Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2019)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 5, 2019 -- SEVEN Lady Elks host mother-daughter tea Boardman, Irrigon Music in the Parks to begin The Lady Elks once again sponsored the moth- er-daughter tea on May 21 for the graduating senior girls and their mothers or guests. This year’s tea was one of the larger of the past few years due to the class size increasing this year. The ladies were served a high tea style luncheon at the local Elks lodge spe- cially decorated in blue and gold. They enjoyed the in- High school senior girls and their mothers were treated to a mother-daughter tea at the Hep- spiring message of looking pner Elks lodge last week. to your future knowing that you have many options and it is ok to explore them and grow into the path you enjoy by Regina Seitz. Bram Bratá kicks off the Music in the Parks series in Board- man on June 10. Health District plans new clinic The Morrow County Health District Board voted to proceed with plans to build a new health clinic in Heppner, along with $2-$3 million in upgrades to Pio- neer Memorial Hospital at an estimated cost of $7-8 million. The board decided against a complete remodel or rebuild of the hospital at this time because of costs involved, estimated at over $11 million, but may revisit those plans at a later date. MCHD Chief Financial Officer Nicole Mahoney commented that if MCHD re-does the clinic, then the district will have time to explore the options for remodeling or rebuilding the hospital and exploring funding options. Insufficient office space at the clinic has been an issue for some time and with new providers coming in, expansion is considered critical. Dr. Russ Nichols commented that it’s “crunch time” for increasing the Heppner clinic space. CEO Bob Houser said that plans call for doubling the size of the clinic with some remod- eling of old space. “We’ve got a lot of details to work out with the architect,” he added. Providing adequate space for diagnostic equip- ment, enabling the clinic and hospital to keep up with technology has also been a priority, along with remodeling the patients’ bathrooms at the hospital. Houser reported on the overwhelming approval of continuation of the district’s tax levy and thanked those who helped with passage of the measure. The levy passed in all Morrow Coun- ty communities totaling 1,629 yes votes to 413 no votes. Boardman voters totaled 320 yes to 143 no; Irrigon voters, 359 yes to 110 no; Lexington, 162 yes to 33 no; Ione, 186 yes to 40 no; and Heppner/Hardman voted 602 yes to 87 no. Houser also reported: -Danielle Mateleska, PA-C, has returned from a Above: Tentative Pioneer Memorial Clinic upper level plans Below: Tentative PMC lower level plans seminar and is now certified to insert and remove IUDs, along with other women’s health exams. She has also completed her CDL testing and was expected to be certified shortly, and is also credentialled with most all insurers, along with Jon Watson, PA-C at Irrigon Medical Clinic. -Dr. Jim Hejmanowski has received his Oregon Li- cense and was working with district staff to complete all necessary documentation for credentialing. Houser said that they hope that he will arrive in August to begin working in the clinic and emergency room. -the district was still interviewing for a mid-level provider (physician’s assis- tant or nurse practitioner) for the Irrigon Clinic, -nursing staffing for Home Health and Hos- pice “is beginning to be a problem” and the district is looking at either per diem nurses or using “travelers” until the district is able to hire its own. -additional employ- ees needed include: Home Health & Hospice RN, Pioneer Memorial Hospital RN, Irrigon Medical Clinic mid-level provider, behav- revenue, for $1,015,718 in total operating reve- nue, less $1,136,758 in operating expenses and a $28,946 non-operating gain for a $92,094 loss for the month; a year-to-date loss of $191,412; and a $19,141 average monthly year-to- date loss. -received the follow- ing report for Pioneer Me- morial Hospital: three ad- missions, three swing bed admissions, six admissions for observation, 542 total out-patients, 74 emergency room encounters, 1,747 lab tests, 102 x-ray, ultrasound tests, 15 CT scans, three MRI tests, 15 EKG tests, six lower endoscopy proce- dures, one upper endoscopy procedure, 52 respiratory therapy procedures. -received a report of 75 Home Health visits and two Hospice admissions for the month. -received the pharmacy report of 4,265 drug doses for $93,876 in revenue. -received the following ambulance report: Heppner Ambulance had 28 page- outs with 23 transports for $35,574 in revenue; Boardman Ambulance had 44 page-outs with 30 trans- ports for $55,878 in rev- enue; Irrigon Ambulance had 35 page-outs with 19 transports for $29,158 in revenue; Ione Ambulance had two page-outs with no transports; there were six life flights. -received the following clinic reports: Pioneer Me- morial Clinic in Heppner had 352 patient visits with four new patients, 20 seen by a nurse and 18 no-shows; Irrigon Medical Clinic had 267 patient visits with 19 new patients, 138 seen by a nurse and 26 no-shows; Ione Community Clinic had 51 patient visits with seven new patients, six seen by a nurse and three no-shows. ioral health licensed clinic social worker, behavioral case manager for the dis- trict, a part-time dietician and a Pioneer Memorial Clinic manager. -the district is having some problems finding parts for their x-ray ma- chine. The x-ray company indicated that they will be issuing an “end of life” letter to the district for the unit. The item will be put on the budget for the next fiscal year, but the district may have to replace the unit earlier if parts become unavailable. Cost of a new unit and modification to the x-ray room is estimated at around $190,000. -the district awarded a $375 grant to Edith Gonza- les, Irrigon High School, to pay for tuition to the Med Quest camp to be held June 17-21. She plans to be an orthodontist. In other business, the board: -received the following profit and loss statement through April from CFO Mahoney: the district had $968,054 in gross patient revenue, less $123,564 in revenue deductions, plus Nazarene/Christian $160,914 in tax revenue and volunteers will serve lunch $10,313 in other operating on Wednesday, June 12 at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. Lunch will navy beans and ham, coleslaw, slice tomatoes, corn muffins and chocolate pie for dessert. Milk, coffee and tea is served at each meal. Sug- gested donation is $3.50 per meal. Menu is subject to change. Community lunch menu The cities of Boardman and Irrigon will kick-off their Music in the Parks outdoor summer concert series Monday, June 10. The first performer of the year will be the steel drum band Bram Bratá at the Boardman Marina Park at 7 p.m., located off of N. Main Street on Marine Drive. Bram Bratá is the se- nior steel drum band from the Tri-Cities Steel Band Association in Richland, WA. The name Bram Bratá is derived from two Trinidadian slang words meaning “an unexpected party.” Audiences find this a fitting name as they enjoy the challenging and varied repertoire of Caribbean, jazz, popular and even clas- sical music. Spontaneous dancing is not uncommon. Mr. Ben Leggett directs Bram Bratá and arranges or writes most of the mu- sic. The band practices twice a week and performs on the average about two times/month in the com- munity and throughout the Northwest. Bram Bratá has performed in Hawaii, Dis- neyland, and at Caribbean Music Festivals in Oregon and British Columbia. Steel drums are remarkably ver- satile instruments. Bram Bratá plays an eclectic mix of traditional Trinidadian steel drum music, Caribbe- an favorites, jazz, classical and modern pop and rock tunes. The Music in the Parks concert series is held each summer alternating be- tween Boardman and Ir- rigon Marina Parks. The concerts are free to the pub- lic and begin at 7 p.m. on Mondays through August 12. Visitors are encour- aged to bring chairs and blankets. Concessions will be available for purchase at the Boardman events, courtesy of the Boardman Little League. The Music in the Parks series is fund- ed by the Morrow County Unified Recreation District and Portland General Elec- tric and sponsored by the North Morrow Community Foundation. Additional dates and performers during the sea- son include the Wasteland Kings in Irrigon on June 17; Latino rock band Aze- tatos are in Boardman on June 24; singing duo 98% Angels on July 1 in Irrigon; Brady Goss, the piano man, will perform in Boardman on July 8; Martin Ger- schwitz will be in Irrigon on July 15; Cruise Control in Boardman on July 22; on July 29 in Irrigon is Latino band Fonozis; Bluegrass trio Cosmo’s Dream is in Boardman on August 5 and in Irrigon on August 12 is country performer Cale Moon. In the event of inclement weather, Board- man performances will be held at the SAGE Center and Irrigon performances will be held at the Irrigon Senior Center. For more information about the Music in the Parks concert series, contact Jack- ie at 541-720-1289. Heppner students to graduate at OSU Oregon State Universi- ty will hold its 150 th com- mencement on Saturday, June 15, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in Reser Stadium. Heppner students who will be graduating are Cait- lynn N. Bailey, Bachelor of Science, Management; Makenzi K. Hughes, Bach- elor of Science, Agricul- tural Sciences; Mekayla S. Kindle, Bachelor of Sci- ence, Magna Cum Laude, Education, Bachelor of Sci- ence, Magna Cum Laude, Human Development and Family Sciences; Earl J. Propheter, Bachelor of Sci- ence, Business Information Systems, Bachelor of Sci- ence, Accountancy; John B. Propheter, Bachelor of Science, Horticulture. The commencement speaker is Jane Lubchen- co, a marine ecologist and world-renowned leader in environmental research. Lubchenco, a distinguished professor at Oregon State and former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- istration, will receive an honorary doctorate degree in ocean, earth and atmo- spheric sciences at the cer- emony. Commencement is free and open to the public; no tickets are necessary. OSU is one of the few large universities in the nation to hand out students’ actual diplomas during the com- mencement ceremony. Man charged in assault of his wife Morrow County Dis- trict Attorney Justin Nelson told the Gazette that his office is arraigning Gerald John Kamph, 63, of Ione on charges related to the beating of his spouse. He was taken into custody at 180 S. Birch St. on Sunday morning. The suspect told law enforcement officers that he is his spouse’s caregiver Nelson reported. That en- hanced the charges against him, adding a charge of fel- ony second-degree assault to two counts of criminal mistreatment and another count of third-degree as- sault. The injuries alleged- ly caused by Kamph are severe. Gerald John Kamph ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.