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Show The Park Recorii PARK CITY, UTAH Saturday, march 20, 200 Events Calendar: C2, Crossword: C4. TV Listings: CIO, Classifieds: C13 l"ii't1;:-fl jfel 1 i'i-nnT "'"' V s, v V V Teri Orr celebrates 25 years with The Park Record By CASEY R. BASDEN Of the Record staff For 25 years Teri Orr has been a part of The Park Record and a major presence in the community. com-munity. Her efforts to make Park City a better place have not gone without notice. In fact, her presence has won over the hearts of many. Orr's first column for The Park Record was published March 22, 1979. It was shortly after the woman moved to town with her two children after leaving an abusive marriage. She had never written professionally and had no reason to think the local newspaper would give her a column. But, Orr needed a job and she wanted to write. Max Jarman was editor at the time. She brought in a sample of her work and ended up being offered $10 a month for "Strike A Vein," written under the pseudonym Jamie Olson. "I though it would be fun if nobody knew initially who was writing the column," says Orr. Jamie was gender neutral and Orrs last name at the time was Poison. So, she dropped the "P" and writer Jamie Olson was born. "Initially the column was far more socially based. I found the columns people responded to were when 1 wrote about my children or my own experiences. So, the column kind of morphed from a silly society column to something of more substance." Shortly after becoming a columnist, Orr was offered a reporting position covering just about everything under the sun. Jarman eventually left and Publisher Richard Buys sold controlling interest in the paper to Jan Wilking. Under Wilking, several editors came and went but Orr continued to write her column. In 1986, The Record was once again in need of a new editor. Orr took it upon herself to make a short list of people she thought would do a good job and handed it over to Wilking. Unbeknownst to her, the publisher had other things in mind. Within days Wilking called Orr into his office informing her that he had decided who he wanted as editor. To Orrs amazement, she was his first choice. "I said, 'Oh, I would make a terrible ter-rible editor.' He said, 'Well, let's try it for six months'" Thinking she could do anything for six months, Orr took on the challenge. Six months later, Wilking sold the paper to Media News Group. Eight years later, Orr was still editor. During this time, something happened that changed Orr. Another person's tragedy made her recognize her past. "Like a lot of victims of abuse, I stuffed it away and probably would have continued to unless there had been the domestic violence murder at Albertsons in 1990." Orr remembers going to the crime scene before Nada Lee Noble's body had been covered up. The young woman wearing a lacey black bra, plaid shirt and faded blue jeans had been shot in the head. It was then that Orr realized that body could have been hers. Orr recalls assigning another reporter to cover the case. It was a story that hit too close to home. The prosecution pointed out one day that it was unlike Orr to be absent from the court. As she explained her reasoning, one of the attorneys told her to read Noble's journals. What resulted was a four-part series about Noble's life. For Orr, it was difficult, but the least she could do to honor the young woman's memory. The story spread and the writer ended up being offered a book deal and an HBO movie of the week. The book deal was accepted, the story was written and yet, "Sisters in Silence," was never published. According to Orr, the project came to a halt when conflicts arose between her and the publisher about how the book would be distributed. As for the HBO movie of the week, it was never made. The network's made-for-TV film would be "based" on the life of Orr and Noble. They were not obligated to tell the women's stories exactly how they happened. This was an idea that made Orr uncomfortable. Therefore, she did not proceed. What ultimately came from this incident was the founding of Park City's Domestic PJice Task Force, established by Orr and several other people. Today, Orr is no longer on the board, but the organization's impact on the community has been significant for those trying to flee domestic abuse. Orr has made a difference in the community in other ways as well. Her efforts helped Main Street's Egyptian Theatre to reopen. Randy and Debbi Fields had bought the old theatre with the intent of turning into condominiums. Orr would have none of that. "It was apparent the community was growing and needed a place for the arts." So, the Fields put her to the test: raise $50.(XX) in six weeks, and the structure would be reopened and restored. At the time Park City was in an economic recession and meeting the goal seemed almost impossible. After six weeks, though, Orr had managed to come up with $46,(XX). Impressed by her achievement. Randy Fields simply said, "Close enough." Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars was invested in the Egyptian restoration. It is now considered one of Park City's jewels. Orr's driven spirit was not just in making the community a better place. She worked to help improve the lives of people around her. One such example is "Believers in Brent," a campaign she started to fund a local child's bone marrow transplant. "My daughter's good friend - her brother was diagnosed with neuroblastoma which is a form of Leukemia. There was every reason to think that with a bone marrow transplant he could have an extended life." Brent's brother was to be the donor, however, before the procedure could be done, $1(X),(XX) had to be raised. That is when Orr started "Believers in Brent." Eighty thousand dollars was raised, and an anonymous donor guaranteed the rest of the funds. The transplant was successful, but Brent life ended nine months later. According to Orr, "I just knew if that kind of thing happened to my kids, it is the kind of community that would rally ... Like anything in life, the more you give the more you get." It is this philosophy that has brought so many close to Orr. As for her tenure at The Park Record, that ended in 1993. It was simply a matter of needing a break. Come the mid '90s, Orr once again began her column. This time it was called "Sunday in the Park." " I smile when I meet people for the first time when they say, 'I have never met you, but 1 know all about you.'" But, that is not really the case. Orr only allows her audience to be a part of certain aspects of her life. The rest is personal and she keeps that to herself. She remains flattered flat-tered nonetheless. The inspiration she received for writing stemmed from an English teacher in high school, Virginia O' Hagen. This instructor would read the work of Herb Caen, a columnist out of San Francisco, Calif. According to Orr, "I loved his style of writing and I thought how fun it would be to tell sto- Please see Sunday, C-3 I ; it' S. Ui; r:f i; , V-7 M V' vsV; I'M-1'' f - ' ! if h: :r u SCOTT SINEPARK RECORD Teri Orr, director for the Park City Performing Arts Foundation, has written for The Park Record for 25 years. "Sunday in the Park,"started as a social column called "Strike A Vein." It has now grown into something some-thing more personal that reflects Orr's life in Park City. 0 W f YrU; hi. f, lt . t - J t tear.,' y 'l r ' If il 1 iK 1 - -J H mt mi m irt r rf - J |