50¢
VOL. 145 NO.12 8 Pages
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Community meeting highlights concerns
over hospital and MCHD gives response
(R) Patti Alstot addresses community members at The Hub in Heppner regarding concerns about the Morrow County
Health District and Pioneer Memorial Hospital. - Contributed Photo
By Chris Sykes
On March 11, 2025,
a community meeting re-
garding the Morrow County
Health District (MCHD)
and Pioneer Memorial Hos-
pital drew over 50 people in
person and nearly as many
on Zoom.
The discussion, moder-
ated by Janet Greenup, fo-
cused on claims of admin-
istrative failures, staffing
shortages, and the hospital’s
shift to contract workers
over local hires, with addi-
tional concerns raised about
high turnover of nurses,
physicians and employees
in the last couple of years.
While some hospital
employees attended, many
did not speak during the
meeting.
Greenup opened the
session by outlining the
comment structure: phy-
sicians in the room would
speak first, followed by
Zoom participants, then
other medical profession-
als, and finally the public.
She emphasized the need
for factual statements over
emotional ones, banned
personal attacks, and en-
couraged brevity. Speakers
were asked to raise their
hands and use microphones.
Dr. Russ Nichols, a
physician with a long histo-
ry at the hospital, took the
floor. Nichols, who began
working at Pioneer Me-
morial in November 1999
and continued with breaks
until around 2021, now
practices at St. Anthony
Hospital in Pendleton. He
reminisced about a time
when the health district
employed multiple “home-
town workers”—providers,
lab technicians, nurses, and
maintenance staff—and ex-
pressed his desire to restore
that model.
“I like having my pa-
tients see me in Pendleton,
but I wish they didn’t have
to drive there for care,”
Nichols said, noting he sees
patients from Lexington,
Hardman, Ione, Heppner
and surrounding areas. He
argued the facility could
handle this demand with
proper staffing.
Sheridan Tarnasky, a
longtime Heppner resident
and former medical provid-
er at the clinic and hospital,
voiced frustration over the
uncertainty surrounding the
hospital.
“We have to figure out
something to do, because
probably a lot of what I
hear is rumor, but I’m sure
there’s some factual infor-
mation in there too,” she
said.
When she asked how
many attendees sought
medical care out of town,
over half the room raised
their hands.
Tarnasky pointed to
administration as the root
issue. She cited Facebook
posts about staff being fired
or placed on administrative
leave, noting many in the
room were former hospital
employees who “didn’t
leave because they wanted
to.”
She claimed, “They
don’t have a good admin-
istrative team that is there
for their staff or the com-
munity.”
Estes asked why the
board opted for contract
workers over local hires.
Tarnasky responded,
claiming the last physi-
cians left due to lack of
administrative support,
adding, “The word has
gotten around, and people
don’t want to come here.
That’s the only thing they
can do—contract.”
Another community
member supported this, in-
sisting it wasn’t a financial
decision.
Janet Greenup clarified,
“It’s not specifically the
administrative team, but the
board that doesn’t support
Wilson selected as
Heppner’s new
football coach
Heppner High School
has announced the appoint-
ment of Rob Wilson as the
new Head Football Coach.
Wilson has been a vital part
of the Mustang football
program for the past 10
years and steps into this role
following the retirement of
longtime coach Greg Grant.
Wilson states, “I’m ex-
cited to continue the strong
traditions of Mustang Foot-
ball.”
Rob Wilson
Wee Bit O’ Ireland
pictures page 7
Heppner council revisits
library citing
City moves forward with water
master plan
-Continued to PAGE THREE
Greater Idaho bills wait for hearing in
Oregon Legislature
By Andrea Di Salvo
Despite setbacks, the
Greater Idaho movement
seems to be gaining ground
in both Eastern Oregon and
Idaho, the Morrow County
Board of Commissioners
learned at its last regular
meeting March 5 in Hep-
pner.
However, further mo-
mentum also means gain-
ing ground in the Oregon
Legislature, where two bills
are currently sitting in com-
mittee, waiting for action.
Matt McCaw, Execu-
tive Director for the Greater
Idaho Movement, told the
commissioners that “the
people have spoken.”
“They want to have this
conversation. They want
their elected leaders to have
this conversation,” said Mc-
Caw. “The State of Idaho is
a willing partner. The State
of Oregon has currently not
acted, though our represen-
tatives in Eastern Oregon
have introduced bills.”
Thirteen counties in
Eastern Oregon have passed
“pretty radical” measures
supporting the idea of mov-
ing the border, he said.
Ten of those, including
Morrow County, passed
measures requiring ongoing
discussions by county lead-
ership. Another three, Mc-
Caw said, were straight-up
advisory questions asking
citizens if they wanted to
join Idaho.
In Morrow County,
voters approved by a large
margin a bill requiring the
board of commissioners to
meet three times a year to
discuss how to promote the
county’s interests in such a
border change. March 5 was
the first of those meetings
for 2025.
By law, any two bor-
dering states may move
their state border if both
state legislatures agree to
it. To that end, McCaw said,
the State of Idaho passed
a house measure in 2023
inviting the Oregon Legis-
lature to begin border talks.
“So the state of Idaho
has seen what adding East-
ern Oregon counties would
mean for Idaho,” said Mc-
Caw. “They are open to the
idea. They’re ready to have
this discussion.”
Idaho Governor Brad
Little has publicly support-
ed border talks, and polling
in Idaho shows strong sup-
port for the idea, McCaw
said.
On the Oregon side,
McCaw said the movement
currently has two bills in the
Oregon Legislature.
The first is a memorial
bill similar to a bill put for-
ward in 2023, which would
invite Idaho to begin border
talks. The 2023 bill was
never given a hearing or
moved into committee, but
the group hopes for a better
outcome with the 2025 bill.
The second bill, House
Bill 3488, would create
a task force to study “all
things” about moving the
border, McCaw said. The
bill was sponsored by state
representatives Mark Ow-
ens, Bobby Levy and Vikki
Breese Iverson. Represen-
tatives Emily McIntire and
Court Boice also support
the bill. Rep. Greg Smith
has not so-sponsored the
bill.
McCaw said both bills
are in the respective rules
committees for their cham-
bers but have not been
given hearings or work
sessions yet.
“That’s where we’re
pushing, is to get these bills
a hearing, get them into a
work session so that people
can be heard and we can
help advocate for what the
people out here are asking
for,” said McCaw.
Morrow County Com-
missioner Gus Peterson
asked about HB 3488, ques-
tioning how the details of
the border move would be
worked out.
“What would all of the
consequences be? All of our
zoning laws would change;
all of our governing laws
for how we do things as a
county would change. Is
there anything on the table
for having a task force to
study that?” asked Peterson.
“If we are going to continue
this discussion, let’s play it
out. What would it actually
look like?”
McCaw said that is
the precise purpose of HB
3488.
“It’s a task force. It
brings various groups to-
gether,” he told Peterson.
“It lists out all the different
people that we would want
to be part of the task force
to look at all these sorts of
issues.”
Some of the issues in-
cluded existing laws, trans-
fer of assets and even how
to handle prisons located in
Eastern Oregon.
“All of those big ques-
tions that are very difficult
for a county to answer, or
an individual,” he said.
“That’s what this task force
is designed to do.”
As far as other action
at the county level, McCaw
urged the commissioners
to promote the idea with
legislators.
“Counties can’t change
the border. The counties
can advocate for change for
their citizens,” he told the
commissioners.
McCaw added that, so
far, nine counties in Eastern
Oregon have written letters
to their respective legisla-
tors and the governor ask-
ing the legislature to take up
the issue. To date, Morrow
County is not among them.
Nor has the Eastern
Oregon Counties Asso-
ciation written a support
letter, despite a majority of
its members having passed
measures in support of
Greater Idaho.
No public comment
was taken during that por-
tion of the BOC meeting,
but questions can be sub-
mitted through the move-
ment’s website, GreaterIda-
ho.org.
City attorney and OTLD board member Bill Kuhn (left) and
city manager John Doherty. -Contributed
By Andrea Di Salvo
The Heppner City
Council again discussed
possible future locations
for a new Heppner library
at its March 10 meeting
in Heppner. Oregon Trail
Library District Director
Kathy Street and OTLD
board member Bill Kuhn
attended the meeting as a
follow-up to the OTLD’s
previous request regarding
a future new library build-
ing at Heppner City Park.
The library district
had earlier approached
the city about the possi-
bility of building a new
5,000-square-foot library
on part of the Heppner City
Park property, but the city
had concerns about loss
of park space and trees,
building size and parking
requirements.
Kuhn said the OTLD
wants to build a space that
enhances the city, and he
still thought that could be
accomplished at the city
park.
“I think the city’s done
an amazing job increasing
park size and enhancing
park facilities throughout
Heppner,” he said. “The
idea here with the library
is, can we enhance and
complement the park area?”
The zoning for a new
building of that size would
require about four new
spaces of off-street park-
ing. Kuhn stressed that the
library has already been in
that location a long time,
and the city has worked
with other old buildings
like the Gilliam Bisbee
building without requiring
additional parking. He also
thought the building could
be placed without sacrific-
ing too many trees.
“This all works, but
there are things to think
-Continued to PAGE SIX
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 220
for more
information