WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Scammers meet their match in small town
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
When the contents of a package are listed as 'cake in
foil,' something is amiss.
Someone tried to mail that package at Postal Con-
nections in Stayton, but one of the employees thought
it sounded strange and alerted owner Sue Harteloo.
After witnessing the rise in scams during the CO-
VID-19 pandemic, Harteloo contacted the Stayton Po-
lice Department to investigate the package.
They found a stack of $100 bills inside.
It was one of three incidents of fraud Harteloo and
her staff identified and reported to Stayton Police in
July, and the department was able to recover $22,000
in cash and return it to those who had been scammed.
“Any amount of money like that is a big hit for any of
us,” Stayton Police Chief David Frisendahl said. “Hav-
ing fellow community members that are looking out
for your best interest is a great thing.”
Scammers have grown aggressive in the past few
months, and people have been vulnerable enough to
fall for them.
“As much as you try and warn some people, they
don’t want to hear that maybe they’ve been suckered
into a situation that’s not quite right,” Harteloo said.
“They’re neighbors and friends who have supported
us over the years and I don’t want to offend anybody,
but I don’t want to hurt anybody either.”
Harteloo said she took the actions to protect her
customers; Stayton Police awarded Harteloo a certif-
icate of appreciation for her efforts.
Helping protect her community
Harteloo and husband, Don, have lived in Stayton
since 1989. They purchased the Postal Connections
See FRAUD, Page 2A
Postal Connections of Stayton owner Sue Harteloo
(second from right) holds the certificate of
appreciation she received from the Stayton Police
Department after preventing $22,000 in fraud from
occurring. BILL POEHLER/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Can theaters
reel customers
back in?
Salem cinemas reopening;
whether people show up in doubt
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Bob's Drive-In opened in the summer of 1955 at 1415 Capitol St. NE. It was the flagship restaurant of a
beloved regional chain built by Bob Corey. SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
Founder of Bob's
Burgers turns 100
Capi Lynn
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Bob Corey is living proof that cheeseburgers may
not be so bad for your health.
He had one for lunch practically every day for 35
years while building a regional chain of hamburger
restaurants bearing his name.
"I have some good genes and good doctors," said
Corey, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Friday,
Aug. 28.
His mother lived to be 99, and his only sibling, a
brother, is 94 and lives in Palm Desert, California.
Corey is a legend in these parts, the man who
brought the drive-in to Salem. His first restaurant
opened in the summer of 1955, the same year Ray Kroc
opened his first McDonald's franchise in Illinois and
eight years before the golden arches would come to
Oregon's capital city.
If you grew up around here, you're sure to remem-
ber Bob's Hamburgers, famous for its 19-cent burgers
and secret sauce. If you're new to the area, we're not
talking about the TV cartoon.
The name was tweaked over the years, from Bob's
Drive-In on Day 1 to Bob's Burger Express when Corey
sold the company 30 years ago. Most of us simply re-
fer to the homespun phenomenon as Bob's.
At its peak, there were 17 restaurants. Ten cities
had Bob's locations at one time, stretching as far
Bob Corey, reminiscing about the regional burger
chain he founded in 1955, at his South Salem home
on Wednesday, Aug. 26 two days before his 100th
birthday. CAPI LYNN / STATESMAN JOURNAL
south as Medford.
Salem had seven.
Corey, whose memory is something to marvel, can
just about reel off the entire list in the order that they
opened.
"I was just a Depression kid," he reminisced during
a visit this past week at his South Salem home.
"Things worked out very well."
See BOB’S, Page 3A
Governor eyes more inmate releases due to virus
Whitney Woodworth
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
With 811 coronavirus cases among Oregon prison
staff and inmates, Gov. Kate Brown is considering an-
other round of commutations to protect medically
vulnerable inmates and those nearing their release
dates.
In a letter to corrections Director Colette Peter sent
Tuesday, Brown requested a list of inmates who are
medically vulnerable or within two months of their
release.
Brown stressed she would not release any inmates
who would present a risk to public safety.
She said she would commute the re-
mainder of the inmates’ sentences pur-
suant to her authority as governor.
The request comes after Brown or-
dered the release of 57 medically vul-
nerable inmates in June.
She previously panned a “mass re-
Brown
lease” in April after receiving a list of
2,836 inmates meeting various criteria outlined by
the Department of Corrections, including those over
60, medically vulnerable or with less than 12 months
left in their sentence.
But she said she would continue to consider re-
See GOVERNOR, Page 2A
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When the Star Cinema in Stayton reopened July 3,
owner Jeff Mexico took every precaution to keep cus-
tomers safe and comfortable while watching movies
during a global pandemic.
He invested in a new ticketing system and reduced
capacity so groups of patrons would remain separat-
ed, upgraded the air filtration system and added staff
to disinfect the seats and the rest of the facility be-
tween shows.
For an independent theater owner, it required a
significant investment, but Mexico hoped it would be
recouped as people whod been trapped in their
homes for months would want to venture out to be
entertained, even for movies they’ve seen like
“Grease” and “The Empire Strikes Back.”
Where the Star Cinema and Dallas Cinema, also
owned by Mexico, would typically draw 100 to 200
people for every showing of blockbuster summer
movies like “Avengers: Endgame“, he has been draw-
ing six to 28 people per showing.
With Regal Cinemas reopening its three Salem
multiplex theaters – Willamette Town Center, San-
tiam and Cinnebarre Movieland – Friday and new
movies being released by Hollywood studios for the
first time in six months, the appetite for entertain-
ment and people’s willingness to sit in enclosed
spaces around strangers for long periods of time will
be tested.
“The public is not yet ready to go out into an audi-
torium or a mass gathering situation as long as CO-
VID is still out there,” said Stu Rasmussen, co-owner
of Silverton’s Palace Theatre, which has yet to re-
open.
“We’ve taken a wait and see approach. We’re very
cautious about that.”
Movies not a draw during a pandemic
Most theaters in Oregon closed in early March –
even before Gov. Kate Brown’s executive order that
required them to – as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the
state.
Many theaters have struggled in recent years as
people streamed movies at home, and the pandemic
accelerated that trend as Hollywood studios released
new movies solely digitally, such as the “King of Stat-
en Island.”
“People have got accustomed to watching movies
on their telephones because you can stream Netflix
on your phone,” Rasmussen said. “I have heard peo-
ple say, ‘I’m going to watch that one on the big screen.’
What that means is they’ll watch it on their tablet.
“It’s tough for theaters without COVID.”
While some businesses like restaurants and bars
have slowly been allowed to reopen early in the sum-
mer, movie theaters were not allowed to reopen until
their counties reached phase 2, which Marion and
Polk counties did June 19.
Only a handful of independent theaters reopened
– such as Independence Cinema and Salem’s North-
ern Lights Theater Pub – and their results haven’t
been promising.
Salem Cinema owner Loretta Miles said she sur-
veyed her regular customers and about 10% said they
would return immediately.
“What that does is it tells me the majority of my
audience is going to be moving more cautiously,”
Miles said.
She pointed to an industry survey that showed
theaters that have reopened have had about 20% of
their normal ticket sales and concessions sales have
dropped to 10% of normal.
Meanwhile, the few remaining drive-in theaters,
such as Newberg’s 99W Drive-In, have played to
large audiences this summer.
“I used to own the drive-in in Dallas, and I wish I
still had that going,” Mexico said.
Some theaters in the AMC, Regal, Cinemark and
Marcus chains reopened last week for the first time
See THEATERS, Page 2A