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PAGE 4
APRIL
SHATTUCK
from page J
"My client has been denied a
fair trial on the single charge,"
said Hanson. "All the testimo-
ny so far is irrelevant and
biased." The courtroom audi-
ence waited for the entire ease
be dismissed.
Reynolds ruled that the
cheeks would have been intro-
duced anyway.
AUDITOR TESTIFIES
Anderson's witnesses, in
addition to Edwards, included
KVGG board members and
the independent auditor who,
together, walked into the grain
growers' offices on Oct. 16,
2002, to discover financial
records in a state of chaos.
Shattuck, they said, had been
putting them and a federally-
required audit off for months.
Shattuck left shortly after
their arrival, they testified; the
officers and the auditor,
Kenneth Meissner of Alegria
& Co. Auditors in Yakima,
found Shattuck's desk draw-
ers stuffed with months'
worth of unopened mail
induding bills, invoices, and
tax statements.
Finding no updated finan-
cial statements, they set out to
reconstruct them. "We were
overwhelmed," said Meissner.
Many records were never
found, witnesses testified.
When Riverview Bank pro-
vided copies of canceled
KVGG checks, Meissner
found several that had no cor-
responding journal entries.
Some, written by Shattuek to
herself, were entered as hav-
ing been for other purposes.
Hanson, as he cross-exam-
ined Anderson's witnesses
and then put Shattuck herself
on the stand, sought to show
that the smaller checks were
legitimate reimbursements
for travel, sick leave, vacation,
comp time, and overtime.
Or that they could have
been, and State's witnesses
could not show they were not.
Hanson had only to show
reasonable doubt; Anderson
had the burden of proof.
Then all the smaller checks
this way?" Hanson asked the
jury.
Anderson, in his own sum-
mation, offered no alternative
picture of Shattuck's intention
or frame of mind, arguing in
effect that the facts spoke for
themselves: In more than a
year, the defendant did not
see to a $14,ooo reimburse-
ment, and the one piece of evi-
dence that she had even tried
was questioned by a reliable
witness.
The jury agreed with
Anderson.
APPEAL PLANNED
After the verdict, KVGG's
current manager, Marta
Mikkalo, expressed relief.
"I'm pleased it came out
guilty. The law prevailed," she
said.
"It's mostly a morale boost-
er, and will create no tangible
difference for our organiza-
tion," she added, referring to
KVGG's troubled finances,
which she and other officer
and members blame on
Shattuck's management. "It's
important to the farmers that
the position the organization
is in has been validated."
KVGG, said Mikkalo, has
applied for $1oo,ooo in low-
interest loans. "We will be in a
much better position finan-
cially if we get them, to get out
grain license back. We believe
we will get back on our feet
and will not have to close -
our organization is strong."
Hanson said his client
intends to appeal.
"Both my client and I were
exremely disappointed with
the verdict. The jury didn't
take into account that reim-
bursement records showed
deposits [around the time of
the alleged theft] that were
significantly more than the
amount they said they didn't
get. The State failed to show
that these were not reim-
bursements from my client.
"We were also chagrined
with the legal ruling that
allowed the State a surprise
witness [Ms. Lindhe] to testify
regarding a financial docu-
ment, while we were not
allowed to introduce evidence
to impeach her testimony."
"We intend to move for a
new trial, and if that is denied,
to file an appeal."
Conviction for first degree
theft, a Class B felony, carries
a maximum penalty of lO
years and a $20,000 fine.
Sentencing is set for June z.
Photo by Sam Lowry
Klickitat Valley Grain Grower boardmember Jim Hill (LEFT),
board member Cheryl Woods and manager Marta Mikkalo,
together immediately following Monday's verdict in the
Shattuck trial. They are, they said, working hard to put
KVGG back on solid financial footing.
(They're not that much different in height; the three are
w¢~lirrtialated. : ,;, : sta~ng onthe oounty oourthouse~ steps.)
[ Hhnsov, sought to create ~ :
reasonab!e doubt concerning I]]
i Shattucks intentions when Person Pump &,,eli Drilling
she wrote check No. 11534.
Mark McKenna of McKenna
Motors testified that he could-
n't remember whether
Shattuck wrote a personal
check first. Board member
Cheryl Woods seemed unsure
about where certain records
were kept at KVGG. Shattuck
contradicted most of the wit-
nesses' other testimony.
But Anderson had intro-
duced one witness just before
the trial, over Hanson's strong
objection, when another wit-
ness representing the
Shattucks' mutual fund com-
pany on the east coast could
.not attend.
Kandi Lindhe, of
Goldendale, testified that the
document Shattuck gave
Goldendale police officer Jay
Hunziker to show she'd with-
drawn money from the fund
to reimburse KVGG could not
be authentic.
Hanson, in his summation,
argued that Shattuck was not
just a scapegoat but a whistle-
blower who had tried to report
her predecessor's thefts from
/ Hard Rock Drilling made easy
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/ Reconstruction
"Call us- we do it right the first time"
Jim Hanson- Driller for 38 years
(509) 773-4085 (509) 493-4050
III I
#PERSOP5011Be
rG01dendale Dental Center"
Oral cancer accounts for about 96% of all
cancers diagnosed in the U.S. arid was
responsible for about 8,000 deaths last
year. Red, white or discolored patches
that don't heal are a sign of ora_I cancer
and should be checked
r6y
your dentist. Alcohol and tobacco prod-
ucts are a common cause of oral cancer.
oral cancer has only a 5o% fwe-year
survival rate. Schedule your complete oral
Kristin Chambers
Dr. Lyle Ferch, D.D.S.
Office: 617 E. Collins Drive, Goldendale • 773-5545
Hours: Mon. - Wed. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Thurs., 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
the grain growers, only to be ~ We welcome new patients! i/
ignored; who'd been told by
the board to work from home
and, in the face of computer
problems and a market down-
turn, had let paperwork get
behind. Hanson said his
client's attempts to explain
herself had been stymied -
two days after the auditors
came, they'd changed KVGG's
locks.
"What if you were shut out
We now have...
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• Taking Hulks
Glue us a coil!
Towing, 24/7 773-3888
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fr Wrecking
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My wishes are for a simple cremation.
At Erdman Funeral Home and Cremation
Service, we can arrange for this request or
any other type of service a family may have
in mind. It isn't necessary to go out of town
or join a society to have your wishes carried
out. All of our services are performed local-
ly and we offer what no one else can:
Affordabili , integrity;, digni , trust and
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and Cremation Service.
Parents
urged to
immunize
inf; nts
"Love them. Protect them.
Immunize them," is the
theme for this year's National
Infant Immunization Week,
running April 25-May x.
The week is sponsored by
the US Centers for Disease
Control in Atlanta.
Infant health experts say a
public push to increase infant
immunizations is especially
important in Washington,
since the state has some of the
lowest immunization rates in
the nation: only 73 percent.
"Immunization is one of the
most important public health
strategies in the last century,"
said Cynthia Shurfleff, who
chairs the Immunization
Action Coalition of
Washington. "We have made
great strides. When the
Coalition first started, the
immunization rate was only
about 56 percent."
-- Wash. News Service
CON ARTISTE
/
Sara Williams, author of the new suspense
Juan Con, visited Goldendale this weekend for
The Golden Gallery and the Book Nook.
response, said Williams, was "amazing." She
"three or four" of the hardcover books, but sold
dozen. The Don Juan Con's point, said Williams,
property in Goldendale but lives in the Puget Sound,
women, particularly, of charming cons. "My idea
learn to separate your emotions from your bank
New
cattlemen'=
Some Washington cattle
ranchers have formed a sec-
ond organization to lobby for
and protect their interests.
The Cattle Producers of
Washington (WCP) is new on
the scene this month and has
gained 75 members.
"We are a rancher-driven
organization," said Ted
Wishon, vice president of
WCP. WCP joins the
Washington Cattlemen's
Association in representing
state cattle interests.
The focus of WCP will be on
the needs of the men and
women who produce for the
group
cow-calf market. Their general
feeling is that the Cattleman's
Association is more focused on
the processing and meatpaek-
ing side of the industry, orga-
nizers said.
Neff Kayser, a Klickitat
County cattleman and past
president of the Washington
Cattlemen's Association, said
that he and other area ranch-
ers were aware of the new
group. Kayser said the he had
no interest in joining the WCP.
"The problem is what it's
going to do politically," said
Kayser.
It's a simple equation: Two
groups equal
ing for the same ear~
lion from the
the legislature.
Kayser sees this
"Well my
ing one thing and'
saying another,
rect?"
Lee Engelhardt,
Lake cow-calf
founder of WCP,
Yakama Herald
doesn't put
calf man's pockel
going to focus
KLCK A.M. 1400 ° 773-3300
MORNING TALK SHOW S(
8:35 a,m, to 9 a.m., Mondays through Wednesdays
April 29 & 30 Hotline! Call
May 4: Care Givers Class, Joel Balcom
May 5: Mayor Mark Sigfrinius
Talk sho w suggestions ? Comments? kick@gorge.net
Apci 24,
, 5:
4th Street between Washington &
/
Cede Lw'at~;~w~
ChL%Lv@~ N C,~xr
Participants include
Child I.D./Lions Club
Moose Lodge/Radio Shaok
Columbia Gorge
Safe Kids
Oregon Partnership
Railroad Operation
Lifesavers
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
l~-Du 4-H Sheep Club/
Petting Zoo
Q104 Radio
MCMC Diabetes Health
end Nutrition
MCMC Laboratory
MCMC Visiting
Health Services
MCMC Center for
Mind & Body
Big Brothers/Big
Boy Scouts of Ameri~
Troop 438
Cascade Eye Center
Child Care Partners
East Wind
Chiropractic Center
Hospice o1 the Gorge
MCMC Nursing
Mid-Columbia
Center for Living
i!! i~
911
Therapy
Planetree
Health
Fire Prevention &
Commission on
Children and Familial
WascolEherman Coultflf
Health Depa~v~e~t
sponsored by
Mid-Columbia Medical Center and
Q104, Bank of America, Sprint
M~MC
MID-COtLIMBIA MEDICAL CENTFR