SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 9
Boys hoopsters
get big win
Old councilors
ride off
SEE PG. 12
SEE PG. 2
KEIZERTIMES.COM
JANUARY 9, 2015
50 CENTS
Mahalo! Parker leaving MHS
Football
coach
takes job
with Lewis
& Clark
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Sometimes
opportunity
gets in the way of vision.
That’s the case for Isaac
Parker, head coach of the Mc-
Nary High School football
program, who will be leav-
ing McNary to take a job as
offensive line and run game
coach and as a recruiter for the
Lewis & Clark College later
this month.
“I took the job with a
long-term vision and be-
cause what makes McNary so
special is the tight bonds be-
tweens coaches, kids and the
community. That will be the
hardest part to leave behind,
the relationships,” Parker said.
Parker’s last day at the
school will be Monday, Jan.
26. He was head coach for
the football program for three
years and a math teacher for
two.
Parker said he was quite
content with his position at
the school when opportunity
came knocking.
“Jay Locey (Lewis & Clark
head coach) was looking for
someone with ties to the Sa-
lem area and Hawaii for re-
cruiting purposes and we
happened to have several mu-
tual friends. When some of the
other people he was looking
at turned out to be unavail-
able, those friends encouraged
him to call me,” said Parker, a
native Hawaiian.
Within a matter of days and
a few brief conversations dur-
ing McNary’s winter break,
there was an offer on the table
and Parker had a day to accept
or decline.
During Parker’s tenure as a
Celtic coach, the team made
gains on the fi eld after a few
losing seasons, but perhaps the
biggest growth was in making
it to the playoffs each year un-
der his guidance.
“The kids expect to play in
the playoffs now. That’s some-
thing I pride myself on. We
got there and we can make a
big deal of it. It’s part of our
identity again,” Parker said.
Parker was something of
a surprise hire for the school
coming from an assistant
coaching position at South
Salem High School, but he
had been working on his vi-
sion for a high school program
for a while before that.
About four years before
taking over at McNary, Parker
in side
Big Toy design
gets another
change
(Page 3)
Hart resigns
from KFD
board (PG. 6)
MHS wrestlers
fi nd success
(PG. 12)
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Eric A. Howald
McNary varsity football head coach Isaac Parker, shown here talking with his team in 2013, has
announced he is taking a coaching job at Lewis & Clark College.
attended a coach’s workshop
where Pete Carroll, current
head coach of the Seattle Se-
ahawks, was speaking. It was
there that he came up with
the slogan “Be Victorious” and
the Celtic knot that has come
to represent the Celtic football
program.
“I think I still have the
notepad I fi rst wrote all of it
down in,” Parker said. “Car-
roll said that the Xs and Os
matter, but not as much as
New mayor, councilors
take over
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Cathy Clark (right) took over as Keizer's sixth mayor on Monday from Lore Christopher (center).
Former mayor Dennis Koho (left) was the city's third mayor.
what you’re about. Football
will take care of itself. That
informed the type of coach I
wanted to be – someone who
grows and develops the whole
person.”
Every single day of his time
with the Celtics brought new
lessons, some tough, some
purely fun, but Parker’s biggest
impact was as much on school
culture as it was the gridiron.
He was the fi rst in a slew
of new coaching staff at the
school in almost every sport
and, nearly from the fi rst day,
spirits at the school began to
rise. When he wasn’t focused
on the football team, Parker
could be seen attending oth-
er school performances or
announcing for volleyball,
basketball and even lacrosse
games. He took it upon him-
self to coach student fans of
the various sports the proper
way to cheer respectfully for
RELATED
STORY:
School offi cials
hurrying to
fi ll coaching
position.
See Page. 12
Please see PARKER, Page 13
Boozing burglar busted
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
A naked burglar who went
boozing, used a shower and
hot tub was captured after
breaking into a second Keizer
home last weekend.
The surprising part? Some
of the details aren’t unique to
this particular case.
Guillermo Brambila Lopez
of Woodburn, 24, was arrested
in the early morning hours
of Sunday, Jan. 4 after being
found breaking into a house
on the 600 block of Lakefair
Place North.
Sgt. Jeff Goodman with the
Keizer Police Department said
police received a call shortly
before 5 a.m. on Sunday of
suspicious activity, as the caller
advised
she
was housesit-
ting and was
awakened by
noises in the
laundry room
area.
“The call-
Lopez
er stated that
when
she
walked over toward the laun-
dry room door, it suddenly
slammed shut,” Goodman said.
The housesitter stated no
one else was to be inside the
residence and armed herself
with a knife, calling her hus-
band while waiting for police.
“Keizer Police responded
to the home and during a
search they located a naked
man hiding inside,” Goodman
said.
Goodman said the man,
later identifi ed as Lopez, com-
plied with an offi cer’s com-
mands. It was determined
Lopez gained entry through a
back window, which led into
the laundry room area. He
pulled the outside screen off
the window and forced the
window open.
After Lopez was taken into
custody, Goodman said offi -
cers later discovered another
house on the block also had
its screen windows removed,
with multiple windows found
open. Offi cers determined no
one was at the home when
Lopez burglarized it.
Please see BUSTED, Page 8
First medical marijuana
facility opens in Keizer
Smith
Ripp
Herrera
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Four familiar faces were
sworn in during Monday’s
Keizer City Council meeting.
Cathy Clark was sworn in
as the new mayor after serving
on the council for eight years.
Clark took over the seat pre-
viously held by Lore Christo-
pher for 14 years.
Roland Herrera may be
new to council, but the new
council No. 4 seat holder is
no stranger to how the city
operates. After all, he worked
for the city for 19 years before
resigning in 2011.
Amy Ripp was sworn in for
the No. 5 council seat. Like
Herrera, it is Ripp’s fi rst time
on the council but the small
business owner has been in-
volved in various committees
and community organizations
over the years.
Brandon Smith made his
return to the council. Smith,
who took over the No. 6 seat
previously held by Jim Taylor,
formerly served on the coun-
cil from 2007 until the fi rst
meeting of 2013. Since leav-
ing council, Smith has served
on the Keizer Parks and Rec-
reation Advisory Board as well
as the Storm Water Advisory
Committee (SWAC).
Those expecting Clark to
institute massive change will
likely be disappointed.
“Thank you for being here
tonight and supporting us,”
Clark said after taking over
the center seat on the dais.
“We are a community of vol-
unteers. We work with you
as well as for you. We do this
out of love. We love our city.
We chose to be here. We are
working together into the fu-
ture. As we continue we will
Please see NEW, Page 9
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Ben Robison recently
opened Keizer’s fi rst medical
marijuana facility.
The way he sees it, there
won’t be much competition
in the future in Keizer.
Robison opened Alpha
Alternative Solutions at 3700
River Road on Dec. 20, nearly
a year after he hoped to open.
Figuring out how to regu-
late such facilities was a hot
topic for the Keizer City
Council throughout 2014. A
task force was set up early in
the year in response to new
state laws that went into effect.
A moratorium ended up be-
ing set up, in essence buying
city offi cials time to imple-
ment a plan.
Robison noted he was
three days short of being
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Alpha Alternative Solutions, Keizer's fi rst medical marijuana
dispensary, opened on River Road on Dec. 20.
grandfathered in before the
moratorium went into effect,
leading to a long delay.
“I’ve been renting for a
good fi ve months,” Robison
said this week. “I’ve been try-
ing to open since February.”
Robison noted he’s had a
number of obstacles to over-
come, starting with the stigma
attached to medical marijuana
dispensaries and how far away
such facilities have to be from
specifi c types of buildings.
Please see MEDICAL, Page 8