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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2019)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 9, 2019 -- THREE A View from the Hill By Doris Brosnan A look at a bit of trivia as this column begins today. Last Friday was the 17 th birthday of Willow Creek Terrace, this assisted living facility in which Suzanne Jepsen and her co-commit- tee members had enough faith to persist with Jepsen’s vision until it became a reality. The service the Terrace has offered the area since opening its doors to Jean Nelson, the first resi- dent, might be evidenced in some statistics. The sixteen apartments have served 104 residents; ten of those were couples and three couples currently reside at the Ter- race; ten individuals have stayed at the Terrace for varying lengths of respite care. The Terrace continues to offer assistance as need- ed for residents to remain as independent as possible and it continues to offer a pos- itive working environment for people who care. Another birthday helped get October off on a positive note last week. Marjorie Gorham cele- brated her birthday on the 3 rd . One of her favorite luncheon menus added to her celebration with family and neighbors. The staff tearfully bid Ron Peck a “goodbye, be good” when he moved away recently. Ron now requires a higher level of care than the Terrace can offer, so he has moved to the long-term care facility at Pioneer Memorial Hos- pital. Administrator Nairns reports that Ron and his great sense of humor are greatly missed. The staff is pleased to report the recent addition of two student interns from HHS, sponsored by the Workforce Training Pro- gram of the Port of Morrow. This introduction to the ~ Letters to the Editor ~ work-a-day world and work ethics is a semester-long experience of twelve hours a week with a staff-member mentor. Sage Ferguson and Nicole Myers, both juniors at HHS, are the first interns at the Terrace. They could probably add some new perspectives at the morning discussions on the hill, as participants talk about Farmers (12 th ), the Navy’s 244 th birthday (13 th ), Being Bald and Free (on the 14 th , when Bud Wilson will be especially missed), Grouches (15 th ), Bosses (16 th ), the Cadil- lac’s 117 th birthday (17 th ) and Mothers-in-Law (27 th , probably not a subject with which Sara and Nicole are familiar). This week is designated Fire Prevention Week, so it is time for annual fire-pre- vention equipment tests and a practice fire drill. Staff will also be encour- aging residents to replace batteries in their various apparatuses. The end-of-the-month highlight for staff and resi- dents will again be Hallow- een, of course. Staff will wear some appropriate cos- tuming and will encourage residents to do the same. They all will be enlisted to fill bags with treats, don their Halloween t-shirts, and greet the trick-or-treat- ers who dare to come and scare the community on the hill. All ghosts, goblins, heroes, princesses and mon- sters will be welcome from 4:30 to 8:30. And that leads to two questions the residents at the Terrace view as pretty important right now, “What do skeletons say before eating?” And, “What can’t you give the headless horse- man?” USDA opens 2020 enrollment for dairy margin coverage program Dairy producers can now enroll in the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) for calendar year 2020. US- DA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has opened signup for the program that helps producers manage eco- nomic risk brought on by milk price and feed cost disparities. “We know it’s tough out there for American farmers, including our dairy pro- ducers,” said Bill Northey, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conserva- tion. “As Secretary Perdue said, farmers are pretty good at managing through tough times, and we know that more dairy farmers will be able to survive with this 2018 Farm Bill and its risk mitigation measures, like the Dairy Margin Coverage program.” The DMC program offers reasonably priced protection to dairy pro- ducers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount se- lected by the producer. The deadline to enroll in DMC for 2020 is Dec. 13, 2019. Dairy farmers earned more than $300 million dollars from the program in 2019 so far. Producers are encouraged to take advan- tage of this very important risk management tool for 2020. EOCCO to hold meetings Public invited to help shape future of local healthcare Eastern Oregon Coor- dinated Care Organization (EOCCO) will hold com- munity meetings in each of the 12 counties it serves. EOCCO serves Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) members throughout the 12-county region. The meetings present an opportunity to learn about community-driven health improvement efforts, and to consider shared strat- egies under the state’s next phase of coordinated care, known as “CCO 2.0.” “The greatest strength of Eastern Oregon com- munities is collaboration. As we move into a new era of coordinated care, Eastern Oregon is uniquely positioned to raise the bar on healthcare for the indi- viduals and families who call this region home,” said Kevin Campbell, Chief Ex- ecutive Officer of EOCCO. “We look forward to hearing from communi- ty members as we work together to build and con- sider new approaches to improving the healthcare system. Our commitment is better care and better health at lower costs for Eastern Oregon communities,” said Sean Jessup, EOCCO Pres- ident. Established in 2012, EOCCO serves about 50,000 members across a 50,000-square-mile service area, roughly the size of New York state. “We’re really proud of the way the healthcare community has come to- gether to form and support the CCO. Through these partnerships, we are rapid- ly becoming a nationwide model for success in rural communities,” said Robin Richardson, Chief Operat- ing Officer and Board Chair of EOCCO. On Sept. 27, the Ore- gon Health Authority an- nounced EOCCO’s five- year contract award as the coordinated care organiza- tion serving Oregon Health Plan members in the fol- lowing counties: Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa and Wheeler. EOCCO will enter its next contract cycle Jan. 1. This fall, EOCCO will en- gage the public at meetings throughout the region. The meeting to be held in Morrow County will be at the SAGE Center, 101 Olson Rd. NE, Boardman on Thursday, November 7 from noon to 2 p.m. All producers who want 2020 coverage, even those who took advantage of the 25 percent premium discount by locking in the coverage level for five years of margin protection cover- age are required to visit the office during this signup period to pay the annual administrative fee. “Dairy producers should definitely consid- er coverage for 2020 as even the slightest drop in the margin can trigger payments,” said Northey. “Dairy producers should consider enrolling in DMC to guard against what has been, for several years, an extremely unforgiving market.” The 2018 Farm Bill created DMC, improving on the previous safety net for dairy producers. DMC is one of many programs that FSA and other USDA agencies are implement- ing to support America’s farmers. For more information on enrolling in DMC and taking advantage of an on- line dairy decision tool that assists producers in select- ing coverage for 2020, visit the DMC webpage. For additional ques- tions and assistance, contact your local USDA service center. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers. gov/service-locator. HEPPNER ELKS 358 "WHERE FRIENDS MEET" 541-676-9181 142 N MAIN ST PRIME RIB NIGHT Saturday, October 12th Dinner at 6pm Prime Rib Dinner with Baked Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad and Rolls Come join us for good food and good friends Members & out of town guests only 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. No litter on highway To the editor: Last Friday I did a “windshield inspection” of the Heppner Chamber of Commerce Department of Transportation Adopt a Highway 1.7 state highway segment. This was to de- termine if a pick up needed to be organized. There was virtually no litter along the segment. This speaks very well of our citizens who remove any litter they see as they walk around town. This effort keeps our town litter free for ourselves and our visitors. Good work. John Edmundson Heppner Chamber of Commerce Member Adopt a Highway pro- gram coordinator Turmoil and negativity in the community To the editor: As a member of the Lexington community I feel that it is important to voice my concern. Though I have done so with other community members indi- vidually, I feel that I would be negligent not to voice it publicly. There has been a great deal of turmoil within our small community and so much negativity, it saddens me. I will admit that I didn’t take the time out of my schedule to regularly attend our city meetings until the town shut down. Since then I have been attending every meeting. Let me share some things of what I have seen. There has been so much anger from many different people from both sides. Those that support May- or Kemp and those that side with council members. Meetings are not productive for anyone (both sides). More time is spent in finger pointing and accusations than trying to get past issues and seek resolutions that would benefit our commu- nity. Yes, Mayor Kemp did not individually call coun- cil members regarding the budget approval meeting, but members of the council knew exactly when that meeting was scheduled and had the responsibility to make sure they were there. When the city shut down there were comments that the mayor caused the shut- down. This only because she didn’t call each member to remind them of the meet- ing. Once it was shut down, there was not any effort to move forward in a positive manner to move past what happened and look to the future of making Lexington better. When there was a motion to pay the two city employees for the seven days that they were off, the vote of only two council members (as that was all that was in attendance) voted to not pay them. One council member made the comment “maybe the one that caused it should pay them.” This was in refer- ence again to Mayor Kemp and again not helpful. All of which I heard as I was in attendance. Bottomline, we as a community need to be in- formed. This means at- tending meetings, speaking with the mayor and council members, etc. As with any election we need to vote based on knowledge and not just the word of oth- ers that are sharing their opinion. Ask yourself what the facts are. If someone like the mayor is accused of something, especially illegal, ask for the facts to back it up. We all know what a downward spiral it is to go solely based on “he said, she said” types of conversations. In closing, let’s get past the past. Let us look to a representative government in our city. A mayor and council that represent the interests of the citizens and not pushing their own agen- da. We face that enough in our world on many levels. Someone may not like the mayor personally or the council members, but if they are doing the job ap- pointed to them and we are satisfied with that, then set aside any personality disputes. If we do not like the job (based on facts) of what they are doing then take action upon that. The city government of Lexington needs to stop bickering and seek resolu- tion. I sincerely hope that no matter who is in office (mayor and council mem- bers) that they come togeth- er as a governing board and work together. Community members, get active, have a voice, be informed, make your own decisions. We have the ability to make this right. Sincerely, Juli Kennedy Want to know when your prescriptions are ready? Ask Pharmacy about “Text when ready” program! Biggest Sale of the Year Great Finds throughout the store and back room 11am - 6pm Friday Sheep Dog Says ‘Get Ready for the Holidays!’ 10am - 3pm Saturday 279 N. Main St Heppner, Oregon 541-314-3185 Flu & Shingles Vaccines available. Limited Supply www.murraysdrug.com 217 North Main St., Heppner, OR Phone 676-9158 Floral 676-9426
