SMCSM receives $9k from
Wildhorse Foundation to
support local veterans
50¢
VOL. 145 NO.20 8 Pages
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Search underway for health district CEO
Mahoney Resigns as COO/CFO following Emily Roberts’s Departure
Nicole Mahoney
By Andrea Di Salvo
Hard on the heels of
CEO Emily Roberts’s
resignation, the Morrow
County Health District has
confirmed that the board
accepted the resignation of
Chief Operating Officer/
Chief Financial Officer
Nicole Mahoney during a
special meeting May 7.
Meanwhile, recruit-
ment efforts for a new Mor-
row County Health District
CEO are underway, MCHD
Interim CEO Dennis Burke
reported at the health dis-
trict’s last board meeting.
The job description had
previously been approved
by the health district board,
but Burke presented an ad
for the CEO position, which
he said they would use as
a template to advertise the
position on job board sites
for CEOs.
“This is like an ad teas-
er,” said Burke.
The salary range for
the Chief Executive Offi-
cer position is $250,000
to $300,000 depending on
qualifications.
Among the qualifica-
tions for the position are
a master’s degree in in
business or hospital admin-
istration from an accred-
ited university or college,
and at least two years of
current hospital adminis-
trative CEO experience or
more than four years in ru-
ral, critical access hospital
“C-Suite” experience.
Burke asked for the
board’s approval for the
posting, recognizing that it
might have to be modified
slightly depending on the
requirements of each job
board. The board approved
the job posting unanimous-
ly.
Also at the April meet-
ing, the board approved
changes to the health dis-
trict bylaws, both under
board powers and respon-
sibilities and in the section
regarding meeting agendas.
In the section regarding
board powers and respon-
sibilities, the board voted
to add a section restricting
the board from non-public
areas in health district facil-
ities unless accompanied by
a member of the executive
team.
The purpose of the ad-
dition is to “prevent inad-
vertent disruptions to care
and to uphold the highest
standards of confidential-
ity and compliance within
patient care environments,”
according to the bylaws.
Burke said he didn’t
know if the change was
spurred by past experience
or the fear of something
happening in the future.
“Under the whole pri-
vacy philosophy, there is a
concept of ‘need to know,’”
he said, adding that, even
as CEO, there were limits
to what he needs to know
about patient care. “Patient
confidentiality is really a
very significant issue,” he
added.
MCHD Board Chair
Diane Kilkenny said the
point was to be more ex-
plicit about ensuring patient
confidentiality.
“Because those are ar-
eas of care where people
who are not in that care and
don’t need to know, don’t
need to know and don’t
need to be there,” she said.
Board vice chair Scott
Ezell questioned whether
that muddied the waters if
a board member went into
the hospital or clinic as a
patient, but the board con-
sensus was that the wording
only applied if board mem-
bers were acting in their
role on the board, not if they
were there as a patient.
While on the topic of
the bylaws, board member
Stephen Munkers pointed
out that the order of the
meeting agenda was listed
in the bylaws and that the
public comment section
was near the beginning.
The news seemed to
come as a surprise to the
board members, who re-
cently voted to move public
comment toward the end of
the health district meetings.
Kilkenny said she had
consulted with Burke, who
said having public comment
at the end was common.
Burke agreed but said
he had not been aware that
the MCHD board histori-
cally had public comment
at the beginning or that the
order of the agenda is in the
bylaws.
“Right now, it is the
first thing on the agenda,”
he added, referring to the
bylaws.
Burke also said he had
never seen any bylaws list
the agenda order.
The board voted unani-
mously to change the order
of the agenda in the bylaws,
including moving public
comment to the end of reg-
ular session to reflect recent
changes.
MCHD home health
and hospice director Lisa
Spencer gave an update on
hospice quality reporting.
She said Quality Perfor-
mance Improvements mea-
sure hospice visits, specifi-
cally registered nurse, RPN,
or social worker visits, in
the last two out of three
days of patients’ lives.
“With the large area we
serve,” said Spencer, “it’s
just difficult to meet the
state average.”
However, she said the
program averaged 62 per-
cent in the last year, well
above the goal of 50 per-
cent. Spencer credited much
of the improvement to the
change from a virtual to a
visiting social worker.
She also told the board
that hospice quality is mea-
sured threefold—an assess-
ment the hospice program
submits on a Hospice Item
Set measure, information
intake from claims, and
hospice survey results.
The Hospice Item Set
(HIS) is a standardized data
collection tool implement-
ed by Medicare to assess
the quality of care hospice
agencies provide. It consists
of several measures that
capture essential patient
information, symptom man-
agement, and overall patient
experience. Hospice agen-
cies routinely report these
measures to Medicare.
When asked what she
thought home health and
hospice needed to work on,
she said interdepartmental
relations is a priority.
Pioneer Memorial Hos-
pital provides general pa-
tient services and respite
care services for hospice
patents, while the hospice
program provides services
to the hospital’s skilled and
swing bed patients.
“Historically, that has
been challenging for all of
us and for all of the nursing
(staff) and those providing
care,” said Spencer. “It’s
our priority to restore and
build those relationships.”
She said she and PMH
Director of Nursing Ser-
vices Sheryl Angell, along
with others, are working
on restoring strong relation-
ships between departments.
Diane Kilkenny com-
mended Spencer on the
work of home health and
hospice.
“This program is a
-Continued to PAGE THREE
South Morrow County
Seniors Matter (SMCSM)
has received a $9,000 grant
from the Wildhorse Foun-
dation to enhance programs
and services for local vet-
erans. The funding will
support an additional year
of the monthly veterans’
lunch program, provide
opportunities for group ex-
cursions and allow for the
purchase of new flags and
flagpoles for the Veteran’s
Celebration at Heppner
High School.
These initiatives are de-
signed to strengthen com-
munity among local veter-
ans, offer meaningful social
engagement, and publicly
recognize and honor their
service. By promoting con-
nection and visibility, the
programs made possible by
this grant aim to improve
veterans’ overall well-being
and quality of life.
The Wildhorse Founda-
tion, the philanthropic arm
of the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Res-
ervation (CTUIR), provides
grant funding to eligible
nonprofit, government and
Tribal organizations within
the homeland area of the
Cayuse, Umatilla and Wal-
la Walla people. Funding
is also available to Tribal
government agencies, In-
dian charitable organiza-
tions based in Oregon, and
national or regional Indian
organizations.
Since its founding in
2001, the Foundation has
awarded more than $19
million in grant support
to community-based proj-
ects. Grants are awarded
quarterly, with application
deadlines on Jan. 1, April 1,
July 1, and Oct. 1. For more
information, visit www.
TheWildhorseFoundation.
com.
SMCSM serves the
older adults and veterans
of south Morrow County
through weekly and month-
ly lunches, as well as a
variety of programs and ac-
tivities designed to support
their health, connection and
overall well-being. Com-
munity members are invited
to learn more by visiting
www.smcseniorsmatter.org
or by attending the senior
lunch, held every Tuesday
at 11:30 a.m.
HHS drama to perform
Newsies next week
Heppner High School Drama Club will be presenting the Dis-
ney musical Newsies. Performances will be May 19, 20 and 22
at 7 p.m. at the Heppner High School cafetorium. Admission
is free but donations are gladly accepted. The musical is based
on the newsboys’ strike of 1899. Pictured front to back: Tucker
Friermood, Julian Sauceda, Haydn Palmer, Paisley Cutsforth,
Izzi Killibrew, Sofia Di Salvo, Jaiycee Cimmiyotti, Xavier
Sauceda, Tyler Rice, Lizzy Finch, Jude Smith, Rylee Palmer,
Jayden Rowlette, Aubrey Smith, Hannah Brannon, Samantha
Lamb, Hannah Smith, Moira Di Salvo, Avia Botefuhr. Not
pictured: Cohen and Kason Botefuhr. -Contributed photo
4-H gets a boost from
Heppner Masons
CDA votes to move forward with Boardman
Fire annexation
Map of CDA port industrial land into the Boardman Fire
Rescue District. -Contributed Image
By Andrea Di Salvo
The Columbia Devel-
opment Authority voted
earlier this month to pro-
ceed with annexation of
CDA port industrial land
into the Boardman Fire
Rescue District.
The move came during
a special meeting May 1,
in which the CDA board
voted to rescind a February
vote that stalled Board-
man Fire’s annexation of
the property. The board
had considered rescinding
the motion at its April 22
meeting, but a split vote
and one abstention halted
the process.
The February vote had
in turn rescinded a 2023
decision to have Morrow
County annex the proper-
ty into the Boardman fire
district.
However, CDA attor-
ney Elizabeth Howard told
the board that the February
motion opened the develop-
ment authority to litigation
from BFRD. Boardman
Fire and the CDA had a
2023 memorandum of un-
derstanding to annex the
CDA port industrial prop-
erty in Morrow County into
the Boardman fire district.
At the same time, there
was also an understanding
with Irrigon Rural Fire Pro-
tection District that IRFPD
would annex the CDA’s
exclusive farm use property
in Morrow County.
After listening to legal
counsel and reviewing the
video and minutes of the
initial 2023 decision, the
board voted 3-2 to rescind
the February 2025 decision
and move forward with
Boardman Fire’s annex-
ation of the port industrial
property and Irrigon Fire’s
annexation of the exclusive
farm use plots in Morrow
County.
J.D. Tovey, represent-
ing the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Res-
ervation, made the mo-
tion “under advice of legal
counsel” and voted for it,
along with Port of Umatilla
representative Kim Puzey
and Morrow County com-
missioner David Sykes.
Umatilla County com-
missioner John Shafer and
Port of Morrow represen-
tative Joe Taylor voted
against the decision. Shafer
said he voted against the
motion because he dis-
agreed with legal counsel’s
interpretation of the 2023
events.
The next regular meet-
ing of the CDA is sched-
uled for May 20.
Heppner Masonic Lodge #69 presents a check for $1,000 to
the Morrow County 4-H program in support of its ongoing
programs. Front row (L- R) Dyson Piel, Kimberlie Piel, Jade
Piel, Elly Philpott, Elsie Rambo, Lorelei Applebee, Eloise
Rolan, Phoebe Applebee. Middle row (L- R) Adam Gibson,
Claire Gibson, Mataya Philpott, Parker Rolan. Top Row: (L-
R) Wyatt Piel, Cody High, Herman Winter, Annie Philpott,
Merlin Hughes and Chris Sykes.-Contributed photo
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information