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.