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VOL. 144
NO. 12 8 Pages
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Interim Ambulance
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Nitrogen removal plan for the Port of Morrow
By Chris Sykes
During a Port of Mor-
row meeting/Information
session held on March
13th, Libby Bakke, from
CONSOR, presented the
plans for a new nitrogen
processing plant and how
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SOR specializes in water
and transportation infra-
structure in North America.
Their range of services
includes planning, engi-
neering design, structural
assessment, and construc-
tion services. CONSOR’s
main focus areas are water
infrastructure, transporta-
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engineering, hydraulics,
structural assessment, and
strategic communications.
In terms of the project
timeline, construction of
anaerobic digesters began
in 2018 and was complet-
ed in 2023. The planning
and design phase for sec-
ondary treatment has been
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scheduled to commence in
the summer of 2024. Addi-
tionally, the planning and
design stage for the creation
of new storage capacity of
1.5 billion gallons is cur-
rently underway. Expan-
sion, land application, and
land purchases are currently
in progress.
The plan is to use the
newly constructed anaero-
bic digesters and second-
ary treatment to remove
nitrogen in four steps. The
treatment approach in-
volves treating industrial
wastewater using biological
WUHDWPHQWDQG¿OWUDWLRQ%L-
ological treatment utilizes
microorganisms to break
down organic material,
while filtration involves
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through a bed of sand to
further clean the water.
In the first step, the
Current operation at the Port of Morrow
Future addition to the original digester.
Example of Anaerobic digesters.
anaerobic digesters play a
vital role. These digesters
are 20 feet deep and pre-
pare the process water for
nitrogen removal in the next
treatment steps. They are
covered lagoons with long
process times, where mi-
crobes digest the food waste
in a sealed vessel without
oxygen. The biological
processes break down the
organic waste into usable
products such as water for
irrigation, solids for fertil-
ization, and bio-gas.
Moving on to the sec-
ond step, the aeration pro-
cess is implemented to
remove most of the nitrogen
from the process water.
This is achieved through
a biological process that
consumes biodegradable
organic matter, ammonia,
and solids through aeration.
The water is recirculated
multiple times through an-
oxic^1 and aeration basins,
aiding in the removal of nu-
trients, including nitrogen
and phosphorus, from the
treated water. ^1The anoxic
process is a critical phase in
the treatment of water and
wastewater, designed to
eliminate pollutants, partic-
ularly nitrogen compounds
such as nitrates (NO3-) and
nitrites (NO2-), without the
presence of oxygen. In this
phase, specific microor-
ganisms act on these com-
pounds in an oxygen-free
environment, using nitrate
as an alternate electron ac-
ceptor. This action is pivotal
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where the conversion of
nitrate to nitrogen gas (N2)
occurs, allowing it to be
released safely into the at-
mosphere and thus reducing
the nitrogen levels in the
water.”
In the third step, sec-
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play. These clarifiers op-
erate downstream from
the aeration process and
are responsible for sepa-
rating water from solids.
The treated water can be
reused or sent to advanced
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moves slowly in the clari-
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cles to settle out before the
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age or advanced treatment.
Additionally, the solids
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are returned to the aeration
basins to maintain the ap-
propriate bacterial levels.
Finally, in the fourth
step, denitrification fil-
ters are used to produce
high-quality water for in-
dustrial reuse when needed.
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maining nutrients, namely
nitrogen and phosphorus,
from the process water. Sil-
ica sand and graded gravel
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utilized in this advanced
-Continued to PAGE EIGHT
Morrow County Health District press release
Service Excellence Ini-
tiative. It has been brought
to the MCHD Board atten-
tion that there are concerns
surrounding community
member complaints as well
as employee retention of the
Health District. The board
would like to share with
those that have concerns,
the direction and vision for
handling such complaints.
The board directed the
CEO and the Executive
Team three years ago to
begin the task of imple-
menting a much-needed
change within the orga-
nization. Changes are not
always well received as we
all know and can create a
lot of fear and uncertainty
as progression occurs. The
board along with the admin-
istration have maintained a
high level of transparency
with staff regarding the
changes that are necessary
to achieve a more cohesive
culture and accountability
among staff districtwide.
The board and adminis-
tration believe that with
positive change inside the
organization, it will then be
passed on through patient
care, and thus reach the
FRPPXQLW\7KHUHDUHVWD൵
that are not onboard with
the changes, however with
that said there are far more
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the changes that have been
implemented and have ap-
preciation for the account-
ability and culture changes.
What is the MCHD
Service Excellence Initia-
tive?
The Service Excellence
Initiative is a districtwide
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patient satisfaction and em-
ployee engagement. Here
are a few improvements
made over the last couple
of years:
Implementation of the
Service Recovery policy,
which allows employees to
provide a $10 gift card to
patients when our services
fell short of their expecta-
tions.
Adoption of a formal
process for responding to
patient complaints in com-
pliance with CMS stan-
dards.
Patient satisfaction
scores are now available,
discussed and analyzed by
staff on where improve-
ments are needed.
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held monthly.
Monthly provider and
executive team meetings
were implemented to im-
prove provider engage-
ment.
To improve transparen-
cy and communication, the
CEO sends a weekly update
WRDOOVWD൵DQGWKH%RDUGRI
Directors, which includes
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The monthly Board
Dashboard was created,
which gives Board mem-
bers more transparency into
what is happening with the
GLVWULFW¿QDQFLDOO\DQGRS-
erationally.
Board agenda, minutes
and packets are posted to
the MCHD website.
The Service of Excel-
lence Council was created
with membership by front-
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The SEC has oversight of
all patient satisfaction and
employee engagement ini-
tiatives.
This is a short list of all
the things that have been
created and put into action
to grow and change the cul-
ture. The Morrow County
Health District and Board
of Directors welcomes the
community and staff to
share concerns, complaints,
or compliments through
the appropriate channels.
CEO Emily Roberts has an
RSHQGRRU SROLF\ IRU VWD൵
and community members.
Complaints can also be
received through the Dis-
trict’s anonymous hotline
(www.lighthouse-services.
com/mocohd) or submitted
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ZKR LV ZHOO TXDOL¿HG DQG
most helpful at investigat-
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ing a resolution.
Studies show that a
person works 1/3 of their
life at work, thus making
it even more important to
support and encourage an
environment and culture
that grow positivity and
accountability.
MCHD appreciates the
support of our community
and especially now more
than ever.
Sincerely,
Trista Seastone
Morrow County Health
District Board Vice Chair
Photo of a similar ambulance seen around Heppner during
the St. Patrick’s celebration.
The Interim ambulance
service, provided by Amer-
ican Medical Response
(AMR), is now operating
in Heppner. This past week-
end, amidst the St. Patrick’s
Day celebrations, AMR
paramedics were observed
riding around town. While
they did not participate in
the parade, their presence
was visible throughout the
community.
Matheny places 3 rd at
Regional Elks Hoop
Shoot Competition
Sonny Matheny, with his 3rd
place trophy.
-Photo by Chelsey Matheny
S o n n y Mat h en y, a
young talent from Hep-
pner, Oregon, showcased
his skills by securing the
3rd place at the regional
Elks Hoop Shoot compe-
tition. The event witnessed
tough competition from
participants representing
Oregon, Washington, Ida-
ho, and Alaska. Sonny was
in the 8-9 year old division,
with the banquet held at
the Paso Red Lion and the
free-throw shooting contest
taking place at Kamiakin
High School.
In each division, both
boys and girls had the op-
portunity to compete, with
four representatives from
each state. The divisions
included 8-9, 10-11, and 12-
13 age categories. Sonny
gave an impressive perfor-
mance, making 16 out of
25 free-throws, ultimate-
ly securing the 3rd place
spot. It is worth noting that
the winner in his division
achieved a score of 19 out
of 25, while the runner-up
obtained 18 out of 25.
Sonny’s mother, Chel-
sea, said, “ He had been
practicing a lot and was
consistently in the 18-21
range. He was disappoint-
ed but the experience was
great! We are so proud of
him. Really puts a lot of
pressure on these young
players. Good preparation
for pressure situations in
games.”
The main rules for
contestants:
All contestants should
be allowed 10 minutes to
warm up under the super-
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Each contestant, according
to their draw, can have up to
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shoot 10 shots for score. Af-
ter completing their warm-
up shots and the 10 shots
for score, the contestant will
report to the end of the line
or sit on a chair until the
remaining contestants have
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tants have completed their
shots, the contestant will
shoot 15 additional shots to
complete their 25 shots for
score. The line judge signals
made or missed shots to the
scorers. Each free throw at-
tempt must be made within
10 seconds from the time
the contestant is handed the
ball. The Line Judge silently
counts to 10 or uses a 10
count out of the contestant’s
line of vision for each free
throw attempt. Contestants
must stay behind the foul
line until the ball touches
the hoop, backboard, or net.
Ties will be broken using a
number of five-shot sets,
previous contest scores (if
applicable), or a coin toss.
History of the Elks
hoop shoot.
According to The Elks
Hoop Shoot web page, the
hoop shoot started in Cor-
vallis, Oregon, in 1946, and
has grown into a national
youth free-throw shooting
competition, and its abil-
ity to bring communities
together and foster sports-
manship among the youth.
Initiated by Frank Hise,
a past National President
of the Elks, the program
-Continued to PAGE SEVEN
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information