During its regular meeting on May 2, the Harney County Court adopted Resolution 2018-07 in the matter of opposing Initiative Petition 43 (IP43) and Reporting Initiative 44 (RP44).

Harney County Judge Pete Runnels stated that there is a petition going around to put “some really restrictive gun measures” on the November ballot.

“This county stands opposed basically, so we want to put that in the resolution so other counties see it,” he said.

Resolution 2018-07 states that the initiative petition is “written in a way that will make law-abiding citizens felons overnight with only 120 days to report and/or surrender guns.”

The resolution goes on to state that Oregon already has numerous gun control laws in place that, if fully enforced, would achieve the same goals that are proposed in the petition.

“This petition will become another unfunded mandate, left to the Oregon State Police and possibly counties to enforce and uphold where budgets are already tight and staffing short,” the resolution adds.

Resolution 2018-07 also quotes the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that, “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed,” and Article 1, Section 27 of the Oregon Constitution which states, “The people shall have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves, and the state, but the military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power.”

Runnels noted that those in favor of IP43 and RP44  have yet to collect the signatures needed to get the initiatives on the ballot.

“Regardless, we figured we still want to get the word out [about] how we stand,” he said.

Harney County Commissioner Mark Owens said, “I looked at my firearms at home, and over 50 percent of them would have to be either registered or turned in. We’re talking like a child’s .22 that has more than a 10-round clip. We’re talking a lot more than the definition of what they consider an assault riffle.”

Harney County Commissioner Patty Dorroh said, “I believe nothing should undermine the Constitution of the United States, that federal and state laws that move in that direction undermine trust in our governments at a basic and foundational level, and I’m against infringing on county residents’ rights to keep and bear arms period.”

“This is the first step for the county,” Runnels said regarding Resolution 2018-07. “I think we’ll be the first county to do this. Hopefully, others will follow.”

Kim Rollins and Paul Hyland thanked and commended the court.

•••

Harney County Home Health and Hospice Director Jodi McLean attended the meeting to provide an update.

She began by discussing efforts to recruit registered nurses (RNs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs).

“We get a lot of applicants, but they don’t actually have CNA licenses or RN licenses, even though we post for that,” she said.

However, she noted that a full-time CNA position was recently filled.

McLean said there are currently 34 hospice patients and 28 home health patients.

“Normally we have about 23 hospice patients per fiscal year, and we’re already up to 34, and we still have two months, so that’s quite a lot,” she said.

McLean also discussed parking issues and remodeling the building to expand desk space for employees.

“The remodel is actually an addition that we’re looking at,” Runnels said. “It’s needed. We had an estimate to the budget board. It was higher than we all expected. It wasn’t a bid. It was just a ballpark figure so we can at least put it in our budgeting process, so we hope to be able to move forward with that.”

McLean also reported that Harney County Home Health and Hospice would like to start foot, ear, and wound clinics and provide testosterone injections.

After talking to the organization’s director, McLean learned that Blue Mountain Home Health and Hospice in John Day currently makes about $57,000 by providing those services.

Runnels said that, as far as he knows, Harney County Home Health and Hospice is the last county-run home health and hospice agency, adding that, “It’s not a break-even  business.”

He said, “We lose money on it each year. That’s one reason that she’s looked into the additional services we could offer for minimal time and a good return to try to narrow that gap. Our partners in care were consulted about what they wanted us to take over.”

McLean also discussed employee training, educating the community about Home Health and Hospice’s services, and legislation.

“Kudos to you and all your employees because it’s a tough job,” Runnels told McLean, adding that Harney County Home Health and Hospice is “one of the best programs the county offers.”

•••

In other business, the court:

• met Lindsay Davies, the new National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) coordinator for the Burns Bureau of Land Management;

• briefly discussed the Malheur Lakes Redband Trout Conservation Plan.

Owens reported that the plan won’t be going forward to the commission in June, and he thanked the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) for postponing it.

“ODFW decided that it’s in the best interest of all of us to have ample time to comment and adjust that before they try to take it to the commission,” he said;

• postponed signing the bargain and sale deed transferring property from Harney County to Travis and Kelly Singhose until after the vesting is clarified;

• appointed Forrest Keady to the Eastern Oregon Workforce Board.

“I’m glad to see his application,” Dorroh said. “I think he’d be a great addition;”

• approved Ordinance 2018-82 in the matter of establishing Harney County’s uniform fee schedule.

“As you know, we’ll probably see this ordinance appear a lot. It was our idea to make sure all the departments are on the same fee schedule all the time, so that the most current fee schedule ordinance is the one everyone’s using,” Harney County Clerk Derrin (Dag) Robinson explained. “I think the only change in this proposed ordinance is updating the recording fee schedule that was changed by the legislature in the last session;”

• approved Fund Exchange Agreement 32789.

Harney County Roads Supervisor Eric Drushella explained that the agreement allows federal funds to be filtered through the state of Oregon, removing the costly restrictions of federal guidelines without sacrificing safety.

“We do it annually. It’s a neat program. It’s been in place ever since I’ve been here,” he said;

• reviewed water use requests;

• received correspondence from the Malheur National Forest regarding the ECC timber sale;

• was addressed by Mitzi Defenbaugh regarding an increase in crime and “outside influences” that are impacting the county;

• discussed the rural meeting that was held in Fields April 30.

Dorroh said she received positive feedback regarding Veterans Service Officer Guy McKay’s outreach in the area.

“They are very pleased and very grateful and thankful for the outstanding veterans service office outreach that Guy McKay does,” Dorroh said. “It’s a two hour drive into town, and that outreach is very important;”

• will hold a rural meeting in Riley Wednesday, May 16 at 5:30 p.m.;

• will hold a budget hearing Thursday, May 17, at 10 a.m. An additional hearing might be held May 24;

• learned from Dorroh that the Harney County Wolf Advisory Committee will meet Tuesday, June 5, at 6 p.m. in Runnels’ office at the courthouse.

The next meeting of the Harney County Court will be held Wednesday, May 16, at 10 a.m. in Runnels’ office at the courthouse.