Trauma training
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VOL. 140
NO. 19
10 Pages
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Threemile changed to Marty Myers Road
Threemile Road in
north Morrow County
west of Boardman has been
changed to Marty Myers
Road in honor of the recent-
ly deceased, longtime and
respected farm manager.
Myers, who passed away
Dec. 1, had been gener-
al manager of the large
Threemile Canyon Farms
west of Boardman since
1998.
“Marty was a good
friend of mine, and a good
partner to Beef Northwest.
He was a leader and in-
novator in agriculture and
through his efforts, brought
many innovations and pos-
itive changes to the indus-
try,” said Beef NW Feeders
Managing Partner John
Wilson in a letter to the
Long-time Threemile Farms
Manager Marty Myers
Morrow County commis-
sion supporting the name
change. “Marty was also
a champion of community
causes and supported Mor-
row County and our local
communities.”
While it is a private
road, the county does have
overall responsibility for
coordinating and naming
roads in the county and
the commissioners voted
unanimously in favor of the
name change. The newly
named Marty Myers Road
intersects to the I-84 free-
way west of Boardman.
Threemile Canyon
Farms covers approxi-
mately 145 square miles
and grows 39,500 acres
of irrigated crops includ-
ing potatoes, onions, corn
and sweet peas. The farm
also runs four dairies, with
33,000 milking cows and
nearly 70,000 total cattle.
The milk is sold to the Til-
Pioneer Memorial Hos-
pital (PMH) will be host-
ing a trauma simulation
training event on Wednes-
day May 19, beginning
at approximately 9 a.m.
Multiple agencies will be
partnering to share in this
event, including PMH med-
ical staff, Morrow County
Health District Ambulance,
Heppner Fire Department,
Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office and Life Flight.
“This great opportunity
has been made possible
through funding from the
SHIP Grant, which afforded
us the opportunity to team
up with Healthcare Safety
Solutions,” a spokesperson
told the Gazette. This sim-
ulation will be conducted
in the Heppner community,
involving real emergency
response vehicles, person-
nel and a mannequin. The
lamook County Creamery
Association, which oper-
ates a large cheese-making
plant 20 miles away at the
Port of Morrow.
Along with his posi-
tion at Threemile Canyon
Farms, Myers had served
on the Oregon Board of
Agriculture since 2015.
Members are appointed by
the governor and advise the
state Department of Agri-
culture on policy issues.
In 2020 Threemile Canyon
Farms was recognized for
Outstanding Dairy Farm
Sustainability at the 2020
U.S. Dairy Sustainability
Awards for its closed-loop
system, pioneered by My-
As of Monday, May 10,
ers, to minimize and recycle
Morrow
County Clerk Bob-
dairy waste.
bi Childers reported that of
the 6879 registered voters
in Morrow County, 1055
have returned their ballots,
for a 15.34 percent return
rate. “This is a special elec-
tion, and the numbers will
never be close to what you
see in a general election,”
Childers told the Gazette.
She also noted that in the
last special district election
34.6 percent of the ballots
were returned out of 6282
eligible voters.
When asked how can-
didates are elected in this
election, she reported the
person with the most votes
will win the position.
Doug McKay
May 13 is the last day
to safely return ballots by
bies include learning Gael- mail. After that date, voters
ic, painting, photography should use an official drop
site.
and fishing.
For voter convenience,
Ballot return rate
slightly lower
Umatilla National Forest selects new
Heppner District Ranger
Umatilla National For-
est Supervisor Eric Watrud
has announced that Doug
McKay has been selected
as the new Heppner District
Ranger, with an anticipated
start date toward the end
of June. McKay currently
serves as a district ranger
on the Winter Rim Zone
(which includes both the
Paisley and Silver Lake
Ranger Districts) of the
Fremont-Winema National
Forest.
“The Umatilla is fortu-
nate to have such a highly
qualified individual join
our forest leadership team,”
Watrud said. “Doug’s skills,
experience actively manag-
ing National Forest lands,
and his background are out-
standing complements to
the priority work the forest
has underway and the in-
terests of the communities
and partners that we serve.”
McKay replaces Bran-
don Houck, who has taken a
District Ranger position on
the Bighorn National For-
est. McKay brings a variety
of experience to the Umatil-
la National Forest, includ-
ing a strong natural resourc-
es and fire management
background and experience
working with a variety of
tribal governments, county
commissioners, partners,
public stakeholders and
other federal agencies.
McKay has worked
as the Winter Rim Zone
District Ranger on the Fre-
mont-Winema National
Forest since 2015. McKay
is responsible for leading
a large and geographical-
ly dispersed organization,
managing a complex land-
scape, leading fire man-
agement efforts to protect
communities and working
closely with a variety of
external stakeholders.
McKay also brings
leadership experience
through a number of tempo-
rary assignments, including
serving as the acting Public
Services Officer on the
Sierra National Forest, the
acting Regional Manager
for the Tribal Relations
Program for the Pacific
Southwest Region based
out of Vallejo, California,
and the acting Heritage Pro-
gram Manager on the San
Bernardino National Forest.
McKay has an exten-
sive background in archae-
ology and heritage and has
served in various archaeol-
ogy roles throughout his ca-
reer, including as a District
Archaeologist on the San
Bernardino National Forest
and the Forest Archaeolo-
gist on the Sierra National
Forest.
Born in Dallas, Tex-
as, but raised in a small
farming community in the
Mississippi Delta region of
eastern Arkansas, McKay
has personal connections
to rural communities, the
unique cultures that define
them and a strong desire
to promote healthy forest
practices that support lo-
cal communities and their
economies. McKay has a
bachelor’s degree in so-
ciology and anthropology
from Henderson State Uni-
versity.
“I am extremely ex-
cited to be a part of the
Umatilla National Forest
and the local community,”
McKay said. “I look for-
ward to meeting the district
and forest staff and working
collaboratively with the
public and our partners
throughout the area in the
very near future.”
McKay will move to
the Heppner area with his
wife. In his free time, McK-
ay enjoys working with the
Rosal Community Purchase
group in Scotland. His hob-
mannequin will be treated
as if they are a live com-
munity member arriving
at the hospital with serious
injuries to be evaluated and
treated by medical staff,
then transferred to a higher
level of care. The purpose
is for all team members to
practice and improve emer-
gency response.
Life Flight is planned
to land and be stationed at
PMH for an extended peri-
od of time. PMH would like
citizens to be informed and
apologize for any confu-
sion or inconvenience this
training may cause. Please
help spread awareness of
this planned event to pre-
vent overwhelming our
911 system with concerned
calls. As always, real emer-
gencies and unforeseen
circumstances may delay
the event.
24-hour drop boxes are lo-
cated throughout the coun-
ty. All drop boxes close at
8 p.m. on May 18, election
day. Drop sites are avail-
able at:
Heppner: Behind the
Bartholomew Building, in
the parking lot. Open 24
hours. Ballots may also
be dropped at the Morrow
County Clerk’s office inside
the courthouse. The clerk’s
office will be open from 8
a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m.,
M-F and election day (May
18) from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Lexington: 365 West
Hwy 74 (Morrow County
Public Works parking lot).
Ione: Spring St. (in
front of the turn to Third
Street).
Boardman: NW
Boardman Ave.
Irrigon: 205 NE 3 rd St.
(Irrigon Annex).
Fowler no longer with health district
The Morrow County
Health District Board of
Directors has announced
that newly hired CEO Ryan
Fowler is no longer with
the district as of May 7. He
started as MCHD CEO at
the first of this year. Fowler
was previously with the
Lower Umpqua Hospi-
tal in Reedsport. Previous
MCHD CEO Bob Houser
New patrol deputies
take oath of office
New Morrow County Sheriff’s
Office patrol deputies Jacob
Stutzman (above), Collin Brill
(below) and Zachary Killgore
(left) were sworn in by Under-
sheriff John Bowles on May 4.
retired at the end of the year.
An earlier MCHD
CEO, Victor VanderDoes,
has been hired as an interim
CEO until the district can
find a permanent replace-
ment. VanderDoes served
as CEO of the district for
over 10 years before retir-
ing in 2009. “We are grate-
ful that Victor has agreed to
return to Heppner to serve
as interim CEO during our
search for a permanent
replacement for our out-
standing organization,” said
the board in a news release.
“We, as the board of di-
rectors of Morrow County
Health District, wish to em-
phasize that every decision
made as a governing board
is with the understanding
that our primary duty is
to work diligently to safe-
guard the continued deliv-
ery of quality healthcare
for every resident of our
county. Though change can
be perceived as an adverse
event, we at Morrow Coun-
ty Health District are resil-
ient and we view change
as an opportunity to make
us stronger, better, and the
place where the communi-
ties we serve can always
rely on for their health and
wellness needs.”
The MCHD executive
team now includes Dr. Dan
Hambleton, chief medical
officer, Nicole Mahoney,
chief financial officer, Kath-
leen Greenup, chief nursing
officer, Kris Jones, chief
operating officer and Patti
Allstott, human resources
director. Dr. Russ Nichols,
the previous chief medical
officer, had been with the
district for 21 years and had
been a full-time physician
with MCHD since 2008.
D r. E m i l y J a c k
(Thompson), who is from
Heppner, recently signed as
a physician with the district,
but will not come on board
until next year.