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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2017)
FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 28, 2017 A View from the Hill By Doris Brosnan After his three-month stay at Willow Creek Ter- race, Ray Harper will be returning to his Western Oregon home soon, and his short-term neighbors will miss his contributions to life on the Hill. Ray’s departure will increase the number of available apart- ments to two, so interested persons should call 541- 676-0004 for information. This change on the Hill comes at a fairly quiet time, as Residents are content to participate in the weekly Terrace discussions and activities and enjoy, and sometimes laugh at, those “special, designated days” on the calendar. Long-awaited has the been the calendar date and the change in the weather that indicate that Sum- mer has truly arrived. With those come more time on the patio, more use of the barbecue grill, more walks around the Terrace, more interest in the enclosed raised-garden-bed produce, and more curiosity about the progress on the soon- to-be landscaped lot. Several visitors spent time with fathers and grand- fathers at the Terrace on Fa- ther’s Day. Several visitors might spend some time with the Community on July 24 because it will be “Tell a Joke Day,” and the Terrace plans to hold an evening of joke-telling. Everyone is invited to come with a joke or few, so interested persons should call the Ter- race to get on the evening’s list of entertainers. Readers should mark their calendars and plan to attend for some laughs even if not wanting to share jokes. Since “Vanilla Ice Cream Day” falls on the July 23, maybe those jokes can be interspersed with some ice cream? Individu- als who gather to share the news from the Gazette- Times on Wednesdays have been enjoying ice cream treats while sharing, and July also offers “Strawberry Sundae Day” (July 7) and “Hot Fudge Sundae Day” (25 th ). If readers are looking for some menu ideas for The View from the Green July, they might appreci- ate knowing that “Fried Chicken Day” is on the sixth, “Macaroni Day” is on the 15 th , “Corn Fritters” are recognized on the 16 th , “Hot Dog Day” is on the 23 rd , “Salad” will be fea- tured during the week of 25 th -31 st , “Cheesecake” and “Chicken” and “Waffles” and “Chili Dogs” will all be celebrated on July 30! (A challenge to figure out how to serve them all?) Since July 1 is “Build a Scarecrow Day,” the Staff and Residents are figuring out how to create a small scarecrow for the sides of their raised garden bed. On July 4, they will have options for celebrating the Nation’s Independence, and the morning conversa- tion will focus on country music—their favorite artists and the changes in the genre over recent years. Sev- eral specially recognized days will fill the calendar again, but some people are wondering what the morning conversations will be on “Different Colored Eyes Day” (12 ) and “Em- brace Your Geekness Day” (13 th ). “I Love Horses Day” should stimulate some fond memories, as will “Day of the Cowboy” (22 nd ), since many Residents have lived in our Cowboy Country for many years and one cowboy now resides in the Terrace. Fond memories will probably surface, also, on “Gorgeous Grandma Day” (23 rd ) and “Mutts Day” (31 st ). So, as mentioned ear- lier, some pretty quiet days seem to be ahead on the Hill, but July guarantees some interesting morn- ing discussions, some great foods, a chance to tell jokes and laugh a lot, and… “Happy Birthday” moments for Donna Berg- strom, who will celebrate her birthday on July 8 and for Meg Murray, who will be blowin’ out the candles on the 12 th . The view at the Hill doesn’t get any better than that of the smiles on the faces of birthday cel- ebrants and their neighbors and families. th WCCC ladies hold nine-hole invitational The Willow Creek Country Club held its Nine- Hole Ladies Invitational on June 20. Thirty-nine women, representing six clubs from Walla Walla, La Grande, and the Tri Cities, were guests of the WCCC Ladies Club. The champions over- all were Nancy Propheter (WCCC), low gross of the field, and Eva Kilkenny (WCCC), low net of the field. Awards also were given to each club. Local winners from WCCC were Virginia Grant with low gross and Pat Dougherty with low net. Local special play awards went to Nancy Propheter for long drive and KP 2 nd shot, Karen Hague- wood for KP 1 st shot, and Della Heideman for long putt. Karen Haguewood had a chip-in on hole #6, Della Heideman had a birdie on hole #1 and Nancy Proph- eter had a birdie on hole #5. Breakfast and lunch were served to guests and members, with raffles, door prizes and gifts awarded. Attendees reported a fun time. Bram Brata at Heppner Music in the Park July 9 HEALTH DISTRICT -Continued from PAGE ONE remodel will add another iff, dispatch, nursing and scans, 24 EKG tests, eight The Bram Brata steel drum band will be in Heppner July 9. gon. He said he anticipates her receiving her Oregon license within 45-60 days. Dr. Johnston, who cur- rently lives in Tri-Cities, has been an assistant professor at Pacific Northwest Uni- versity of Health Sciences and is currently in private practice. Houser said Dr. Russ Nichols and Dr. Dan Hambleton will mentor her until she becomes familiar with her routine at the Ir- rigon Clinic, but after that training period, Dr. Nichols and Dr. Hambleton’s sched- ule at the Irrigon Clinic will decrease and it is expected that they will spend more time at Pioneer Memorial Clinic and Hospital. Houser also reported that he expects that a nurse will be hired for Heppner once the nurse passes his RN test in July. Houser said he is also in the process of setting up interviews for the EMT/paramedic position. In other business, the board: -approved a $54,525 contract with Pinnacle for architectural services for the Irrigon Clinic remodel. The other bid was from Clark KJOS for $61,442. Board member Leann Rea commented that both bids were from “good compa- nies.” “Pinnacle is a good quality firm,” echoed Hous- er. Houser said that the five exam rooms to the Ir- rigon Clinic, will turn the current waiting room into physicians’ offices, and will add a new waiting, recep- tion and discharge area. The remodel will increase the current 1,500 square foot clinic by an additional 2,100 square feet. Houser said that the district has applied for a $250,000 grant from the Ford Foundation for the Irrigon Medical Clinic ex- pansion and anticipates submitting a $24,000 grant to the Wildhorse Founda- tion by July 1, as well as one to the Oregon Com- munity Foundation and one to the Good Shepherd Foundation. -learned from Houser that the home health/hos- pice department move to Main Street in Heppner has been completed. He said that home health was sur- veyed by Medicare on June 14 and passed with zero de- ficiencies or recommenda- tions and is now approved to conduct business at the new location. He also re- ported that the maintenance department will move to the annex building within the next month. -learned from Houser that a tabletop disaster drill was held at PMH on June 15 with representatives from fire, ambulance, sher- state EMS/OHA (Oregon Health Authority) and PMH administration. He said that a “go live” exercise will be held Oct. 5 and will be an “active shooter/hostage situation at the hospital.” Houser said that all hos- pitals receiving Medicare/ Medicaid reimbursement are required to have such drills. -learned that ultrasound procedures will be offered at the Irrigon Clinic with a flexible schedule to start with at first. The portable ultrasound machine is now located at IMC. -received the following profit and loss statement for May: $823,971 in gross patient revenue, $156,084 in revenue deductions and bad debts, $168,350 in tax revenue and $69,247 in other operating revenue for $905,484 in total operating revenue, $933,439 in total operating expenses, and a $29,321 non-operating gain for a $1,366 gain for the month. -received the following report: Pioneer Memorial Hospital had seven acute (inpatient) admissions for May, two swing bed ad- missions, nine for observa- tion, one swing admission, 481 outpatients, 66 ER encounters, 1,888 lab tests, 95 x-ray/ultrasound tests, 28 CT scans, three MRI respiratory therapy proce- dures; home health had 109 patient visits; hospice had one admission; pharmacy had $52,091 in revenue; Heppner ambulance had 28 page-outs with 23 trans- ports for $43,337; Ione ambulance had two page- outs with one transport for $1,611; there were five life flights; Pioneer Memorial Clinic had 418 patient vis- its, 29 seen by a nurse and 21 no-shows; Ione Commu- nity Clinic had 19 patient visits, 10 seen by a nurse and zero no-shows. -heard comments from board member Perry who questioned why the district has so much equipment, but not enough space to house the equipment and thus of- fer patient testing. Mahoney replied that the district must continue to provide up-to- date testing for its patients and added that some equip- ment not used as often can be moved in and out of a testing room to accom- modate physicians’ orders. She added that the district is working on finding enough space to conduct the proce- dures. Recent moves that will open up space at PMH include home health and hospice moving to Main Street and the maintenance department moving to the annex the district recently purchased. NOW HIRING DRIVERS -Contributed photo The Tri-Cities steel drum band Bram Brata re- turns to Heppner on July 9 for the next concert in this summer’s Music in the Park series. This energetic and entertaining group of young musicians offers a lively assortment of Caribbean tunes and other familiar fa- vorites that have made this concert one of Heppner’s annual favorites. Concerts are held on the second Sunday of each summer month from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Heppner City Park on Main Street, and are funded by the Morrow County Unified Recreation District. The Shared Min- istry of Hope Lutheran Church and All Saints Epis- copal Church facilitates this concert series and will again offer pulled pork sandwiches and all the trim- mings to raise funds for its well-drilling ministry through Living Water In- ternational. Upcoming concerts in- clude Elwood on Aug. 13 and Eric Jepsen and John Wambeke on Sept. 10. MCGG to hold raffle drawing Friday to support John Nelson For the past several months, Morrow County Grain Growers has spon- sored a raffle to benefit local man John Nelson, to help with his travel and medical expenses while he under- goes treatment for a serious illness. The raffle drawing will take place this Friday, June 30, at 2 p.m. at the MCGG Lexington location. The raffle item is a Camp Chef Pellet Grill and Smoker, and tickets can be purchased at MCGG or MCGG Green Feed. The tickets will sell for $5 each, or five for $20. MCGG will have cookies and punch set out that day, and invites This barbecue is being raffled to benefit local man John Nel- son. -Contributed photo community members to come purchase last-minute tickets prior to the raffle and browse the store while they wait for the drawing. YOUR AD HERE! Advertise in the Heppner Gazette-Times Call Megan at 541-676-9228 or email megan@rapidserve.net to get started today!