MOOKS TOP CUBS
TSUNAMI DRILL SET
AND NESTUCCA ROLLS CORBETT, PAGE A7
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR SATURDAY, A3
Headlight Herald TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM • SEPTEMBER 19, 2012
LONGEST RUNNING BUSINESS IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY • SINCE 1888
Mowing accident maims toddler Account set up for family’s expenses BY MARY FAITH BELL mfbell@countrymedia.net
BEAVER – Taylor Carter, two and a half years old, was out mowing the yard with her grandma Wednesday, September 5, when the unimaginable occurred. “We were outside in the yard,” said Tammy Barnett, Taylor’s grandma, “we’d watered flowers, and we were mowing. She had her bubble mower and Taylor Carter
CORRECTION
Relapse, ruin, and restitution
In last week’s caption for ‘A Patriot Remembered,’ Jim Burnett’s daughter was misidentified as his sister. She is Amy Arasmith, shown with her sister, Holly Haus.
INDEX Classified Ads .........................B5 Crossword Puzzle....................B2 Fenceposts ..............................B3 Obituaries................................A6 Opinions..................................A4 Sports......................................A7 Tides .......................................A9
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BY MARY FAITH BELL mfbell@countrymedia.net
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uring his sentencing and restitution hearing Sept 17, Marshall McMurrin was sentenced to 105 months of prison, with credit for time served, and ordered to pay $38,805.21 in restitution to his victims. McMurrin’s father paid the restitution in full. McMurrin, the former owner of Tillamook Computers, pleaded guilty to aggravated theft for the fraudulent use of his customers’ credit cards in 2011. He pleaded no contest to first-degree attempted robbery for attempting to rob the Neskowin Market Place on July 13, 2011 with a loaded gun. He pleaded no contest to a burglary at Tillamook Sporting Goods the following day, where he broke in and stole another gun. More than a year later, the community is still shaking its collective head. McMurrin was a churchgoer with a nice family and a successful business. What on earth happened? The Headlight Herald asked McMurrin if he would like to tell his story and explain his behavior and his crimes to the community. He agreed. What emerged was a story about addiction and a roller coaster lifestyle that included periods of sobriety in which McMurrin showed terrific promise and potential, followed by relapse, which led to personal, financial, legal, and spiritual ruin. McMurrin grew up in a Christian family and went to school in Wisconsin. He graduated from the Wisconsin School of Engineering and began a career in computer technology. He experienced early success, had good jobs with Bell Systems and the Tandy Corporation; he seemed destined to go places. Until he tried cocaine. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McMurrin became powerfully addicted to the drug. He experienced job loss and a brush with the law, and still, he spiraled downward. He went through inpatient treatment and several outpatient treatment centers. “Cocaine was a real addiction,” said McMurrin, “it took over my life. It ruled me. I understood what addic-
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fort them both while he prepared Taylor for transport. Taylor, likely in shock, did not cry, according to her grandmother. Rather, she talked to Hays while he was helping her. “My poppa’s coming home this weekend,” she told him. She was referring to her grandfather, Tim Barnett, who was in Alaska at the time of the accident, and flew home as soon as he heard what had happened.
See TODDLER, Page A3
JOE HAPP/NW MEDIA CONSULTANTS
Kathleen Marvin, director of the WRC.
Three decades for Women’s Resource Center
Marshall McMurrin
From jail, Marshall McMurrin tells his story
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I had my push mower. That girl loves to be outside. Her bubble mower stopped making bubbles and she got bored. She climbed the steps to the slide, and she was sitting up there, on the platform at the top of the slide. “I mowed under the slide. And then I turned around and pulled the mower back behind me. The mower stopped and I heard a terrible ‘thunk’ and I turned around and my life was over.”
Unbeknownst to Tammy, her granddaughter had gone down the slide after she turned her back, and when Taylor got to the bottom of the slide her foot slid under the mower. One blade took the top of her foot off, and the other slashed her leg above the anklebone. Luckily, Taylor’s foot was still attached by the tibial artery, which maintained some blood flow to the foot. Nestucca Valley Fire and Rescue responded. Mickey Hays was first on scene, and he knew both the child and her grandmother, and was able to com-
tion was.” McMurrin struggled to stay clean. “I had great ability to stay sober” (McMurrin uses the word sober to describe abstinence from cocaine) “for 6-8 months; then I would relapse. Then another 6-8 months of sobriety,” followed by still more relapse. “Cocaine took me to a low point in my life, and that’s what led me to Christ,” said McMurrin. McMurrin wanted to start his life over. He was traveling down the West Coast in 1997 on his way to see his daughter in California, when he arrived in Tillamook with nothing. Here he met Pastor Brad Smith of First Baptist Church. Smith offered McMurrin a hand up. “He helped me, he invited me to stay in Tillamook and live at the church and start my computer business. “I came here with a heartfelt, deep desire to start fresh with God, to try to get my life right with God, and I did.” McMurrin said he has not used cocaine since he moved to Tillamook. McMurrin immersed himself in the First Baptist Church community “attending services, studying the bible, doing service projects, whatever I could do.” A local contractor gave him a construction job, which allowed him to earn enough money to start his computer business. Smith helped McMurrin find a building to serve as both a home and a place for his computer business. His new landlords became some of his first customers, and his business blossomed from there. “My life was a blessed life here in Tillamook,” McMurrin said. “Business doubled every year. Within 10 years I was running a $1 million business. I found a wonderful local woman (Dawn McMurrin) and married her; I had a new family. 2003-2005 were the largest revenue years of the business. We had $40,000 to $50,000 a month in sales at Tillamook Computers. We had thousands of customers, and a great location. We were selling a computer every day.”
See McMURRIN, Page A5
BY MARY FAITH BELL mfbell@countrymedia.net
The Tillamook County Women’s Resource Center (WRC) will celebrate 30 years of services to local women on Sept. 25, from 5-7 p.m. at the Tillamook County Library. Guest speakers State Senator Betsy Johnson and former Tillamook County Sheriff Todd Anderson, both strong supporters of the WRC, will address the group. There will be a silent auction, raffle and cake. The program begins at 6 p.m. The community is invited and the event is free. Please RSVP by calling 503-8429486. The WRC’s mission is nothing less than “to end domestic violence and sexual assault in Tillamook County.” To that end, they have several programs and numerous services, including a 24-hour crisis hotline; a drop-in center; and a safe, secure and beautiful shelter for women and their children who need housing for up to 30 days. There are outreach, prevention and education programs for both youth and adults. Kathleen Marvin, who has been WRC’s director for 10 years, said the center’s domestic violence (DV) prevention work is particularly dynamic. “The community can be proud of our DV prevention work,” she said. “We’re seen as an example statewide.” The center’s youth training youth program has gained widespread attention, and is being copied by other DV programs around the state. The center operates the Wildflower Thrift Store, which provides funding for WRC programs, as well as job training for clients and others in the community. The thrift store can also help families to reestablish a home after a disaster. The WRC has nine staff, including the shelter house mother, the thrift store staff and advocates at DHS and the Health Department. They serve roughly 100 families per month.
See CENTER, Page A4
Fire causes severe damage to Tillamook home jwrabek@countrymedia.net
A late-afternoon fire Sept. 16 at the Dwaine Merchant residence at 1212 Third St. in Tillamook resulted in significant damage to the house, according to Tillamook Fire, and displaced the occupants —Merchant, one other adult, and a dog. The fire started in the kitchen, Fire Marshal Rueben Descloux said. “He was just deep-frying food, and walked into another room. He was just away for a minute — and the fire had grown too quickly.” 911 was called by passers-by, Descloux said. Three
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engines from Tillamook Fire responded. The house incurred “significant damage throughout,” Descloux said. The fire spread from the kitchen into the rest of the house. “We were able to knock it down before it spread to the attic.” Tillamook Fire had the PUD cut power to the house, and contacted the Red Cross to provide emergency shelter and food for the Merchants. They were able to provide shelter in the Tillamook area, a Red Cross spokesperson said. The Headlight Herald is attempting to find an organization to accept donations for the Merchants. If you are interested in giving, email editor@orcoastnews.com.
BY JOE WRABEK
Fire has scorched the inside of this Tillamook home at 1212 Third Street.
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