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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2017)
Tom and Arlynda Gates named Ione grand marshals HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 136 NO. 23 8 Pages Wednesday, June 28, 2017 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon By Andrea Di Salvo The grand marshals for this year’s Fourth of July parade in Ione will be Tom and Arlynda Gates, the Fourth of July committee has announced. The parade will take place Tuesday, July 4, at 1 p.m. on Ione’s Main Street. The Gateses say they are “very honored, very appreciative,” though they say the honor was never something they looked for. In fact, according to those who know them, their des- Tom and Arlynda Gates have been named grand marshals of ignation as grand marshals this year’s Fourth of July parade in Ione. The parade will go down Main Street beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 4. -Photo -See GRAND MARSHALS/ by Andrea Di Salvo PAGE THREE Storm unleashes fury on Morrow County Fun is heating up at Ione Fourth of July This downed tree on Arcade St. in Lexington, and another on Water St. in Lexington, took out power to the town Monday night during a thunderstorm that wreaked havoc throughout the area. -Photo by Sandra Pointer Monday night, a se- through Morrow Coun- vere thunderstorm swept ty, wreaking havoc with power lines and property with thunder and lightning strikes, heavy rain and, of course, heavy winds. Mor- row County Undersheriff and Emergency Manager John Bowles reported that wind gusts reached up to 50 mph as the storm front traveled across Morrow County. Among the damage was a power outage that took out much of Lexing- ton. Josh Coiner with Co- lumbia Basin reports that downed trees went through two separate transformer poles in Lexington, one on Arcade St. and one on Wa- ter St. Coiner says the two lines fed different parts of town. While CBEC crews had the bulk of customers, about 157 meters, back in service by around 8:30 p.m., several homes on Wa- ter St. remained blacked out until 11 p.m. Coiner also said there were a few other isolated outages around the Morrow County service area, but none as large as Lexington. Aside from damaged power lines and poles, Mor- row County Sheriff’s Office reports multiple downed trees and tree limbs, as well as fires. Fires were reported Monday evening in the ar- eas of Gooseberry Rd. and Tews Ln., Ione; Baseline Ln., Lexington; and Black- horse L. and Sand Hollow Rd., Heppner. “We were very lucky, and no injuries were re- ported as a result of the storm,” Bowles said in a statement. “Morrow Coun- ty had deputies working with other emergency re- sponders, county wide, to help keep the public safe. We made many contacts to make sure no one was hurt or injured.” Pioneer Memorial still waiting on state endoscopy facility approval Health district settles on $14,984,737 budget for the next fiscal year By April Sykes The Morrow County Health District Board, at its monthly meeting in Irri- gon Monday night, learned that resuming endoscopic procedures at Pioneer Me- morial Hospital in Heppner has still not been approved by the state. CEO Bob Houser told the board that the district has still not received the go-ahead to begin offer- ing endoscopies (including colonoscopies) once again. Offering the procedures at PMH in Heppner not only enabled patients to have the procedures done locally, but also added to the district’s bottom line. The procedure room remodel, required by the state, was completed some time ago. Also at the meeting, the board approved changes to the proposed budget for 2017-18, and adopted a $14,984,737 budget for Window smashed in apparent vandalism the next fiscal year. Board members expressed their confidence in the budget. “I thought we were over-optimistic,” said board member Joe Perry, “but we’re really close.” “You’re only looking at about a 20 percent in- crease,” said board member Jill Parker. “But I don’t think we’re too far off,” adding that she and Perry are bankers and used to dealing with finances. Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney noted a $200,000 Medicaid/Medi- care adjustment to the posi- tive that the district is re- ceiving, which will help the district’s bottom line. “It’s a really fine dance to come up with these numbers,” com- mented Mahoney. “We’ve spent many hours to come up with our best guess.” Board member Aaron Palmquist stressed that the district is a nonprofit orga- nization. The budget includes $8,916,556 for personal ser- vices (including salaries), $3,330,844 for materials and supplies, $1,122,036 for revenue deductions and bad debt, $1,307,240 for capital purchases, $258,061 for capital lease and loan reduction and $50,000 for community benefit grants. The board also imposed taxes at the rate of $.6050 cents per $1,000 assessed value for operations and $.39 cents per $1,000 as- sessed value for the local option tax for operations. Also at the meeting, the board learned from Houser that the district has hired Dr. Gayle Johnston, doctor of osteopathic medicine, as a general practitioner for the Irrigon Clinic. Houser said that once Dr. Johnston receives approval from the state of Oregon, she will begin her practice in Irri- Summer is finally heating up—with a ven- geance—and Ione Fourth of July celebration is offering some cool ways to have fun and celebrate Independence Day. July 1 The festivities kick off this Saturday, July 1, with a volleyball tournament at 9 a.m. at Ione City Park. Stay in town for dinner and a poker tournament, plus Bingo, at 5 p.m. at the Ione Legion Hall. Dinner is by donation and will include a selec- tion of chicken thighs with bacon bourbon jam, bacon ranch pasta salad, corn on the cob, cheeseburgers with bacon bourbon jam, pulled pork sandwiches, bratwurst and coleslaw. Texas Hold ‘Em poker sign-ups begin at 6 p.m. with play beginning at 6:30. Poker buy-in is $40, and re-buys are allowed. Cash prizes will be awarded. Bingo begins at 6:30 p.m. and is 25 cents per card. The day will wrap up with a free showing of the moving “Sing” in the park at dusk. The movie is funded by Ione Community Agri-Business Organiza- tion (ICABO) with conces- sions available from the Ione Cardinal Booster Club. July 3 Monday, July 3, golf- ers can tee off at 9 a.m. at Willow Creek Country Club during the annual golf tournament. July 4 Tuesday, July 4, the real action begins, starting with the Fireman’s break- fast at the Ione Fire Hall from 7-10 a.m. Stretch your legs—and maybe work off the calories—at the Cre- ative Care Preschool 5k walk/run. Registration is at Ione City Park and costs $10; registration begins at 7 a.m. with the walk at 7:30 a.m. The Ken Turner Me- morial Horseshoe Tourna- ment will take place at the horseshoe pits at 9 a.m., and basketball players can form teams of three and shoot for -See FOURTH OF JULY/ PAGE THREE Brittner retires after 44 years with health district By Andrea Di Salvo Pioneer Memorial nurse Peggy Brittner, LPN has hung up her scrubs this year after several de- cades with Morrow County Health District. Brittner, 72, worked a total of 44 years with the health district. “I really enjoyed work- ing up there…most of the time,” says Brittner. Though her path took a few twists and turns, Brittner has deep connec- tions with Morrow County, including being related to several local families throughout South Morrow. She was born in The Dalles, OR and raised by her grand- parents, Louis and Marga- ret Cason, on their ranch -See HEALTH DISTRICT/ near Madison Butte. Her PAGE FOUR Peggy Brittner stands in front a wall of family photos, includ- ing one showing her grand- father Louis Cason as grand marshal of the Morrow Coun- ty Fair and Rodeo Parade in 1968; he was riding Floyd Jones’s stud horse. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo grandparents were heavily involved in the community; -See BRITTNER RETIRES/ PAGE SIX Mahoney kids qualify for international rodeo next month; Stewart qualified for junior high nationals This window on the front door of Artisan Village fabric store in Heppner was broken in what appears to be an act of vandalism Monday night. Store manager Sheena Shank says there was Three young rodeo (OHSRA) Finals in Prin- no debris to indicate the breakage was related to the storm that passed through the area, and Dr. Ken Wenberg said glass contestants who com- eville recently qualified for was scattered across the sidewalk in front of the store. Shank peted at the Oregon High other key rodeos around the reports that nothing was taken from shop. Morrow County School Rodeo Association nation; Jaiden and Blane Sheriff’s Office is investigating. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo Mahoney and Jett Stewart all earned the right to travel honey of Heppner have to prominent high school qualified for the Silver State and junior high rodeo com- International Rodeo, held -See RODEO QUALIFIERS/ petitions this summer. PAGE SIX Jaiden and Blane Ma- Gazette will be closed July 4 WEEKS ROSES AND Deadline for July 5 is Friday The Heppner Gazette- Times will be closed Tues- day, July 4, due to the Inde- pendence Day holiday. The Gazette will go to print on Monday, July 3, so the deadline for all news and advertising will be Friday, June 30, at 5 p.m. Normal business hours will resume Wednesday, July 5. ANNUAL BEDDING PLANTS 20% OFF!! ALL LOCATIONS WILL BE CLOSED JULY 4TH Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)