Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Morrow County Health District approves
$15.9 million budget
The Morrow County
Health District Board Mon-
day night approved a pro-
posed $15.9 million budget
for fiscal year 2018-2019,
up $863,819 over last year.
The $15,914,174 budget in-
cludes $1,897,549 in prop-
erty taxes and $14,016,625
in resources excluding
taxes.
Proposed resources in-
clude: Hospital-$8,088,468;
Home Health and Hos-
pice-$564,436; Boardman
Ambulance-$430,757; Irri-
gon Ambulance-$316,514;
Ione Ambulance-$10,366;
Pioneer Memorial Clinic,
Heppner-$1,434,702; Irri-
gon Clinic-$1,702,345; Ione
Clinic-$127,802; Other
Revenue-$303,035; Dona-
tions and Grants-$298,000;
Interest Income-$40,000;
Community Service Fees-
$148,200; Electronic
Health Record Reimburse-
ments-$17,000; 340 B Re-
tail Pharmacy Net Rev-
enue-$250,000; Operating
Capital, Long & Short Term
Loans-$285,000.
Proposed expen-
ditures include: Hos -
pital-$8,889,165;
Home Health & Hos-
pice-$778,958; Boardman
Ambulance-$394,115; Irri-
gon Ambulance-$326,118;
Ione Ambulance and Lex-
ington Emergency Medical
Services-$20,364; Hep-
pner Clinic-$1,582,416;
Irrigon Clinic-$1,396,860;
Ione Community Clin-
ic-$132,365; Community
Benefit Grants-$50,000;
Revenue Deductions and
Bad Debt-$562,959; Capi-
tal Purchases-$1,196,625;
Capital Lease Principal
Reduction-$0; Long and
Short Term Debt Principal
Reduction-$283,848; Total
Expeditures-$15,613,794.
Capital purchases
for 2018-19 include: Ir-
rigon Medical Clinic Re-
model (remainder of proj-
ect)-$400,000, paid with a
loan, grants and cash; Ir-
rigon Medical Clinic Park-
ing lot (remainder of proj-
ect)-$75,000, paid with cash
on hand; Heppner Clinic/
Hospital Modernization-
architect fees-$150,000,
paid with cash on hand
and donations; Omnicell
RX dispensary-$100,00
paid with a grant; Ortho
Workstation/Blood Bank-
$5,100, Double Oven-
$5,250, Centriq Server
Replacement-$79,500,
H VA C S o f t w a r e U p -
grade-$6,539, Single Sign
On Software-$15,416, Car-
diac Monitor Interface with
Centriq-$9,000 and Bladder
Scanner-$12,400-all cash
on hand; Ultrasound Echo
Machine-$125,000, loan;
Auto Load for EMS Gur-
neys (six) one third of total
coast-$53,420, grants, and
Ambulance-$160,000-loan.
In terms of long and
short-term debt, the district
has $283,848 in principal
payments, with another
$97,651 in interest pay-
ments.
- FIVE
~ Letters to the Editor ~
The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following
criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name
of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you
provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The
address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be
printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the
right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in
letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under
“Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
Vote for Collins
To the editor:
I am writing this in
support of Rob Collins for
Circuit Court Judge. Rob
Collins brings a myriad of
experience to the citizens.
He has been practicing law
since 1981, practicing both
civil/family and criminal
law. He has a deep un-
derstanding of courtroom
proceedings, having served
as protem judge for many
years. He understands the
importance of community.
He serves on many com-
munity boards, including
The Round-Up Board of
Directors and the Oregon
East Symphony.
Rob Collins was raised
in the community of North
East Oregon. He under-
stands our values and what
makes us great. Rob Collins
will work to protect that. I
ask you to vote for Rob Col-
lins for Circuit Court Judge.
Sincerely,
Kim Cutsforth
Heppner, OR
Resident needs assistance
To the editor:
One more of Heppner’s long-time residents needs our
assistance. There has been an account set up at BEO for
Judy Handbury. Due to complications with knee replace-
ment surgery, Judy has had to spend numerous days in the
hospital causing additional medical and travel expenses.
Please help her.
Laurie Hire
Heppner
Neahring to improve
Affordable Care Act
To the editor:
I know there is support
for Democratic candidates
who can connect with rural
voters, because I ran two
strong races for state rep-
resentative in north central
Oregon as a “fair frugal
farmer” in 2002/6. I am
happy to see a Palliative
Care physician, Dr. Jenni
Neahring from Bend run-
ning in this year’s Demo-
cratic congressional pri-
mary.
Dr. Neahring stopped
by my farm near Culver
recently and we had a
good visit. She is passion-
ate about expanding health
care access, quality and af-
fordability. The Affordable
Health Care Act might not
be perfect, but it has helped
families in eastern Oregon
as much as any part of our
state.
The number of Ameri-
cans without health care
was almost cut in half from
2010 to 2016; 48 million to
28 million. States like Or-
egon that chose to expand
Medicaid saw the percent
of uninsured cut in half
from 18 percent in 2013 to
9 percent in 2016.
Despite this, Greg
Walden played a leading
role gutting ACA and re-
placing it with “Trump-
care” which will take away
insurance from millions of
Americans.
Dr. Jenni Neahring,
on the other hand, wants
to help improve the Af-
fordable Care Act that has
improved the finances and
health of so many rural Or-
egonians. She has my vote
in the Democratic primary.
Jim Gilbertson
Culver, OR
Catholic men to
hold first Friday
meeting
The men of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church of Heppner
and St. William’s Catholic Church of Ione will hold their
First Friday of the month meeting on Friday, May 4 at the
parish office in Heppner. The meeting will start at 6:45
a.m. and will be followed by First Friday Mass at 7:30 a.m.
Holly Rebekah to
host last card party
until fall
The Holly Rebekah lodge will be hosting their last
monthly card party until October on Saturday, May 5 at
the Lodge in Lexington. Play will begin at 7 p.m. The cost
for the evening, including snacks is only $5 per person
and is open to the public.
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Michael Breiling
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.