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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 26, 2004)
Sentenced to 90 days in county jail M cCabe pleads guilty to 4 counts theft B333ie uCtzeil U o£ O We»3p®;>er Library E u g e n s , UR 9 7 4 J 3 VOL. 123 NO. 21 14 Pages Wednesday, May 26,2004 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Health District discusses levy options The Morrow County H ealth D istric t B oard, plagued with a continuing shortfall of funds, discussed putting a levy before the voters in the N ovem ber electio n at their regular Heppner citizens tackle feral cat issue 3 Concerned citizens M argaret F laherty and M elissa Jo M onaco have been dialoging with other concerned citizens who are feeding feral and abandoned cats in the Heppner area. In searching for a solution, Flaherty contacted The P ioneer H um ane Society of Pendleton, who has ran the Oregon Neuter Mobile, to see if bringing the mobile to Heppner would be feasible. However, due to high costs, $1000 dow n payment plus $800 a day, it was determined to not be a viable solution. F laherty and Monaco also contacted City M anager Jerry Breazeale regarding steps that could be taken in a d d ressin g the situ atio n . He said that citizens could address the p olice com m ission regarding their concerns. The P olice C om m ission w ill be meeting this Thursday, May 27, at 8 a.m. at City Hall. A nyone in te re sted in discussing humane solutions to this issue are asked to attend. A nother avenue being taken in the feral cat situ atio n is ad o p tio n . A nyone in te re sted in adopting kittens may contact Monaco at 676-8013. meeting Monday night in Heppner. The board instructed MCHD CEO Victor Vander Does to meet with Morrow C ounty A ssesso r Greg Sweek to determine the tax rate required to generate an a d d itio n al $2 5 0 ,0 0 0 to $300,000 yearly for the d istric t. The board also deliberated whether to put up a three, four or five year levy. The d istric t lost $338,112 this past year and $28,621 in April, despite continued efforts to cut costs and the closure of Pioneer M emorial Nursing Home which was hoped to help staunch the loss. The board also d iscu ssed ch an g in g the d is tric t’s em ployee insurance package from $200 deductible to a higher deductible, perhaps as much as $ 1,000, because of recent notice of a steep increase, over 20 percent, in insurance costs. The change must be approved by the employees’ union. Also at the meeting M orrow C ounty S h e riff Verlin D enton and M.C. Sergeant Jeanine D illey, continued page 2 Old coal chute filled in The sen ten cin g hearing took approximately two hours. McCabe s mental health treatment provider, p sy ch o lo g ist Dr. Terrel Templeman ot Pendleton, testified that he believed that McCabe was suicidal and feared that a jail sentence w ould ex acerb ate her condition and recommended ag ain st im posing a ja il sentence upon her. A llen com m ented lhat Heppner was a trusting com m unity and M cCabe had betrayed that trust. Representatives of three ot the victim s also made statem ents. At the sentencing hearing, it was learned M cCabe stole in excess ot $80,000 from the f ° ur victim s. D uring the proceedings, McCabe was asked by Judge Kelly where all the stolen money went. She replied it was primarily spent on children’s school, after school a c tiv itie s. clothes, etc... She indicated sbe w ished she had something to show for the stolen money but does not. M cCabe tearfully read a p rep ared statem en t ot apology to the court, saying she was ashamed of her actions and sorry for the hurt and embarrassment she had caused her family and the community. (See letter to the editor, page 2.) While the defendant was charged in a 221-count in d ictm en t, A llen said, ‘‘There were actually 120 separate criminal acts here. S om etim es a sin g le occurrence was charged as several crimes. For instance, one check may have resulted oae count of theft, one count of forgery and one count of o fficial misconduct." Under the terms of the plea agreement, McCabe had agreed she would serve at least 60 days of jail. The State recom m ended she serve 180 days in jail. In deciding to impose the 90- d ay j ad sentence, Judge Kelly indicated the jail was being imposed because the citizens of Morrow County d eserv ed to see a punishment imposed. She was then transported to the Umatilla County Jail. She had requested that she be allowed to attend the eighth- grade graduation of her son that weekend, but the judge ordered McCabe to be taken into custody immediately. McCabe’s attorney. D ennis Hachler, told the court that she was a devoted mother to her four children and had done m uch v o lu n teerin g for her community and reiterated that she was very ashamed of her actions. McCabe has been living in the Redmond area, w orking for her brother-in-law, who operates an electrical contracting business, who testified that she was a good worker and vital to his business. He said that a long imprisonment w ould je o p ard ize her position with his business. Kit G eorge, Heppner, representing the H eppner C em etery Maintenance District, told the Gazette-Times following the trial that M cC ab e’s sentence “is probably fair based on the sentencing guidelines, as our board understands, but the district still came out a loser because vve could not recover all of our losses.” “I feel good,” Judy B arber, H eppner, commented to the Gazette co ncerning the H eppner R u ra l Fire P ro tectio n District. “1 think our DA did a good job representing the community. I feel bad for Sonja, but 1 think now she can heal. It’s an ugly thing for everyone in v o lv ed .” “ It's as good as we can e x p e c t,” co n cu rred Don B ennett, also w ith the HRFD . K elw ayne H aguew ood read a statem en t rep resen tin g HFRD during the proceedings, “I've known Sonja my whole life,” Heppner Fire Chief Rusty Estes said to the G-T. “It’s a lose-lose for the com m unity. Everyone loses, no one wins.” “I m satisfied, said Cindy Doherty, representing the Heppner Junior/Senior High School Booster Club, “I think it’s a sad day.” IUCC to host 42nd annual Auction and BBQ An old chute used years ago to load coal under the Masonic Lodge on Main Street in Heppner was filled in this week. The cem ent on the sidewalk on W illow Street next to Gardner’s Men’s store, which is located on the bottom floor of the lodge, was cracking and opening up a large hole in the sidewalk. It was becoming a danger to pedestrians so the cement was cut out and the hole filled with rock and gravel. A new sidewalk was poured on Tuesday, and pictured above working on the project are left to right- Merlin Hughes, Al Riney and Gene Orwick. WE WILL BE CLOSED M on d ay, M a y 31st fo r M em o rial D ay H ave A Safe A n d H a p p y H o lld a y l Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-6221 • 1 -800-452-7396 1 Sonja Rae McCabe, 40, of Heppner. plead guilty to four counts of Theft in the F irst D egree (C lass C felony) and one count of Official Misconduct (Class A misdemeanor) on Friday, May 21, at the M orrow C ounty C o u rth o u se in Heppner. W asco C ounty Circuit Court Judge John V. Kelly sentenced McCabe to 90 days in the U m atilla County Jail with no early release, w ork release or electronic monitoring. Upon release from custody. McCabe will be placed on 24 m onths o f supervised probation with a condition that she continue her mental health treatment and take all prescribed medications for her recurrent depression and general anxiety disorder, McCabe was further ordered to perform 240 hours o f com m unity service and make $4,000 restitution to the only un-bonded victim, the Heppner Senior/Junior High B ooster Club. The rem aining three victim s have made bond claims to cover m ost o f their lost funds. “Under the terms of the bond claims made by the v ictim s, any re stitu tio n ordered by the court would have gone to the bond companies,” said Morrow County D istrict Attorney David C. Allen. The p leas w ere entered as part of a plea agreement. The four theft convictions represent one for each of the four victims named in the indictment, The ch arg es stem from allegations McCabe stole funds and forged checks from the Heppner Cemetery M aintenance District, the H eppner R ural Fire P ro tectio n D istric t, the Willow Creek Country Club and the H eppner Junior/ Senior High Booster Club from 2000 until June o f 2003. M cC abe was an e lected d ire c to r o f the H eppner C em etery M aintenance D istrict and performed the bookkeeping fu n ctio n s for all four victims. For farm equipment, »lilt our web lit* at www mcgg.Mt I The 42nd annual lone U nited C hurch of C hrist Auction and Barbecue will be held Friday, June 5 in lone at the Willows Grange Hall. The them e for the auction is: Fun. Faith and Fellowship. John and Kerry Rietmann are the co-chairs this year. Spotlighted at the auction is a quilt pieced by Yvonne Morter and quilted by H elen H eidem ann of lone. It will be auctioned at 2 p.m. Everyone is invited to come and join in the fun day filled w ith C ountry Store brow sing com plete w ith baked food item s, handm ade and craft products, as well as New to You- books, videos, games and toys for kids, sewing and craft needs and many other items in the Country Store. The Store opens for browsing at 9 a.m. and the bell rings for sales to begin at 10 a.m. There will also be the wonderful Pit-Cooked Beef B arbecue dinner at 12:30 p.m. Prices remain the Yvonne Morter (left) and Helen Heidemann (right) display the quilt to be auctioned at the IUCC Auction and BBQ on June 5. same as the last several years- $6 for adults, $3 for youth 6-12 years and pre school age children eat free. The women of the church are back in the kitchen this year cooking up a wonderful array of dinner item s to tempt your palate. The outside auction begins at 10:30 a.m. and will feature many bargains from gift certificates from area businesses to used furniture, farm chem icals, antiques and c o lle ctib les. A sw im m ing pool and the beautiful handmade quilt will also be auctioned. Ken Grieb, auctioneer will be calling the sale again this year. There’s something for everyone at this sale. Come early to check out those wonderful bargains and check o v er the merchandise loaded on the trucks ready for bidding. You'll find this a fun day to greet old friends and find a few new ones. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. r
