Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2011)
Commander puts the focus on jobs after deployment Editor s Note: The follow ing story was written and submitted by Staff Sgt. Pat Caldwell, 3rd Battalion, 116"' Cavalry, 3rd Sustain ment Brigade Public Af fairs, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expedition ary). Lt. Col. Phil Apple- ton is the son o f Heppner resident Wendy (Appleton) Andrews. Bessie W etzell Newspaper Library University ofC^ ° n Eugene, OR 9740. HEPPNER imes VOL. 130 NO. 10 8 Pages Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Health district sees big gain in January The Morrow Coun ty Health District got es pecially good news with the receipt of the district’s financial data for Janu- ary-a $216,680 profit for the month. Every revenue source was up, am ount ing to $726,583 in gross patient revenue, compared to $533,100 in gross pa tient revenue for December. This gives the district a $98,985 year-to-date profit, only slightly off a $99,876 budget goal, and a $ 14,140 average monthly year-to- date gain. The d istrict has $99,657 on the books for hospital inpatient revenue for January, compared to $64,240 in D ecem ber; $151,187 in inpatient an cillary revenue, compared to $50,010 for the previous month; $316,052 in out patient ancillary revenue, com pared to $283,029, $105,850 in clinic revenue, compared to $98,446 and $53,835 for Home Health/ H ospice revenue, com pared to $37,373 the month previous. Total operating revenue for January, includ ing bad debts and contrac tual and other adjustments, $94,733 in tax revenue and $3,766 in other revenue, was $769,954, compared to $655,774 in December. In other business: -C E O M ic h a e l Blauer told the board that the new CT scanner at Pio neer Memorial Hospital is up and running well with “really good” images. -Blauer said that the district is “on the verge” of signing a contract for an electronic medical records system. Electronic medical records are a federal man date. Molly Rhea, director of PMH nursing services, said she thought that elec- Pot of Gold at the end of the Heppner rainbow Joint Base Balad, Iraq - When the soldiers o f eastern O regon’s 3rd Battalion, 116,h Cavalry, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Com mand (Expeditionary), re turn home after their tour of duty at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, they will collide with an array o f programs to help reintegrate them into a civilian way of life. But there is one challenge that may be more difficult for them to over come: finding jobs. While plenty of at tention is focused on help ing soldiers deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other factors associated with overseas duty; lack of employment is one of those problems often recognized, but has more difficulty be ing solved. In December, Or egon’s jobless rate hov ered at 10.4 percent while the unem ploym ent rate in several eastern Oregon Lt. Col. Phil Appleton (left), commander of eastern Oregon’s counties ran the gamut be Army Guard unit, the 3rd Battalion, 116,k Cavalry Regiment, tween 16 percent for Grant talks to a group of soldiers recently at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Appleton is busy framing an ambitious plan to help his sol County, and 10 percent in diers find employment once they return home from a one-year Union County. deployment to Iraq. -Photo by SSG Pat Caldwell The commander of the 3rd Battalion, Lt. Col. going to school? If so, are doesn’t stop there. “I’m also Phil Appleton, admitted they aware of their GI bill talking about job interviews the unemployment outlook benefits? Are they under with soldiers while they may appear daunting, espe employed? Is the job they are here, over the phone,” cially for men and women are working in lacking in he said. “Going on unem absent from the workforce longevity?” Appleton said. ployment is not something for more than a year. That He added that de we are going to discuss. is why Appleton and the spite the unemployment Unemployment is only an 3rd Battalion’s senior en rate, there are jobs for his emergency fall back if we listed advisor, Command guardsmen because of what are unsuccessful in finding Sgt. Maj. Bill Wyllie, are he calls intangibles. “And employment for the Sol already molding a plan to here is why: Our soldiers dier,” he said. help soldiers find jobs when are dependable, they know Appleton said the they return home. how to show up on time ambitious job outline he Appleton said of and follow instructions and Wyllie are preparing ten the picture of a soldier is and they know how to lead actually com es back to one-dimensional. He said, and follow. These are the taking care o f soldiers. though, that each guards intangibles. You don’t have “The sergeant major and man functions and succeeds to hope with our soldiers,” I care about our soldiers. based on three critical pil he said. I’m willing to accept losing lars. “There are three legs Appleton said Wyl soldiers so they can gain that support a guardsman. lie will spearhead an effort employment. If they get a The guard, his employer during the next few months job in another state, that and his family,” Appleton to talk with guardsmen who is just something I have to will most likely be unem accept,” he said. said. Yet he said he isn’t A key piece of Ap ployed when they return pleton and Wyllie’s plan home later this year. They too concerned with watch revolves around prepar will be asked to put together ing his soldiers leave the ing now, for work in the a resume. When a soldier 3rd Battalion even if they autumn even as 3rd Bat finishes with the resume, a secure employment in a talion guardsmen conduct group of officers and senior nearby state. “They will convoy escort missions in noncommissioned officers want to stay in this unit be central Iraq. “We have to in the 3rd Battalion will go cause they understand this sit down and question sol through each document to unit takes care of its own,” he said. diers about their long-term polish it. A p p leto n ’s plan employment plan. Are they tronic records will help patients’ outcomes. -B lauer told the board that the Community Health Improvement Proj ect meeting, held earlier in the day at the Port of Morrow in Boardman, was positive. -B lauer reported than improvements have been made at Pioneer Me morial Clinic in Heppner concerning sound absorp tion and im provem ents have also been made to the lobby at the Irrigon Medical Clinic. -B lauer reported that the new physician’s as sistant at the Irrigon Clinic is doing well. Board Chair Larry Mills commented that the district had earlier made a commitment to make im provements to that clinic. -R h ea to ld the board that six patients will be in long-term care at PMH after another move-in next Monday. “We’re work NOAA issues monthly climate summary for Heppner ing hard to keep people According to pre- were two days when the reported on the 18th. The here,” said Rhea, who was liminary data received by high temperature stayed greatest depth of snow on commended by Blauer and NOAA’s National Weather below 32 degrees. the ground was one inch on the board. Precipitation to the 18th. Service in Pendleton, tem -T he b o ard r e The outlook for taled 1.16 inches during peratures in Heppner aver ceived the following report: February, which was 0.07 March from NOAA's Cli aged colder than normal Irrigon Medical Clinic had mate P rediction C enter inches below normal. Mea during the month of Febru 154 patients for January surable precipitation -at calls for below normal tem ary. with 21 new patients, 22 peratures and above normal least .01 inch- was received The average tem seen by a nurse and nine no-shows; Pioneer Memo perature was 36.1 degrees on 11 days with the heavi precipitation. Normal highs rial Clinic had 502 patients which was 2.2 degrees be est, 0.40 inches reported for Heppner rise from 52.1 seen in January with 31 low normal. High tempera on the 16th. Precipitation degrees at the start of March new patients, 39 seen by a tures averaged 45.2 degrees, this year has reached 1.99 to 55.8 degrees at the end nurse and eight no-shows; which was 1.9 degrees be inches, which is 0.70 inches o f March. Normal lows Heppner Ambulance had low normal. The highest below normal. Since Octo rise from 32.4 degrees to 20 total page-outs with 16 was 65 degrees on the 13th. ber, the water year precipi 34.4 degrees. The 30 year transports for $16,775 in Low temperatures averaged tation at Heppner has been normal precipitation is 1.60 revenue; Boardman Ambu 26.9 degrees, which was 2.5 7.91 inches, which is 1.43 inches. The Nat i onal lance had 17 page-outs with degrees below normal. The inches above normal. lowest was four degrees, on Weather Service is an office Snowfall totaled eight transports for $9,659 the 26th. of the National Oceanic and four inches with at least in revenue; Irrigon Am There were 18 days one inch of snow reported Atmospheric Administra bulance had 16 page-outs, • 11 transports for $10,862; with the low temperature on four days. The heaviest tion, an agency of the U.S. there were no flights; Pio below 32 degrees. There snowfall was 1.0 inches Commerce Department. neer Memorial Hospital had eight admissions, one swing bed admission, 10 admitted for observation, 426 total Daylight Savings Time will begin Sunday. D on’t forget to turn your outpatients, 65 total emer clocks forward one hour. gency room encounters, 1701 lab tests, 118 x-ray procedures, 14 CT scans, 33 EKG tests, one treadmill procedure, five colonos copy procedures, one colon/ endoscopy procedure, 100 H $ ave 5 % oi v P owder H uer P asees , G aies aso respiratory therapy proce L ivestock H amdijng E qupmemt dures; Home Health had 134 patient visits. Hospice 3% dee T ee P oses Save March 14th - March 19th had two admits and 190 total patient days, compared • Davis Ranch Hand 2 point barbed wire $64.95 S I I V I K S M I I I IS to 123 the previous month • Range Master 2 point barbed wire $ 19.99 20% o ff and Pharmacy had 1467 drug doses for $144,585 in M orrow County' Grain Growers Green h eed & S eed drug revenue, compared to 2 42 W . L in d e n W ay, H e p p n e r • 6 7 6 -9 4 2 2 • 9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 (MCGG main office) 829 drug doses and $42,980 the previous month. AL L N E W S A N D A D V E R T I S E M E N T DE ADLINE: Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday If there is a better photo to illustrate St. Patrick's l)av in Hep pner, we haven't seen it yet. This photo was submitted to the Heppner Gazette-Times with the following note attached: Dear Sir, I was recently in Heppner after having been away for 27 years. I was in town to visit family at the Wilkinson Ranch. I wanted to submit this photograph to your paper in hopes that it will make it in time for the St. Patrick's Day celebration. I am recently retired from the US Army where I served for the past 23 years as a Combat Photographer / Photo Journalist. The enclosed shot was taken in the morning, on March 4 on the way into town from Willow Creek. If you have a Face book account for Heppner I would he honored to have these submitted to that media venue. Very Respectfully, Shawn Richard Paine (US Army Retired) G r a n d s o n of Di c k a n d V i r g i n i a W i l k i n s o n Crofton Maryland , Fencing Salet ▲ MONTANA M O N D A Y S A T 5 :0 0 P .M . ♦
