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
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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.
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30
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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