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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2021)
County taxes not source of vaccine lottery funds 50¢ VOL. 140 NO. 33 8 Pages Wednesday, August 18, 2021 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon The $70,000 given out to county residents in the COVID lottery reported in last week’s newspaper, did not come from county taxes a county official told the Gazette-Times. The money came from state taxes passed down to the county for use as incen- tives urging people to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The state money was ear- marked for that use and if not used for incentives the county would have had to return the funds to the state, the official added. 4-H Fashion Revue kicks off 2021 Morrow County Fair Junior and beginner Ready to Wear participants model the outfits they purchased on tight budgets, a contest staple. L-R: Eva Worden (Heppner), Novalee Campbell (Ione), Savannah Arianna Worden of Heppner and Isabella Orr of Ukiah show Junior and Senior 4-H members participate in the My Fa- Browne (Boardman), Olivia Odgen (Ione), Audrey Sak (Board- off their custom sewn projects during the 2021 Morrow County vorite Outfit contest. L-R; Arianna Worden (Heppner), Ellie man), Isabelle Ogden (Ione) and Madelyn Campbell (Ione). Fair Fashion Revue on Monday. Sak (Boardman), Samantha Weiss (Boardman) and Isabella Orr (Ukiah). The Morrow County Fair kicked off on Mon- day with the 4-H Fashion Revue. The fair runs Au- gust 16-22 and will include many more 4-H and open class contests as well as entertainment, food and fun for all ages. The 4-H Fashion Revue judging was held on the outdoor stage at the Mor- row County Fairgrounds on Monday. Contests included My Favorite Outfit, Ready to Wear, Fashion Challenge and Fashion Revue. Winners in My Favor- ite Outfit category were Isabella Orr, Ukiah, as the senior champion; Arianna Worden, Heppner, interme- diate champion; Ellie Sak, Boardman, intermediate reserve champion and Sa- mantha Weiss, Boardman, reserve champion. Juniors Eva Worden, Heppner and Isabelle Ogden, Ione, were awarded champion. Mad- elyn Campbell, Ione, was named champion in be- ginners. Also in beginners, Kinsley Hancock, Uki- ah, champion and Andrew Kerwin, Ukiah, reserve County declares COVID emergency; Fair and rodeo goes on champion. Senior Isabella Orr, Ukiah, received champion in Ready to Wear. Inter- mediates Arianna Worden, Heppner, was named cham- pion and Ellie Sak, Board- man, reserve champion. Isabelle Ogden, Ione, was the junior champion and Olivia Ogden, Ione, reserve champion. For beginners, Madelyn Campbell, Ione, was the champion. Junior Audrey Sak, Boardman, was the cham- pion in the Fashion Revue Challenge contest. For Fashion Revue, Isabella Orr, Ukiah, was the champion; Isabella Orr, Ukiah, senior champion and Arianna Worden, Heppner, intermediate champion. Junior winners were Ol- ivia Ogden, Ione, cham- pion; Savannah Browne, Boardman, champion; Eva Worden, Heppner, reserve champion; Isabelle Ogden, Ione, reserve champion and Audrey Sak, Boardman, re- serve champion. Beginner Kinsley Hancock, Ukiah, was named champion and Andrew Kerwin, Ukiah, reserve champion. Chronicles available for sale Hospital bed shortage concerns county officials By David Sykes tients from Oregon because A hastily called spe- their intensive care units cial meeting last week in (ICU) are full of COVID response to the growing patients. Gray told the Ga- number of COVID cases zette-Times later that in in the county resulted in an state medical region nine emergency declaration by encompassing Morrow, the county commissioners. Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, The declaration did not, Malheur and Baker coun- however, spell out any be- ties there were currently havior or rule mandates for only three ICU beds avail- citizens or businesses, nor able. “One motor vehicle did it shut down the county accident can take up all the fair and rodeo now in prog- beds,” he pointed out. “Peo- ress in Heppner. ple don’t believe COVID is “The Board of Com- a big deal, but this shows missioners shall be autho- that it is,” he said. Pioneer rized to take and/or direct Memorial Hospital in Hep- such actions and issue such pner does not keep any of orders as are determined the county COVID patients to be necessary to protect in its facility. the public and property Gray told the commis- and to efficiently conduct sioners that Oregon patients activities that minimize or are being sent to Reno and mitigate the effect of the San Francisco Bay area emergency,” the declaration hospitals because of the said in part. shortages. He said the spike The commissioners in COVID infections is put- held a wide-ranging half ting the health care system hour discussion that cov- in “dire straits,” and a little ered topics all the way from bit more and it is “going to the shortage of hospital collapse.” Com- beds, neighboring states missioner Jim not taking Oregon pa- Doherty wanted tients, to the COVID to know if Gray precautions being taken had specific num- at the fair. bers to give out Newly hired Mor- about patients row County emergen- Recently hired having to leave cy manager Paul Gray e m e r g e n c y the state, and said there are reports manager Paul Gray responded of hospitals in Idaho Gray that he did not. and Washington turn- “The only thing ing away emergency pa- I have is patients are being flown out of state and this is all they (Oregon Health Authority) would tell me over the phone,” he said. Commissioner Don Russell said the bed shortage was a “big problem. Someone might have other illnesses, cancer and accidents and it is pretty concerning when hospitals can’t admit more patients,” he said. Doherty pressed Gray saying he wanted to have more information and spe- cific data before he would vote for an emergency dec- laration for county govern- ment. “I need something empirical,” he said. “When people ask me why are we doing this (emergency declaration)? I say because they said it is bad. How bad? I don’t know how bad. Bad with a capital B.” Doherty said he was frus- trated with what he hears as only anecdotal and hearsay reasons driving the emer- gency declaration request. Doherty asked if we were in such “dire straits” why was Gray, the emer- gency manager, not rec- ommending the fair and rodeo, which started this week, be shut down? Gray said he was not asking for the fair closure because the governor’s request (last week’s announcement from Salem) for mask wearing only covered indoor events, while the fair and rodeo is mostly outdoors. “I know she did say outdoors is a little bit different,” he ex- plained. “I am worried that we are going to spread the delta variant around even in the outdoors, but I have to go with what the governor is coming out with,” he told commissioners. Gray said his biggest concern is indoors and more and more people turning up positive. “That is my biggest worry, we are going to get more and more people sick, and the hospitals are already overflowing. If the numbers jump up even more, I may ask by Monday that we not do the fair,” he told the commissioners. Contacted by the Ga- zette-Times the following Tuesday, however, Gray said he did not recommend -See COVID EMERGENCY/ PAGE FOUR Nancy Miller, MCHS treasurer, and Bill Monagle, MCHS editor, look over the 2021 MC Chron- icles with Jodi Brisbois, clerk at Murray’s Drug in Heppner, where issues may be purchased. This year’s Morrow County Chronicles are hot off the presses and ready for purchase. Bill Monagle, Ione, took the helm as editor this year and gathered a collec- tion of seventeen stories with photos about the area from a variety of authors, including the Chronicles recently retired and long- time editor, Doris Brosnan. Articles include a tribute to ‘The End of an Era” about the Boardman coal fired plant, the Jepsen chicken farm, the circus coming to Heppner in 1955, a Century Farm homestead in Lexington, pioneer Sam- uel Easley and family, and A.C. Houghton, the first irrigation district manager in Irrigon. There are also accounts about Don and Jean Bennet, Louis Carl- son, Father Gerald Condon, Earl and Verdie Isom, Glen Ward, Doc Sherer and Larry Mills. This year’s issue is ded- icated to the late Dave De- Mayo, retired Heppner city manager and past Morrow County Historical Society which publishes the Chron- icles. Nancy Miller, historical society treasurer, encour- ages people to write their family stories and person- al memories of Morrow County to submit to next year’s Chronicles. “It is important to preserve that history for our next gener- ations,” she noted. Issues may be pur- chased for $7 at the Ione, H e p p n e r, I r r i g o n a n d Boardman branches of the Bank of Eastern Oregon and at Murray Drug. A table will be set up and selling the Chronicles at the Morrow County Fair. Past issues of the Chronicles are available for purchase by contacting KayProctor@gmail.com.