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)
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