Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2011)
Luke Swanson joins Heppner Wheatland OR . e90n 9 ?403 Luke Swanson has recently joined Wheatland Insurance C enter as an insurance producer, accord ing to agency president Kay Hunkapillar. Based out o f the H eppner branph office, Swanson, 31, joins Wheat- land w ith 10 years market ing and sales experience with Federated Insurance 3rdry 5 (K HEUBNER Company and Philadelphia Insurance Company. He graduated in 1997 from lone High School and earned his business de gree from Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. Swanson has extensive knowledge of the insurance industry with an emphasis on business and non-profit organization coverage. He is married and his wife’s name is Tyan. They have two children, C arter, 23 m onths and Chase, two months. “I am happy to be back in the area with my family and I look forward to help ing businesses and local people with their farm, commercial, personal and : Luke Swanson at his office in Heppner. life insurance. Wheatland Insur ance Center is one of the largest locally owned insur ance agencies in Eastern Oregon, with 10 locations throughout the region. A Trusted Choice indepen dent insurance agency, Wheatland represents many insurance companies offer ing products for businesses, non-profit organizations, public entities, and all lines of personal insurance prod ucts. Health district shows healthy profit azette imes VOL. 130 NO. 13 10 Pages Wednesday, March 30,2011 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon School District, Port positions challenged There will be many positions up for election on the May 17 ballot. Some of the positions include two from the lone School Dis trict, four from the Morrow County School District, and two from the Port of Mor row. One of the Morrow County School D istrict positions and both Port of Morrow positions are being challenged. For the lone School District: Joseph P. McEl- ligott has filed for Director Position 1 and Bink Ramos has filed for Director Posi tion 2. For the M orrow County School District: Brian Kollman has filed for Position 1; William J. Kuhn has filed for Position 3; Becky Kindle is opposing incumbent Patrick Anthony McNamee for Position 4; and Tony Navarro for Posi tion 5. For the P ort o f Morrow: Incumbent Marvin Padberg is being challenged by Gerald (Jerry) Breazeale for Commissioner Position 4 and incum bent Larry Lindsay is being challenged by Kelly Kraft. DA to speak to Tea Party group Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson will be speaking to the April meeting of the Willow Creek Valley Tea Party Patriots. Nelson will speak about issues in Morrow County and also take questions from the audience. The meeting will be held Monday, April 11, at 7 p.m. at Columbia Basin Electric Conference Room. The public is invited to attend and participate. Area football players selected for annual East West Shriners football game d m its* VÄ ______ X T * t j __ m è The Morrow Coun ty Health District showed a healthy profit for the second month in a row, according to the February profit/loss statement released at the regular meeting held Mon day night in Heppner. The district had a $47,162 gain for February, down from a $216,680 gain in January. In F e b r u a r y MCHD showed $568,975 in gross patient revenue and $128,617 in total revenue deductions, $94,733 in tax revenue and $93,775 in other operating revenue for $638,867 in total operating revenue. In January the district showed $769,954 in total operating revenue. February’s prof it/loss statem ent listed $589,831 in operating ex penses, a $39,035 gain from operations, and an $8,126 non-operating gain. The district listed a $146,147 year-to-date gain for an average $18,268 monthly year-to-date gain. At the m eeting, CEO Michael Blauer told the board that he is planning to meet with Oregon Health Sciences University, to wards coordinating patient visits with a cardiologist through OHSU at Pioneer Memorial Clinic in Hep pner, and is also working with cardiologist Dr. Tim Hanlon, who provided car diology care previously at Pioneer Memorial Clinic and is now affiliated with OHSU. In other business, the board: -h e a rd u p d a te s from Blauer on numerous topics such as the Commu nity Health Improvement Project, in which MCHD is participating; the prospect of managed care; working with other organizations to coordinate health care; the national health care insur ance plan and the possibility of its repeal; and on several seminars and workshops he had attended concerning health care on local, state and national levels. -elected John Mur ray as the MCHD secretary/ treasurer to conform to the district’s by-laws. -learned that the newly purchased CT scan is up and working; -learned that the district is seeking an RN for Home Health and Hospice to replace a nurse who is leaving the area and also an EMT in Irrigon; -learned that the long-term care census is at eight patients and the assisted living facility has one opening and may be providing respite care; -heard that some patients from the Irrigon area are returning to the Ir rigon Clinic for their medi cal care, possibly due to a physician shortage in Hermiston. The district is contem plating im prove ments on the Irrigon Clinic if business there remains steady. Blauer suggested that the district observe the trends at the Irrigon Clinic for three to four months be fore making plans. “I think we need to get this process started when we can,” said board Chair Larry Mills. -received an in quiry as to identity of the donor of the “old green” ambulance, previously used in parades and now held by the county which would like to sell it. -heard a concern about water quality and nitrate contamination of groundwater from David Bums, MCHD board mem ber from Irrigon. Board member LeAnn Rea told the board that she had pre viously learned of a study that indicated that ground water contamination had been detected in north Mor row County, as a result of crop fertilization, effluent application and irrigation, but that it was not an issue in south Morrow County. -heard from Blauer that a board training session has been planned for April 25, prior to the next regular meeting. -held a joint medi cal staff/board meeting prior to the regular meeting. -received the fol lowing report: the Irrigon Medical Clinic had 191 patient visits in February, with 30 new patients, 28 seen by a nurse and seven no-shows; Pioneer Memo rial Clinic had 455 patient visits with 39 new patients, 46 seen by a nurse and five no-shows; Pioneer Memo rial Hospital in Heppner had seven admissions, three swing bed admissions, 12 admitted for observation, 414 outpatient admissions, 66 total emergency room encounters, 1457 lab tests, 104 x-ray procedures, 15 CT scans, 38 EKG tests, two treadmill procedures, six colonoscopy proce dures, one endoscopy pro cedure, 105 respiratory therapy procedures; Hepp ner Ambulance had 17 total page-outs with 16 transports for $22,598 in revenue, Boardman Ambulance had 16 total page-outs with five transports for $6,011 in rev enue, Irrigon Ambulance had 19 total page-outs with 14 transports for $14,165 in revenue, there were two flights; Home Health had 113 patient visits; Hospice had two admissions; and pharmacy had 1178 drug doses for $53,281 in rev enue. Dilley sentenced to 70 months for Irrigon robbery Joseph requested open sentencing mandatory Measure 11 sentence of 70 months in the Oregon Department of Corrections. Judge Temple robbing Bakes Restaurant Judge Eva Temple heard ruled that the defendant from the did not qualify under a and Lounge in Irrigon on testimony December 2, 2010. The defendant and victims in opt-out of Measure 11 and defendant pleaded guilty the case. Judge Temple sentenced the defendant to to one count of Robbery then heard argument from 70 months to the Oregon in the Second Degree, one Defense Attorney Dan Department of Correction. Under the Measure count of Unlawful Use of Stephens and Morrow 11 sentence, the defendant a Weapon, one count of County District Attorney will not be eligible for any Menacing, and one count Justin Nelson. Defense reductions in his sentence. counsel argued for an opt- of Theft in the Second The case was in Degree. No stipulated out of Measure 11 time, vestigated by the Morrow while District Attorney sentence was agreed to County Sheriff’s Office. Nelson requested the between the defendant and the state. The defendant Dillon The 59,k annual Shriners East West Football Game will be held July 30 at 12:30 p.m. at the Dilley, 22, was sentenced before the court. Baker High School football stadium. Ian Murray (left) of Heppner High School was chosen At sentencing, to 70 months in prison as a player for the East team. Jordan Wright (center), of Heppner High School, and Tanner Morrow/Umatilla Circuit under Measure 11 for Rietmann (right), of lone High School, were selected as alternates for the East team. Public invited to Port of Morrow & 1-84 / U.S. 730 Interchange Area Management Plan meeting The Oregon De partment of Transportation (ODOT) and their plan ning consultants will host a second Public Open House Meeting regarding the Port of Morrow and Interstate 84 / U.S. Highway 730 Interchange Area Manage ment Plan. The meeting will be held on Thursday, April 7, starting at 6 p.m. at the Port of Morrow (P.O.M.) conference room. The open house session will begin at 6 p.m., with presentations beginning at 6:20 p.m. The P.O.M. is located at 2 Ma rine Drive in Boardman. The meeting is be ing held to provide local residents, community mem bers, business owners and others an opportunity to review preliminary inter change and roadway con cepts, review the concept evaluation and screening » process, ask questions and provide feedback regarding the area plan. The Port of Mor row (POM) and 1-84/U.S. 730 Interchange Area Man agement Plans (I AMPs) are long-term transportation and land use plans that are being developed by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Port of Morrow, the City of Boardman, and Morrow County. The focus of the plans is on the existing 1-84 / Laurel Lane (POM) Exit 165 and 1-84 / U.S. 730 interchanges. The goal is to identify near and long-term improvement projects that will allow the interchanges to continue to function in a safe and efficient manner as the surrounding area devel ops and new roadway con nections are built. As part of the planning process, land use, roadways, and property access within the vicinity of the interchange will be evaluated. Building new interchanges or modi fying existing interchanges is very costly; therefore, it is in the interest of ODOT, the Port of Morrow, the City of Boardman, Morrow County, business owners, Deadline to register to vote set for April 26 and citizens to ensure that April 26 is the last day for residents that are new to the state to register to vote these important interchang es function well for as many for the May 17 election. years as possible. For additional in formation regarding this meeting or the Interchange Area Management Plans being developed, contact Matt Hughart at Kittelson & Associates, 503-228-5230; Karen Pettigrew at the City o f Boardm an, 541-481- 9252; or Carla McLane at HRU M a r c h 3 I Morrow County, 541-922- 4624. Morrow County Grain Growers Selected Nope Heed Tools up to 40% eff ^ejungtor^l89-822^^^800-452-7396^j^tnii«2B jpBiM ^w uw M »«»itt^rjw «e(M j^ t I
