Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 11, 2022 -- SEVEN
School district employees
receive Crystal Apple awards
Katie Burton
Michelle Gale
Lori McCabe
Laura Winters
Tracey Johnson
Stephanie McElligott
Morrow County and
Ione School District em-
ployees recently received
IMESD 2022 Crystal Ap-
ple awards. Ione School
District employees being
honored were Ione Ele-
mentary principal Tracey
Johnson and preschool/in-
structional aide Stephanie
McElligott. Morrow Coun-
ty School District employ-
ees who were honored
included Sam Boardman
Elementary counselor Ka-
tie Burton, AC Houghton
special education assistant
Michelle Gale, Heppner
Jr/Sr High head cook/as-
sistant custodian Lori Mc-
Cabe and Windy River 6th
grade teacher Laura Win-
ters.
The winners of the
2022 Crystal Apple “Ex-
cellence in Education”
Awards were presented
with their awards at an
event held at the Pendle-
ton Convention Center on
Monday, May 9. The event
included receptions where
winner’s families, friends
and school district staff
were invited.
Each year, the IMESD
partners with its school
districts to recognize out-
standing administrators,
teachers, educational as-
sistants and office and
building staff for their ded-
ication and commitment
to students and for their
willingness to go above
and beyond their regu-
lar duties. Nominations
are submitted over a two-
month period by adminis-
trators, coworkers, parents,
students and community
members. Winners are se-
lected from these nomi-
nations by school district
administration.
“Celebrating the hard
work that school district
employees do each and
every day in our region
is always exciting during
the Crystal Apple Awards.
But it’s especially wonder-
ful this year, since we can
return to in-person award
events,” said Dr. Mark
Mulvihill, IMESD Super-
intendent.
Ione bond
committee to host
meet and greet
The Ione Bond Com-
mittee will be hosting a
meet and greet on May 11
at 7 p.m. at the Ione Com-
munity School.
The committee invites
all who are interested to
come meet the project
managers, Doug Carl and
Earl Eastman from Al-
liance Management and
Construction
Services.
Also, the recently select-
ed architect firm, Architect
West, will be present for
this community event.
Pictured (L-R):Earl Eastman and Doug Carl.
-Contributed photo.
Mahoney takes on MCHD
leadership role
Morrow
County
Health District (MCHD)
CEO, Emily Reynolds
Roberts, announced that
Nicole Mahoney has taken
on the role of the district’s
Chief Operations Officer
(COO), a new leadership
position filled previously
by Troy Soenen earlier in
2022.
Those familiar with
MCHD know that Nicole
has worked for the dis-
trict for 25 years, with
over a decade serving as
its Chief Financial Offi-
cer (CFO). Roberts shared
that Nicole’s wealth of
knowledge and experience
will be invaluable moving
forward. “As CFO, she
helped the district pre-
serve and expand services
even when the healthcare
landscape was rocky. Her
strong sense of responsi-
bility to Morrow County
and the district, combined
with her business and fi-
nancial background, make
her an excellent fit for the
position,” she said.
Soenen, another per-
son familiar with the dis-
trict, took on the role of
Nicole Mahoney
COO after many years of
working to help advance
healthcare and wellness in
the county. When asked
about his departure and
the transition, he offered,
“Working in Morrow
County has been a real
pleasure for me because of
the willingness of commu-
nity members to work col-
laboratively. In addition,
my time with the district
has been a fantastic experi-
ence.” Soenen shared that
the travel involved with
the position has proven to
be a challenge in creating
work-life balance; some-
thing Roberts supports by
saying, “For as much as
we hate to see Troy go,
the board and I understand
how important it is for ev-
ery member of the team to
honor their needs. We wish
him all the best,” she add-
ed.
When asked what she is
most excited about, Ma-
honey said, “I am excited
about the opportunities and
challenges that lie ahead
for this operations position
and will strive to meet the
diverse health needs of our
entire service area with an
emphasis on excellence
in everything we do. I’m
looking forward to the op-
portunity to focus on stra-
tegic goals for service and
infrastructure development
and hope to strengthen our
community partnerships
across the county.”
Mahoney will assume
the position at the start of
June. MCHD is current-
ly working with WIPFLI,
CPAs, the district’s long-
time accounting firm with
special expertise in Public
Hospital Districts, during
the recruitment phase and
onboarding of a new per-
son for the opportunity.
Local students earn place on
EOU dean’s list
Morrow County stu-
dents have been named to
the dean’s list for the 2022
winter term at Eastern Ore-
gon University. Qualifying
students achieve and main-
tain a grade point average
of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0
scale while completing a
minimum of 12 hours of
graded EOU coursework.
Students who have
earned the distinction are
Veronica Alvarez Frias,
Bianca Avalos, Ana Bara-
jas, Alyssa Luna, Daniel
Puerta, Jose Puerta, Lily-
Ann Rockwell and Joha-
na Sepulveda Vieyra from
Boardman; Hunter Nich-
ols, Heppner; Ashley Agu-
ilera and Kimberly Ren-
teria Montes, Irrigon and
Eva Martin, Lexington.
EOU
congratulates
each of these high-achiev-
ing students and acknowl-
edges their dedication to
academic excellence. As
Oregon's Rural Universi-
ty, EOU serves as a cen-
ter for education, culture,
and scholarship. Students
receive personal attention
from their professors while
building strong relation-
ships with peers and men-
tors.
Controlled, premium hunt deadline May
15
Don’t wait until the
last minute to apply for
a controlled or premium
hunt as the May 15 dead-
line falls on a Sunday this
year, says ODFW.
Apply
online
at
ODFW’s Licensing Sys-
tem (which accepts appli-
cations until 11:59 p.m.
on May 15) or at a license
sale agent during store
hours. Applications are
$8 per hunt series (buck
deer, antlerless deer, elk,
pronghorn, bighorn sheep,
Rocky Mountain goat) and
an annual hunting license
is also required.
Remember
there
are
changes to archery elk
hunting this year. New for
2022, archery elk hunt-
ing is controlled in 13 units
and three subunits in east-
ern Oregon’s Blue Moun-
tains (see the regulations
for a map). For the sec-
ond year, all archery deer
hunting in eastern Oregon
is controlled. These con-
trolled deer and elk archery
tags are not valid during
general archery seasons.
For a list of other major
changes see the 2022 Reg-
ulations and What’s New
for 2022.
Here are some tips for
applying for a controlled
hunt, see how-to for step-
by-step instructions to ap-
ply online.
•Use group purchase.
One person can apply for
an entire hunting party
and for their family and
friends. Directions on how
to use Group Purchase.
•Double-check regu-
lations before applying.
Even if you’ve applied for
the same hunt for years,
check your hunt number
and be sure the hunt hasn’t
changed.
•Don’t wait until the
last minute. ODFW offices
are closed so staff will not
be available to help cus-
tomers by phone or email
during the weekend. If you
wait until the last week-
end and have problems
with your online account,
ODFW recommends you
visit a license agent to
make your purchase.
•Be sure to apply for a
Premium Hunt—deer, elk
and pronghorn antelope
tags with a four-month
season (Aug. 1-Nov. 30)
and any-sex bag limit. Ev-
eryone has an equal chance
to draw these tags (includ-
ing non-residents). Pre-
mium tags are additional
meaning you can also hunt
a controlled or general sea-
son.
•Change your mind
after applying? You have
until June 1 to change your
hunt choice through your
account or license sale
agent.
As of May 1, 164,706
controlled hunt applica-
tions have been sold. Last
year (2021), a total of
526,361 controlled hunt
applications were received
with most applications
coming in the last week
before the deadline.
“We again urge hunters to
not wait until the last min-
ute this year,” said Jean-
nine Smith, ODFW licens-
ing services manager. “The
majority of applications
come in during the last few
days before the deadline
and our hold and email re-
sponse times peak.”
Big game herds fared
well over the winter, as the
mild weather resulted in
little over-winter morality.
But severe drought condi-
tions are exacerbating poor
habitat conditions for mule
deer resulting in some
emergency tag reductions.
If you have problems
with your online account,
call Licensing at (503)
947-6101 or email odfw.
websales@odfw.oregon.
gov.
Killion appointed to planning
commission
Mary Killion of Board-
man has been appointed to
the Morrow County Plan-
ning Commission. The ap-
pointment was made last
week by the county com-
mission.
In her letter of interest
for the position, Killion
said she and her husband
moved to Morrow Coun-
ty in 2002. She currently
serves on the school board
and is president of the
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