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FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, March 1, 2017 St. Pat’s Players present ‘A Rose in Bloom’ Tax Wise and Area residents are Otherwise again in for a theatrical A periodic column by Daniel Van Schoiack, CPA treat with the presentation of “A Rose in Bloom,” this year’s drama by Father Gerry Condon and the St. Patrick’s Players. Performances will be at the Ione Community School on Sunday, March 12, at 3 p.m., and at St. Pat- rick’s parish hall, Heppner, on Thursday, March 16, at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for Asher’s Army, to help Asher Schonbachler’s fight against Vanishing White Matter disease. “A Rose in Bloom” is a sequel to Fr. Condon’s play last year. Because of her earlier illegal activities in “Intrigue at Glendalough,” Rose is pressured into ac- cepting a government as- signment, setting out on a mission to catch and arrest a known criminal. He has a storefront at the Hill of Tara, the famous Hill that was associated with St. Patrick himself. Louie, the criminal, sells rosaries, medals and religious books there, but that is just a front Pictured (L-R): Fr. Gerry Condon, Joe Lindsay, Janet Greenup, Nikki Coe, Barney Lindsay, Rick Drake, Bill Kuhn, Josh Coiner, Dan Van Schoiack, Brian Kollman, Andrew Lindsay, Larry Lutcher and Rita Van Schoiack. -Contributed photo for his wholesale distribu- tion of illegal pornography. As Rose makes her way to Tara, she is confronted with several challenges, mostly because of her dis- guise as a Catholic nun. Along the way there are “Festival Singers” with Joe Lindsay singing an original song he has composed for this drama, and clowns. When Rose arrives at Tara she gets help from an un- expected source, enabling her to accomplish her goal. The play is another original work by Fr. Con- don. The cast includes Anne Morter, Barney Lindsay, Bill Kuhn, Beth Dickenson, Dan Van Schoiack, Joe, Leanne, Cori Jo and Ryan Lindsay, Larry Lutcher, Andrew Lindsay, Nikki Coe, Debbie Gutierrez (in Ione), Janet Greenup, Rick Drake, Bill Monagle, Rita Van Schoiack, Cam Swee- ney, Josh Coiner and Brian Kollman. HEALTH DISTRICT -Continued from PAGE ONE Clinic, who would also be underway when the weather grant writing efforts would review. “The board thanks Bob for his service this past year. He’s done a great job for the district,” commented MCHD Board Chair John Murray. “We greatly ap- preciate all you have done. The district is better off for having you here.” Board member Aaron Palmquist also commented, telling Houser that he had “aggressive and very strong support from the board.” “I want to thank the board for their support,” said Houser. “I’ve really enjoyed this past year. It’s been rewarding and chal- lenging.” He added that he has appreciated working with the board and looks forward to several more years of working with them. Houser just completed his first year of a five-year con- tract as administrator. In other business, the board: -approved a request from Houser to sign an agreement with Pacific Companies to recruit a physician for the Irrigon Clinic and assist in the emergency room weekend call schedule. The fees include $1,000 for set up, $2,000 per month for five months and a $15,000 placement fee when the physician signs a contract with MCHD. Houser said that the district needs a physician for the Irrigon in rotation for weekend coverage at Pioneer Me- morial Hospital, and also a mid-level provider, such as a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner, for IMC. -discussed the possibil- ity of having compliance officer Tim Timmons “in- house” at Pioneer Memorial Hospital for “at least four hours per week to meet with individual staff mem- bers, hold more compliance trainings, as well as get acquainted with how things are done here and how from a compliance standpoint, they can be improved.” Timmons is currently paid $1,000 per month to serve as the compliance officer, although he does not work at the hospital. To work in-house for four hours per week, Timmons would be compensated at the rate of $1,400-$1,500 per month. The district is required to have a compliance officer. Timmons also recommend- ed that board members be set up with a district email account so that board busi- ness won’t be sent to their private email accounts. -learned from the Wil- low Creek Valley Assisted Living Governance Com- mittee that there are cur- rently two openings with discussions with several families about possible placements. The WCVAL railing completion and the landscaping project will get Old T im e r’s N ig h t T h u rsd a y , Ma rch 2 n d Din n e r a t 6 :0 0 p m Lo d g e a t 8 :0 0 p m N Y ST EAKS, ROAST ED POT AT OES, ASPARAGUS AN D DESSERT . COST IS $ 1 5 A PLAT E ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. warns up. The WCVAL management contract with MCHD is to be reviewed and presented to the MCHD Board at the April meeting. WCVAL is still seeking a full-time head cook/man- ager. The committee also viewed the new medication room as well as administra- tor George Nairns’ office/ work area. -learned that Patti Allstott, human resources director has passed her SHRM-CP exam and is now a Society for Human Resource Management cer- tified professional. -heard from Houser that Pioneer Memorial Hos- pital and Clinic have signed an agreement with Western University of Health Sci- ences/College of Osteo- pathic Medicine of the Pa- cific to allow doctor of os- teopathy med students to do rotations with them. Getting approval for a mid-March placement is currently in the works. Houser said that the district has also signed an agreement with A.T. Still University, School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona for rotation of their doctor of osteopathy students. -approved a request from Houser to join a Yel- lowhawk Tribal Health Center network, which in- cludes nine other health facilities and would en- able the district to receive free grant writing from Yellowhawk. Houser that he has met with Dan Pe- terson, Yellowhawk grant writer, to discuss possible grants available for the Irrigon Clinic expansion. Houser said that Peterson asked MCHD to join the Oregon Washington Health Network, along with nine member organizations: Yel- lowhawk Tribal Health Center, Umatilla County Health Department, St. An- thony Hospital, Blue Moun- tain Community College, Lifeways, Good Shepherd Hospital and the Morrow County Health Department, Providence St. Mary Medi- cal Center and Walla Walla County Health Department. He said that by doing so, be at no cost to MCHD and there is no cost to join the network. - r e n e w e d D r. D a n Hambleton’s contract for three years with the same changes as Dr. Russel Nich- ols’ renewal contract. -learned that additional employees needed include a part-time respiratory thera- pist (administration says it has a qualified candidate), a maintenance supervisor, an RN, an IT technician, an EMT-A or EMT-1 and a marketing/public rela- tions staffer. Board mem- ber Palmquist questioned the hiring of a respiratory therapist; however, Houser and Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney assured the board that not only is a respiratory therapist needed for the benefit of patients, but it would also expand services, thereby increasing patient revenue. -approved “Awarding Emergency Contracts” for goods and services and pub- lic improvements. “Emer- gency shall be defined as follows: Circumstances that (a) could not have rea- sonably been foreseen; (b) create substantial risk of loss, damage or interruption of services or a substantial threat to property, public health, welfare of safety; and (c) require prompt ex- ecution of a contract to remedy the condition.” The issue came to the surface when the district lost the ability to perform endos- copies because the state determined there was an inadequacy in the room where the endoscopies were performed and shut the service down. The district has been trying to correct the deficiency, but still es- timates that it may not be able to restore the service until July, subsequent to another inspection. In the meantime, MCHD is not able to offer endoscopies (including colonoscopies), inconveniencing patients, at the least, and losing money for the district. “By adopting OAR, the CEO and the Board of Directors have deemed that the closure of endoscopic LIKE US ON FACEBOOK Lack of Planning and Advice Cost Taxpayer Big $$$$$$ As many of you know, the internet is a tremendous tool. It allows me to access the same information as a tax accountant working in any major city. It also allows me to network with accountants across the nation on profes- sional forums where ideas are shared and information is exchanged. On one of the forums last week, a participant named “Rosy” anonymously posted a tax trap one of her client couples had fallen into. She was looking for a way to help them out. The anonymous couple lived in Portland and sold their personal residence for a $100,000 gain in the year 2016. Apparently, they had not contacted their accountant Rosy before they sold the house. Instead, they waited to reveal this information to her when they recently met for a tax preparation appointment. Generally, a personal residence can be sold tax-free if the taxpayers have lived in it for at least 24 months before it was sold. That falls under section 121 of the U.S. tax code. However, in the case of Rosy’s clients, they had lived in it for only 23 months. They were now faced with paying up to $24,000 in taxes on what could have been a tax-free transaction. They would have not owed any tax from the sale if they had consulted with their accountant and held off on closing the sale for another 30 days. There are situations where a portion of the gain from a personal residence can be excluded from tax. For instance, if the couple had sold the house due to health reasons, a new job or other unforeseen circumstances, they could have excluded 96 percent of the gain (in this case 23 months divided by 24 months). Unfortunately, the couple did not meet any of those exceptions, which would have reduced the tax from $24,000 to less than $1,000. Rosy also inquired if a section 1031 tax-free exchange was allowed under her client’s circumstances. The answer is no. A 1031 exchange is not allowed for a personal residence. Besides that, planning for a 1031 exchange must begin before the property is sold (1031 exchanges will be discussed in a future article). While it was too late for this couple, Rosy needs to drill it into the minds of her clients to consult with her before entering into any major transaction. It’s like the Portland car dealer Scott Thomason used to say on the TV ad, “I can’t save you any money if you don’t come see me....” The next article will discuss how a botched applica- tion cost a rodeo association its tax-exempt status. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this article. Daniel Van Schoiack CPA, can be contacted at 541- 676-9971 or danielrvan@yahoo.com. Recent articles can viewed at danielcpapro.com. Wranglers to hold planning meeting Wranglers Riding Club will hold its first meeting of this year on Thursday, March 2, at 6:30 p.m., at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church parish hall. The club will be discussing this year’s play day dates and fundraising, among other things. Anyone interested in participating this year is encouraged to come. ROAD CLOSURES -Continued from PAGE ONE -Strawberry Lane and -Lloyd Road from Juniper Canyon Road to Baseline to Strawberry Ione/Boardman is open to Lane is partly open to local local traffic only. traffic. services at Pioneer Memo- rial Hospital has caused an emergency to exist by cre- ating a substantial loss and interruption of services that requires prompt execution of a construction contract to correct this condition.” This will enable Houser to issue a contract without all the bids previously required for $100,000 to less than $200,000, as long as it will fix only the emergency situation. “I need the ability to move as quickly as we can,” said Houser. -approved surplusing two Ford Focus vehicles owned by the district. -received the follow- ing report: Pioneer Me- morial Hospital had three admissions for January, six swing bed admissions, six observation submissions, 450 total out-patients, 52 emergency room encoun- ters, 1,298 lab tests, 98 x-ray procedures, 14 CT scans, nine MRI scans, 25 EKG tests, 10 respiratory therapy procedures; Home Health had 62 patient visits, Hospice had one admission, pharmacy had 1,619 drug doses for $56,907; Heppner Ambulance had 28 page- outs with 17 transports for $30,812 in revenue; Boardman Ambulance had 50 page-outs with 30 trans- ports for $49,331 in rev- enue; Irrigon Ambulance had 28 page-outs with 20 transports for $27,981 in revenue; Ione Ambulance had one page out, but no transports; there was one flight; Pioneer Memorial Clinic had 403 patient vis- its with one new patient, 32 seen by a nurse and 18 no-shows; Irrigon Medi- cal Clinic had 222 patient visits with 33 new patients, 77 seen by a nurse and 23 no-shows; Ione Community Clinic had 34 patient visits with seven new patients, seven seen by a nurse and one no-show. -received the following financial report, with the following comment from Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney, “I’ll be brief. We’re in the black.” MCHD had $737,290 in gross patient revenue, less $52,754 for bad debts, plus $18,102 in contrac- tual and other adjustments, $168,350 in tax revenue and $154,530 in other operating revenue for $1,025,517 in total operating revenue for the month; $931,285 in operating expenses and a $7,904 non-operating gain for a $102,137 gain for the month and a $11,747 aver- age monthly year-to-date loss.