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SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2022 | 3A Election conspiracy rally makes up for Redmond cancellation with Keizer date Whitney Woodworth Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK A controversial rally featuring elec- tion conspiracy theorists and promi- nent right-wing figures pardoned by former President Donald Trump is com- ing to Keizer’s Volcano Stadium this April. The announcement, made by leaders at The River Church on Portland Road in Salem, comes months after public scru- tiny in Redmond led organizers to can- cel the rally scheduled to be held at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center on April 1 and April 2. The event drew controversy after the Bend Bulletin reported an event planner stated in an email that they had gotten personal assurance from Republican Deschutes County commissioners that the state’s mask mandate wouldn’t be enforced. County officials deny that occurred, according to the Bulletin, and the coun- ty later asked event organizers to sign a contract addendum agreeing to follow the mandate. The event in Redmond was scrapped. Leaders with The River Church then reached out to the organizer of the event, podcaster Clay Clark, and offered to host the rally in Salem, according to reporting from the Bend Bulletin. Volcanoes Stadium was built in 1997 on land owned by the City of Keizer. Keizer Volcanoes owner Jerry Walker paid for the stadium construction and entered into a contract with the city to lease the site. According to the KeizerTimes, the Volcanoes renewed their contract in 2015 for another 39 years. The City leases the stadium to Sa- lem-Keizer Sports Enterprises, LLC. Keizer interim City Manager Wes Hare said the city has no role in deciding what events are held at the stadium. “The lease specifically allows enter- tainment and other events typically held at multi-purpose stadiums,” he said. Walker, the listed agent for Salem- Keizer Sports Enterprises, LLC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the event being held at the stadium. On the church’s Lunch Hour of Power on Facebook, Wootan said the event Volcanoes Stadium is pictured in Keizer, Oregon, on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. The stadium has found other uses with season canceled; it recently was the location of a weekend community market. BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL was moved to the stadium following “overwhelming demand” for more space. Instead of the 2,500 tickets initially announced, there were 4,000 tickets for sale at $250 a pop. The Reawaken web- site lists the event in Salem as being 99% sold out. On the Facebook video, Wootan said tickets would be available at a reduced price for those who could not afford to go otherwise. The event at other locations has fo- cused on support for former President Donald Trump, as well as false allega- tions surrounding the presidential elec- tion and COVID-19. Speakers advertised at the event include: h Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor to Trump. Flynn plead- ed guilty to a felony for making false statements to the FBI about an investi- gation into communications with Rus- sia. Trump later pardoned him. h Roger Stone, who was convicted on seven felony counts including witness tampering and making false state- ments. Trump pardoned him, too. h Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and conspiracy theorist known for spreading false claims about the 2020 Election. h Arizona state Senator Wendy Rog- ers, who was recently censored by Re- publican and Democratic state senators in her home state for violent and dis- criminatory comments she made to a white nationalist conference. River Church Pastor Lew Wootan has spoken at rallies in Salem in the past year, including a 2nd Amendment rally in May and an anti-vaccine mandate rally this winter. The state’s mask mandate was still in effect at the time of the controversy. But on Feb. 28, Gov. Kate Brown announced that the statewide indoor mask man- date would be lifted on March 12. Wootan alluded to “shenanigans” and the high demand for tickets as the reason for relocating the rally. He also referenced “idiots that have been hating things and stuff.” Organizers with Black Joy Oregon called for city leaders to speak out against and take a stance against the rally when it was first scheduled for Sa- lem. Their online petition said the event had the potential to bring violence, ha- rassment and a public health risk to the region. They cast doubt that the partici- pants and organizers would follow local health guidelines. The mask mandate was still in effect when Black Joy Oregon created their petition. “It is the duty as a public servant to let organizations like those who put to- gether the ‘Reawaken America Tour’ know that in this city we do not stand for lawlessness, we do not stand for vio- lence towards our residents, and we do not condone visitors to come into our city and disregard our safety by ignoring clear precautions and restrictions set forth by our governmental health agen- cies,” Black Joy Oregon leaders said in the petition. Wotten said in the video that the peo- ple who claimed the rally would bring hate and violence to Salem were actu- ally the intolerant ones. “To all of you that are like, you know, ‘we can’t have hate like that’ – be care- ful,” he said. “Be careful that you’re not the hater.” Reporter Bill Poehler contributed to this story For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Wood- worth at wmwoodworth@statesman journal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth. Advanced surgical technology available closer to home. Imagine needing to undergo a surgical procedure. Understandably, you might wonder how long the recovery time would be or how painful the surgery might be. A recent advancement in robotic surgery makes surgery quicker and safer and is now available in your backyard. As a longtime Marion County resident, I’m proud to share that Legacy Silverton Medical Center is now home to an Intuitive daVinci Xi Surgical System robot. This state-of-the-art technology allows us to perform mini- mally invasive procedures that result in less pain for patients and quicker recover times, too. The daVinci robot can be used for several surgeries, includ- ing hernia repair, reflux, abdominal and colorectal surgeries. We offer robotics surgery at several Legacy Health hospitals and have seen firsthand the benefits to our patients and surgeons. legacyhealth.org/roboticsurgery For our patients, complex procedures can now be done as outpatient surgeries with less trauma, pain and scarring. Patients may even be able to return to the comforts of home within a few hours after surgery. If a hospital stay is required, it will likely be a short one. For our surgeons, they can now perform very delicate, com- plex operations with increased vision, precision and control. Personally, this news excites me when I think about Legacy’s commitment to providing the best patient care closer to home. Just two years ago, we brought 3-D mammography to Legacy Silverton. It is now widely and successfully used, giving patients access to the most advanced breast cancer screening tool around. The daVinci robot is the latest example of this commitment, and I am so happy to see our local communities gain access to the kind of technology usually seen in big cities. We look forward to providing this new service to the Marion County community. AD-1576 ©2022 Karen Brady, MSN, RN Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer Legacy Silverton Medical Center