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.
. / .
-
»
• .
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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
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