TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 3, 2021
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
Morrow County Health District
welcomes new CEO
Ryan Fowler begins interim stint
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
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Published weekly by Sykes Publishing and entered as periodical matter at the Post
Office at Heppner, Oregon under the Act of March 3, 1879. Periodical postage paid
at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax
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subscriptions.
David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher
Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor
Giselle Moses.........................................................................................Advertising
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BEO announces
new loan office
Bank of Eastern Or-
egon announces it has
opened a new loan produc-
tion office in Caldwell, ID.
The office is located at 422
S. 9 th Avenue in Caldwell.
The Caldwell office is
staffed by a group of veter-
an bankers with many years
of experience in the local
market. Alan Bullard is
regional vice president and
team lead. He is joined by
Gaye Doanato, Becky Tem-
ple and Logan Schleicher.
President and CEO Jeff
Bailey said, “We are excited
to have this team of bank-
ers join Bank of Eastern
Oregon. They have a long
history of helping custom-
ers with their banking needs
across the region. Their
knowledge of the local
area, the customers and
their needs gives us a natu-
ral entry into the Caldwell
market. I am confident that
current and prospective
customers will enjoy Bank
of Eastern Oregon’s brand
of banking.”
The phone number for
the Caldwell office is 208-
402-4887.
Ryan Fowler
By Suzanne Hurt
Ryan Fowler took over
the helm of Morrow County
Health District on Thurs-
day, Jan. 28.
The Idaho native signed
a one-year contract to serve
as the rural health district’s
interim chief executive
officer as the current CEO,
Bob Houser, prepared to
retire, also effective Thurs-
day. Houser worked as the
district’s administrator for
about five and a half years
after being coaxed out of
retirement.
Fowler, who grew up
in Inkom, ID, a high desert
town near Pocatello, said
he was drawn to the oppor-
tunity to lead the Morrow
County health organization
after learning about the
opening from the Oregon
Office of Rural Health.
“I started looking into
the area, and it looked really
intriguing,” said Fowler,
42. “I’m committed to rural
health care – that’s where
I’ve spent the majority of
my career,” he said. “Af-
ter some conversations at
home, I thought this would
WCPD to hold meeting
The Board of Directors
for the Willow Creek Park
District will hold a regular,
public board meeting at 5
p.m. at the District Office
at 278 N Main Street in
Heppner on February 9.
Due to COVID restrictions,
those interested in attending
the meeting should use the
Zoom link on willowcreek-
pd.com. A copy of minutes
and agenda can also be
found online.
The mission of the Wil-
low Creek Park District is
to provide enriching recre-
ational activities and facil-
ities to enhance the quality
of life of the communities
it serves. The Willow Creek
Park District is a special
Oregon district charged
with providing and admin-
istering selected parks and
recreation programs for
our local and neighboring
communities. The district
is currently responsible
for the management of the
Willow Creek RV Park and
Campground and the Wil-
low Creek Water Park.
For additional informa-
tion, contact Katie Murray,
kmurray@wcparkdistrict.
org, or at 541-371-1456.
Bob Houser
be a really good fit for me
and my family.”
He and wife Kim are
the parents of five boys,
aged eight to 20. Fowler
and his family love the out-
doors and recreation such
as hiking, camping and
fishing. Fowler said he’s
especially looking forward
to exploring northeastern
Oregon’s Blue Mountains.
Before coming to the
nonprofit Oregon special
district, Fowler served as
CEO for Lower Umpqua
Hospital District in the
Oregon coastal town of
Reedsport.
He began his career
in healthcare quality and
administration after putting
himself through college
at Pocatello’s Idaho State
University by working as a
housekeeper and intensive
care unit monitor technician
at Intermountain Healthcare
in Pocatello.
After earning a bach-
elor’s in American studies
and master’s in public ad-
ministration with an em-
phasis on state, local and
Early Birds
Apply By
February 15
for a chance to win a
$1,000 OSAC
scholarship!
nonprofit management, he
joined the healthcare qual-
ity and risk department at
Intermountain, which had
been renamed the Portneuf
Medical Center.
He chose his career
path while a graduate stu-
dent following an internship
at a local hospital, where he
got an inside look at what it
takes to run a hospital.
Fowler landed his first
management job as a senior
manager of quality and risk
management at Banner
Health Ogallala Commu-
nity Hospital in Ogallala,
NE. “It was an area where
I could see myself being
successful,” he said. “I
thought my experience as
a front-line worker would
be an asset for working on
the administrative side of
healthcare.”
This week, Houser has
been wrapping things up on
a tenure that included dou-
bling the size and capaci-
ty of the district’s Irrigon
Medical Clinic; expanding
the district’s presence in
Boardman by purchasing a
building and transforming
that into a home health
and hospice office with
room for a physical therapy
department and Murray’s
drugstore; and more clearly
defining what is needed to
modernize and improve the
Heppner campus.
The number of dis-
trict employees has grown
during Houser’s adminis-
tration from about 80 to 136
full- and part-time staff. The
district has added the capac-
ity to offer DEXA scans for
bone density studies, MRIs,
mobile mammographies,
echocardiograms and ul-
trasounds.
“I can’t say enough
about the staff,” Houser
said.
On Thursday, district
staff held a retirement party
for Houser, who admitted
his retirement after more
than 37 years in healthcare
would be “an adjustment.”
“It’s kind of a bittersweet
moment,” he said.
Yet he said he has high
hopes for the district as
he hands the reins over to
Fowler. “I’m very pleased
with the selection the board
made. I think Ryan is going
to be a fine fit,” Houser
said. “He’s personable, he’s
knowledgeable, he’s got
rural healthcare experience.
And I think he’ll keep the
district moving forward.”
Fowler said his family
hopes to join him in Hep-
pner once the school year
is over. “For us, it’s a little
bit closer to home in many
ways,” Fowler said. (It’s)
“A little closer to family.
And the geology of the
area is closer to where I
grew up.”
Marriage
Licenses
The Morrow County
Clerk’s office has released
the following report of
marriage licenses:
January 7, 2021: -
Shaun Jeffrey Leach, 38, Ir-
rigon, and Martha Elizabeth
Hinds, 42, Irrigon.
January 11, 2021: -
Francis Adolph Link, 63,
Boardman, and Erik Jason
Friedly, 47, Boardman.
January 26, 2021: -
Austin Perry Morter, 21,
Ione, and Katie May Gil-
bert, 21, Ione.
January 28, 2021: -
Dixie Lee Earle, 71, Irrigon,
and Philip Randal Morford,
Jr., 71, Irrigon.
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