Ed. foundation grants more
than $260k to county schools
HEPPNER
G T
50¢
School districts upgrading technology, student
opportunities with funding
BOARDMAN—Mor-
row Education Founda-
tion awarded grants to all
Morrow County schools
this month totaling over
$260,000.
Both districts are focus-
ing on upgrading and add-
ing more technology to the
schools. Morrow County
School District received
$242,395, while Ione re-
ceived $22,604. Foundation
board member Ed Rollins
said the amount is deter-
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon mined on a per-student
azette
imes
VOL. 135
NO. 18 10 Pages
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Disque selected as
home care nurse of
the year
Robanai Disque of
Lexington was recently
recognized as the Home
Care Nurse of the Year at
the Oregon Association for
Home Care’s annual con-
ference in Newport, OR.
Disque has worked as
a home health RN since
1983. Traveling throughout
Morrow and Gilliam coun-
ties, those who know her
say she carried with her a
strong set of clinical and
teaching skills, as well as
basis.
Ione will use its funds to
start a ive-year process of
replacing three Promethean
Active Panels each year,
totaling $12,500. and add
20 Chrome Books with pro-
tective covers for incoming
freshman for $6,000. Ione
Community School prin-
cipal Henry Ramirez said
the remaining funds will be
used for the school’s new
science club ield trip and
early learning.
“We’re very fortunate
and grateful for the fund-
ing,” Ramirez said.
Morrow County School
District superintendent Dirk
Dirksen said the district will
continue to invest in tech-
nology, Eastern Promise
opportunities for students,
ield trips and wraparound
services.
“Our goal is to be able
to get technology to where
students have technology
available at a one-to-one
-See ED FOUNDATION
GIFTS/PAGE THREE
Candidates speak to Heppner Chamber
Medicare-Certified Hos-
pice. Carrying a full home
health patient load and mul-
tiple work-related setbacks,
Disque faithfully worked
toward the goal of hospice
certiication.
When Pioneer Memo-
rial Hospice received Medi-
care certiication in 2002,
Disque assumed the role
of hospice coordinator. For
more than 12 years, Disque
co-led the hospice volunteer
County commissioner, judge, and circuit court judge candidates attended a candidates’ forum last Thursday and spoke
trainings as well as monthly before a large crowd at the Heppner Chamber of Commerce.
Pictured above left to right are Jim Doherty, commissioner candidate, Melissa Lindsay, county judge candidate, and
Leann Rea, also commission candidate.
Also in attendance and speaking were John Ballard and Jon Lieuallen, both candidates for judge of the circuit court
sixth district, position two. Greg Sweek, who is also running for the county judge position, was not able to attend because of
illness. -Photo by David Sykes
Health district discussion heats up over
budget
Home health RN Robanai Disque (right) with Pioneer Memo-
rial Hospital Chief Nursing Oficer Molly Rhea. -Contributed
photo
a strong sense of intuition.
O n e o f D i s q u e ’s
dreams, then goals, was
to enable local residents
to access the beneits of a
volunteer meetings held in
three locations throughout
the service area of Morrow
-See NURSE OF THE YEAR/
PAGE NINE
By April Sykes
The Morrow Coun-
ty Health District Board
approved a preliminary
budget for 2016-17 amid
sometimes contentious de-
bate at its regular meeting
held in Lexington Monday
night. The disagreement
among board members re-
sulted from a difference
of opinion concerning the
district’s policy on setting
up “rainy day” capital re-
serve accounts, providing
ending and beginning fund
MCSO arrests Hermiston man
on assault, harassment charges
Morrow County Sher- of Heppner, with their two
iff’s Ofice has arrested a young daughters. Nicole
man on several counts of Brown told police her hus-
assault and Harassment, band had left on foot and
among others, according to that she didn’t know his
a statement by the
current location.
local law enforce-
MCSO person-
ment agency.
nel responded and
Last Saturday
transported the vic-
at 8:30 p.m., MCSO
tim and children to a
dispatch received
waiting ambulance,
a 911 call from
which transported
27-year-old Nicole John
them to Pioneer Me-
Leticia Brown of A l e x a n d e r morial Hospital in
Hermiston. Brown Brown
Heppner. The Mor-
advised she had
row County Sher-
been assaulted by her hus- iff’s deputies were unable
band, 29-year-old John Al- to locate the suspect that
exander Brown. According evening, but bulletins were
to her statement, they were sent out to other law en-
camping in the mountains forcement agencies to be on
above Blakes Ranch, south
the lookout for the suspect.
On Sunday, April 24,
sheriff’s office personnel
located the subject as he
was leaving the area with
the truck and camp trailer. A
felony stop was performed
and the John Brown was
taken into custody without
further incident.
John Brown was ar-
rested and lodged at Uma-
tilla County Jail on charges
of assault II, two counts of
assault IV domestic felony,
one count of strangula-
tion, harassment - offensive
physical contact, and two
counts of felon in posses-
sion of a weapon. Total bail
is listed at $143,000.
Open house planned for B2H
project
An open house is
planned for Wednesday,
May 4, at 6 p.m. for those
who will potentially be af-
fected by the Boardman to
Hemingway (B2H) trans-
mission line. The open
house concerning the pre-
liminary Agency Preferred
Route for the B2H line will
take place at the Port of
Morrow Riverfront Center
in Boardman.
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) re-
cently released the pre-
liminary Agency Preferred
Route for the Boardman
to Hemingway (B2H)
transmission line, a project
proposed by Idaho Power
Company (I PC). The pre-
liminary Agency Preferred
Route, along with other
routes being considered,
will be analyzed as part
of the inal Environmental
Impact Statement which is
scheduled for release later
this year.
The Bureau of Land
Management will be avail-
able to answer any ques-
tions about the project and
the BLM permitting pro-
cess. Also available will
be the Oregon Department
of Energy to answer ques-
tions about the application
that has been submitted
-See B2H OPEN HOUSE/
PAGE THREE
balances, and presentation
of inancial reports.
The 2016-17 budget
was approved with the con-
dition that Chief Financial
Officer Nicole Mahoney
will provide additional be-
ginning and ending fund
balances.
“I want to see that we
have money on hand,”
said board member Aaron
Palmquist, Irrigon.
“ Yo u s e e i t e v e r y
month,” countered Ma-
honey.
Palmquist, who was
the sole nay vote against
the preliminary budget,
also argued that the district
needs to set up a reserve
account to pay for capital
items. Palmquist, seeming
to direct most of his ex-
asperation at CFO Nicole
Mahoney, maintained that
the district should not be
inancing projects or pur-
chases when it has cash on
hand and was adamantly in
favor of setting up a capital
reserve account.
“This is the people’s
money,” he commented.
“We keep spending more
instead of tightening our
belts,” Palmquist added.
“As a fiscal steward, we
can’t keep kicking the can
down the road.” He also
questioned the way the
inancial reports were pre-
sented to the board, asking
for additional information,
requesting different formats
and commenting more than
once that Mahoney is an
“employee” of the district.
Board member Jill Parker,
Boardman, indicated that
she agreed with Palmquist,
but voted in favor of the
preliminary budget.
Parker commented that
the confusion and perceived
discrepancies probably
arise because “at the end
of the year the reports look
different” that the monthly
reports the board members
receive.
While acting chair
Leann Rea said she agreed
that a reserve account
should be established, she,
along with Mahoney, noted
that in earlier days the dis-
trict’s cash on hand had
dipped to dire levels, which
prompted extreme cau-
tion about spending down
the district’s cash reserves
and leaving the district in
danger of not meeting its
inancial obligations. CEO
Bob Houser added that he
has seen the bottom line
swing dramatically in small
critical access hospitals
such as Pioneer Memorial.
Rea also noted that
the contentious discussion
would be better held at
a subsequent long-term
planning meeting. She sug-
gested that the district use
a percentage of the com-
-See HEALTH DISTRICT/
PAGE SIX
Ione royalty sparkles
at prom
Ione High School celebrated prom April 16 at the Port of
Morrow Riverfront Center. Pictured are King Rory Barresse
and Queen Ann Rietmann. -Photo courtesy of Little Echoes
Photography
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