Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, September 2, 2015
HEALTH DISTRICT
ers and Facebook postings.
Op/Ed
- THREE
~ Letters to the Editor ~
-Continued from PAGE ONE
statement for July, which
although it did not meet
expectations, still ended
with a $77,121 gain for
the month. Gross patient
revenue for the month was
$733,885, with $854 for
bad debts and $42,474 in
contractual and other ad-
justments, $118,146 in tax
revenue and $13,027 in
other operating revenue for
a total operating revenue
of $823,439. Total operat-
ing expenses amounted to
$755,836, plus a month
operating gain of $9,518
for the $77,121 gain for the
month.
In other business, the
board:
-learned that Pioneer
Memorial Clinic and Ir-
rigon Medical Clinic will
now offer sports physicals
as part of an annual well-
ness exam for no extra
charge. Mahoney said that
most children are now cov-
ered by insurance that pays
for an annual wellness visit,
the insurance companies
are encouraging annual
wellness exams for chil-
dren, so consequently the
district would try to encour-
age both to be scheduled for
the same visit.
-learned that Artmil,
the graphic design/print-
ing/web design firm hired
by the district, has been
working on new website
development, patient fold-
-received the following
report: Pioneer Memorial
Clinic had 415 patient vis-
its with five new patients,
19 seen by a nurse and 13
no-shows; Irrigon Medi-
cal Clinic had 243 patient
visits, 19 new patients, 54
seen by a nurse and 18
no-shows; Heppner Ambu-
lance had 22 page-outs with
18 transports for $32,996 in
revenue; Boardman Ambu-
lance had 31 page-outs with
17 transports for $25,889
in revenue; Irrigon Ambu-
lance had 31 page-outs with
13 transports for $18,538
in revenue; three people
were flown out; Pioneer
Memorial Hospital had six
admissions, six swing bed
admissions, four admitted
for observation, two ad-
mitted for respite care, 484
outpatients, 86 emergency
room encounters, 1,610 lab
tests, 112 x-ray procedures,
15 CT scans, 18 EKG tests,
one treadmill procedure,
three colonoscopy pro-
cedures, three endoscopy
procedures, one colon/en-
doscopy procedure; Home
Health had 177 visits; Hos-
pice had one admission;
Pharmacy had 2,106 drug
doses for $75,044 in drug
revenue.
-held an executive ses-
sion concerning the CEO
contract and a risk manage-
ment report.
Ready for a disaster?
Do one thing every month to
prepare
Submitted by the Mor-
row County Health Depart-
ment.
September is National
Preparedness Month. How
prepared are you or your
family to deal with emer-
gencies we hear about daily
and that can happen any-
where—earthquake, flood,
wildfire, disease? Disas-
ters that happen in western
Oregon can also disrupt
power, fuel and other sup-
ply deliveries to eastern
Oregon. No community is
completely safe.
It can be overwhelm-
ing to begin preparing for
a disaster, especially if you
don’t know where to start
or what to do. The “Do 1
Thing” personal prepared-
ness campaign can help
you focus on one important
need per month so slowly
you become better pre-
pared. Some examples of
the monthly topics include
the need for water, food, be-
ing informed, and planning
for your family’s unique
needs (e.g., baby products,
pet supplies, medications).
The September per-
sonal preparedness topic
is, “Be Informed.” Take
the time this month to go
online and read more about
how to stay informed in an
emergency at http://do1th-
ing.com/topics/informed.
Morrow County
Health Department will
also be highlighting the
“Do 1 Thing” monthly
preparedness messages
on their Facebook page
at https://www.facebook.
com/pages/Morrow-
County-Health-Depart-
ment/458759104230177.
THE L ANDING
RESTAURANT
Prime rib
Every Saturday night
$23.95
(Reservations Required/Limited supply)
Labor Day Weekend
Morning Buffet
$8.95
Friday Saturday Sunday & Monday
(buffet only, no menu)
Open 8am-11am
Closed 11am-12pm for cleaning
Senior Sunday Dinner
$6.95
Baked Chicken Dinner
with all the trimmings
Landing at Morrow Count y
OHV Park
Hours: mon-Sat 8am-8pm
Sunday 8am-5pm
541-969-3822
find us on facebook
www.facebook.com/TheLandingLodge
MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION
Custom Bu
sin
Card Printi ess
ng
Heppner G
azette-Tim
es
541-676-9
228
david@rap
idserve.net
FREE PICK
-UP & DEL
IVERY
U.S. House Passes
Wildfire Prevention
Bill
By Rep. Greg Walden. Reprinted from the Oregon
Wheat Newsletter.
Dear Friend,
Around Oregon and throughout the West, another fire
season is well underway. Overstocked, diseased, and bug-
infested forests are at risk of the massive and catastrophic
wildfire that clog our air with smoke and threaten our
streams. All this while our mills are starving for a reliable
supply of timber and people need jobs. It’s clear the status
quo isn’t working for our forests, our communities, or our
environment. We can do better.
The U.S. House has passed a bipartisan bill—the
Resilient Federal Forests Act—that would help reduce
the threat of catastrophic wildfires and bring active
management back to our federal forests. Through active
management, we can clean up our forests, prevent these
unnaturally large fires, protect our air, and put people back
to work in our forested communities.
Our bill puts into place much needed reforms to
federal forest policy. For example, the bill repeals the
arbitrary and outdated prohibition on harvesting trees
over 21 inches in diameter on national forests in eastern
Oregon. “Temporarily” put in place in 1997, this rule still
hasn’t been removed 20 years later. This flawed, one-
size-fits-all rule illustrates just how broken federal forest
management has become. The restriction greatly limits
forest managers’ ability to address site specific needs of
the forest on the ground and has only served to further tie
up projects in endless appeals and litigation.
Our plan also gives the Forest Service greater flex-
ibility to move quickly on projects to reduce the threat of
fire around our rural communities, streamlining projects
developed through local counties’ community wildfire
protection plans.
Right now, after a fire, the Forest Service is able to
reforest less than three percent of areas burned. This plan
would accelerate the removal of timber after a fire (to
help pay for replanting), and requires a large percent of
the area impacted be reforested within five years. Just like
we do after other natural disasters, we ought to clean up
and rebuild after wildfires. As we saw earlier this summer
on the Buckskin Fire in southern Oregon, failing to clean
up only leads to future fires in old burn scars full of fallen
trees and snag that prove difficult and too dangerous for
firefighters.
This bill also cuts costs and streamlines rules for
timber production on legislation pertaining to Oregon’s
unique O&C Lands. The Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) recently unveiled new management plans for these
lands that would fall short of the needs of local communi-
ties for a reliable supply of timber to fund essential local
services like schools, roads, and law enforcement. The
bill tells the BLM to go back to the drawing board, and
propose new plans to actually provide sustainable timber
production for Oregon’s rural communities as required
by law.
Finally, the endless cycle of “fire borrowing”—forc-
ing the federal government to use wildfire prevention
funds to pay for fighting fire—Is ended under this bill.
It fixes how we pay to fight fire by allowing the Forest
Service to apply for FEMA disaster funds to pay for fire-
fighting. This treats wildfire as the natural disasters they
are, similar to hurricanes or tornados.
The Resilient Federal Forests Act will improve the
health of our forests and our rural economies. During
the last session of Congress, the House twice passed
bipartisan legislation I worked on to reform federal
forest policy. The Senate has failed to take up forestry
legislation. However, with new leadership in that body
I’m hopeful that the Senate will take meaningful action
on forestry legislation. We cannot let this opportunity
pass us by again. Our forested communities have already
waited too long. Now is the time to act.
Best Regards,
Rep. Greg Walden
Community health
surveys in the mail
From September
through November of this
year, the Umatilla-Morrow
County Community Health
Partnership will begin its
survey of Morrow and
Umatilla County residents
as part of a community
health assessment process.
Your community health
partners, including Yellow-
hawk Tribal Health Center,
are working closely with
the Hospital Council of
Northwest Ohio and re-
searchers at the University
of Toledo to conduct the
survey.
Over the next two
months, more than 2,400
Umatilla-Morrow residents
ages 18 years and older will
be randomly selected to
participate in this survey.
Residents who are ran-
domly selected are urged
to complete and return the
survey.
The anonymous survey
asks participants to answer
questions about general
health, risk and protective
health factors, and access
to health care.
These answers will cre-
ate a snapshot of the overall
health of Umatilla and Mor-
row County residents.
The results will guide
many public and private
agencies in their program
planning over the next sev-
eral years by identifying
key health problems.
The final community
health assessment report
will be published in the
spring of 2016, at which
CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE & SEE OUR DAILY SPECIAL!
COME GEAR UP FOR THE FOOTBALL SEASON!
WE HAVE SHIRTS AND HOODIES!
STORE HOURS:
M-F 7a.m. – 6p.m. Sat. 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Pharmacy Hours: M-F 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. (closed 1-2 for lunch)
Closed for Labor Day!
The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following
criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name
of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you
provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The
address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be
printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the
right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in
letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under
“Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
Government reporting
on Canyon Creek fire
misleading
I’d like to comment on the deflection of truth that we
see in the reporting of fire from the NWCC at their site,
http://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/information/fire_info.aspx.
And, more specifically, on the Canyon Creek Complex
fire in Oregon.
1. It is stated by most of the locals there that the fire
was small and could have been put out rather than “man-
aged” two days prior days to it blowing up on or about
the 14 th of August. No mention of that or the resultant
fact that this was the cause of two fires coming together,
resulting in the catastrophe we see today.
2. The statement from the website under ‘fuel/terrain’
is, in my opinion, misleading and politically motivated:
Canyon Creek Complex/Fuel “Timber, medium logging
slash, and short grass.”
There has been little or no logging in that area or any
areas on the Malheur National Forest for years now. This
statement would make the uninformed think that a fire
of 120,000 acres was mostly in logged terrain when in
fact it is nearly all unlogged terrain, which is the major
cause of the fuel load. In addition their claim that it is
in “short grasses” is also misleading and politically mo-
tivated. Every rancher I know of who runs livestock on
the Forest says, and my visits to the woods in the Blue
Mountains have shown, the grass to be taller and thicker
than it has been for years. This grass which should be
valuable livestock feed is now forest fire flash fuel. Do
the agencies, BLM and Forest Service, extend the grazing
season to utilize this excess feed/fuel, not a chance. They
ran the grazers off early under the guise of fire precaution,
while letting bow hunters infest the forest and rangelands
unimpeded. I have little against bow hunters, but most
are novice recreators in the woods and they have noth-
ing vested in preventing fires in the woods or grasslands
while the ranchers and would-be loggers have everything
vested in keeping those lands safe.
3. Isn’t it time we had agencies who actually re-
sponded to the wants and needs of the vast majority of the
public they are supposed to serve, instead of being totally
driven by a tiny minority of eco-terrorist groups using
extorted public dollars to prevent proper management
of and utilization of our public natural resources? And
isn’t it time we had the government, in all forms, present
the situations of ongoing management impediments and
catastrophic events in a truthful and agenda-free fashion
so that the people could really see the condition of public
lands management?
4. I truly hope that the U.S. Government is held ac-
countable for the mismanagement of our public lands
and specifically the devastation caused to the affected
communities and families by alleged agency negligence
in the Canyon Creek fire.
5. I want the federal government off our public lands
so that they can be managed in a productive, safe and truly
environmentally sound fashion. I want the environmental
groups who were forces behind this mismanagement to
dip into their coffers of publicly extorted dollars and
turn-to to rebuild what these communities and families
have lost.
6. Imagine how the natural resource industry could
be rebuilt and our public lands improved in the Pacific
Northwest if only half of the money used to reactively
fight fires was put back into the timber and resource
industries? This could again make our resources inter-
nationally competitive, proactively reduce catastrophe
and efficiently manage our forests and rangelands. It
can be done, but not by putting reoccurring, nickel-dime
thinning projects together with wasted tax dollars. It’s
time for a true cost-benefit analysis to run our public
land management.
Tim Smith, Hines, OR
time the results will be
used to prioritize needs and
create a community health
improvement plan.
The Umatilla-Morrow
County Community Health
Partnership is composed of
many public and private
agencies that make up the
public health system.
The partners include:
Health Communities Co-
alition, Community Health
Improvement Partnership
(CHIP) of Morrow Coun-
ty, Pendleton Community
Health Partnership, Mil-
ton-Freewater Community
Health Partnership, Uma-
tilla County Community
Advisory Council, Morrow
County Community Advi-
sory Council, Blue Moun-
tain Early Learning Hub,
Umatilla County Public
Health, Good Shepherd
Health Systems, CHI St.
Anthony Hospital, CAPE-
CO, Morrow County Health
District, Inter-Mountain
ESD, Umatilla County
Human Services, Eastern
Oregon Correctional In-
stitute, Columbia River
Community Health Ser-
vices, Lifeways, Morrow
County Health Department,
MHP Salud, Oregon Child
Development Coalition,
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center, Oregon Depart-
ment of Human Services,
Community Counseling
Solutions, ConneXions and
CARE.
For more information,
contact Rod Harwood, Di-
rector of Mission Services,
CHI St. Anthony Hospital,
at 541-278-3239 or rhar-
wood@chiwest.com.
MURRAY’S COUNTRY ROSE HAS
FULL TIME FLORAL POSITION AVAIL-
ABLE. – EXPERIENCE PREFERRED.
CALL MURRAY’S DRUG 541-667-
9158 OR EMAIL MRYDRUGS@CEN-
TRYTEL.NET FOR MORE INFO.
– MURRAY’S DRUG INC.
Monday, September 7
217 N MAIN PHONE 676-9158
Murrays Drug, Heppner • Phone 676-9158 • Floral 676-9426