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Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 9, 2025 -- THREE CDA uncertainty ~ Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $16 Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net. Just Tariffs but terror to evildoers” (Proverbs 21:15). First of all, I’m not a Susie Crosby financial wizard. If I were, Prineville, OR I’d have lots more fab- ric and probably quite a few more chickens. But I’m getting a little tired of all the tariff talk and people doing the, “We’re all gonna die!” thing. So, let me put it simply. We’ve been getting punched in the I have been honored nose by other countries for to serve on the board of quite a while. They’ve been Morrow County Health charging us some pretty District for the last four steep tariffs and we’ve just years. To stop confusion let it happen. Maybe it’s of my intentions, I want time we punched back, even to announce I will be fully if we end up with a few supporting a new candidate bloody knuckles. No pain, stepping forward to serve no gain. on the board, allowing me Now that Trump has to focus on serving out the decided to put an end to it last months of my term. by charging reciprocal tar- Molly Rhea has been iffs, he’s accused of being intertwined with the health unfair. My question is…un- district for the last 40 years, fair to whom? Keep in mind working with all the CEOs that the meaning of “recip- and physicians during those rocal” is to “give in return.” years. She started her nurs- So, if someone gives you a ing career out on the nurs- 20 percent discount on their ing floor and rose to the re- product, you give them a 20 sponsibilities of chief nurs- percent discount on yours. ing officer. She has worked And if someone charges with every department in you a 20 percent fee to sell the hospital, including the your product in their coun- ER, and retired as director try (let’s not call it a tariff of home health and hospice. just to keep the stress level Molly established the down), you charge them a Medicare certified hospice 20 percent fee to sell their program in 2003 with many product in your country. An awards. She has attended eye for an eye, or punch for countless board meetings; punch…that’s reciprocal. with her experience as the So, if a country charges CNO, she has knowledge you a 50 percent fee, and of how the budget works you charge them a 10 per- and participated in recruit- cent fee….now that’s unfair. ment and retention. She It’s kind of like a biological understands the present male being allowed to beat needs of our district and the the tar out of a woman. That responsibilities and hurdles would be ridiculous, right? of building the future of And you have to wonder, if our rural healthcare. She tariffs are so horrible, why has provided care to every have they worked so well corner of our county and for other countries? worked with many commu- Maybe we need to lis- nity partners. ten to President Trump and Molly’s integrity, hon- give him a little time before esty, compassion, com- we get out the tar and feath- munity involvement and ers. He said this would be leadership will serve the rough at first, but worth it in best interests of the Morrow the end. He sees tariffs as a County Health district and great bargaining chip. Will all county residents. Molly it work in our favor? We has been my colleague, peer shall see. It looks like we’ve and dear friend. already had some good re- Please join me in sup- sponses. Netanyahu said he porting Molly’s candidacy would cut tariffs altogether. and voting for her. Thank Good job, Israel. Sounds you, Molly, for stepping like Vietnam and India are forward. ready to make nice too. And Diane Kilkenny, here’s an idea. How about Board Chair, we stop being so depen- Morrow County Health dent on other countries and District actually make and buy our own stuff? Depending on China for our meds makes me kinda nervous. As we’re all focused on tariffs and the stock market, let’s not forget all the insane It was my privilege to help spending our government folks file their taxes this has been doing the last four season at the AARP site in years. Kudos to Musk for Lexington. In addition to shining a light on the waste helping others, it reminded and doing his best to take me that the state and federal out the trash. governments do nothing to And are we concerned earn money; their funding about a National Debt that comes only from each one we can virtually never pay of us, taken from our wages, back? Biden’s idea of print- investments and business ing more money isn’t exact- income. ly a cure. A government that It is thus deeply disturbing has had too much freedom to see this administration’s to spend and very little slashing of programs that accountability needs to help struggling Americans: change, even if that change cuts have been made in the means some people need to last month to the Veterans find new jobs. Administration, health care So, let’s do the hard and research, food banks, stuff and not get sucked senior services and librar- in to the distraction of the ies, to name a few. At the Tesla-trashing crazies. We same time, the Pentagon have a lot to be thankful recently estimated that $40 for. A secure border, a safer million had been spent in country and tax dollars not one month to house 400 going to stupid places, for migrants at Guantanamo starters. And if you have Bay, and the 2025 budget food on the table and a for Immigration and Cus- roof over your head, you toms Enforcement (ICE) is are blessed. If you have $9.7 billion. that and a dozen eggs in the I’m all for cutting out waste fridge, you are rich. and fraud in the govern- “When justice is done, ment, but ending Meals it brings joy to the righteous Stepping aside to step up: My support for Molly Rhea Your Taxes Should Work for You on Wheels and cancer re- search isn’t to the point. I for one would much rather see my tax dollars support veterans, the poor, the sick, the elderly, schools and li- braries than in demonizing immigrants, detaining them at outrageous expense in immoral conditions, and deporting them without due process. If you feel the same way, let our represen- tatives in Congress know. Sincerely, The Reverend Lea Mathieu Ione, OR Time for Change in the Health District As a candidate for a position on the Morrow County Health District, I am writing this in response to the current board’s com- ments at the recent meeting in Lexington and in last week’s Gazette. First, I agree that who- ever put the photos of Emily on the power poles around town is pathetic and a cow- ard. Secondly, I take of- fense to the statement that we who are candidates for board positions are running out of “spite.” Speaking for myself, I am running for a position on the health dis- trict board out of necessity. There have been so many questions by the public and no answers. Remember, we (the taxpayers) deserve to know how our taxes are being spent. Third, it’s time for change. We have lost way too many doctors, nurses and other staff with no explanation of why. There is a Promise of Excellence statement on agendas and minutes of the board that they view through rose-col- ored glasses. With board members who care about the em- ployees and the district, we will make these statements come true. Janet Greenup Heppner, OR Rhea has passion for MCHD to succeed I am writing this letter to encourage everyone to consider Molly Rhea for the position on the Mor- row County Health District Board of Directors. Molly has worked for the health district for years in various positions. She knows the needs and work- ings of our district. Molly is very knowledgeable and has the desire to have a good, functioning health district. We need someone who has passion and desire for our hospital and health dis- trict to succeed. Molly Rhea is that person. Myrna Sieler Lexington, OR Cast Your Vote for Molly Rhea I’m pleased to recom- mend Molly Rhea as a board member for the Mor- row County Health District and encourage you to give her your vote. I first met Molly 12 years ago when I was hired as the CEO of the Morrow County Health District, and she was my Chief Nursing Officer. She quickly earned my respect and trust. During these past 12 years I have worked as CEO with three different boards: Morrow County Health District, Harney County Health District and now Wallowa County Health District. I have worked with some amazing board mem- bers and have seen firsthand how a good board member can make a difference. The primary role of a health district board mem- ber is to hire and work closely with the CEO. Board members have ulti- mate accountability for the strategic direction, quality of care and the long-term vi- ability of the organization. The best board members don’t try to micromanage, but they take the time to really listen, understand and ask good questions. They exercise good judgement when selecting a new CEO and they trust and support who they hire or inherit. Serving for many years as a Morrow County Health District executive has given Molly the skills and in- sights that will make her a successful board member. She regularly contributed to annual strategic plans, ensured a skilled and com- petent nursing staff, and participated in budgeting and financial stewardship. She worked closely with a number of CEOs and will know how to properly se- lect and support them. She regularly attended board meetings and has observed highly skilled board mem- bers in action. But perhaps Molly’s biggest asset is that she is Morrow County through and through. She loves the people there and has given her life to serving them. I am confident that Molly will be an excep- tional board member for the Morrow County Health District and that you will be pleased with what she brings to the role. I invite you to cast your vote for Molly. Daniel Grigg Former MCHD CEO Committee Vote Opens New Direction for Wildfire Program -Continued from PAGE ONE ate and House Republicans stated in a release. “Senate Bill 83 puts power back in the hands of the people, not government bureaucrats. The wildfire hazard map caused fear and uncertainty, burdening families with costly and unfair one-size- fits-all mandates. This bill repeals that mess, empow- ers people to protect their homes without the threat of government interference, and focuses on practical solutions for wildfire pre- vention. With this step for- ward, we’re delivering the change that rural Oregon has long deserved.” SB 83 empowers local com- munities to make decisions tailored to their unique needs, enabling them to take effective steps to pro- tect their homes. It also ensures taxpayer dollars are spent where they have the most impact—supporting local efforts like defensi- ble space, forest thinning, and wildfire readiness pro- grams. Senate Bill 83 now moves to the Senate floor for a vote by the whole chamber. -Continued from PAGE ONE this.” the property is in dispute. Instead, he suggested a res- olution to sell the property once Umatilla County and the Port of Umatilla had reached an agreement. The board voted 4-1 to approve moving forward with a land sale once the litigation had been settled. Tovey, the lone dissenter, said he wasn’t comfortable with “that sort of horse trading.” “What happens next year?” asked Tovey. “Are you going to give another 100 acres back to us?” Smith responded that he thought the CDA’s pur- pose was to work itself out of business. “The purpose of the CDA was to benefit the redevelopment of the prop- erty,” Mittelsdorf added. “For us to give up a hun- dred acres is not just to say, ‘Here, CDA, here’s a boatload of money to operate.’ It’s so there’s a development, and that de- velopment will pay taxes, that development will cre- ate jobs, just like any other economic development project. “It’s not for the CDA to generate a bunch of income for the future of … what?” she added. Tovey said he agreed but said that the tribes had taken on an expense with their share of the property, designated as a wildlife refuge. Tovey said, with property transferred to the two ports, the counties would receive tax revenue and the ports would receive funds from land sales and transfers, but CTUIR would end up with a bill for natural resource management. “We’re going to have to pay through the nose for that,” he said. “There’s an equity thing here that I’m concerned about. “Take a thousand acres away and give us a hundred and we’re supposed to be grateful for it,” said Tov- ey. “I’m not grateful for a hundred acres. I want the thousand acres back.” Meanwhile, the conten- tious issue of the transfer of CDA property to the ports of Morrow and Umatilla also raised the question of whether the CDA would re- ceive the funds or whether they would go to the POM. According to Port staff, the transfer agreement in- cluded the ability to with- draw 100 acres that the CDA could sell and use the funding from. “The spirit of this would be that the Port of Morrow leans into helping us get this done so we have a way of paying our bills,” added Puzey. “We have a resource that you have granted to help us with At the same time, under the 2022 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) agree- ment the CDA has with the federal government, nearly all income within a sev- en-year timeframe must be reinvested in the property. CDA Director Greg Smith told the board that accepted uses included infrastructure like roads, sanitation and utilities, as well as police and fire facili- ties, building rehabilitation, landscaping and marketing, among others. There was some dis- agreement on the board as to whether administration and legal could be included in that list. Smith told the board that the sale of land to cover the budget shortfall left by the loss of the grant was in line with the OLDCC’s original intent. Finally, a Port of Mor- row request that all five CDA members equally share costs also met with a chilly reception. POM Chief Financial Officer Eileen Hendricks told the CDA board that the Port would be able to request grant reimbursement for July 1, 2024, through Feb. 21, 2025. The total grant-re- lated expenses for that time were $583,786, she said, and they would request $402,203 from the OLDCC after deducting costs like disputed payroll and grant matches. “Regardless, we have put out $583,000 since July 1 that should have been the five parties’ responsibility and have not received reim- bursement for any of those dollars—and for some en- tities, longer than that,” she said. POM has also paid for expenses such as legal costs, paving and payroll since Feb. 21, with no fed- eral reimbursement expect- ed for those expenditures. Tovey said he could not bind the CTUIR board to additional funds without express consent from the CTUIR board of trustees. Schafer, meanwhile, said the current language in the CDA’s intergovern- mental agreement was to protect the CDA members from personal liability, and he felt the idea of equal sharing of costs required a unanimous amendment to the IGA. The topic was set aside, but not before Shafer told Puzey that the request “flies 100 percent in the face” of a possible agreement regard- ing the lawsuit. “And I hope you vote no on this,” he said, “Be- cause this would complete- ly blow all of the work that we’ve done out of the water.” Pastors invited to submit Easter messages Area pastors are invit- ed to submit Easter mes- sages to the Heppner Ga- zette-Times for publication in the April 16 edition. The deadline for submission is 5 p.m. Monday, April 14. Messages may be emailed to editor@rapid- serve.net, mailed to Ga- zette-Times at P.O. Box 337, Heppner, OR 97836, uploaded to the website Heppner.net or brought into the Gazette-Times office, 177 N. Main in Heppner. Lunch & Dinner Menu 4/10 - 4/16 Thursday - Monte Cristo with hashbrown patties Friday - 2pc of cod with clam chowder Saturday - pepperoni quesadilla with chicken tortilla soup Sunday - closed Monday - General Tso chicken, fried rice, egg roll Tuesday - Italian Sub sandwich with jojos Tuesday Night - 6-9pm $2 hard shell tacos Wednesday - grill chicken Philly with deep fried chips
