By Lisa Lednicer | The Oregonian | April 16, 2010
HILLSBORO -- Kathryn Adelman Naro, the former girls basketball coach at Jesuit High School, will spend 47 days under home monitoring and undergo alcohol treatment for her convictions on driving while intoxicated, a judge decided this morning. If she violates those conditions, she faces jail time.
Naro, a member of a well-known Oregon coaching family, drove drunk twice within one year. The first time was in September 2008, when she hit a parked car, mangled some shrubs and refused to take a blood alcohol test, according to court records. She pleaded guilty and was ordered into alcohol treatment.
Last August, court records show, Naro was in the Beaverton area when a witness called police about Naro's erratic driving. Police went to her Washington County house and questioned her. Her blood alcohol level was .30, prosecutor Erin Kollar said. Naro was convicted of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving.
Naro told Judge Charles Bailey she accepted responsibility for her actions. She said had thought she could control her drinking but found that she couldn't.
"I've hurt the people I love," she said, wiping away tears. "I have been working as hard as I can in my treatment and I've never felt better that I do. I am on the right path."
Naro's father is Rick Adelman, a former Portland Trail Blazers player and coach. Her brother, David Adelman, is Lincoln High School's boys basketball coach.
Naro's attorney, Stephen Houze, called Naro a "principled, moral, straight-ahead person. She has made her life one of contributions, both as a teacher and coach of young girls. She's set a wonderful example for young women, all the while suffering silently from her disease."
Houze urged Bailey to sentence Naro to probation rather than jail time. Bailey, addressing Naro, said alcoholism isn't a disease. It's a choice Naro made.
"I don't believe alcohol and drug addictions are diseases," Bailey said. "I think they're choices you get to make in life.
You're a person who's sort of put on a pedestal," he added. "It gives you a lot of opportunities to be able to affect people's lives, and that's a wonderful experience but a huge responsibility. When you do things like this, it takes away from that."
He told Naro she needs to reach out to people who care about her when she needs help. She needs to figure out a different way to cope with internal distress, he said.
Then he suspended her license for three years and sent her home.
