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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2022)
TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 5, 2022 The Official Newspaper of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow A View from the Hill By Doris Brosnan New, important clean- ing/sanitizing changes at the Terrace due to Covid. U.S.P.S. 240-420 Sounds as though 2022 Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper might be starting as did SEARCH OLD COPIES OF THE HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES ON-LINE: 2021. Fingers crossed by http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/ residents and staff for a year more relaxed and less 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 threatening. at Heppner, Oregon. Office at 188 W. Willow Street. Telephone (541) 676-9228. Fax Viewing snow-covered (541) 676-9211. E-mail: editor@rapidserve.net or david@rapidserve.net. Web site: www.heppner.net. Postmaster send address changes to the Heppner Gazette-Times, Mother Nature can be re- P.O. Box 337, Heppner, Oregon 97836. Subscriptions: $31 in Morrow County; $25 laxing when toasty warm senior rate (in Morrow County only; 65 years or older); $37 elsewhere; $31 student inside, and routine activities subscriptions. David Sykes ..............................................................................................Publisher can contribute to a relaxing Bobbi Gordon................................................................................................ Editor atmosphere, so residents Giselle Moses.........................................................................................Advertising have those to look forward All News and Advertising Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. to this month. Possibly For Advertising: advertising deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Cost for a display ad is $5.25 per column inch. Cost for classified ad is 50¢ per word. Cost for Card of Thanks is $10 up to making a comeback to rou- 100 words. Cost for a classified display ad is $6.05 per column inch. tine activities this month is For Public/Legal Notices: public/legal notices deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Dates for publi- the sharing of the jigsaw cation must be specified. Affidavits must be requested at the time of submission. Affidavits require three weeks to process after last date of publication (a sooner return date must be puzzle in the common area. specified if required). The morning discussion For Obituaries: Obituaries are published in the Heppner GT at no charge and are edited to meet news guidelines. Families wishing to include information not included in the guidelines group tends to become a bit or who wish to have the obituary written in a certain way must purchase advertising space more animated sometimes, for the obituary. depending on the topics, but For Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor MUST be signed by the author. The Heppner GT will not publish unsigned letters. All letters MUST include the author’s address and phone some of this month’s topics number for use by the GT office. The GT reserves the right to edit letters. The GT is not lend themselves just pleas- responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. ant memory-sharing. An example will be on the 13 th , Make-a-Dream-Come-True Day, as participants share Send engagement and wedding announcements to editor@rapidserve.net or dreams they have held. And upload to Heppner.net. surely spouses will deserve many compliments when they become the discussion topic on the 26 th . And other special- ly-designated days on the calendar will provide dis- cussion kick-offs: Peace was on the first; Wheel of Fortune the 6 th , compli- ments the 24 th , and puzzles, the 29 th . Trivia Day on the 4 th provided some morning fun. Of course, some foods get attention on their desig- nated, celebrated days, so the kitchen will be working to get them included in the menus: crème puffs (were on the 2 nd ), apricots (9 th ), Heppner GAZETTE-TIMES Engagements Kilkenny-Russell engagement announced hot pastrami (14 th ), bagels (15 th ), chocolate cake (27 th ) and blueberry pancakes (28 th ). Only time will tell how many times pizza will appear on menus during National Pizza Week, be- ginning on the 10 th , though daily would not be too often for some residents. Only National Hat Day on the 15 th seems to be one on which some residents and staff members might grace the halls and din- ing room with uncommon clothing, a variety of cha- peaux. No one at the Terrace will be celebrating a birth- day this month, but two new employees are getting into the rhythm on the hill and will be ready to help celebrate next month. Luis Larracuente, of Heppner, and Joseph Reyes, of Ione, are the latest new faces. Residents and staff wel- come the new help with dai- ly living at Willow Creek Terrace, and they are eager to welcome new residents, as well. Information is available on their Face- book page and by calling 541-676-0004. The new year began with what has become a tradition at the Terrace, the prime-rib meal. That such a pleasant tradition contin- ues could be considered a good omen about the year ahead – even though the long electricity outage was a chilly beginning that kept everyone snuggled in bed longer than usual - which would be viewed with re- lief by everyone at Willow Creek Terrace. ~ Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net. Downfall of rural healthcare To the editor; Power hungry “lead- ers” are the downfall of ru- ral clinic healthcare. A year ago, the Morrow County Health District had 12 full time providers serving the residents of Heppner, Irri- gon, Ione, Boardman and all others in between. In a matter of one year, turn- over rates skyrocketed and there are now two full time providers, two plus part time providers and other “supervising” providers who are out of state. All are left to serve the health needs of over 11,000 people in Morrow County. At what point do the people of Morrow County stop looking at the pro- viders as the problem and start looking at the admin- istration and the board? Despite constant reminders of the complete lack of patient care, we are al- lowing those in charge to dictate what rural health- care looks like. These are our friends, neighbors and families. This is OUR life and OUR healthcare Stand up for what YOU want your healthcare to look like. It’s time to stand up for the employees who spend their lives taking care of you but have nobody taking care of them. Your care team should consist of people who are 100 percent focused and invested on your healthcare and not overworked and un- derappreciated. Your health should be their number one priority while at work, not their job security. Over 20+ employees have left or been forced out by administra- tion in the past three years. 90 percent of those within the year. What does that mean for your healthcare? Those employees of the Morrow County Health District may not be working there any- more but we are still fight- ing for you to have access to a fair healthcare system and the healthcare you deserve. Now it’s your turn to stop asking where they went and start asking why they went. Victoria Waltz, Heppner ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. Local Pharmacists praised for efforts in ‘unfair’ drug fees fight Katherine Kilkenny and Thomas Russell John and Diane Kilken- ny of Heppner are pleased to announce the engage- ment of their daughter, Katherine, to Thomas Rus- sell of Portland. Thomas’ parents are Steve and Beth Russell, also of Portland. Katherine is a graduate of Heppner High School, She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Gonzaga Universi- ty, and then received her Doctorate as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner from the University of San Diego. She practices at Portland Mental Health and Well- ness. Thomas graduated from Lincoln High School in Portland, and then gradu- ated with a degree in Com- munications from Portland State University. He is employed as a Software Developer in Portland. ‘Ann and John Murray deserve credit for keeping Wyden team apprised’ By David Sykes Senator Ron Wyden’s office recently praised the efforts of local pharmacists John and Ann Murray in their help to fight the impo- sition of unfair middleman fees on small independent pharmacies in Oregon. Wyden claims these fees are contributing to the loss of rural pharmacies, such as the recent Bi-Mart an- nouncement of closing its Public Works Director resigns Morrow County Pub- lic Works Di- rector Matt Scrivner has resigned, the county has confirmed. “His last day will be January 7,” Matt Scrivner County Administrator Dar- rell Green told the Ga- zette-Times Monday. “After this week, staff will handle day to day oper- ations. If they have projects or situations they would like some help on, they will contact me,” Green said. Green said the county hopes to have someone in place by the end of January to the first part of February. Scrivner served as as- sistant road master from Jan. 2015 to Nov. 2017 when he was then appointed Director of Public Works following the retirement of Burke O’Brien. CONSTRUCTION /MORTGAGE 541-676-9884 HEPPNER BRANCH 541-676-9125 IONE BRANCH 541-422-7466 Teresa Hughes, Hailey Shultz, Mortgage Loan Officer Kaitlin Orcutt, Desirae Ruth, and Mortgage Loan Officer Raymond Seastone. Our Team of Local, Experienced Mortgage Specialists takes the stress out of BUILDING THE HOME OF YOUR DREAMS. Local in-house draw process for your builder. Local in-house inspections. Borrow money as needed throughout term of the loan. Permanent financing available. TALK TO US ABOUT PURCHASING A HOME OR REMODELING. Member FDIC KAITLIN ORCUTT NMLS #1043345 / RAYMOND SEASTONE NMLS # 937744 / #414459 / RATES & TERMS MAY VARY. ALL LOANS SUBJECT TO CREDIT APPROVAL. Independent pharmacists John and Ann Murray of Heppner have been working with US Senator Ron Wyden’s office helping to protect rural hometown pharmacies from “unfair” drug pricing practices. 56 pharmacies in Oregon and the northwest. “These community mainstays now face a grow- ing threat from an unfair practice by big insurance companies and pharma- ceutical benefit managers (PBM) that’s threatening the small pharmacies’ abil- ity to stay open,” Wyden said of his efforts to stem the practice. He recently announced that two federal agencies are responding to his call for action tackling this “troubling growth in unfair fees imposed by middle- men,” and at the same time praised the help of small pharmacists such as the Murrays in causing the ac- tion. “Ann and John Murray deserve a lot of credit for keeping the Wyden team apprised about the on-the- ground impacts of these fees,” Wyden’s La Grande Field Representative Kath- leen Cathey said. Cathey said Wyden is still working on the problem, and added the Murrays, owners of pharmacies in Boardman, Condon and Heppner, have “done a great job of keeping us informed.” “I very much look forward to the upcoming regulations that will put a full stop to these anti-free enterprise practices that starve independent pharma- cies of revenue and deprive consumers of reliable and accessible pharmacies in their communities,” Wyden added.
