‘Katie goes to Haiti’
Bessie Wet/ell Newspaper Libran
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
HEPPNER
imes
VOL. 133
N 0. 2
8 Pages
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Police arrest masked
man after 1-84 car chase
M o rro w C o u n ty
Undersheriff Steven Myren
has reported that Morrow
C ounty police chased
and eventually arrested
a masked man who had
been reported to be driving
erratically on Interstate 84.
M o rro w C o u n ty
Sheriff’s Office reports that
on Dec. 31 around 3 p.m.,
police were advised of a
light blue Ford SUV driving
westbound on 1-84 near
the Morrow/Umatilla line.
The vehicle was reportedly
swerving in and out of
traffic, operating at speeds
ranging from 50 to 70 mph
and running with hazard
flashers on.
MCSO units responded
and observed the vehicle,
driven by an individual
wearing a “mask of some
sort” and a dark colored
hoody.
Police attempted to stop
the vehicle as it approached
Boardman, at which point,
The v e h ic le w as
they said, the driver began cleared, but the search
to “wave his hands in the air uncovered a handgun on the
and honk his horn” but did passenger seat, a machete
not pull over.
under the driver’s seat and
MCSO advised Gilliam a large kitchen knife under
County police, who waited a floor mat.
for the driver at the Morrow/
The suspect refused
Gilliam line. Myren
to say w hy he
said one MCSO unit
was driving in the
passed the suspect
manner he was. He
on the interstate
was booked into
and assisted GCSO
Um atilla County
in setting up spike
Jail on charges of
strips.
reckless driving and
It was those
attempting to elude
spike strips that Adolfo
a police officer.
flattened both the M artin
Police say the
vehicle's tires and Mendez-
in v e stig a tio n is
ended the car chase Lopez
ongoing.
near milepost 141.
M CSO sa id
Police arrested
Boardman Police
the driver, identified as Department and Gilliam
Adolfo Martin Mendez- County Sheriff’s Office
Lopez, 32, of Hermiston. assisted in bringing the
The u n d e rsh eriff said incident to a peaceful
Mendez-Lopez initially resolution.
claimed there was a bomb
in the vehicle.
By Andrea Di Salvo
Most people have heard
the saying, “Give a man
a fish and you feed him
for a day. Teach a man to
fish and you feed him for
a lifetime.” For Morrow
County native Katie Heath,
the idea behind that quote
came to life in a dramatic
way that most people never
e x p e rie n c e ...te a c h in g
rad io lo g y to m edical
students in a hospital in
Haiti last month.
Heath, 28, who grew
up in lone, is the daughter
of Theresa Crawford of
Heppner and Craig Hams
o f lone. She and her
husband, Heppner native
Ryan Heath, now live in
Pendleton, OR. but Heath
is a distance student with
Linn-Benton Community
College in Lebanon, OR.
She is studying radiology
and, when she graduates
in two months, will be a
radiologic technologist,
doing x-rays and computed
tomography (CT).
So how did she end up
in Haiti?
Linn-Benton Program
Director for the Diagnostic
Imaging Program Stacy
Mallory, one of Heath’s
instructors, was part of a
disaster relief team after a
7.0 magnitude earthquake
in 2010 devastated Haiti
and killed a quarter of a
million people. Mallory was
also involved in developing
a program called Project
Medishare.
Project M edishare’s
website states that its goal
is, “ ...to build capacity
and empower Haitians to
create and sustain their
own healthcare system by
investing in the training,
education and employment
o f lo c a l m e d ic a l
professionals.”
Among its other work.
No surprise to South
Morrow County,
December was chilly
Recent news from the
National Weather Service
won’t come as a surprise to
residents in South Morrow
County...December was a
little colder than normal.
The NWS reports that
the average temperature
was 32.3 degrees, or 1.1
degrees below normal. High
temperatures averaged 42.4
degrees, which was one
degree above normal. The
highest was 61 degrees on
the 2nd. Low temperatures
averaged 22.3 degrees,
which was 3.2 degrees
below normal. The lowest
was -6 degrees, on the 8th.
Heppner experienced
24 days with the low
tem perature below 32
degrees and one day below
zero. There were six days
when the high temperature
stayed below 32 degrees.
P re c ip ita tio n only
totaled 0.58 inches during
D ecem ber, which was
0.74 inches below normal.
Measurable precipitation
of at least .01 inch was
received on 10 days with
the heaviest, 0.15 of an
inch, reported on the 7th.
Precipitation in 2013
to taled 10.89 inches,
which is 3.11 inches below
normal. Since October, the
water-year precipitation
at Heppner has been 2.37
inches, 1.69 inches below
normal.
S n o w fa ll to ta le d
T ic k e ts a re now
available for purchase at
Bank of Eastern Oregon,
Heppner chamber office.
Com m unity Bank and
M urray’s for $20 per
person.
The theme for this year
is “Heppner Magic, It’s the
People.”
As in years past, special
5.5 inches. The heaviest
snowfall was 5 inches,
reported on the 7th; those
five inches of snow on the
7,h was also the greatest
depth o f snow on the
ground.
The h ig h e st wind
gust was 46 mph, which
occurred on the 1st.
T he o u tlo o k fo r
January from NOAA’s
Climate Prediction Center
calls for near-norm al
tem peratures and near
norm al p re c ip ita tio n .
Normal highs for Heppner
during January are 43.6
degrees and normal lows
are 26.7 degrees. The 30-
year normal precipitation
is 1.47 inches.
recognition will be given to
Man of the Year, Woman
of the Year, Business of the
Year, and Citizen-Educator
of the Year, as well as a
Youth Award and Lifetime
Achievement Award.
The event is sponsored
by Ambre Energy's Morrow
Pacific Project and Portland
General Electric.
The Heppner Gazette-Times wants to see pic
tures o f your trophy animals from this hunting
season. Stop by to have your picture taken,
drop off photos, mail them to PO Box 33 7 in
Heppner, email them to editor@rapidserve.
net or text cell phone photos to 541-980-6674.
Katie Heath (second from right) with the Bernard Mevs
radiology director and two technologists that graduated from
the program last year. -Contributedphoto
Project Medishare operates
Haiti’s only critical care and
trauma hospital. Hospital
Bernard Mevs in Port-au-
Prince. Part of Mallory’s
involvem ent w ith the
project was in setting up
a radiology program for
medical students down
there. Last year was the first
year one of Mallory’s own
students had made the trip
to Bernard Mevs; this year
Heath was one of several
students chosen to travel
to Port-au-Prince to teach
Haitian natives.
“My school chose a
couple students to go,”
she says. “They sent us
over individually. We don't
know anyone until we get
there.”
“People were calling
my trip ‘Katie Goes to
Haiti,”’ she says.
“We go to teach these
people so they’re self-
sustainable,” she adds. That
way, she says, the Haitian
people can do things for
them selves rather than
relying on volunteers.
Baby Bernard, well and happy
one and a half weeks after
he a rriv e d at the hospital.
“ B e r n a r d M e v s c a n do
am a z in g things with w hat
little they have," says Heath.
“ I’m blessed to be a part of
it.” -Contributedphoto
hospital that saved his life.
“ Baby Bernard was
f ound in s ome ki nd
of facility by Christian
missionaries. He was found
on the floor being chewed
on by rats and hadn’t been
fed the six days; he was
-See KATIE IN HAITI/PAGE
TWO
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Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
I
envision a place without
seeing it; it was nothing
of what 1 expected. I also
didn't expect it would be
so beautiful. It is a stunning
country,” she says. “There’s
so much rubble everywhere
still from the earthquake, but
then you see the landscape,
and it’s just gorgeous.”
According to Project
Medishare’s website, Haiti
was chosen as a focus
because it is the poorest
country in the Western
Hemisphere.
“A mere 90-minute
plane ride southeast of
Miami, H aiti’s people
suffer almost unimaginable
hardship. In the nation’s
poorest communities, 1
in every 10 children dies
before reaching age 5,”
states the site.
In a nation that poor, of
course, there are challenges.
“The littlest things that
you take for granted every
day and just don’t have,”
Heath remembers. “When
I came back, a hot shower
was the one thing I really
wanted.
“There was running
water but it would be cold,
and you couldn’t drink it,
it would make you sick,”
she adds. She also says,
though, that there was a
bright side. “It was nice
because the weather was
like 95 degrees during the
day, so some days a cold
shower felt nice.”
She says the language
b arrier was d iffic u lt;
she had to teach via an
interpreter. However, that
was more than offset, she
says, by seeing how eager
her students were to learn.
“It made me feel really
good to be there. Everything
1 said or showed them, they
were so involved with,”
Heath says. “You don’t see
that so much here. They
saw it as a gift.”
Aside from teaching
her 27 students, Heath says
she also volunteered time
with the hospital.
“When I was done with
my students for the day, 1
volunteered with the ER,
with pediatrics, took x-rays.
1 pretty much worked while
I was down there,” she says.
Heath says it was
difficult not having the
proper supplies, as well as
seeing the shortages with
which the hospital had to
work.
“ Just seeing what
little the hospital has for
the medicine for patients
because there’s no way for
them to get it. Volunteers
coming down lots of times
will bring medications,”
Heath says, but adds that
those supplies don’t come
close to covering the needs.
H e a t h s a y s one
of the most memorable
experiences o f the trip
happened through her
volunteer work. It was an
infant they called Baby
Bernard, named after the
Tlottuie’* TWta
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
1
“That's part of what this
program is about.”
Heath was in Haiti from
Dec. 7 to Dec. 23, 2013, a
little more than two weeks.
She admits that it seemed
longer than that, but says
that the experience was also
amazing in ways she never
expected.
“Initially I went to Haiti
to teach radiology students
about radiation safety and
how to take x-rays. 1 felt
blessed to be teaching
these am azing people,
but I quickly realized the
Haitian people/culture were
teaching me more about
life, happiness and tragedy
then I could have ever
imagined,” Heath wrote
in her journal about the
experience. “1 quickly fell
in love with the Island and
culture. It is so beautiful
there even with crumbled
buildings and poverty.
There’s a certain sense of
tranquility within island
you just do not get here in
America.”
In fact. Heath says she
was surprised by many
things about her trip.
“I didn’t realize how
much more they still
need there. It’s hard to
T
Town and Country Awards
planned for Jan. 16
Heppner Chamber of
Commerce’s annual Town
and Country Community
Awards will be held on
Thursday, January 16,
at the Morrow County
Fairgrounds.
The event will start
at 6 p.m. with a no-host
social hour provided by
Bucknum’s. The dinner and
program will begin at 7 p.m.
Katie Heath (center) with some of her 27 radiology students at
Bernard Mevs in Port-au-Prince. -Contributedphoto
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242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 9894221 (MCOO main office)