Senator Merkley visits
Morrow County
HEPPNER
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azette
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VOL. 137
NO. 28
6 Pages
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Case of Rocky
Mountain
Spotted Fever
diagnosed
One case of Rocky
Mountain Spotted Fever
(RMSF) was confirmed in
Morrow County. RMSF is
a serious bacterial infection
spread by ticks and can
occur in humans and dogs.
“To our knowledge, this
is the first case of this tick-
borne disease in Morrow
County,” said Dr. Emilio
DeBess, Public Health vet-
erinarian for the Oregon
Health Authority.
The disease was first
discovered in the Rocky
Mountain area of the United
States, however, currently
most of the 700 yearly
cases occur on the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts and the
South-Central part of the
country.
In the early stages of
the disease, an individual
can suffer fever, nausea,
body aches, vomiting and
headache. Later symptoms
may include a skin rash, ab-
dominal pain, joint pain and
diarrhea. The rash usually
starts on the arms and an-
kles and moves to the palms
of the hands or soles of the
feet. Three signs that may
suggest a RMSF infection
are fever, rash and history
of a tick bite.
This past winter was
relatively mild which
means an early and abun-
dant tick season in Oregon.
The most common tick in
Eastern Oregon is Derma-
centor variabilis, known as
the “American Dog Tick,”
which can transmit Rocky
Mountain Spotted-Fever
and Tularemia. These ticks
prefer to feed on dogs,
rodents and other large ani-
mals, but will find their way
to people too. Another tick
found in Eastern Oregon is
the Dermacenter andersoni
or the “Rocky Mountain
Wood Tick” which can
transmit Rocky Mountain
Spotted-Fever, Colorado
Tick Fever, Tick Relapsing
Fever and Tularemia. This
tick may also cause partial
paralysis. It is important
to remove it as soon as the
paralysis happens or death
can occur. After the tick is
removed, the person will
generally recover within 24
to 72 hours.
The following are
things to remember to pre-
vent tick bites.
-Ticks in Oregon are
active primarily in the
spring and summer, but
also can be found in the fall.
-Bear and turkey hunt-
ers can encounter “seed”
ticks which are virtually im-
possible to see unless you
have a magnifying glass.
-Check yourself for
ticks more than once. Ticks
in the “seed” nymph stage
can even embed themselves
between the eyelashes and
go unnoticed.
-Deer hunters can find
ticks on their recently killed
game.
-Beware after the ani-
mal has died, the ticks will
leave that host to seek a
more suitable “live” host
which will probably be you.
-Other things to re-
member when in tick coun-
try: Be careful when walk-
ing in thick vegetation,
ticks usually “crest” on the
uphill side of a trail, wear a
heavy-duty repellant with
DEET as the active ingre-
dient, tuck your pant legs
inside of your boots and
wear a hat.
If a person finds a tick
embedded in their body, it
is recommended to have
someone else remove it.
The person should use
tweezers or forceps rath-
er than fingers, grasp the
mouth or head of the tick as
close to the skin as possible,
gently pull the tick straight
out, steadily and firmly. The
mouth of a tick is barbed, so
don’t be alarmed if a little
bit of it breaks off into the
skin. Always wash your
hands and apply antiseptic
in the affected area.
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Oregon’s U.S. Senator
Jeff Merkley held a Mor-
row County town hall in
Boardman on Sunday, July
8, marking his 360 th town
hall during the time he’s
served in the Senate.
“That’s an average of
one every 10 days,” Merk-
ley said to a group of about
20 who gathered at the Port
of Morrow. “I think every
member of Congress should
be required to hold public
town halls. This open, bi-
partisan dialogue is a funda-
mental piece of our ‘We the
People’ democracy.”
Merkley has held a
public town hall in every
Mahoney qualifies
for national rodeo
finals
Oregon county every year
since he took office in 2009.
At the start of each
town hall, he recognizes a
local organization that has
positively contributed to
the community by giving
to them an American flag
that has been flown over the
U.S. Capitol. On Sunday, he
recognized the United Way
of Umatilla and Morrow
Counties.
“One of our slogans
is ‘together we fight’ and
together we fight hunger,
homelessness, addiction
and loneliness,” said Krick-
et Nicholson, executive
director of the organization.
“United Way is sometimes
overlooked, but the work
we do is so important to our
community.”
During the town hall,
the senator answered ques-
tions about securing the
future of Social Security;
addressing the nation’s bro-
ken immigration system;
and the future of the U.S.
Supreme Court. The senator
said that it appears likely
that the Senate majority will
hold a vote on a Supreme
Court nominee before the
November midterm elec-
tions.
Merkley said that Re-
publicans will determine
the future of these issues,
since as the majority party
in both the U.S. Senate and
U.S. House of Represen-
tatives they control com-
mittees, hearings and floor
votes. He noted that he is a
co-sponsor of several bills
Senator Jeff Merkley held a
town hall in Boardman. -Con-
tributed photo.
that would help the future of
Social Security, and pointed
to a bipartisan 2013 bill that
would address many as-
pects of immigration, from
border security to paths to
citizenship. It passed the
Senate overwhelmingly,
but the House refused to
put it on the floor for a vote.
Merkley called on that bill
to be revived, revised and
voted on by both houses of
Congress.
“It may feel like we’re
in a difficult, dark place
as a country right now,”
Merkley said. “But we can
look back at history and
see we’ve been in difficult
spots before. And we’ve
always found our way out
of it. So don’t feel too cyn-
ical, don’t feel too much
despair. What’s the United
Way slogan? Together, we
fight. Together, we will
fight to be more involved,
more engaged and to have
a brighter future in our ‘We
the People’ democracy.”
Secretary of
Agriculture visits
Jaiden Mahoney and McGraw
Jaiden Mahoney, a
senior at Heppner High
School, has qualified for
the National High School
Finals Rodeo, to be held
in Rock Springs, WY July
15-21. Jaiden won both first
and second rounds in the
barrel racing at the Oregon
High School Rodeo State
Finals, which helped cinch
her second place finish
overall for the year and earn
a position on the Oregon
National High School Ro-
deo Team.
Mahoney gives credit
to her partner McGraw, an
11 year-old Quarter horse
she trained and uses in five
events, “I am blessed to
have such an amazing horse
and partner to compete on.
He has helped me qualify
for three national finals.”
Jaiden also ended up 12 th
in the pole bending and 14 th
in the goat tying at the state
finals.
Mahoney, current pres-
ident of the Intermountain
High School Rodeo Team,
says she is proud of the oth-
er national qualifying team
members which include:
Jacee Currin, Heppner,
Trent Sorey, Pendleton and
Daylon Eng and Hayden
Hilliard, Echo.
Jaiden is the daughter
of Mike and Nicole Ma-
honey, Heppner.
The national event is
the world’s largest rodeo
with over 1,650 contestants.
Melissa Lindsay, Mor-
row County Commissioner,
recently met with Secretary
of Agriculture, Sonny Per-
due while Perdue was on
a tour of the Pacific north-
west. Congressman Greg
Walden hosted the event at
Martin Farms in Rufus.
Secretary Perdue’s pur-
pose was to meet with select
government officials, mem-
bers of commodity organi-
zations and a diverse group
of farmers to discuss the
issues that are affecting ag-
riculture. At the stop in Ru-
fus, he answered questions
and listened to the concerns
of all in attendance.
Commissioner Lindsay
said, “It was good to have
him in our region so he
could meet with us, see how
we farm and listen to our
questions and concerns.”
Pictured (L-R): Wallowa County Commissioner, Todd Nash, Morrow County Commissioner,
Melissa Lindsay, Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, Sherman County Commissioner,
Joe Dabulskis and Congressman, Greg Walden. -Contributed photo.
Morrow County youth attend
4-H summer conference
Six Morrow County
youth recently attended the
Oregon State University
4-H Summer Conference in
Corvallis. Summer confer-
ence is an opportunity for
youth grades seven-12 to
travel to Corvallis, explore
campus life, make new
friends, learn and have fun.
At the conference,
participants attend work-
shops on a wide variety of
subjects. Over 80 classes
are offered including dog
agility, a logging site tour,
animal anatomy, fly fishing,
origami and etiquette.
According to a spokes-
person, in addition to at-
tending workshops, partic-
ipants listen to a nationally
acclaimed speaker, partici-
pate in a community service
project and enjoy many fun
activities such as a pool
party and a dance.
Members arrived on
campus early Wednesday
afternoon, then stayed in
a campus dorm and ate at
a dining hall. The confer-
ence ended with a closing
program Saturday morning
where new state ambassa-
dors and national congress
delegates were announced.
Morrow County 4-H members attending the conference in Corvallis were(L-R): Erin Heide-
man, William Harris, Joseph O’Brien, Cody Fletcher, Grace Ogen, Madison Orem, Stephanie
Wendler and Andrea Fletcher. -Contributed photo.
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Morrow County Grain Growers
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