 |
Homeowners vow cell tower struggle not over
Bypass in line
for more money
The name may be
different, but the service continues
Ronald
returns to
usher in a new
McDonald's |
The statue of the beloved character, stolen on the night of a
catastrophic fire, shows up on the steps of a Newberg church |
By Gunnar Olson, Newberg Graphic
reporter
E-mail Gunnar at golson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
He’s back.
Ronald McDonald may be without a Newberg McDonald’s restaurant to look
over at the present, as his burned down a week ago, but he’s back in the hands of the
restaurant’s owners and the time will come when he again graces the entrance.
Sometime during the night of the fire (March 24), the Ronald McDonald
statue that had sat in the children’s area of the restaurant for decades was stolen
from the debris. It was reported missing to the Newberg Police Department the next
morning.
On Sunday morning police received a call from Pastor Jane Shaffer of the
United Methodist Church on North Deborah Road, not too far from the Newberg
McDonald’s. There at the front entrance Ronald had been placed sometime before the
8:15 a.m. service.
“I love happy endings,” said Sgt. Tim Weaver. “It appears we
may have one here.”
Mike Kennedy, who owns the Newberg McDonald’s along with his wife,
Roxanne, picked up the statue from police Monday morning. Ronald is valued at nearly $700.
Kennedy said he would be placing Ronald behind glass in the new store, which
he is hoping to open in four to five months. He said it would serve to honor the
employees, customers and the heritage of the restaurant – “a focal point for
what happened.”
Kennedy said the police told him it was rare something that received as much
notoriety as the Ronald statue would be returned to such a public place. Usually something
like that ends up in the river, police told him.
Kennedy had offered a $100 reward for the return of Ronald. He said he’d
be giving the money to the church.
Weaver said the police are following up on the remaining leads and may
still press charges for the theft.
The statue – which Newberg Fire Marshal Chris Mayfield said was
the one thing unharmed by the fire – was returned unscathed.
But, being the popular figure Ronald is, he didn’t escape without being
the butt of at least one joke.
“‘I didn’t know Ronald was a Methodist,’ was what the
officer said,” Kennedy quipped. |
|
From March 31,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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