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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2021)
VOLUME 42, NO. 15 JANUARY 29, 2021 SECTION A $1.00 Volcanoes creating four-team independent league BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes After spending 23 years as an affi liate of the San Fran- cisco Giants, a new chapter in Salem-Keizer Volcanoes base- ball is scheduled to arrive this spring. On Tuesday, Jan. 26, the or- ganization announced that they were creating a new, four-team independent league called the The Mavericks Independent Baseball League. The league will be facilitated by the Vol- canoes and all games will be played at Volcanoes Stadium. “We're excited about the new year and we're very hope- ful about the setup we have here. We are happy to know that we're going to be able to provide high-quality baseball this year and beyond,” Volca- noes CEO Mickey Walker said. “We control our own destiny now, and The Volcanoes that's some- will transition thing that to a four-team is a really independent big deal for league, with us. We're two storied team names, going to beginning this be self-sus- May. Tryouts tainable, we will be held in don't need spring. outside or- ganizations KEIZERTIMES/ Andrew Jackson to play a part. We can do this our- selves.” The Mavericks League will feature the Salem-Keizer Vol- canoes, Portland Mavericks, Salem Senators and Campes- inos de Salem-Keizer, and all 20 Top Volcanoes near-misses PAGE A10 Please see LEAGUE, Page A8 Trash collection rates will bump up in March By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Garbage hauling rates will increase by 6.5%, or $1.76 for a 35-gallon bin, per month on March 1. The Keizer City Council approved the rate changes at its meeting Tuesday, Jan. 19, in a 6-1 vote. Councilor Ross Day was the lone dissent. Loren’s Sanitation and Valley Recycling and Disposal customers will both be affected by the increase. Local haulers need the council’s approval to change rates because they hold franchise agreements with the city. The monthly rate will Iris artist announced — She's 8! increase again in March 2022 by 3%. That increase will add another .87 cents to bills for those with mid-size containers. “We thought we would be here a year ago, but decided that [2020] was not the year to be increasing rates,” said Dr. Estle Harlan, a business consultant who represented the two local haulers for much of the evening. Responding to a request by Keizer city councilors in 2019, rates are being raised over the course of two years rather than a hefty increase in a single year. Please see TRASH, Page A7 PAGE A2 File The Keizer City Council approved increases for Keizer's waste haulers at a meeting Jan. 19. Task force refocuses pros on assault survivors, has eyes on longer game By LAUREN MURPHY Of the Keizertimes For 10 years, the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force (SATF) has called Keizer home. Nestled between fast food joints, apartments and a property management company – SATF staff have a small, unassuming offi ce in which they do big work. The non-profi t offers training for Oregon’s police academy, fi rst responders, sexual assault nurse examiners and higher education institutions. Or as Executive Director Michele Roland-Schwartz defi nes it “helping the helpers.” In lieu of working direct- ly with survi- vors of sexual assault, the task force works with the vari- ous professions who work with survivors. “We train people, we of- fer technical assistance and then we do legislative and public policy work,” Roland-Schwartz said. They’ve been based in Keizer – because of its proximity to the capitol – for the last 10 years, but at its inception 20 years ago the SATF was based in Eugene. Unfortunately, the work is also just as necessary as it was when the SATF began. Oregon is second in the nation (behind Alaska) in rates of sexual violence against women, roughly 1 in 4 women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. Nationally, 1 in 5 women are victimized. More than 1 in 3 Native women will be raped in their lifetime. Most of their work comes down to making sure that the people survivors encounter – confi dential advocates, fi rst responders, nurses, police offi cers, campus staff and the like – are trauma-informed. Trauma-informed intake relieves survivors educating the people they seek help from. All of the training takes place through the SATF Training Institute, which contracts with about 20 instructors across the state. While not having in-person training because of COVID “The silver-lining we’re experiencing is because we moved so much of our stuff online into a virtual format, we are able to reach more people in Oregon.” — Michele Roland-Schwartz, Sexual Assault Task Force has been diffi cult in some aspects, it has opened up access to people who may not have been able to attend certain meetings because of location. “The silver-lining we’re experiencing is because we moved so much of our stuff online into a virtual format, we are able to reach more people in Oregon,” Roland-Schwartz said. The task force covers all of Oregon, and zoom meetings have made it easier to have Please see SATF, Page A7 A drive-up milestone birthday MYB will polish Claggett diamonds By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes McNary Youth Baseball (MYB) has earned initial approval to use baseball diamonds in Claggett Creek Park (aka The Cow Park) in exchange for making permanent improvements to the spaces in the coming months. The Keizer City Council still needs to approve an agreement with the city at a February meeting, but all councilors appeared to be onboard with the plan. Councilors and representatives of MYB discussed the idea at a city council meeting Jan. 19. Michael Bays, vice president of the youth league, said the organization is looking to use the fi elds for its tee-ball program. The fi eld use would help cut costs for the program it tries to offer for free. Drastic reductions in revenue, as a result of the pandemic, are forcing the implementation of a fee this spring. “We only have one tiny tee-ball fi eld at [Keizer Little League Park] and those spots are going pretty quick,” Bays said. Clear Lake Elementary School is typically the alternate site for the group, but school facilities are off- limits for outside groups until further notice, said MYB President Rob Tavares. In exchange for free use of the Claggett Creek baseball diamonds in 2021, MYB will “cut out base lines, chalk and mow the infi eld and outfi eld, install permanent home plates and permanent bases including caps and plugs for all the bases.” MYB would have exclusive access to the fi elds between 5 and 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays Please see MYB, Page A8 PAGE A2 Tax filing start delayed PAGE A3