Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 2025)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, May 28, 2025 -- SEVEN Morrow County voters overhaul Health District board -Continued from PAGE ONE ins (0.16 percent, 4 votes). its educational benefits, re- A major issue was the ambulance service conflict with Morrow County, re- solved through a five-year contract signed in August 2024, enabling MCHD to resume operations in the Northeast and Southern Ambulance Service Areas in September and October, respectively. This agree- ment also allowed Board- man Fire Rescue District to separate from MCHD, operating ambulance ser- vices independently. Community frustra- tion also surfaced in recent public meetings, where employees, former employ- ees, travel nurses and resi- dents criticized perceived declines in care quality, worsened by percieved high turnover of primary care physicians and nurses. In August 2024, the Oregon Nurses Association report- ed that nurses and technical staff at Pioneer Memorial Hospital were unionizing due to low staffing and inconsistent disciplinary policies. MCHD facing lawsuit. May 2, 2025, paramed- ic Samantha Ward filed a $1.5 million federal lawsuit against MCHD and former CEO Emily Roberts, alleg- ing retaliatory termination. Leadership transitions added to the challenges. CEO Emily Roberts re- signed on March 31, 2025, citing personal priorities and community backlash, including anonymous post- ers in Heppner accusing her of power abuse and finan- cial mismanagement. COO/ CFO Nicole Mahoney also resigned, marking a sig- nificant leadership shift. Following Roberts’ resig- nation, MCHD appointed Dennis Burke as interim CEO to ensure a smooth transition. The election of new board members and the appointment of an interim CEO may offer MCHD an opportunity to address community concerns. For Position 1, Annetta L. Spicer secured a decisive victory with 62.89 percent (1,537 votes) against Scott Ezell’s 36.87 percent (901 votes), with write-ins gar- nering a negligible 0.25 percent (6 votes). Position 2, Russel Nichols won with 56.70 percent (1,442 votes), outpacing Molly F. Rhea (31.38 percent, 798 votes), Diane Kilkenny (11.76 per- cent, 299 votes), and write- Notably, Kilkenny was not an active candidate, having attempted to withdraw her candidacy but missing the deadline to remove her name from the ballot, re- sulting in votes cast for her despite no campaign efforts. Janet Greenup won Po- sition 3 with 65.63 percent (1,623 votes), defeating Donna Rietmann’s 33.89 percent (838 votes), while write-ins took 0.49 percent (12 votes). For Position 4, Jason Hanna won with 56.60 percent (1,406 votes), over- coming Laura Torres (24.76 percent, 615 votes) and Raymond Seastone (18.24 percent, 453 votes), with write-ins at 0.40 percent (10 votes). These results indicate a strong voter man- date for new direction in healthcare governance. Port of Morrow: Staying the course In contrast, the Port of Morrow Commission- er races showed voters’ preference for maintaining the current trajectory of economic and industrial leadership. Rick Stokoe won Po- sition 1 with 47.11 percent (1,117 votes), fending off J. Fletcher Hobbs (29.82 per- cent, 707 votes) and Heath- er Bishop (22.73 percent, 539 votes), with write-ins at 0.34 percent (8 votes). Danny Kerns secured Position 2 with a command- ing 65.75 percent (1,499 votes) against Raymond Seastone’s 33.82 percent (771 votes), with write-ins at 0.44 percent (10 votes). Joel R. Peterson clinched Position 3 with 58.98 percent (1,455 votes), defeating Abe McNamee’s 40.78 percent (1,006 votes), with write-ins at 0.24 per- cent (6 votes). These out- comes suggest confidence in the port’s existing lead- ership and policies. Morrow County School District Bond: A divided county The Morrow County School District No. 1 Bond (Measure 25-104), aimed at remodeling and replacing schools while improving safety and addressing struc- tural deficiencies, passed by a razor-thin margin of 50.25 percent (1,225 votes) to 49.75 percent (1,213 votes), a mere 12-vote dif- ference. This near 50/50 split underscores deep com- munity divisions over the $204,400,000 bond’s fi- nancial implications versus flecting a cautious approach to large-scale investments. Other Notable Races The Morrow County School District No. 1 Di- rector elections saw mini- mal competition, with Erin Anderson (Position 2, 99.25 percent, 1,865 votes), Ash- ley Lindsay (Position 6, 99.20 percent, 1,861 votes) and Rosa Delgado (Position 7, 99.19 percent, 1,722 votes) winning handily against write-in candidates. The Ione School Dis- trict No. 2 races were slight- ly more contested, with Lea Mathieu (Position 1, 92.89 percent, 196 votes), Adam Collin (Position 3, 97.83 percent, 225 votes), Ed- mund Rietmann (Position 4, 59.20 percent, 148 votes), and Sami Peterson (Posi- tion 5, 69.80 percent, 171 votes) securing victories. Fire and rescue districts also saw strong voter pref- erences. In Boardman Fire and Rescue, Lisa Pratt (31.31 percent, 402 votes), Mi- chael Sowa (27.65 percent, 355 votes), and James Rat- zlaff (22.04 percent, 283 votes) won at-large posi- tions. Heppner Rural Fire Protection District elected Eric M. Orem (36.71 per- cent, 254 votes), Brian S. Thompson (31.94 percent, 221 votes) and Michael P. Mahoney (30.78 percent, 213 votes). Ione Rural Fire Protec- tion chose Jason Proudfoot (35.49 percent, 252 votes), Tim Holtz (33.24 percent, 236 votes) and Joel R. Pe- terson (30.85 percent, 219 votes). Irrigon Rural Fire Pro- tection District’s races saw Tom Arbuckle (Position 1, 64.26 percent, 356 votes), Robert Vandecar (Posi- tion 3, 64.60 percent, 376 votes), Scott Ezell (Position 4, 98.40 percent, 492 votes) and Paul Martin (Position 5, 56.65 percent, 277 votes) prevail. Conclusion The May 20, 2025, Morrow County special election highlighted a coun- ty balancing change and continuity. Voters reshaped the health district with new faces, reaffirmed trust in the Port of Morrow’s direction, and narrowly approved a significant school bond, reflecting both optimism and caution. Precinct Breakdown (Unofficial Election Night Results) Boardman (Total Ballots: 723) Port of Morrow Commis- sioner Position 1: Rick Stokoe (373), J. Fletcher Hobbs (177), Heather Bishop (108), Write-in (1), Over Votes (6), Under Votes (58) Position 2: Danny Kerns (473), Raymond Seastone (142), Write-in (1), Over Votes (2), Under Votes (105) Position 3: Joel R. Peter- son (326), Abe McNamee (289), Write-in (1), Over Votes (3), Under Votes (104) Morrow County Health District Position 1: Annetta L. Spicer (396), Scott Ezell (206), Write-in (3), Under Votes (118) Position 2: Russel Nichols (305), Diane Kilkenny (147), Molly F. Rhea (146), Write-in (4), Over Votes (5), Under Votes (116) Position 3: Janet Greenup (330), Donna Rietmann (239), Write-in (5), Under Votes (149) Position 4: Jason Hanna (255), Laura Torres (233), Raymond Seastone (102), Write-in (4), Over Votes (5), Under Votes (124) Measure 25-104: Yes (353), No (343), Under Votes (27) Heppner (Total Ballots: 857) Port of Morrow Commis- sioner Position 1: Rick Stokoe (307), J. Fletcher Hobbs (204), Heather Bishop (162), Write-in (5), Under Votes (179) Position 2: Danny Kerns (406), Raymond Seastone (243), Write-in (8), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (199) Position 3: Joel R. Peter- son (562), Abe McNamee (177), Write-in (5), Under Votes (113) Morrow County Health District Position 1: Annetta L. Spicer (586), Scott Ezell (195), Write-in (4), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (71) Position 2: Russel Nich- ols (609), Molly F. Rhea (221), Diane Kilkenny (16), Under Votes (10) Position 3: Janet Greenup (680), Donna Rietmann (144), Write-in (4), Under Votes (29) Position 4: Jason Hanna (617), Laura Torres (120), Raymond Seastone (72), Write-in (6), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (41) Ione (Total Ballots: 262) Port of Morrow Commis- sioner Position 1: Rick Stokoe (105), Heather Bishop (54), J. Fletcher Hobbs (51), Over Votes (1), Un- der Votes (51) Position 2: Danny Kerns (141), Raymond Seastone (76), Under Votes (45) Position 3: Joel R. Peter- son (183), Abe McNamee (70), Under Votes (9) Morrow County Health District Position 1: Annetta L. Spicer (138), Scott Ezell (92), Write-in (1), Under Votes (31) Position 2: Russel Nichols (153), Molly F. Rhea (97), Diane Kilkenny (9), Under Votes (3) Position 3: Janet Greenup (148), Donna Rietmann (104), Write-in (2), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (7) Position 4: Jason Hanna (161), Laura Torres (59), Raymond Seastone (25), Under Votes (17) Irrigon (Total Ballots: 711) Port of Morrow Commis- sioner Position 1: Rick Stokoe (235), J. Fletcher Hobbs (205), Heather Bishop (173), Write-in (1), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (96) Position 2: Danny Kerns (328), Raymond Seastone (261), Write-in (1), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (120) Position 3: Abe McNamee (408), Joel R. Peterson (202), Under Votes (101) Morrow County Health District Position 1: Scott Ezell (341), Annetta L. Spicer (252), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (117) Position 2: Molly F. Rhea (253), Russel Nichols (205), Diane Kilkenny (115), Under Votes (138) Position 3: Donna Riet- mann (293), Janet Gree- nup (267), Write-in (1), Under Votes (150) Position 4: Raymond Sea- stone (226), Jason Hanna (185), Laura Torres (163), Under Votes (137) Measure 25-104: Yes (330), No (362), Under Votes (19) Lexington (Total Ballots: 269) Port of Morrow Commis- sioner Position 1: Rick Stokoe (97), J. Fletcher Hobbs (70), Heather Bishop (42), Write-in (1), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (58) Position 2: Danny Kerns (151), Raymond Seastone (49), Under Votes (69) Position 3: Joel R. Peter- son (182), Abe McNamee (62), Under Votes (25) Morrow County Health District Position 1: Annetta L. Spicer (165), Scott Ezell (67), Under Votes (37) Position 2: Russel Nichols (170), Molly F. Rhea (81), Diane Kilkenny (12), Over Votes (1), Under Votes (5) Position 3: Janet Greenup (198), Donna Rietmann (58), Over Votes (1), Un- der Votes (12) Position 4: Jason Hanna (188), Laura Torres (40), Raymond Seastone (28), Under Votes (13) Measure 25-104: Yes (119), No (127), Under Votes (18) WWW.HEPPNER.NET Submit News, Advertising & Announcements Letters To The Editor Send Us Photos Start A New Subscription Ione High School Class of 2025 Ariona Looney Brayden McNeil Kyle McGill Michael McElligott GRADUATION: Friday, June 6, at 7 p.m Ione School Gymnasium COngrAtuLAtiOnS CLASS OF 2025! Victoria De La Torre BACCALAURATE Wednesday, June 4, 6pm Ione Community Church Ione Senior Class Motto: “2025 We made it out alive.”
