SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 31
SECTION A
JULY 3, 2015
$1.00
Verboort’s mom gives thanks
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Kathy Verboort continues
to be blown away by the love
being shown to her son.
Son Austin, 16, was criti-
cally injured in a two-vehicle
accident May 22. Austin’s Jeep
Wrangler crumpled after be-
ing hit on the driver's side,
leaving the McNary High
School junior in a coma.
Immediately family, friends,
businesses
and
strangers
pitched in to help in anyway
possible. A one-day fund-
raiser at Dutch Bros. Coffee
in Keizer on June 3 raised
$20,900 while a gofundme.
com account has raised near-
ly $24,000 from almost 300
people.
Through it all, Austin has
continued to improve. He was
moved to Randall’s Children’s
Hospital at Legacy Emanuel
in early June. An update from
June 25 noted Austin had risen
to a level 6 (out of 8) on the
Rancho coma scale and fam-
ily members heard his voice
on June 23 for the fi rst time
since the accident.
On June 26, Kathy picked
up a check from Dutch Bros.
and thanked the employees for
giving all proceeds from June
3 to the Verboort family. The
family is friends with several
employees there, plus employ-
ees from other locations came
to help out that day.
An emotional Kathy read
the note she sent to the Ore-
gon-based company.
“On behalf of Austin Ver-
boort and our family we
thank all the employes who
sacrifi ced an entire day of
wages and tips, knowing many
of you have your own fi nan-
cial struggles, and (those who)
traveled from out of town to
help,” she said.
Happy 4th
of July!
Please see THANKS, Page A6
Stories
We Like
Saluting the people that make
us proud of our community
capitolauto.com
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Kathy Verboort (far left) thanked Keizer Dutch Bros. Coffee
employees Danny Custer, Courtney Brute and Hayley Cole for
the $20,900 raised on June 3 for her injured son, Austin.
1924 – 2015
Dancing with
special needs
‘He will
be missed’
PAGE A9
Submitted
Jerry Bowerly, Paul Morgan and Ed Bietshek, three Keizer-area veterans, all ended up on the
same Honor Flight in May that took them to visit the nation's war memorials.
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Eric A. Howald
Don Conat, shown in 2012, served in World War II and later had
a big role in Make-A-Wish Oregon. He passed on June 20.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
He lived quite the life, that
Don Conat.
Keizer’s Conat served in
the U.S. Navy during World
War II.
Later, he served as a Major
League Baseball umpire, most
notably kicking Chicago Cubs
manager Lou Pinella out of a
game once, earning a mention
in Sports Illustrated.
On top of that, he was a
key volunteer for the Make-
A-Wish Foundation.
Conat passed away on June
20 at the age of 92. His funeral
was held June 26 at Faith Lu-
theran Church. In accordance
with Conat’s will, pall bearers
included Keizer police chief
John Teague and fi re chief Jeff
Cowan. A reception followed
at McNary Estates Golf Club.
“Don was one of the fi nest,
if not the fi nest, guy I met in
Keizer,” said longtime friend
and fi nancial advisor Ted An-
agnos. “He’s at the top of the
list. He never wanted to take
credit for anything. He was
involved with a lot of good
things.”
Anagnos met Conat shortly
after moving to town more
Please see CONAT, Page A3
It’s getting there...
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Hayden Sader, Morgan Thatcher, Habacuc Reyes and Blake
Norton (front to back) work on the turf fi eld project at
McNary High School this week.
BY ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
This July 4, four U.S.
Armed Forces veterans with
Keizer ties are feeling espe-
cially patriotic.
The quartet – Jerry Bower-
ly (Navy), Alfred Bochsler (Air
Force), Paul Morgan (Navy)
and Ed Bietshek (Air Force) –
took part in an Honor Flight
of Oregon allowing them to
visit numerous memorials and
museums in Washington D.C.
in late May. The trips are de-
signed specifi cally for World
War II veterans to visit the na-
tional war monuments.
Bowerly, Morgan and Biet-
shek were interviewed about
the experience two weeks ago.
“We were strangers in the
beginning and we were all
buddies by the time we came
back. The esprit de corps was
almost immediate,” said Mor-
gan, 89.
For Bowerly, it was the
WWII memorial itself that
left the biggest impression.
“There are so many parts
that represent so many things
about the war. On the Wall
of Gold, there’s 448 stars and
they all represent 100 men
who died. It’s stunning and
it’s all handmade,” Bowerly, 95,
said.
Each of the men performed
very different roles in service
of the country. Bietshek had
wanted to join the Navy for
much of his teenage years. But
when he went to enlist, in ear-
ly 1942, color blindness kept
him out of the loop. He turned
18 in October that year and
was drafted by Christmas. Still
intent on joining the Navy,
Bietshek went to Ft. Lewis in
Washington to complete basic
training and a slate of exams,
then headed south on a train
expecting to end up with or-
ders to report for a ship. He
woke up in Fresno as a mem-
ber of the Army Air Force.
“I had a buddy who had
done some fl ying and I could
understand how he had been
pulled into the Air Force, but
I went up to the old sergeant
and asked him how in the hell
I ended up there,” Bietshek,
91, said. “I had gotten 100 on
the code test and they had sent
me to radio school.”
Bietshek had never fl own
before in his life, but soon
found
himself
handling
Celtic
strongman
PAGE A10
Please see HONOR, Page A6
Gray and blue battle anew
It’s the silver anniversary of
the Civil War.
The Civil War reenact-
ments, that is.
This 4 th of July week-
end once again means the
Northwest Civil War Coun-
cil’s (NCWC) reenactment
at Willamette Mission State
Park, just north of Keizer. The
holiday falls perfectly this year,
as the three-day event starts
Friday, July 3 and concludes
on Sunday, July 5.
Approximately 1,000 reen-
actors are expected to be on
hand for the 25 th anniversary
event, demonstrating the liv-
ing and fi ghting conditions
from the early 1860s. Admis-
sion is $8 for adults, $5 for
seniors 55+ and for students,
while children under the age
of 6 are admitted for free. The
admission prices are in addi-
tion to the $5 day-use park
fee.
Events begin at 9 a.m. each
day and conclude at 6 p.m.
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Dee Moore
A cannon is fi red during last year's Civil War reenactment.
Each day starts with battal-
ion dress parades, with a Civil
War-era church service on
Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
Each day features a cavalry
drill at 10:30 a.m. Morning
battles take place at 11 each
morning, followed by an ar-
tillery demonstration at noon.
Various demonstrations and
educational talks take place af-
ter that, including a talk about
fl ags of the Civil War on Fri-
day and Saturday.
One of the annual high-
lights takes place Saturday at 1
p.m. as Abraham Lincoln, once
again portrayed by Stephen
Holgate, gives a presidential
press conference. Holgate has
been referred to as the top
Lincoln impersonator in the
country.
Afternoon battles take
place each day at 3 p.m. For
a complete weekend schedule,
visit http://nwcwc.org/willa-
mette.html.
Volcano
game recaps
PAGE A11
We see what’s on the inside
So you get back in the game
1165 Union St. NE #100 – Salem
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