FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 27, 2021
MCSD graduation
rates increase
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Education recently
released the graduation
rates for the 2019-20 grad-
uating class and for the
third year in a row, Mor-
row County School Dis-
trict (MCSD) improved its
overall graduation rate by
more than three percentage
points, from 88.02 percent
for 2018-19 to 91.62 percent
for 2019-20. This is 8.99
percent higher than the state
average of 82.63 percent.
This is the four-year cohort
rate, which means students
who earned their regular
diplomas within four years
of high school. The 2019-20
four-year cohort consists of
students who first entered
high school in 2016-17.
ODE also reported the
four-year cohort completer
rate, which includes stu-
dents who earned a stan-
dard high school diploma,
as well as those who were
awarded an extended high
school diploma, or GED
(General Education Diplo-
ma), within the four years
being measured. Morrow
County’s four-year com-
pleter rate is 98.2 percent.
Dirk Dirksen, school dis-
trict superintendent, said
the district had nine stu-
dents who earned their
GEDs and are included in
that rate.
The four-year rates for
each MCSD high school
are 93.55 for Irrigon Jr/Sr
High, 95.83 for Heppner Jr/
Sr High, 58.82 for Morrow
Education Center, 96.88 for
Riverside Jr/Sr High and
91.62 for the district.
The four-year complet-
er rates are 98.39 for Irrigon
Jr/Sr High, 100 for Heppner
Jr/Sr High, 88.24 for Mor-
row Education Center, 100
for Riverside Jr/Sr High and
98.2 for the district.
Superintendent Dirk
Dirksen said the graduation
rates are great news for
Morrow County School
District. “Having been a
part of MCSD for 40 years,
I cannot be prouder of the
work it took to reach these
graduation rates. This takes
tremendous commitment
and effort by every staff
member, parent and stu-
dent,” Dirksen said.
Morrow County
Schools, in partnership
with families and commu-
nities, provide each student
the opportunity to develop
values, knowledge, skills
and self-confidence to be-
come life-long learners and
responsible citizens.
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Spiritually Speaking
The amazing authority of Jesus
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph SDB, St. Patrick Church
We have all had teachers, and some of those teachers
we remember with great fondness. Some of them had a
significant influence for good on us. They inspired us with
a love for the subject that they taught. They taught us with
confidence and authority. They shared some expertise with
us and encouraged us to head off in a direction of our own.
In today’s Gospel, the people of Capernaum recognize
Jesus who had come to their synagogue as a teacher; he
taught them with authority. This journey of Jesus to the
synagogue where He taught with authority and healed a
man with an unclean spirit is the first public act of Jesus
in Mark’s Gospel. Today’s readings reveal the power of
speech: When certain people begin to speak, we refuse
to take them seriously. Why? Because for us their words
carry no authority. When Christ spoke, all open-minded
people listened. Why was this? Because He spoke with
authority. His words had the ring of truth, and people knew
He meant them. Do we listen to the words of Christ? What
authority do our words carry?
The Book of Deuteronomy (18: 15-20) reveals the
powerful communication of Moses before he ends his
trip to the Promised Land. He reminds the people of
Israel about the work of God, that He will raise up a
prophet from among their own people to lead them to
the Promised Land. Moses recalls the words of the Lord,
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among
your kin and will put my words into his mouth; he shall
tell all that I command him.” Just to show the prophet
is actually a mouthpiece of God, Moses concludes his
speech with a reminder to the new prophet, that in case
he fails to speak in the name of the Lord and for the Lord,
he shall surely die.
St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians (1Cor 7: 32-
35) speaks to getting rid of anxieties. He uses the analogy
of the married man and woman, how they are constantly
anxious and worried about pleasing their spouses, how
they are called to care for and love one another. St Paul
urges those who are celibate to give their undivided at-
tention to the Lord.
The Gospel of Mark brings us the idea of how Jesus,
unlike the contemporary scribes and Pharisees, teaches
with authority. Here we see the prophecy of Moses ful-
filled in the teaching of Christ.
The gospel presents Jesus as a teacher of the law in the
synagogue. There were so many people in the synagogue,
only the man with an unclean spirit first recognizes Jesus.
He shouts out, “What do you want with us Jesus of Naza-
reth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are:
The Holy one of God” (1:26). Jesus never could tolerate
NEW MCHD ADMINISTRATOR
-Continued from PAGE ONE
signed a new agreement
with Pacific companies to
recruit an additional MD for
Pioneer Memorial Clinic/
Pioneer Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Hejmanowski’s resigna-
tion will take providers out
of the Heppner Clinic “on
multiple days” to provide
emergency coverage at
Pioneer Memorial Hospi-
tal. He said the district is
“currently credentialing an
interim doctor from Port-
land who could do some ER
shifts, hopefully by April.”
“We may have to have the
providers who take calls go
back to the way it has been
in the past; they still keep
appointments even though
they are on call with the
patients being notified that
their provider is on ER call
which may cause last min-
ute cancellations or changes
in appointment times.”
Concerning the dis-
agreement prospective pro-
vider Emily Jack, MD, had
concerning the district’s
base clinic pay for physi-
cians, Houser reported that
he inquired about physi-
cian’s base pay at Harney,
John Day, Enterprise, Blue
Mountain and Lake Dis-
trict and determined that
the median is $128.55/hr.
for family practice pro-
viders without obstetrics,
compared to the MCHD
physician’s wage of $95.40/
hour. “MCHD has been
very fortunate to have pro-
viders that want to be here,”
said Houser. “They are
committed to this com-
munity, county and their
evil anywhere around him.
He chases the Evil One out
immediately from His sight.
We, too, are called to do the
same, never allow for the
Evil One to take possession
of our lives and power. It is
good to ask, “Am I able to
differentiate the evils in me
and around me? Do I give
the devil his opportunity,
or do I chase him out when
I recognize his presence Fr. Thankachan Joseph
anywhere around me?”
In chapter 3, we read that He calls His disciples to be
with Him, to imbibe the same spirit and power. When He
called the first twelve apostles, He called them “to be his
companions and to be sent out to proclaim the message,
with power to drive out devils” (3:14). He gives this power
to all of us at the time of our Christendom. We are cleansed
from the origin and called to be heirs of this power. What
are we doing with that enormous gift we have received in
baptism, the power that we all receive to be the children
of God and of the Church?
Jesus could send out the demons with the power of
God because He had moral perfection. He is calling every
one of us Christians to be persons of moral perfection and
uprightness. Do I live a life worthy of my Christian call
and am I a good example to my family and the society?
What do I do with the power that was given to me at the
time of my baptism, is vested in me to cast out demons?
The Lord made us all His children in order to be Holy and
Upright. We are each called to live as a Holy one of God,
consecrated and dedicated, to use the power constantly
to chase the evil ones from our surroundings. Jesus calls
every one of us Christians to this moral uprightness.
The decisions that we make every day in our lives
make a deep impact in every one of us, and Jesus gives to
all of us authority to be utilized properly. For us as Chris-
tians Jesus remains the ultimate authority. That is why
we confess Jesus not just as our teacher but as our Lord.
We are happy to submit to His authority, to His lordship,
because we recognize that in doing so, we will have life
to the fullest and, like the man in the Gospel, be freed of
those spirits that prevent us from becoming the person
God intends us to be. We need to be with Him constantly
to charge our divinity that diminishes day by day. I am
reminded of the scripture verse, “If you remain in me and
my words remain in you, you may ask for whatever you
please and you will get it” (Jn. 15:7).
COAL PLANT
-Continued from PAGE TWO
patients and while they get
recruitment offers all the
time, have chosen so stay
here. . .”
Houser recommended
that the board move the
(physician’s) base clinic
hourly wage to $115/hr.
for 2021-22 and to $130/
hr. for budget year July 1,
2022-23. No additional
money would be added to
the provider’s clinic hourly
rate when the provider cov-
ers the ER.
In other business:
-board member Andrea
Fletcher announced her
resignation from the board
“with regret,” citing family
reasons. Her term was set
to expire in June of 2021,
along with John Murray’s
term.
-the board learned from
Patti Allstott, Human Re-
sources Director, of the fol-
lowing recent hires: Rose
Kyllo, new receptionist at
Pioneer Memorial Clinic to
replace Felicia Cavan who
transferred to the Irrigon
Medical Clinic receptionist
position; Taylor Muen-
chow, PA-C, new medical
provider at IMC; Antoinette
Teixeira, LCSW, new be-
havioral health consultant
at PMC; Suzanne Hurt,
community relations and
communications director,
Mayte Carillo Gutierrez,
new screener/backup re-
ceptionist; Rhea Duncan,
PMH new purchasing clerk
to replace Pennie Miller
prior to her retirement in
March; and Jennie Ohlde,
PMH CNA. Allstott said
that Gabriella Bautista, who
had previously been hired
as an IMC screener/back
up receptionist declined
the position due to health
issues. She also said that
Liz Johnston transferred
from the IMC discharge
coordinator to PMC patient
care coordinator, replacing
Kim Thompson. MCHD
is continuing to recruit an
information services direc-
tor, an informatics analyst,
hospital RNs and a human
resources assistant, said
Allstott.
-MCHD Chief Finan-
cial Officer Nicole Ma-
honey released the follow-
ing profit/loss statement
for December: MCHD re-
ceived $1,485,896 in gross
patient revenue, less $936
in provision for bad debts
and $174,547 in contractual
and other adjustments, plus
$185,460 in tax revenue and
$259,188 in other operating
revenue for $1,756,933 in
total operating revenue;
$1,397,995 in total operat-
ing revenue, plus $202,138
in a non-operating gain for
a $561,076 gain for the
month.
-received the follow-
ing stats for December:
PMH had five in-patient
admissions, four swing bed
admissions, nine admis-
sions for observation, one
hospital respite admission,
933 total out-patients, 70
emergency room encoun-
ters, 2,177 lab tests, 113
x-ray/ultrasound tests, 69
CT scans, eight MRI scans,
35 EKG tests, five lower
endoscopy procedures, one
upper endoscopy proce-
dure, 35 respiratory therapy
procedures.
-Home Health had 156
patient visits, Hospice had
three admissions and one
death; Pharmacy had 3,829
drug doses for $133,534 in
drug revenue.
-the board approved a
resolution authorizing the
following to sign checks,
with one of the following
signatures required to ap-
pear on all district checks
and vouchers: John Mur-
ray, board chair, D. Ryan
Fowler, chief executive
officer, Nicole Mahoney,
chief financial officer, Ja-
mie Houck, chief nursing
officer, Kris Jones, chief
operating officer or Patti
Allstott, human resources
manager.
-Pioneer Memorial
Clinic had 414 patient vis-
its with 22 new patients,
44 seen by a nurse, 10 no-
shows and 38 cancellations;
Irrigon Medical Clinic had
460 patient visits with five
new patients, 187 seen by
a nurse and 35 no-shows;
Ione Community Clinic had
52 patient visits, 10 seen by
a nurse and one no-show.
-Heppner Ambulance
had 43 page-outs with 36
transports for $65,636 in
revenue; Boardman Ambu-
lance had 48 page-outs with
23 transports for $44,563
in revenue; Irrigon Ambu-
lance had 28 page-outs with
20 transports for $33,070 in
revenue; Ione Ambulance
had three page-outs with
no transports; there were 10
life flights. The 2020 year
end statistics are as follows:
Heppner-367 page-outs
with 279 transports; Board-
man-488 page-outs with
247 transports; Irrigon-348
page-outs with 208 trans-
ports; Ione-22 page-outs
with three transports; for
a total of 1,225 page-outs
and 737 transports with 86
flights.
to be used as fuel. In the
ash disposal area, they
are planning on putting
down a geomembrane cap
called ClosureTurf. With
a geomembrane, drainage
layer, and artificial grass
on top, this branded prod-
uct permanently caps the
ash area to contain waste,
control gas emissions, and
manage storm water runoff.
There will also be 30 years
of groundwater monitoring
at the ash site.
An artificial turf product
called ClosureTurf will be
used to top-off and seal the ash
disposal area
In decommissioning,
workers have been drain-
ing all fluids and oil from
equipment, cleaning and
washing the plant, cleaning
tanks, removing ash from
plant systems, removing
waste and removing un-
derground storage tanks.
Once this is completed the
company will dispose of
unwanted equipment and
infrastructure to sell to
scrappers or vendors. The
remaining material will go
to a demolition contractor.
Prior to demolition
the company will identify
asbestos, lead paint and
environmentally regulated
materials. Then they will
“make the plant cold, dark
and dry and ready for a
demolition contractor to de-
molish the facility. Demoli-
tion will include removing
buildings and utilities to
two feet below grade, and
then do site restoration in-
cluding revegetate the coal
yard, cap the ash disposal
area and gravel the power
block area. PGE plans to
turn the site over for dem-
olition between January
2022 to December 2023.
Costs for decommis-
sioning and demolishing
the plant include $14 mil-
lion employee costs, $2
million planning and man-
agement, $2.8 million for
the coal yard, $8.4 million
for the ash disposal area,
$2.5 million for decom-
missioning, $7.3 million in
asset write-off, $34 million
for abatement and demo-
lition and $3.8 million for
long-term site care for a
total of $75 million on the
project.
All the equipment in the plant will be decommissioned and
either scrapped or demolished.
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