B « sle W e tre ll N ew spa per L ib ra ry
U niversity o f O regon
Eugene, O R 97403
50
HEPPNEFS
Prediction o f warm Nov.
didn’t come to pass
^
pzette
imes
VOL. 133
NO 42 8 Pages
Wednesday. December 3, 2014
NWS predicts ‘normal 'temps during
December
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
National Weather Ser
vice predictions of a warm-
er-than-usual November in
Heppner were only partly
true, as temperatures plum
meted partway through the
month, resulting in cold-
er-than-norm al average
weather for the month, ac
cording to the NWS office
in Pendleton.
The average temper
ature was 39.2 degrees,
which was 2.1 degrees be
low normal. High tem-
p e ra tu re s a v e r a g e d 4 8 .3
degrees, which was 2.5
degrees below normal. The
highest was 73 degrees on
the Nov. 7. Low tempera
tures averaged 30 degrees,
which was 1.7 degrees be
low normal. Die lowest was
six degrees, on the 16,h
There were 13 days
with the low temperature
below 32 degrees. There
were eight days when the
high temperature stayed
below 32 degrees.
Precipitation totaled
1.16 inches during Novem
ber, which was 0.44 inches
below normal. Measurable
precipitation of at least .01
inch was received on nine
days with the heaviest,
0.39 inches, reported on
the 22nd.
Precipitation this year
has reached 10.53 inches,
which is 2.15 inches below
normal. Since October, the
water-year precipitation
at Heppner has been 1.92
inches, which is 0.82 inches
below normal.
Snowfall totaled six
inches with at least one inch
o f snow reported on two
days. The heaviest snowfall
in Heppner was five inches,
reported on the 14th. The
greatest depth o f snow on
Group o f Heppner locals experience
adventure o f a lifetim e in Peru
Girl injured after
By Andrea Di Salvo
For most people, words
like Cuzco and Machu Pic-
chu are simply the names
of far-off places, or maybe
locations to have on their
bucket lists. For several
Heppner people, though,
those names recently be
came a reality when a group
gathered to visit Peru.
Janelle Healy Ellis of
Heppner said the idea to
visit Peru began to germi
nate when her father Jerry
Healy began talking about
retiring from C olum bia
Basin Electric.
“Prior to his retirement,
he had always wanted to
go,” said Ellis. “When they
started talking about his re
tirement, we started talking
about a family trip. When
we knew the retirement date
was set, that’s when Aunt
Jean (Marie Healy) started
researching.”
Since the company they
chose, Overseas Adventure
Travel, took groups of 15
and only seven members
and friends o f the Healy
family wanted to go, they
extended an invitation to
other Heppner residents.
In the end, the group was
made up o f Jerry Healy,
sons Joseph and Jonas
-See WEATHER REPORT/
PAGE FIVE
fall from third-story
window
Last Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 11:33 a.m. the Morrow
County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a female juve
nile who fell from a third-story window in the 500 block
of South Main St., Heppner. MCSO Undersheriff Steve
Myren reported that Heppner Ambulance transported the
female to Pioneer Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.
Morrow County Sheriff s deputies are investigating
the cause of the accident.
‘Lights of Hope ’ to
shine in Heppner
Thursday
At a school visit in the countryside, the group got the chance to interact with local teachers
and students. Pictured here are: (L-R) Janelle Ellis, Jon Ellis, Jerry Healy, Kvan Mooney,
Dell Peterson, Chad Upham, Marilyn Peterson, the teacher. Bill Fatland, Dr. Lyn Conrad, Pat
Lauritsen, Jonas Healy, Carl Lauritsen, Joseph Healy, and Jean Healy. In the front rows are
fifth- and sixth-grade students dressed in their traditional attire after their poetry, song and
dance performance. -Contributedphoto
Healy, daughter Janelle
and husband Jon Ellis, Jean
Marie Healy and family
friend Bill Fatland of Con
don, as well as Carl and Pat
Lauritsen of Heppner and
Pat's son, Ryan Mooney.
The group of adventurers
arrived in Lima, Peru on
Oct. 26, where they met the
rest of their party— strang
ers to them at the time—a
couple from Minnesota, a
doctor from Memphis and
a young man from San
Francisco. While having
strangers as part o f their
group hadn’t been in the
original plan, Ellis said it
worked out well.
“None of us had ever
been in a tour group, and
it w asn’t som ething we
would normally do, but we
were trying to do the most
we could in 10 days,” she
said, adding that interaction
with other group members
was an added bonus. “You
get to meet different people
who have the same interests
as you.”
-See PERU TRIP/PAGE SIX
P io n e e r M em o rial
Home Health and Hospice
will present its second an
nual Lights of Hope cer
emony this Thursday, Dec.
4, to give those whose loved
ones have passed away
in the past year a special
way to remember them this
Christmas season.
Thursday at 6 p.m.,
shortly after H eppner’s
tree-lighting ceremony on
Main Street, the hospice
will conduct a tree-lighting
ceremony of its own at St.
Patrick's Senior Center in
Heppner.
In addition to the lights
and ornaments already on
the tree in the senior center
lobby, this year families can
personalize ornaments with
the name of a loved one or
a message for those who
have passed away. After a
ceremony in which those
names have been read in
their memory, a special
string of lights will be lit to
keep their memories burn
ing this holiday season.
A nyone w ho has a
loved one they would like
rem em bered during the
Lights of Hope ceremony
Thursday can call Pioneer
Memorial Home Health and
Hospice at 541-676-2946
and speak with chaplain
Carmelo Di Salvo,
Health district sets goals to keep up
A utomatic recount
with growing needs in district
MCHD also seeks to develop better marketing, online presence
Bv April Sykes
The Morrow County
Health D istrict Monday
night approved several im
portant goals in order to im
prove health care delivery
for their patients.
MCHD administration
will begin recruiting a new
physician for their Irrigon
Medical Clinic to keep up
with their growing needs.
Along with that, the board
approved hiring paramed
ics for the north end o f
the county and approved
purchase of a portable ultra
sound machine to be used
in Irrigon and Boardman.
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
in Heppner already has an
ultrasound machine, but it
is stationary.
In order to keep up with
technology and become
more social media savvy,
the district plans to widen
their presence by improving
their website and devel
oping other social media
outlets such as Facebook.
Along with that they plan to
enhance their advertising,
marketing and signage and
develop a brand.
The district is also plan
ning to assess the condi
tion of their physical plant,
which is Pioneer Memorial
Hospital in Heppner, to
ward the goal of keeping the
facilities up-to-date.
The goal is to capture
more primary-care patients.
Prior to the meeting
the board held a joint din
ner meeting with providers
invited to present their ideas
and concerns.
Also at the meeting the
board approved purchase
of three gurneys, one each
to be placed in Boardman,
Irrigon and Heppner, which
will make transport of pa
tients, especially heavier
patients, easier and safer.
The district has received
a grant from Wildhorse to
purchase one of the gurneys
and will be seeking grants
and donations, if possible,
tow ard the purchase o f
the other two. The board
approved a bid from the
company Stryker for the
gurneys at $12,532 each,
for a total of $37,597.
The d is tric t saw a
$ 139.622 loss for the month
of October, mostly due to an
increase in contractuals, ac
cording to Chief Financial
Officer Nicole Mahoney.
For this month, the district
has to pay the government
back $ 193,503 in Medicaid
payments. Last m onth’s
contractuals were $86,810.
For the month o f Oc
tober, the district showed
$628,530 in gross patient
revenue, less $12,139 in
bad debts and the $ 193,503
in contractuals. They re
ceived $122,740 in tax
revenue and $83,536 in
other operating revenue
for total operating rev
enue of $629,164. On the
debit side, the district had
$774,852 in operating ex
penses and a non-operating
gain of $6,067 for the loss.
from 5-7 p.m. there will be MCHD has a $42,946 aver
a mini wine tasting.
age monthly year-to-date
Sweet Productions will loss.
offer a dinner special.
In other business, the
Willow Creek Realty board:
will have Petra Payne and
-See HEALTH DISTRICT/
her Scentsy products set
PAGE FIVE
up for easy shopping from
4:30-7:30 p.m.
ShopfJers will want to
make sure they are at the
tree outside the post office
at 5:30 p.m. so they can
watch the Heppner Day
Care and Heppner Elemen
tary School children hang
their homemade Christmas
ornaments, as well as par
M o r r o w C o u n ty
ticipate in some caroling.
This Thursday, shop ''tilyou drop
at customer appreciation event
This Thursday, Dec. 4,
local merchants will have
special customer apprecia
tion activities and will offer
extended hours to kick off
the Christmas holiday sea
son and to thank customers
for shopping local.
Here are some o f the
specials being planned:
A rtisan Village will
be open from 11 a.m. - 7
p.m., so customers can stop
by and have some refresh
ments, and enter a drawing
to win a prize.
Bank of Eastern Ore
gon will be serving refresh
ments from 10 a.m .-4 p.m.
Community Bank will
also be serving some re
freshments.
Heppner Family Foods
will offer free Home Town
coffee for their custom
ers all day and will have
Santa set up in the store
for pictures from 6-7 p.m.,
with hot chocolate and
candy canes. Everyone is
reminded to bring a camera
to take pictures.
Murray’s will be hav
ing hourly door prizes,
cookies and punch; the
wish-list treasure hunt will
start (with the winner being
announced during the Dec.
18 Christmas event), and
I
announced for
Measure 92
‘No ' is ahead o f ‘Yes 'by 812
votes out o f 1,506,144 cast
SALEM—Oregon Sec
retary of State Kate Brown
last week announced that
the certified results of Mea
sure 92, the GMO labeling
measure, require an auto
matic hand recount.
Brown issued a direc
tive to O regon’s county
clerks to conduct a hand
recount of the votes for and
against Measure 92 some
time between Tuesday, Dec.
2. and Friday. Dec. 12.
A full recount of bal
lots cast on any measure is
required if the difference
between votes cast for and
against the measure is not
more than one-fifth of one
percent of the total votes
cast concerning the mea
sure.
According to the certi
fied results of Measure 92,
“No” votes outnumbered
“Yes” votes by 812 out of
1,506,144 votes cast, and
falls within the margin.
In order to conduct the
recount, county clerks will
appoint counting boards of
four people who are elec
tors qualified to vote in
the county. The clerk shall
appoint as many count
ing boards as necessary to
complete the recount by the
Dec. 12 deadline. No mem
ber of the counting boards
shall have been a candidate
for any office voted upon at
the election. The members
of a counting board shall
not be members of the same
political party.
One elector advocat
ing and one elector oppos
ing Measure 92 shall be
permitted to observe each
counting board during the
recount in each county.
Counting is already un
derway in Morrow County.
The State Elections Di
vision will pay for the cost
of the recount.
.arge Selection of
Christmas Trees
uy early fo r best selection
G r a in G r o w e r s G r e e n F e e d <£ S e r t f