Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1983)
VOL. 101 NO. 3 Jury deliberates 30 min. to convict Irrigon man An Irrigon man was found guilty on nine felony charges in Morrow County Circuit Court by an 11 man one woman jury last Thursday after 30 minutes of deliber ation. Brian David Katz, 33, also known as Ronald Glen Kort bouse, was found guilty on three counts of first degree kidnapping, two counts of first degree rape, two counts of first degree sodomy, one count of sexual penetration with a foreign object and one count of being an ex -convict in posses sion of a firearm. The charges stem from the September 3 abduction of a 23year-old Pendleton woman and two of her children, ages four and one. The courtroom was silent as the woman took the witness stand and related the series of incidents that began when she was forced at gun point to drive Katz from Pendleton to Irrigon. She testified that she and two of her children were waiting the evening of Sep tember 3 in their car in the parking lot of Buttrey Food Store, Pendleton, for her husband and other child to return from inside the store when Katz surprised her and forced her to drive him to his Irrigon residence where the assaults took place. She also told the jury that he had hit her and had threatened to shoot her and her children. She said he allowed her to leave at about 5 a m. the next day. Katz was arrested that af ternoon after a joint investi gation by officers from Pen dleton, the Umatilla County Sheriff's Department and Oregon State Police. Farm Stress Workshop to be held in Heppner February 7 A Farm Stress Workshop will be held Monday, Feb. 7, 7 to 10 p.m., at the Heppner High School cafeteria. The free workshop is being spon sored by the Morrow County Wheat Growers League and is open to the public. Farmers, ranchers and their families are especially encouraged to attend, said Mark Miller, county Wheat League presi dent. Keynote speaker will be Dr. Lee Insko of Eastern Oregon State College at LaGrande. He will discuss general issues of stress, health issues related to stress and stress related to farming. Those who attend will be asked to identify local sources of farm stress and ways of coping with it. "This is the first farm stress seminar of its kind to be held in Oregon, possibly the entire Northwest. There seems to be a lot of interest within other wheat growing counties in the state. The organizations (other county wheat league organizations) are watching how well this seminar is ac cepted because most of them are interested in putting on one themselves. We hope that all farmers and ranchers and THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, lM 1 Wit "MSt' o - Brian David Katz jhtelds face Umatilla County Deputy District Attorney Brenda Pe terson called 14 witnesses; public defender Wallace Terry of Hermiston did not call any and Katz did not take the stand on his own behalf. Peterson said all charges except the ex-convict in pos ession of a fire arm carry a maximum jail sentence of 20 years. The other charge their families will be able to attend." Miller said. Morrow County Mental Health Services w ill have per sonnel on hand to help with discussions in identifying stress and ways of coping with it locally, said Dr. Terry Tern- City council officials sworn in at lone lone City Council officials were sworn in at a meeting of the council on January 5, reported Dianna Starr, city recorder. Mayor Linda La Hue and councilmembers Bill Rietmann, Wavne Hams and Parent Day planned at lone School Jan. 26 lone Junior-Senior High School will hold a Parent Day on Wednesday, Jan. 26. Stu dents in grades seven through 12 will remain at home while parents attend a mini-schedule of classes in the morning, eat lunch in the cafeteria at noon, and have conferences with teachers in the afternoon, The Heppiieir Morrow County's Home - 8 PAGES ' ! ! j j while being led from courtroom carries a maximum jail sen tence of five years she said. Katz had previously served time in prison for unauthor ized use of a motor vehicle, she said. Peterson said that Judge Richard Courson had ordered a pre-sentence investigation and sentencing would be in about four to six weeks. pieman, program director. "I think that farm stress today affects the whole family and that's why we're inviting family members as well," said Templeman. Refreshments will be served. Harvey Childers began their new terms in office. In other business, the coun cil discussed a new sewage system for the city. No action was taken. said a school spokesperson. Elementary students will have regular classes that day. Individuals who do not have children attending school but would like to attend are wel come, the spokesperson said. For more information, call the school office at 422-7131. E(rr3r?rri,rrr imni Owned Weekly Newspaper 25- Many to get insurance break Dam will reduce flood plain, savs FEMA The Willow Creek Dam will substantially reduce construc tion restrictions and flood in surance requirements in the city of Heppner. a represen tataive of the Federal Emer gency Management Agency (FEMA) said this week. Speaking to the Heppner Morrow Chamber of Com merce. Chuck Steele of FEMA said he felt "upset" over reports that the dam would make no difference in Hep pner's flood plain. Steele said newly released maps from the Army Corps, of Engineers show that the flood plain in Heppner will shrink both in depth and size, taking some parts of town out of the plain entirely and greatly re Drama Class displays developing talents f Men Played Cards As Women Do' P10 by "Y Cwuto k MMiOliai """""' " fm i Still MB 'Cynthia' 'II 'The Wonderful Ice-Cream Suit' By JUSTINE WEATHERFORD The students in Jane Rawl ins' Drama Class at Heppner High School presented an evening of three one-act plays on January 11 and 13. These productions displayed the de veloping talents of the youth ful drama students who acted the parts and managed the staging as an exercise in their educational growth. The three productions began with a light, short comedy "If Men Played Cards As Women HEPPNER. OREGON ducing the depth of the plain all over town. The new flood plain will mean some property owners will no longer be required to carry flood insurance, and some others will see a drop in their rates. "The trick in this is getting a survey," Steele said. "You have to determine the eleva tion (of your building) and there's a chance you may not even need insurance." The survey would require a licensed surveyor or engineer coming in and "shooting" your property to determine its elevation in relation to the new flood plain, he added. Steele said he and Ron Barrett of the Corps., who also Do," written by George H. Kaufmann, in which Gregg Orr, Gary Riley, Dan Forten berry and Steve Curtis were the actors. They had the au dience captured with their funny satirization of a ladies bridge (or was it poker?) session but soon after the delightful mood was set the playlet ended. How short it was! The setting for this produc tion was arranged by Dave Florea and Carla Miles; Leah Cooper was the stage mana Weather by the City Chock Stede of FEMA points in flood plain. ger: Missy Turner handled the lights. . During. . the interlude be tween this short play and the second production, Heppner music instructor, Don Chris tensen. on his vibraphone, and his wife, Debbie, on the marimba, delighted listeners with two musical selections. Next, a "who-done-it" by Marlene Brenner, entitled "Cynthia." puzzled viewers. It featured five talented girl actresses: Lealh Cooper, Sandra Wattenburger, Carla -Miles, Merry DeSpain and Missy Turner, in a romantic murder built around an absent doctor, his bride-to-be and her ' best friend, housekeeper, a replacement office nurse and the devoted cousin of the doctor's murdered first wife. The crew for this exciting dramatic offering was stage manager Dan Fortenberry, prompter Greg Orr and the entire drama class was re sponsible for supervising the set. Following a 20-minute in termission, the longest effort of the evening "The Wonderful Ice-Cream Suit" by Ray Bradbury involved all the members of the drama class. This play had a little social message : it presented a short time in the lives of six, Los Angeles ghetto-dwelling, Mexican youths, when they found joy and understanding through sharing a single white suit. The action moved throu five scenes: streets in a L ghetto, a pool room, a tene ment room, Shumway's Suit Shop and the Red Rooster Cafe. The entire class, with assistance from Charlie Raw lins, took responsibility for the set. Carla Miles served as stage manager, Sandra Wat tenburger handled the lights. Merry DeSpain managed the sound and Missy Turner was prompter. The very able players in cluded: Steve Curtis, Dan Fortenberry, Greg Orr, Gary Riley, David Florea, Tom Hannan, Glenn Smith, Ken Curtis, Mardel James, Joanna Bown and walk-through extras Wes Marlatt, Annette Wilgers and Melanie Seitz. Each player did a very fine job. To me, the big plus of the evening was the learning that Hi Tues., Jan. 11 67 Wed., Jan. 12 67 Thurs.. Jan. 13 52 Fri.. Jan. 14 45 Sat.. Jan. 15 38 Sun.. Jan. 16 34 Mon Jan. 17 40 of Heppner out orea of Heppner no longer must be taking place by each mem tier of Mrs. Rawlins' Draf. a Class. Not only have they discussed "uYafna "gen erally, they have also now actually each taken responsi bility in producing a good evening of entertainment for their community. Several participants were involved with more than one of the productions. The printed program reveals that Dan Fortenberry, Greg Orr, Carla Miles and Missy Turner hap pened to be assigned respon sibilites in each of the three plays. v Y 1 Lexington Qty Council officials begin terms Two councilmembers, the city recorder and the mayor were sworn in at a Lexington City Council meeting on Jan uary 11. New councilmembers are Shirley McCarl and Cathie Pointer. Ed Baker began a new term as mayor, and Linda Jones another term as recor der. In other business, the coun cil: received a report from Gary Munkers concerning the possible installation of a warn Elks Hoop take place The Heppner and lone com petition for the llth annual Elks Hoop shoot, the national free throw shooting contest for youngsters age eight through 13, will be held at Heppner and lone on Saturday, Jan. 22 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., announced Jim Swanson of lone, local contest coordinator. This is Swanson's eighth year to help with the annual hoop shoot. One of the reasons he enjoys working with the participants is because he was once one himself. As a seventh grader, Swanson was a winner in the hoop shoot contest and went to finish fourth in the state competition at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Swanson will oversee the lone competition, while Dale Holland will be in charge of the event in Heppner. Almost three million youngsters from throughout Lo Precip. 37 30 25 22 29 .01 fog 32 .08 fog 29 .01 fog spoke to the chamber were to meet Tuesday with insurance agents and explain the new flood plain maps. He said local insurance agents would be supplied with forms for prop erty owners who may be eligi ble for refunds on flood in surance premiums already paid. He said aboaut 100 struc tures in Heppner will no longer be in the new flood plain since construction of the dam. The flood way, or that area where no new construction was previously allowed, has also been drastically reduced, Steele said. "The flood way now consists mostly of just the (Willow) creek channel." he said. The flood plain, which pre viously reached depths of five to six feet in many areas of town, has now been reduced down to an average of under one foot. Steele pointed out. (The flood plain is that area which would be covered by water during a theoretical flood which occurs every 100 years). "If you don't think, the dam hasn't done anything, that's not right. This is an impotent flood plain. It's a Mickey Mouse flood plain," he said. Copies of the new flood plain and flood way maps will be available for inspection by the public at city hall. ing light at the intersection of Main and C streets. Munkers reported that the State High way Department felt the light was not necessary. learned from the state that the city could paint crosswalks. The project is scheduled for sometime this spring. announced that Bill Sheirbon is the new fire chief and Darryl Bigelow assistant chief. Both volunteered for the positions. Shoot to Saturday the country entered last year's competition for boys and girls in age categories 8-9; 10-11; and 12-13. Each contestant has 25 shots at the hoop. The boy and girl in each age group with the best scores advance through four tiers of competi tion to qualify for the national finals at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Local winners will compete against other contestants in the district event at Hermis ton in February. Last year, Lana Reed of Heppner won local, district and state levels in the compe tition. Winners advance through four tiers of competition: local, district, state and re gional semi-finals until only ' 36 boys and 36 girls remain. Cont. p. 5
