Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 23, 2019 -- THREE
Guest Editorial
Be a problem solver
By Greg Smith
Every customer who
comes into your business
has a problem and they
are looking for you to help
solve it. Perhaps they need
a dress for their daughter’s
wedding or a special gift.
They have a flat tire or need
a specific tool for a project.
Their faucet is dripping,
their pickup’s engine light
came on, their septic tank
needs pumped, they need a
loan to buy a house or are
being sued.
What problem does
your business solve and
how do you accomplish
this more effectively than
your competitors? Have
you thought about this and
do you need to make any
adjustments?
Here are some basic
things you may want to
consider:
-Are you open when
your customer needs you?
(I know of a hair stylist who
only works in the evenings
and on Saturday and Sun-
day, because that’s when
her working clients and
students are available and is
something her competitors
won’t do.)
-Do you offer quality
products or services at the
right price point?
-Is your website com-
plicated? (Remember, if it
takes more than three clicks
to find the information a
customer wants to know,
they will leave your site—
and likely won’t return.)
-When a customer calls
is there a complex auto-
mated system they must
navigate?
-In short, is it a hassle
to do business with you or
are you the first business
they turn to when seeking
an answer to their problem?
The answers to these
questions sound simple yet
are often the root cause for
slow, or no, business.
On the other side of the
equation, employers want
employees who are prob-
lem solvers, not problem
creators. I have addressed
the importance of “soft
skills” in a previous article,
but the reality of this cannot
be over-stated.
Employees, regardless
of their skill set, are not em-
ployed long if they create
problems. The number one
complaint (i.e. problem)
I consistently hear about
from employers is they can-
not find people who want to
work and who will show up
to work on time—or at all.
Perhaps you don’t con-
sider yourself a problem
creator but take a moment
and ask yourself these ques-
tions:
-Are you dependable?
-Do you cause strife in
the workplace?
-Are you busy texting
instead of looking around
to see what needs to be
done—and doing it?
-Do you complete your
work on time? Does your
boss have to come behind
you and double check to
make sure the task has been
done correctly?
-Do you access resourc-
es to answer the questions
you might have, or do you
consistently interrupt the
workflow of others?
Identifying a need
whether as a business own-
er or employee and utilizing
your unique skill set is one
of the most important keys
to success, profitability, and
longevity in the workplace.
Being a creative problem
solver is not just something
beneficial in the workplace,
but in society, as well and is
something each of us can
contribute to in some way.
Greg Smith is the direc-
tor of the Eastern Oregon
University Small Business
Development Center locat-
ed at 1607 Gekeler Lane,
Room 148 in La Grande,
OR. If you are seeking free,
confidential business advis-
ing, please call 541-962-
1532 or email eousbdc@
gmail.com.
Plant based cooking
class scheduled
The vegetarian cooking
class for this month will be
held Tuesday, October 29 at
7 p.m. at the Heppner Sev-
enth Day Adventist Church
gym. All are welcome to
sample each recipe and take
home a copy.
The theme this month
is casseroles as a main dish
or sides around it. For ad-
ditional information or to
RSVP contact Cynthia at
541-561-9132.
Morrow County Health Department
upcoming flu vaccine clinics
All day Flu Clinic at Heppner City Hall
10/24/2019 9:00 -7:00 p.m.
Irrigon Stoke’s Landing Sr. Center
10/28/2019 10:30-1:00 p.m.
Ione Fire Hall
10/30/2019 4:00 -7:30 p.m.
Boardman Senior Center
10/31/2019 10:00-1:00 p.m.
More to be announced at a later date!
We do have flu vaccine for folks
with no insurance, so drop by our clinic
in Boardman, Heppner or Ione if you are unable to
attend any of above scheduled flu clinics
Morrow County
Health Department
110 N Court Street , Heppner
541-676-5421
541-676-5652
Obituaries
Jeffrey (Jeff) Scott
Huston
Jeffrey (Jeff) Scott
Huston, died October 14 at
his home with his signifi-
cant other, Lisa, by his side
after a battle with cancer.
He was born in Heppner on
January 31, 1964.
Jeff worked for J & M
Eagle Manufacturing in
Umatilla for 21 years and
had just recently received
his electrical license.
He was an avid hunter
and fisherman and enjoyed
camping. He spent many
hours fishing and hunting
in the Blue Mountains.
Jeff loved the outdoors,
whether it be cleaning one
of his beloved vehicles or
Harley Davidson and could
often be found working
on a project in his shop.
He loved anything motor
sports, trucks, cars and
motorcycles. He was an
incredible mechanic who
could fix anything, and an
expert welder. Lisa often
referred to him as Jeff of
All Trades.
He was a huge Seattle
Seahawks fan, so much
so, he would record every
game and during the off
season would watch them
over and over again. He
was an excellent cook and
he affectionately called
himself “Jeff Boyardee.”
According to his family,
Jeff had a quick wit and was
loved by all whose lives he
touched. He will be greatly
missed.
Jeff is survived by his
parents, Carolyn J Cutsforth
of Heppner and William
Omer Huston Sr. of Irrigon;
his significant other, Lisa
Rodighiero, Milton-Free-
water; brother, William O
Huston, Jr, Freehold, NJ;
step siblings, Kathryn Cuts-
forth, Kim Cutsforth and
Kraig Cutsforth of Heppner.
He had two nephews, Will
Huston, Eugene, OR and
Taylor Huston, Freehold,
NJ as well as many aunts,
uncles and cousins.
A graveside service
and celebration of life will
be held at a later date. The
family suggests donations
to be made to American
Cancer Society in lieu of
flowers.
The online condolence
book is available at swee-
neymortuary.com.
Planning
commission holds
hearings
The Morrow County
Planning Commission held
public hearings on August
27 and September 24. At the
August hearing two actions
were approved: a hardship
variance to allow an RV
as a dwelling for an infirm
relative and a conditional
use permit that would al-
low a home occupation to
support towing and short-
term storage of vehicles.
At the September hearing a
variance was approved that
will allow a double wide
manufactured home older
than 10 years.
During the months of
August and September,
Morrow County Planning
Department staff issued 20
developmental approvals
that will allow seven new
homes, three shops, an ad-
dition to a shop, a new data
center, an office building, a
transmission line, a drying
facility with a storage build-
ing, a substation complex,
a truck scale, two deck
upgrades and an electrical
building.
In June the Board of
Commissioners authorized
the formation of a Code
Enforcement Task Force,
made up of fifteen individ-
uals who have some respon-
sibility for code enforce-
ment activity in Morrow
County. This group has met
three times and presented a
report to the board at their
meeting on October 16. If
you have an interest in this
topic, please contact Carla
or Shambra at the planning
department.
The next Morrow
County Planning Commis-
sion public hearing will
be held on October 29, in
Boardman at the Riverfront
Center where they will
consider a land partition,
a land partition/replat and
an application to rezone
property near the Paterson
Ferry interchange to Port
Industrial to allow indus-
trial type uses.
The Morrow County
Planning Department en-
courages you to visit our
website for information on
the planning commission,
code enforcement, trans-
portation and much more.
You can find the website
at https://www.co.morrow.
or.us/planning.
MURRAY'S 2020
MEDICARE PART D PLANS
SILVERSCRIPT
WELLCARE
CLEAR SPRINGS HEALTH
CIGNA HEALTHSPRING
ENVISION
EXPRESS SCRIPTS
AARP
AARP WALGREENS
MUTUAL OF OMAHA
ASURIS MEDICARE SCRIPT
ENHANCED
Medicare Advantage plans:
MODA HEALTH PPO
*Please note we are NOT a provider for Humana
Want to know when your prescriptions are ready?
Ask the pharmacy about text alerts.
Sign up for our auto-refill program.
Shingles shots available at the pharmacy.
Irrigon Stokes Landing Community Center
217 North Main St., Heppner Phone
676-9158
• Floral 676-9426
October 3rd
11:00 am-1:00pm
www.murraysdrug.com
541-922-3603
VA to hold town hall
in Boardman
The Jonathan M. Wain-
wright Memorial VA Med-
ical Center (Walla Walla
VA) is holding a town hall
meeting and open house on
Friday, October 25, from
10:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. at
the Port of Morrow Con-
ference Center (2 Marine
Dr.). The open house starts
at 10:30 a.m. and Veterans/
community will have an
opportunity to view the
Morrow County Telehealth
Clinic and visit with Walla
Walla VA leadership and
staff. The town hall will
start at approximately 11:45
a.m. Lunch will be served
during the town hall. The
lunch and cake will be pro-
vided by Morrow County
Veteran Services and Wal-
la Walla VA’s Voluntary
Service.
This is one of many
quarterly town halls that are
regularly held by VA facil-
ities across the nation. Ac-
cording to the press release,
these meetings are intended
to provide local Veterans a
wide-open forum and for
VA officials to hear direct-
ly from beneficiaries as a
step toward improvement
and to rebuild trust among
Veterans.
“Caring for Veterans
is a calling, and our first
commitment is to provide
Veterans and their families
the timely, quality care and
benefits they have earned
and deserve through their
service to our nation,” says
Walla Walla VA’s Director,
Christopher Bjornberg. “It
is important that we con-
tinue to listen and learn
directly from those who use
our system.”
All are invited to visit
with Walla Walla VA lead-
ership and other staff about
the future of healthcare
for Veterans and how the
new VA MISSION Act can
provide additional access
for more timely delivery
of healthcare in rural com-
munities.
This Veteran town hall
meeting/event is open to
the public and the media, as
well as congressional stake-
holders, Veteran service
organizations, non-govern-
mental organizations, and
other community partners.
The Walla Walla VA values
the feedback from Veterans,
family members, and other
beneficiaries; and upholds
VHA’s mission by honoring
America’s Veterans in pro-
viding exceptional health
care that improves their
health and well-being.
Contact Linda Won-
dra, Public Affairs Officer,
Walla Walla VA Medical
Center at 509.525.5200,
Ext. 26520 (office) or
509.386.1117 (cell) for ad-
ditional information.
Chamber Chatter
Thursday, October 24,
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. All day
flu clinic at Heppner City
Hall by the Morrow County
Health Department.
Saturday, October 26,
3-9 p.m., Fall Festival,
organized by the Heppner
Outreach Committee and
volunteers, will be held at
the Morrow County Fair-
grounds with a $2 admis-
sion charge per person.
There will be carnival
games and crafts, tractor
rides, vendor market, food,
beer garden from 6-9 p.m.
and live music with Dallin
Puzey and Cory Peterson.
Saturday, October 26,
4 p.m. at SAGE Center
Theater, Free concert with
Inland Northwest Chorale.
Tuesday, November
5, 6 p.m., SAGE Center
Theater, Free Navy Band
Concert.
Thursday, November 7,
6-8 p.m. at Heppner Rang-
er District Office, Public
workshop on West End
Project Area. This project
was developed to reduce
the risk and extent of an
ongoing insect and disease
infestation and is open to
the community. For more
information, check out
the Project Webpage at
https://www.fs.usda.gov/
project/?project=56315.
Saturday, November
16, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Ione
American Legion Auxiliary
Annual Craft Bazaar at Ione
Legion Hall. Plan on com-
ing by and checking out all
of the crafts. Breakfast and
lunch will be available for
purchase. Vendor space is
still available and the cost
is $10 per table. Contact
Becky Rietmann before
10/31 at 541-720-2010 to
reserve a space.
Justice Court Report
Morrow County Justice
of the Peace, Ann Spicer,
has released the following
Justice Court report:
- Mason Gage Lehman,
18, Lexington, was convict-
ed of violation of basic rule,
75/55 mph, fine $165.
- Michael William
Peck, 52, Kennewick, WA,
was convicted of violation
of basic rule, 75/55 mph,
fine $165.
- Diana Jean Healy, 19,
Heppner, was convicted
of minor in possession of
alcohol, fine $265.
Community
Halloween
Party
Treats
games October 31st
hot dogs
5:30-8pm
at all
saints parish hall
Funded by Morrow County Unified
Recreation District and facilitated
by Hopeful Saints Mission Trippers
Haunted Heppner
This year the Haunted Heppner Trick or Treat Event will
be held on Thursday, October 31st from 2:00 to 5:00
PM. Heppner businesses will offer treats to costumed
children that come by the stores, banks and offices. The
participating store fronts will display an orange sign
that says “Welcome to Trick or Treat”.
Please come in to City Hall or call
541-676-9618 to request a
sign or if you have any questions.