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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 24, 2023)
G-T closed Memorial Day News, ad deadline Friday at 5 p.m. The Heppner Ga- zette-Times will be closed Monday, May 29, for the Memorial Day holiday. The deadline for all news and ads for the May 31 edition will be Friday, Murray, Doherty take Port positions 50¢ VOL. 143 May 26, at 5 p.m. Normal business hours will resume Tuesday, May 30. The G-T wishes ev- eryone a safe and happy Memorial Day. NO. 21 10 Pages Wednesday, May 24, 2023 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon County responds to ambulance lawsuit By Andrea Di Salvo Last week, Morrow County issued a response to the lawsuit Morrow County Health District filed against the county on May 11. The health district is seeking an injunction against the new Ambulance Service Area (ASA) plan the county is trying to develop, as well as monetary claims total- ing at least $4,372,350. In addition, MCHD is asking that the matter be settled by a jury trial. Boardman Fire Rescue and Boardman Fire Chief Michael Hughes were also named in the health dis- trict’s lawsuit. In its response, the county claims that MCHD is trying to stop the county from “engaging in its legal obligation to develop, up- date and replace the current 1998 Ambulance Service Area (ASA) Plan.” “The complaints and allegations are baseless and inflammatory, mis- represent the process and actions to the public, and seek to prevent the Board of Commissioners (BOC) from exercising its obliga- tions,” says the county’s statement. “Morrow Coun- ty will not be deterred in its legal obligation to develop an ASA Plan that provides the best ambulance services available to everyone in the County.” In its lawsuit, the health district asserts that “Mor- row County adopted its Ambulance Service Area Plans (ASA Plans) in 1998 and 2021 through appropri- ate process” and that “Both ASA plans assigned all am- bulance services to MCHD and the whole of Morrow County….” The county’s response claims that MCHD wrote and unilaterally implement- ed the 2021 ASA Plan but that the legal process was not followed, the proposed ASA Plan was not approved by the county as required by law, and the ASA Plan included the unlawful trans- fer of all authority from the county to MCHD. The health district claims complete authority over ambulance service in Morrow County, citing a July 1, 1995, intergovern- mental agreement (IGA) that states “That it is the intention of the people of Morrow County to transfer all fiscal and performance responsibility for the Ex- hibit A services from Mor- row County to District…” Exhibit A services included Morrow County Emergen- cy Medical Services. In response, the coun- ty says the 1995 IGA be- tween Morrow County and MCHD transferred ambu- lances and related equip- ment to the health district so MCHD could provide am- bulance services throughout the county, but that it was -Continued to PAGE EIGHT Morrow County school staff honored at Crystal Apple Awards Four Morrow County School District Staff from various schools received awards at this year’s Crystal Apple Awards. L-R: Winner Dave Fowler, MCSD Superintendent Matt Combe, winner Yadira Gomez, winner Maggie Scanlan and winner Debbie White. -Contributed photo Four Morrow Coun- ty School District and two Ione School District staff were honored at this year’s Crystal Apple “Ex- cellence in Education” Awards in Pendleton. In- terMountain Education Service District (IMESD) and its component school districts in Morrow and Umatilla counties present- ed the 2023 Crystal Apple Awards in a ceremony on Tuesday, May 16, at the Pendleton Convention Center. Ione School District winners were instruction- al aide Ann Clabaugh and special education teacher Suzie Skirvin. Ann Clabaugh has worked for four years for the district. She is de- scribed as a “strong, com- passionate leader who works tirelessly to improve the educational experience for all students,” as well as a mentor for at-risk stu- dents, who gets to know students and make sure the whole student is cared for. One teacher said, “Ann is one of the reasons that I love coming to school. Her wisdom, levity and com- passion are things that I admire about her.” Suzie Skirvin is the K-12 special ed teacher. She has worked in the dis- trict for two years. Cover- ing all grades means she often has to unexpectedly change the direction of her interventions and sched- ule, which can be espe- cially difficult for some students, but other staff say she finds ways to success- fully navigate it. She is de- scribed as “Always patient and kind,” and as doing an excellent job of “dis- covering and building on students’ strengths while encouraging them to work hard in needed areas.” Winners from Morrow County School District are Heppner Jr./Sr. High School Technology Educa- tion teacher Dave Fowler, Sam Boardman Elementa- ry CARE coordinator Yad- ira Gomez, Windy River Elementary sixth-grade teacher Maggie Scanlan and Irrigon Elementary Title 1 education assistant Debbie White. Dave Fowler has worked for the Morrow County School District for 33 years. Described as a consummate professional, Dave brings patience, skill and energy to his class- room. He has served as the state director for Oregon Munkers elected to health district board In a four-way race for Port of Morrow Commis- sioner, Position 5, current commissioner John Murray defeated all challengers by a sizable margin. While challenger Doug Boor won the north end of the county, blow-out wins in South Morrow assured Murray the win with 45.03 percent of the vote to Boor’s 35.63 percent. Wes Killion trailed with 10.66 percent and Jonathan Tallman had 8.43 percent. Kelly Doherty defeated sitting Port of Morrow com- missioner Marvin Padberg for Position 4, though with slightly narrower margins in the two-person race, with 53.16 percent of the vote compared to Padberg’s 45.79 percent. Voting in that race was also split along north-south lines, with Doherty winning im- pressively in South Morrow while Padberg took both Irrigon and Boardman. The only other contest- ed race in the county was for Morrow County Health District Director Position 5. Stephen Munkers beat out Ana Pineyro with 53.14 percent of the vote, win- ning every precinct except Boardman. Voter turnout in the spe- cial election was low—only 28.83 percent, though still higher than the statewide average of 26.47 percent. Out of 7,041 registered voters in the county, only 2,030 cast ballots. County commission hears from Greater Idaho as movement wins Wallowa County Mike McCarter submits a petition in Heppner, Oregon, May 26, 2022. -Contributed photo Two Ione School District staff were honored at this year’s in the county, as well as an ag- Crystal Apple Awards. L-R: Winner Suzie Skirvin, ISD By Andrea Di Salvo After last week’s election, gressive and allegedly uneth- Superintendent Kevin Dinning and winner Ann Clabaugh. -Contributed photo the Greater Idaho movement ical ad campaign by Western Technology Student As- sociation for the past five years and the advisor for the school’s outdoor club for 20 years. “His con- nection to students and building positive, caring relationships that create a deeper level of student connection is a model for what we hope all educators would be able to do,” says one nomination. perwork, Gomez works to maintain healthy rela- tionships with communi- ty members and connect them with resources they need. Debbie White has worked for Morrow Coun- ty School District for three years. She is described as an exceptional assistant in the Title 1 room, al- ways demonstrating com- petence with a friendly attitude and pleasant de- meanor to both students and staff. She is said to be self-motivated and in- dependent, successfully interacting with students during lessons, and “100 percent for the kids of Ir- rigon Elementary!” Maggie Scanlan has worked for the Morrow County School District for one year. Scanlan is described as demonstrat- ing “an amazing ability to connect with students not only in her own class- room, but others in the school as well.” She runs the school’s student coun- A total of 33 Crystal cil program and has coor- Apples were presented at dinated a building-wide the event, in addition to 14 recycling program. A new Crystal Apple Awards pre- teacher, “she has her whole life and career ahead of her -Continued to PAGE NINE to continue making pos- itive impacts on people every single day. She is a life changer who shines brightly.” Yadira Gomez has worked for MCSD for five years. She takes the time to get to know the families in the school and has coor- dinated dozens of students be seen for medical, vision and dental needs—some of these imperative to the academic performance of those students. Between helping staff make phone calls, doing home visits or helping complete pa- has now won a hearing in 12 of the proposed 15 counties involved in redrawing the state line between Oregon and Idaho. The ballot measure in Wallowa County won by narrow margins, only 50.3 percent, which the Greater Idaho group attributes to an unusually large percentage of Willamette Valley transplants Oregon Democrats. Since the movement be- gan appearing on ballots six election cycles ago, it has won every county, with an average of 62 percent in favor. Like the other counties that have voted on Greater Ida- ho, the Wallowa County ballot measure isn’t actually a vote to move the border. Rather, it re- -Continued to PAGE NINE Boardman man arrested on shots-fired incident in Irrigon A Boardman man is still in custody after shots were fired in an Irrigon incident May 1. Jose Carlos Gonzalez, 37, of Boardman is facing multiple charges that include kidnapping II and attempted assault. Morrow County Sheriff’s Office reports that about 8:15 p.m. on Monday, May 1, dis- patch received calls reporting shots fired in the west park- ing lot near the Irrigon Shell Station. Callers reported that a Hispanic male, later identi- fied as Gonzalez, fired shots toward another man and a red jeep. During the investigation it was learned that Jose had followed a female victim to the Irrigon Shell station, driv- ing erratically on Highway 730 and attempting to stop her vehicle. A man, known to the female victim, arrived in a red jeep to assist her. At that time, Jose pulled a -Continued to PAGE NINE CALL 541-989-8221 ext 204 for more information
