1 0 0 0 Morrow County Grain Growers ^^8 x in ^4 o ^M 9 -8 2 2 1 ^ ^ 8 0 0 |4 5 2 ^7 3 9 ^ ^ * ^ » ra^ 2 iijp m fiijw u i^ r« H tt^ ^ rw i^2 ^ « ^ ^ f
