HEPPNER
G T
50¢
azette
imes
VOL. 135
NO. 28 6 Pages
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Health district makes
strides filling staffing gaps
By April Sykes
Morrow County Health
District CEO Bob Houser
told the board, at its regu-
lar meeting Monday night
in Ione, that MCHD has
hired Terri Brandt-Correia
as the chief nursing officer,
replacing long-time CNO
Molly Rhea, who resigned.
Houser said that
Brandt-Correia, who has
been serving as chief nurs-
ing officer/vice president
at St. Alphonsus Medical
Center in Baker City, is
scheduled to begin Aug. 8.
She has a bachelor of sci-
ence degree in nursing, is
a certified operating room
nurse, has a master’s degree
in business administration,
and has been a chief nursing
officer.
Houser said that Mat-
thew Tiemann, PA-C (phy-
sician’s assistant), has ac-
cepted an offer as a pro-
vider at the Irrigon Clinic,
replacing John Adair, PA-C.
Currently employed at the
Mirasol Family Practice
clinic in Hermiston, Tie-
mann will begin Sept. 1.
Houser said that Tiemann
hopes to meet with Adair
before he leaves, as sched-
ules permit. Adair’s last day
Goats clean vegetation off the dam
Knop
takes over Herd brought in to replace spraying
as county
finance
director
By Andrea Di Salvo
Kate Knop has been
hired as the new Morrow
County Finance Director,
the Morrow County Court
told the Gazette-Times last
week. Knop, 46, took over
the role June 28, replacing
previous finance director
Rick Worden.
As finance director,
Knop is responsible for
budgetary
planning,
financial
reporting,
payroll and
accounts re-
ceivable for
the county,
Kate Knop
among oth-
er financial duties. She
will work out of the new
Bartholomew Building in
Heppner.
Knop is familiar with
Morrow County, born Kate
Doherty and raised in the
Sand Hollow area. She
graduated from Ione High
School in 1989 and then
attended Gonzaga Uni-
versity in Spokane, WA,
graduating with a Bachelor
of Arts in history in 1995.
She later returned to school
and in 2007 earned a post
baccalaureate certificate in
accounting from Linfield
College in McMinnville,
OR.
Knop also has a long
history of financial ex-
pertise. She entered the
financial field early on, first
working with a Spokane
stockbroker before moving
to Pendleton and working
in accounting for the State
of Oregon.
It was while in Pendle-
ton that she met Pendleton
native Todd Knop; they
were married in 1997. They
have two daughters—Fran-
ces recently graduated from
Ione High School and Sarah
attends school in Ione.
After their marriage,
the couple moved to the
Portland area, where she
One hundred and fifty-eight goats were brought in last week to clean vegetation off the Willow Creek Dam. The US Army
Corps of Engineers decided to use the goats this year instead of manpower and spraying. -Photo by David Sykes
By David Sykes
Local residents got a bit
of surprise last week when
they discovered a large
herd of goats wandering
across the face of the Wil-
low Creek Dam.
Brought in to eat down
the vegetation that grows
in the concrete face of the
dam, the animals are sure-
footed enough to climb all
over the structure—except
for the very smooth cement
at the top of the spillway—
without falling. There are
158 of the goats, contracted
by the US Army Corps of
Engineers to do the job nor-
mally accomplished by a
crew of humans rappelling
over the face of the dam and
using herbicides.
Tim Linquist, owner
of We Rent Goats out of
Wilder, ID, brought the
animals in last Thursday
and said he expects the
job to be completed this
Thursday. He has erected
electrical fence around the
base of the dam, and will
move the fencing around as
the goats work each of the
three sections on the face
of the structure. They have
been working the spillway
since last week and, as one
-See FINANCE DIRECTOR/ can see, by Monday were
PAGE THREE almost done with that sec-
tion.
The animals are amaz-
ingly sure-footed, a fact
Linquist says he was “pretty
sure of” when he took on
the project, but he adds that,
although his goats have
worked steep and difficult
back up. They even sleep
up on the face of the dam.
Although he has seen a few
small rocks coming down,
he said none of his goats
has taken a tumble down
the front of the 160-foot
concrete structure.
“and not making a lot of
money,” when he decided
in 2007 to buy 20 goats
and do a small clearing
project. From there he said
he bought 200 more.
“Then I decided I had
to either go all in or get
Tim and Lynda Linquist, owners of “We Rent Goats,” stand in front of the Willow Creek Dam
in Heppner while their “crew” goes to work in the background. -Photo by David Sykes
terrain before, “we’ve never
Asked how he got into out,” so both he and his wife
done a dam before.”
the goat business, Linquist quit their jobs in 2010 and
The goats spend all says he and his wife Lynda
-See DAM GOATS/PAGE
day and night on the dam were in the cattle business,
FOUR
eating the grass and weeds,
coming down to drink at
the base and then going
will be Aug. 19.
Last month Houser re-
ported that Amanda Fabian,
PA-C, had signed a contract
to work for the district and
planned to be in Heppner
by the end of the month
and Betty Hamill, Family
Nurse Practitioner, was ap-
pointed to the medical staff
contingent on completion
of her credentialing. Long-
time MCHD physician’s
assistant Sheridan Tarnasky
is retiring at the end of this
month.
In addition, Houser
said that the district has
hired Luz Martell, RN, as a
part-time quality improve-
ment employee. From the
Hermiston area, Martell
graduated from Gonzaga
University with a master’s
degree in nursing science
and has been working as a
staff nurse at Two Rivers
Correctional Institution
since 2010. She has worked
at Good Shepherd Hospital
in Hermiston in several
nursing positions and has
been a clinical nursing in-
structor at Walla Walla
Community College. She
was expected to start with
MCHD this week.
Houser said that Patty
Rill has been appointed as
dietary manager, effective
immediately, and plans to
enroll in a certified dietary
manager’s course. Rill has
had dietary and cooking ex-
perience through employ-
ment with the school dis-
trict, said Nicole Mahoney,
chief financial officer.
The board also learned
that Julie McDonald has
been hired as a part-time
marketing employee.
“It looks like things
are looking up as far as
qualified employees,” com-
mented board member Jill
Pambrun Parker.
Also at the meeting,
Houser reported that after
speaking to Good Shep-
herd Hospital CEO Dennis
Burke, Good Shepherd has
agreed to donate a digi-
tal computer radiography
machine unit to the Irrigon
Clinic, since Good Shep-
herd is no longer using
the machine. According to
Houser, the unit converts x-
ray images to digital so they
can be sent to the district’s
radiologist for reading. The
machine has been installed
in the x-ray room at the Ir-
rigon Clinic.
In other business, the
board:
-accepted notice of res-
ignation from long-time
Home Health and Hospice
nurse Cheryl Tallman. Tall-
man, who began working
with the district in 1992,
will retire on Sept. 8. The
board noted their apprecia-
tion for her long service to
the district.
-directed a sympathy
card to be sent to former
board member and budget
committee member Linda
-See HEALTH DISTRICT/
PAGE THREE
Heppner gets ready for a ruckus
this weekend
Chip seal work shifts to Hwy. 206
HEPPNER—The pave-
ment chip seal project that
Oregon Department of
Transportation crews have
been constructing along
Highway 74 north of Hep-
pner since July 11 moved to
OR 206 this week.
Work on Hwy. 206
began near the Gilliam
County Line at mile post
54.8 and will move east to-
ward Heppner. The project
is expected to reach Hep-
pner during the first week
of August. In the downtown
area the exposed chip rock
will receive a fog-seal coat
of oil to help reduce loose
rock and create a cleaner,
more uniformed looking
surface.
Travelers can expect
up to 20-minute delays, re-
duced speeds, loose rock on
the roadway, flaggers and
pilot cars directing single-
lane traffic through the
work zones. Minor delays
may occur during night-
time/early morning hours
for road sweeping. Parking
restrictions will be in place
along the highway in Hep-
pner for about a day or two
during the chip seal work
in town.
Travelers are asked
to slow down and watch
for construction activities
along the highway, and plan
extra travel time during
this highway preservation
project.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
Heppner is getting
ready for a ruckus at the an-
nual Ruckus in the Boonies
music festival this week-
end, July 29-30, at the Mor-
row County Fairgrounds.
The festival, now in
its third year, has become
a popular attraction not
only for locals but also for
crowds and entertainment
from throughout the region.
More than 30 singers and
bands are expected this
year and include names like
Gary Lindsey, Pine Box
Boys, Sarah Gayle Meech,
JB Beverley and more—in-
cluding, or course, home-
town boy and festival found
Aaron “Dog Bite” Harris.
Tattoos will be provided by
-See RUCKUS IN THE
BOONIES/PAGE TWO
Good Through September 30, 2016
UP TO 50% OFF TOOLS!
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For farm equipment, visit our web site at www.mcgg.net