FEBRUARY 27, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
KPIC’s fl ood of information WKNA annual report presented
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Soon, members of the Keiz-
er Points of Interest Commit-
tee should be able to tell you all
about historic fl oods in Keizer.
KPIC members have been
working on a kiosk for Keizer
Rapids Park detailing some of
the biggest fl oods of the Willa-
mette River in the Keizer area.
Discussion continued at the
Feb. 17 meeting for the group.
Bev Ecklund will be com-
piling details of the 1996
fl oods, when waters reached 35
feet, 1 inch.
Too easy or too recent? Kris
Adams will be gathering details
of the 1964 fl oods, when wa-
ters reached 37 feet.
Sherrie Gottfried and Char-
lotte Clark will work together
to get information about the
1943 fl oods, when waters
peaked at 38 feet, 6 inches.
Going further back, Erica
Hedberg will be looking up
the 1890 fl oods, when the river
hit 45 feet, 3 inches.
Jill Bonney-Hill, chair of
KPIC, is looking up the old-
est and highest fl ood: the 1861
fl oods that hit 47 feet.
Debbie Lockhart, the Keizer
deputy city recorder who takes
minutes at KPIC meetings, said
a kiosk like the Marie Dorion
one at the Pfc. Ryan J. Hill
Memorial Park is being envi-
sioned.
“Maybe if you get key pic-
tures, quotes and bring it to-
gether, then we can all decide,”
Lockhart suggested to KPIC
members.
Bonney-Hill noted she
told Bill Lawyer, Keizer Pub-
lic Works director, the group is
still in the information gather-
ing stage.
“We will be coming to the
council in the future for fund-
ing,” she said. “I told the coun-
cil I would be coming back at a
later date to discuss the kiosk.”
At this point, there’s no
timetable for when that date
might be.
“We’ll come back each
month with updates,” Bonney-
Hill said. “There’s no rush.”
Lockhart noted the Japanese
History Sign project wasn’t ex-
actly an overnight job.
“It would be nice to have it
by the early fall,” Lockhart said.
“Gosh, we worked on the Japa-
nese project for years. If it takes
time, that’s okay.”
In other KPIC business:
• Lockhart noted the Japa-
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nese History Sign was printed
recently by Sign Crafters of
Oregon, but parks supervi-
sor Robert Johnson noticed a
problem.
“They put it on the wrong
paper,” Lockhart said. “Robert
told them it wasn’t the right
way. They looked at the order
and realized it. They are putting
in another layer over it which
will make it anti-graffi ti.”
The fi xed sign was installed
on Monday.
• Hedberg and her fam-
ily have been going around to
the different geo-caching sites,
making sure everything is in
the right place.
“One wasn’t there, so I just
created a new one,” Hedberg
said, referring to the one by
the Thomas D. Keizur statue in
front of city hall. “I got a new
container. The other ones I’ve
found have all been dry. I am
just making sure they are still
there and dry.”
• Hedberg will be in contact
with Dr. Wilbur Bluhm soon
to do an interview with him
for the Oral History Project.
Kris Adams is hoping to make
progress on an interview she’s
trying to do about Terry Staats.
Adams was able to do an in-
terview with Alice Jones.
“I did it just the other day,”
Adams said. “She was a hoot
and had a lot of information.
She came across great. It went
well.”
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
It was a busy 2014 for the
West Keizer Neighborhood As-
sociation.
WKNA president Rhonda
Rich gave an annual report to
the Keizer City Council on
Feb. 17 and touched on some
highlights from her eight-page
report.
“We supported Urban
Growth Boundary expansion
and new land at Keizer Rapids
Park, the master plan updates
for Keizer Rapids Park and sent
a letter of support for the Big
Toy project to Marion County
and to the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department,” Rich
said. “We provided a voice for
the tow truck parking issue,
safety concerns at Keizer Rap-
ids Park, the Keizer Rotary Am-
phitheater series promotion, we
represented the Keizer Fire Dis-
trict advisory group with three
people and we were represented
on the Big Toy task force.”
Rich noted WKNA mem-
bers also organized a tour of
KRP for members of the Audu-
bon Society, participated in a
community BBQ potluck and
had open dialogue with mem-
bers of the Keizer Police De-
partment at meetings.
WKNA has been active since
2006 and serves approximately
3,200 households. General in-
formation on the organization
and minutes from past meetings
can be found at www.westkeiz-
erna.org.
obituaries
Kelly Jay
Nelson
Sept. 26, 1986 –
Feb. 10, 2015
Kelly Jay Nelson of Keizer,
28, passed away on Feb. 10,
2015.
Nelson was born in Keizer
and lived in the city his entire
life. He graduated from Mc-
Nary High School in 2005.
He worked in numerous
fi elds over the years, with his
last being sawing and demoli-
tion work.
Nelson is survived by his
mother Phyliss Nelson, broth-
er Casey Nelson and grandfa-
ther Garry Fergueson, as well
as another grandfather and
two cousins.
A celebration of life will be
held Saturday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m.
at the Hitching Post, located at
8046 River Road NE.
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Rhonda Rich (front), fl anked
by Gary Blake, speaks to the
Keizer City Council on Feb. 17.
“We try to have items of in-
terest at each meeting,” Rich
said. “We work with city staff,
commissions, groups and River
Road businesses. Meetings are
aimed at encouraging connec-
tions.”
Rich recognized the service
of Gary Blake, who served on
the WKNA board from 2008
until the end of 2014.
“If anyone wants to be in-
volved in active organizations,
neighborhood associations are
the ones to be in,” mayor Cathy
Clark said. “Thank you so much
for the great work you’re do-
ing.”
In other business Feb. 17:
• Councilors unanimously
approved a liquor license ap-
plication for the upcoming
Gustav’s Bargarten restaurant in
Keizer Station, which is sched-
uled to open in mid-April.
The city received the appli-
cation on Jan. 21, though it was
submitted by Gustav’s back on
Dec. 1. The 5,500 square foot
building has a listed seating ca-
pacity of 375 people, including
room for 136 outside.
No one from Gustav’s was
present for the hearing, which
in the past would have meant at
least one vote against. However,
that wasn’t the case this time as
the application was forwarded
without comment to the Or-
egon Liquor Control Commis-
sion for fi nal approval.
• Speaking of liquor licenses
with OLCC, the renewals of
licenses at 62 establishments in
Keizer was brought up.
Not all of the places are still
in business, with Pastabilities
and Sweet Home Thai Cuisine
being two examples, something
councilor Amy Ripp noticed.
“There are some businesses
listed that are not currently
open,” Ripp said. “Is that rel-
evant?”
The answer was no and that
was the only comment made
by councilors. The list was ap-
proved and forwarded to OLCC
for fi nal approval.
• Councilor Marlene Quinn
noted the third annual Pinot
for the Parks fundraiser is tak-
ing place at Keizer Civic Cen-
ter Friday, March 13 from 6 to 9
p.m. Tickets are $25 each.
“There are four confi rmed
food vendors and four winer-
ies,” Quinn said. “This is a big
fundraiser to help the parks
budget.”
• Nate Brown, Commu-
nity Development director for
Keizer, said city leaders are still
proceeding with the hiring of a
code enforcement offi cer.
“We are doing background
investigations now,” Brown said.
“It is moving forward.”
• Councilor Dennis Koho
pointed out there are several
upcoming listening sessions re-
garding marijuana.
“I have not seen this many
meetings (about marijuana)
since my days at Southern Or-
egon University,” Koho said.
“I’m just observing now, just
like I did then.”
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A celebration of Keizer
RIVERfair is the perfect vehicle to tell Keizer about YOUR
organization:
• Non-profi t organizations
• Charities
• Teams
• Youth sports organizations
• Churches
RIVERfairwill be held at
Keizer Rapids Park on Saturday,
August 8.
Vendors are now being signed up for this one-day
event that will benefi t Keizer organizations and fund
vocational scholarships for Keizer students
10’ x 10’ vendor space is $50
$125 for food vendors
Call 503-390-6840 or visit riverfairkeizer.com
to get information or get a registration form.
RIVERfair is presented by
Making Keizer Better Foundation,
a non-profi t organization