Heppner gazette-times., December 27, 2023, Image 1

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VOL. 143
NO. 52 8 Pages
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
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agreemnt. - Contributed Photo
By Andrea Di Salvo
The debate regarding
ambulance services in Mor-
row County has heated up
again just in time for the
new year.
It was standing room
only at the Morrow County
Board of Commissioners
Dec. 20 meeting in Irrigon,
along with 40 online partic-
ipants, when the three com-
missioners heard an update
on a proposed new Ambu-
lance Service Area (ASA)
plan, as well as emotional
pleas from the community
regarding continuation of
ambulance services in the
county.
For a couple of years
now, ambulance services
in Morrow County have
been the center of debate,
lawsuits and a large dose
of mistrust.
The original source
of contention was Board-
man Fire Rescue District’s
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bulance services in Board-
man, as well as the new
board of commissioners’
decision to reexamine the
county’s ASA plan as a
result of that request.
That decision was met
with backlash from the
Morrow County Health
District (MCHD), which
has been the county’s sole
ambulance service provider
for several decades.
After several months
of silence, the renewed
controversy stems from
the county’s submission
of a draft ASA plan to the
Oregon Health Authority
(OHA) on Dec. 11.
Hard on the heels of
that submission came the
Morrow County Health
District’s Dec. 13 an-
nouncement that it plans
to discontinue ambulance
services within 90 days,
a move that has many in
Morrow County in a state
of panic concerning their
own health care.
In documents posted
on its website, MCHD cit-
ed “serious ongoing safety
issues,” as well as “substan-
tial economic loss,” as ma-
jor reasons for its decision.
“Since September, we
have attempted to engage
the County in good faith
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the ambulance service dis-
pute,” MCHD wrote in
statement. “Resolving this
issue is urgent due to seri-
ous ongoing safety issues.”
“We want to continue
to be the ambulance service
provider for all of Morrow
County. In order to do that,
we need a service contract,
ambulance service area
plan and ordinance that are
mutually agreeable to the
county and the district,”
said MCHD CEO Emi-
ly Roberts at the Dec. 20
meeting.
“We want to emphasize
that there is still a lot of
work to be done in the next
90 days if the county and
the district are to resolve
this issue.”
“Although this was an
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the board stands behind the
decision,” added MCHD
Board Chair Diane Kilken-
ny.
“Oregon state statutes
are very clear in that the
county bears sole respon-
sibility to ensure ambu-
lance service is available
throughout Morrow Coun-
ty,” said BFRD Chief Mi-
chael Hughes in his own
comment at the meeting. “I
just want to let all of you
know that Boardman Fire is
here to assist our communi-
ty, as well as the county, in
any way so that ambulance
services are maintained.”
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The 23 public com-
ments at the beginning of
the BOC meeting lasted
more than 45 minutes and
ranged from emotional
pleas to save ambulance
services to accusations that
the commissioners were
letting their egos get in the
way.
Several Irrigon resi-
dents at the meeting said
they felt they weren’t being
represented at the coun-
ty level and that they be-
lieved Irrigon would lose all
ambulance services if the
proposed ASA plan moves
forward.
“I’ve performed a lot
of funerals for people in
this community. There’s a
lot of people that need as-
sistance,” said Pastor Rick
Yardley of Columbia View
Community Church in Irri-
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when I heard there might be
a possibility of our ambu-
lance service going away.”
Several speakers also
pointed to the recent pas-
sage of the MCHD bond as
proof that county residents
side with the health district.
Others, such as South Mor-
row resident John Kilkenny,
said they were unhappy
with a clause that would
allow the county to seize as-
sets from an ASA provider.
“That provision alone
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forward,” said Kilkenny.
“I’m not even sure how
such language as that could
get in there.”
“I think we’ve got the
cart before the horse,” said
Irrigon City Manager Aaron
Palmquist, a former MCHD
board member. “Put the
brakes on and do some
public hearings for trans-
parency and get input from
all communities.”
“I think the lack of
transparency, the lack of
providing a plan of how we
are going to be taken care of
in our city, is unconsciona-
ble,” said Bobbi Veach of
Irrigon. “I am just livid that
this could even be an idea
that you’re considering.”
Tom Roberts, Interim
Chief of the Irrigon Rural
Fire Protection District,
said he did not envy the
commissioners their posi-
tion, but that Irrigon Fire
also felt caught in the mid-
dle.
“Irrigon Fire Depart-
ment stands in a position
where we’re caught be-
tween two entities that we
work with closely. We have
a great relationship with
both of them, so it saddens
us that we feel this tug in
both directions,” he said.
Roberts also said that
sometimes the existing ser-
vices in North Morrow
were overrun with calls. He
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to see MCHD’s role as am-
bulance provider continue,
but also admitted he recog-
nized Boardman’s right to
decide how it wanted to op-
erate. That said, he stressed
that the other communities
should have that same right.
“I think that there needs
to be some form of a reso-
lution that brings everybody
together because I think that
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need DOO of the emergency
medical services that are
being provided, not just one
or the other,” he said. “But
I hear very loudly from the
people that I represent here
in this district that they do
not want to be excluded
from the conversation.”
ASA Plan Update
All of the comments
came before the ASA plan
update from Morrow Coun-
ty Administrator Matthew
Jensen, who said he felt
many of the concerns would
be addressed in his presen-
tation.
“This is not something
to go in lightly, nor allow
personal egos to get in
the way,” Jensen said in
response to the public com-
ments.
At the same time, he
stated several times that
the proposed ASA did not
dismantle the current pro-
vider, but simply allowed
the county to administer the
plan better.
“We’re looking at the
organizational structure for
managing ambulance ser-
vices, which is statutorily
in these three seats,” Jensen
told the commissioners.
“You have the requirement
to do that as the county
executive and legislative
body.”
Jensen began his pre-
sentation to the board by
reminding those present
that the county is statuto-
rily responsible to manage
ambulance services, but
that that management had
been handed over to Mor-
row County Health District
since at least 1998.
“I’m quite sure it was
done with the best of inter-
ests and the best intentions,”
Jensen said. “However, it
has removed that statuto-
ry responsibility from the
county,” he said. “I’m all
for democratic measure, but
we are a republican govern-
ment, and that means that
you have been elected to
make some of these tough
decisions.”
He also said that the
draft plan submitted to
OHA does not denote who
the ambulance service area
providers are.
“No area service plan
should, because it provides
the statutory framework
in which the county can
assess, look at the options,
and then make the best de-
cision for the residents and
the visitors of the county,”
he said. “No provider has
been established through
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cause the ASA will not
christen someone to contin-
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Jensen said the county
has been using the previous
ASA as a template but that
the draft includes some
updates and changes. He
added that about 90 per-
cent of the language is the
same as in the current ASA,
including the right of the
county to seize property if
a provider vacates an area.
“That’s all language
that’s in the 1998 and the
proposed 2022 [ASA]. It’s
in there,” he said, adding
that, with MCHD adminis-
tering the plan, it created a
loop that would not allow
the county to ensure con-
tinued services if the health
district decided to pull out.
The new draft plan in-
cludes several key changes;
for instance, it seeks to
re-establish the county as
the authority over the ASA
plan and establishes an
independent Emergency
Medical Services (EMS)
Advisory Committee to
review the services and
provide recommendations
to the Board of Commis-
sioners.
Jensen said the change
to the EMS Advisory Com-
mittee would mean it dealt
less with quality assur-
ance and individual cases
and provided more of a
“10,000-foot view” mak-
ing sure the providers are
performing their duties
correctly.
Historically, the EMS
Advisory Committee mem-
bers have been appointed
by the MCHD board, with
a heavy representation of
The Heppner Gazette Years, we will resume our
Times will be closed on regular hours on the 2 nd
Monday the 1 st for New
Lucky jeep winner
Charlie Ross was the winner of the highly anticipated Pepsi
Drawing for the remote-control kids Jeep at Heppner Fami-
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-Contributed Photo
Boardman’s city
motto winners
(L-R) Mayor Keefer, Mikayla Mickles, Hadley Coleman,
Seth Hammond, Noah Reaves
At their December
meeting, the City Council
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in the City Motto Contest.
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munity interest in activities
happening in the city, the
Council chose to ask for
involvement in creating a
new motto that will aid in
a new logo. A total of 70
submissions and 47 par-
ticipants were collected.
Each winner was awarded
prizes from various busi-
nesses around town. The
Community winner – Noah
Reaves – “Where potential
comes to grow” x River-
side Jr/Sr High winner –
Seth Hammond – “Beauty
around the bend” x Windy
River winner – Mikayla
Mickles – “Where river
meets opportunity” x Sam
Boardman Winner – Hadley
Coleman – “Small town,
big dreams”
The City Manager will
EHZRUNLQJZLWKWKH¿QDO-
ists to compile additional
ideas for the public to vote
on in the coming months.
Heppner weather
forecast Dec 28th -
Jan 3rd
The lows will be in the up-
per 20’s, while the highs
will reach the mid to low
40’s. With a chance of
rain on Saturday. How-
ever, next week, tempera-
-Continued to PAGE EIGHT tures are expected to warm
up slightly. Throughout
the week, there will be
patchy rain and partly
cloudy conditions. New
Year’s Day: It will be
mostly cloudy, with a high
near 40 degrees.
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information