Some flu vaccine getting to Morrow County
i 111 ■ ■ 11 • • I • I • • 111 ■ * ■1 a H111 a 1 ^
Bessie Wetzel I Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene. OR 97403
VOL. 128
NO. 42
10 Pages
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By David Sykes
The H1N1 flu vac
cine is starting to make its
way to M orrow County,
and h ealth o ffic ia ls are
now a d m in is te rin g the
doses in lim ited amounts
to the targeted swine flu
group, the county health
nurse said Monday. M or
row County Public Health
Director Sheree Smith said
that as soon as the county
Morrow County. Heppner, Oregon
Governor candidate visits Heppner
By David Sykes
Candidate for Or
egon Governor John Lim,
who was in Heppner last
F rid a y , sa y s th e
num ber-one issue
facing Oregon is the
economy.
L i m , an
ex p erien ced state
le g is la to r having
served 13 years in
the House and Sen
a te , says O reg o n
needs a limited government
and a smaller government
that will not stifle the busi
nesses that will ultimately
create the jobs in Oregon.
"We have 12 percent unem
ployment in Oregon, higher
than the national average,”
says Lim . “ A nd th a t is
unacceptable. We need to
show young people how to
succeed.”
Lim im m ig ra te d
to the United States from
K orea in 1966 and has
worked in many dif
ferent types of jobs
including starting
his own com pany
c a lle d A m e ric a n
Royal Jelly C om
pany, which he still
owns, in 1972. “ 1
have held manual
jo b s and owned a
company. I understand how
to work and how to run a
business," he says.
Lim says the Dem
ocrats have been running
things too long with poor
results. “Oregon needs a
new direction. Our state has
been under one party rule
for too long, and that is not
good. I am not sure what
the Democrat governor has
done,” he adds. “But we
need fresh leadership.”
“It is not the job
o f government to provide
jobs,” Lim says. “The pri
vate sector will create the
j o b s .” T he g o v e rn m e n t
should “ s te e r” he says,
“not row,” when driving the
economy.
Lim says the Re
publican Party needs to
have a big tent, unify and
listen to people with dif
ferent opinions. “ I am a
conservative and believe
in improving the economy
and creating jobs. 1 will
be the top salesm an for
Oregon,” he says. With his
ties to Korea, Lim says he
has spent time in the Pacific
Rim countries and could
help sell Oregon's products
to those countries.
On education Lim
says we need to be more
pragm atic. “ Our curricu
lum is not designed for the
21st century. We need to
custom ize education,” he
says. “ Each student should
work in w hat they are good
at. Twenty five percent o f
students in Oregon don’t
graduate. This is a problem.
We need to teach students
other things, such as hands
on skills,” Lim says.
Lim also says we
need to make sure the gov
ernment does not become
the sole support for citi
zens. "We have 100,000
people on welfare in this
state. We need to make sure
people can get jobs and then
take them . The g o v e rn
ment should not be provid
ing long term income,” he
says.
Following is Lim’s
biography:
John Lim is one of the
longest serv ing members in the
legislature, where he served five
elected
terms in Oregon. When
Chris Rauch shot this kangaroo while on a trip to Australia the
first part of September. Rauch shot four that same night, but. he w as in the eighth grade, the
Korean War broke out on June
he said, the big one got away. -Contributed Photo
25, 1950. His father. Eun Kyu
The Heppner Gazette-Times wants to see Lim, was forced to serve as
pictures o f your trophy animals from this a firefighter under the North
Korean military occupation for
hunting season. Stop by to have your pic three
months. Because of this
ture taken, drop off photos, or email them reason, John Lim’s father was
executed by the South Korean
to editor@rapidserve.net.
-See GOV. CANDIDATE/
Page FIVE
Rauch bags kangaroo
in Australia
Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, November
gets more H I N l vaccine
they w ill be going into the
schools to vaccinate the
students. Sm ith said she
hoped to see a larger supply
of vaccine arriving in tw o to
three weeks.
Smith said her of
fice will be giving the vac
cine at all regularly sched
uled clinics in Boardman
( Monday and Tuesday ) and
Heppner ( Thursday ) giving
out what is available. Smith
emphasized that the vaccine
at this tim e will only be
given to those in the follow
ing target groups.
The target groups
for H l N l vaccination are:
-Pregnant women
-Household mem
bers and caregivers o f in
fants less than 6 m onths
of age.
-Children 6 months
through 24 years of age.
-Persons age 25-
64 years who have health
conditions associated with
higher risk of complications
from influenza.
-Healthcare work
ers and law enforcement.
“H I N l influenza
illness has not yet peaked,”
Smith said. We urge every
one to get the vaccine when
they can.” She also said
Residents at 270 Chase Street in Heppner are taking the Hu
season in stride, putting up these sarti decorations as comic
relief. -Photo by Autumn Morgan
health experts expect anoth
er wave of H l N l influenza
illness in the spring.
Smith announced
the arrival o f additional
seasonal influenza vaccine
and urged people to get
their regular seasonal flu
shots which can be received
during the norm al clinic
schedule starting November
4 with the P.O.D. (Point of
Distribution) Clinic offer
ing free (no cost) seasonal
vaccine to anyone. The clin
ic will be held at Riverside
High School Wednesday,
November 4, in Boardman
4-7:30 p.m. This clinic is
the same type that was held
at the Heppner High School
last November. Everyone
is encouraged to attend,
especially those w ithout
health care coverage, said
the health department.
Health district shows $387,155
loss for 2009 fiscal year
Upcoming tax levy revenues to improve bottom line
By April Sykes
Konrad Capeller,
certified public accountant
w ith M ichael R. Bell &
Com pany, told the M or
row County Health District
Board Monday night that
audited financial statements
show that the district had a
net loss of S387,155 for the
2009 fiscal year, compared
to net gains o f $229,978
for 2008 and $658,107 for
2007.
The board had ex
pected a loss for the year, as
the district’s previous three-
year serial levy had expired.
Voters have approved a
new five-year levy which
is ex p ected to g en erate
over $350,000 per year for
the district. Capeller also
attributed some of the loss
to the start-up o f the new
long-term care facility at
Pioneer Memorial Hospital,
in addition to the absence of
levy funding for the year.
He credited MC'HD
Chief Financial Officer Ni
cole Mahoney with better
debt collections for the dis
trict. He said the district’s
days in accounts receivable
went down from 70 days to
63 days, compared to most
hospitals, which average
75-80 days in accounts
receivable.
The financial state
ment indicated that the dis
trict’s overall business grew,
with gross patient revenue
increasing $931,256, al
most 17 percent, and the net
patient revenue increasing
$543,865, 11 percent. Non
patient revenues, including
property taxes, decreased by
nearly 30 percent, w hile op
erating expenses increased
by $839,372.
The financials re
ported $ 1,753,080 in net as
sets for the district in 2009,
com pared to $2,140,235
in 2008 and $1,910,257 in
2007. Total operating rev
enues were $5,671,798 in
2009; $5,143,907 in 2008;
and $5,209,598 in 2007.
Total operating expenses
were $6,766,853 in 2009;
$5,927,481 in 2008; and
$5,473,461 in 2007. The
district had a non-operating
gain (which includes prop
erty tax rev en u e, in te r
est earnings and expense,
donations and grants and
gains/losses on the sale o f
assets) of $707,900 in ’09;
$1,013, 551 in '0 8 ; and
$921,970 in ’07.
C a p e lle r also
touched on the d ifficu l
ties the d istrict has had
with Medicare reimburse
ments. He said estim ates
on the amount of Medicare
payments the district is to
receive is based on cost
reports and can vary wide
ly from period to period,
subsequently resulting in
Medicare overpaying. The
d istrict m ust then repay
M edicare for those over
payments, periodically re
sulting in a hefty repayment
am ount. He said he and
Mahoney were working on
a resolution to the problem
and would examine the is
sue quarterly.
D istrict adm inis
trator Michael Blauer told
the board that he has been
exploring options to satisfy
the impending federal re
quirement for implementa
tion of an electronic records
system. He told the board
that an initial deadline of
2011 has been set to have
the electronic record sys
tem in place, with other
requirements mandated in
follow ing years. He said the
district will be reimbursed
for the system , how ever
strict guidelines m ust be
followed to receive reim
bursem ent, so selection
must be made very care
fully. “If you pay all the
m oney and don’t fill the
requirements, you won’t be
reim bursed,” said Blauer.
Capeller said that as soon as
funds are expended for the
system, “You get a check.”
M ahoney said that while
the costs of purchasing the
system will be reimbursed,
maintenance o f that system
will not.
In other business
the board:
- l e a r n e d from
Bl auer that Dr. Hanl on
has expressed an interest
in providing cardiac care
for the district, however,
the pu rch ase o f certain
specific equipment may be
required.
-learned from Blau
er that he was contacted
by members o f Boardman
Emergency Services who
told him that they were very'
satisfied with the equipment
they are provided by the
district. One volunteer told
the board at the last district
meeting that the equipment
was sub-standard.
-learned from Blau
er that flu outbreaks have
seemed to have subsided
somewhat. He said that all
doors at the hospital are
open except for "a couple
in long-term care.” “Things
seem to be stable right now,
but w e’re keeping an eye
out," he said. “We appre
ciate all the efforts o f the
staff." added MCHD Chair
Larry Mills.
-heard from Blauer
that the district’s providers
have met w ith the directors
o f the new mental health
facility that is scheduled
to be com pleted the first
part of next year with the
-See HEALTH DISTRICT/
Page FIVE
ATVs stolen from M.C. Grain Growers
A ccording to the
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office, four ATVs were sto
len from Morrow County
G rain G row ers' store in
Lexington.
On October 23, a
store employee contacted
the sheriff's office to report
that four ATVs were miss
ing from the store. A deputy
responded and reported the
following ATVs as stolen:
a gold 2010 Polaris Razor
with black stripes; a red
2009 P olaris Sportsm an
550; a cam ouflage 2009
Polaris Sportsman 850; and
a red 2009 Polaris Sports
man 400.
GREEN FEED & SEED IN HEPPNER:
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K eep w a rm th is w in te r
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ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
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-In su la te d C overalls •B oots - C oats -G lo ve s-
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M orrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & S eed
242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)