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Monday, May 29, for the
Memorial Day holiday.
The deadline for all
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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