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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2015)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 27, 2015 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Squeezing money from lemons The 2014 inagural year of Lem- onade Day in Keizer and Salem was the most successful the junior en- trepeneur organization has ever had. Out of 100 cities across the nation our area signed up more kids and raised more money than any other city in its fi rst year. Last year, more than one million kids across the country were involved. Lemonade Day, born in Houston, is a project that teaches kids about business and entrepeneurship. With guidance from the organizers and assistance from parents or guardians, kids (late elementary and middle school age) devise a lemonade re- ceipe and create a stand. Kids are encouraged to be as creative as they want to be. They learn lessons in planning and oper- ating their own little business for a day. They are asked to split the day’s profi ts three ways: one share to their own education fund, one share for spending money and one share to a charity or non-profi t organiza- tion of their choosing. Oregon State Lemonade Day di- rector Chip Conrad, an entrepeneur himself, added Portland and Eugene to the list of cities across the nation that will join the day this year. The kick-off cermony for Lemonade Day 2015 will be held at IKE Box in downtown Salem on Tuesday, March 3 at 6 p.m. Keizer parents should encourage their kids to be involved with Lem- onade Day. It gives kids—either in- didivually or with a team—impor- tant lessons that can be expanded as their grow. The primary lesson kids learn is that seeing a project through has a pay-off. At the end of Lemon- ade Day kids will have some money in the pocket. Millions of kids across the na- tion over the past century have set up lemonade stands in front of their houses on hot days, hoping to make a little pocket change. Lemonade Day puts that concept on steroids. Last year some of the lemonade stands were a labor of youthful cre- ativity. Some young entrepeneurs staked out high traffi c areas. The wind and cold rain did not deter the young business people from having fun and learning how a business works. At the March 3 kick-off cer- emony kids will hear from local supporters and sample examples of lemonade. They will get their fi rst taste of being a business person by learning the 14 steps to becoming a successful entrepeneur. Lemonade Day has real world applications. By learning early the lessons of setting goals, planning and follow through, kids will be armed with knowledge that will make them valuable in the teen-job mar- ket as well as a productive member of society. While the project empowers youth, organizers say that help is needed from adults in the commu- nity, including fi nancial donations to defray the hard costs as well as mentors to their own kids or others. Each child who registers for Lem- onade Day will receive materials from the organizers that offers step by step advise from having an idea to saving and sharing their profi ts. The project is a good lesson for kids to understand where money goes and where it comes from and that having money is not always as easy as asking mom and dad for a few extra bucks. When a kid earns their own money, the rewards are more than fi nancial. —LAZ Lost wars – before they start in a very pre- carious situa- tion. The re- cent battles and gains in Iraq have been lost due to this in- competence and a president with no Commander in Chief ability. Someone please ex- plain the justifi cation for over 4,000 dead and over 30.000 with lost limbs to me. In my opinion, violence is the in- herent sign of human ignorance. We have been displaying it for centuries because of failed and fl awed leader- ship. So here we go again. John P. Rizzo Keizer To the Editor: I am a veteran of the Vietnam War, if you can call it a war. How can you explain a superpower fi ghting a poor third world country for 10 years? More than 55,000 Americans killed, thousands wounded with a few hun- dred thousand Vietnamese killed. The war was fought mostly in South Vietnam until the last few weeks when President Nixon was forced to bomb the enemy in the North and end the war. B-52s carpet bombed all over South Vietnam for years leav- ing craters 30 to 40 feet in diameter leaving wide areas looking like the surface of the moon. I know as a he- licopter pilot who fl ew over it. I was young when I volunteered for the military at age 19. If I knew even as a very patriotic American how that war was going to be fought, I would have never signed up. The Iraq Wars were another military disaster. We told Saddam we were coming for months as we built up our military on his border. Where was the surprise attack with no warning, destroying his palaces, military and infrastructure prior to a ground attack? Then before we sent in the missiles and bombers we named it Shock and Awe like some video game? I fi nd it hard to believe the U.S. military; the Pentagon op- erates with such incompetence with the lives of our men and women soldiers. If it was necessary to attack Iraq, we should have hit Saddam like President Reagan hit Libya with no warning and devastating force. We may not have even needed ground troops—and stop calling them boots on the ground. These people are our professional soldiers with lives and families, they are not military-issued dispensable pieces of equipment. Now the Pentagon is advertis- ing ISIS of a new attack on Mosul Iraq coming in April with a force of 25,000. That gives the terrorists two months to prepare and maximize their killing effectiveness. I am sorry to say but based on what I have seen and participated in, the Pentagon does not know how to engage an enemy from the perspective of a su- perpower. The way wars have been fought the last decades and especially the last few years have left the world letters Cheaper surface at Big Toy To the Editor: After reading your article on the surface changes and its impact to the budget I feel it’s worth pointing out that ADA compliant does not mean something is accessible to everyone, or even most people. The Americans with Disabilities Act is written to cover a large popu- lation of disabilities, but the real- ity still is that Keizer does not have a park that is easily accessible to the most disabled. While I understand that fund- ing needs to be considered, the en- gineered wood fi ber is still not the same as a poured surface. Keizer talks a lot about its community and its support for its kids. Still to this day we do not have a playground where children with severe physical disabili- ties can play alongside their peers on the playground. Instead children in wheelchairs must sit on the sidelines or fi nd other activities. Think about what it would be like to have to sit with your child in a wheelchair while they watch their siblings and friends play. Or what it would be like as a disabled parent or grandparent to be stuck outside the play area far from your loved ones. As an employee in Keizer and a former resident, I feel that to be a true com- munity Keizer has to be inclusive to all. Jared Weekly Salem Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com Lyndon A. Zaitz, Editor & Publisher POSTMASTER SUBSCRIPTIONS One year: $25 in Marion County, $33 outside Marion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Publication No: USPS 679-430 Send address changes to: Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon Things to fret about in early ‘15 By DON VOWELL Productivity seems to have faded since my entrance into the Medicare phase of life. Or maybe it is increasing embarrassment owed to a more real- istic assessment of the worth of these, um, dissertations. Whatever. It still seems harder to faithfully adhere to a bi-weekly schedule. So we’ll go with several weeks’ worth of mini-gripes bundled. Gas prices have not only yo-yoed by a nonsensical amount in the last several months, you can also fi nd 30 cents variance just by driving around Marion County. In what is probably a designed attack, you accomplish only complete befuddlement by seek- ing justifi cation for these price swings. On one day you can read that U.S. oil reserves are at an all-time high, prices must go up because of switch to sum- mer gasoline blends, Saudis have ruled out reduction in production no mat- ter the price decline, and airlines have not responded with cheaper tickets. Chatter about supply and demand seems frivolous. There is one thing you can count on: If cheap gasoline is good for the American public and bad for Wall Street investing, then prices will go up. As of Feb. 16, our lawn is twice- mown in 2015. Admittedly the fi rst trim was only to impress visiting fam- ily, but not the second. Overwhelm- ing scien- tifi c evidence that Mari- on County warming is arriving faster than skeptics can deny. I hope I am eventually proven wrong but Gov. Kitzhaber’s remov- al has a faint fl avor of lynching. He has been charged with nothing and neither has Cylvia Hayes, though it seems more likely in her case. So I am left to believe that if leaders of the Democratic Party regretfully asked him to step aside it was because they were able to spot some fi re be- neath all the smoke. That leaves me yet wondering what happens if Gov. Kitzhaber is eventually found to have broken no law. Sorry, man, about the public fl aying and ruthless speculation about your relationship with Cyl- via Hayes. That could be a factor in his resignation—a reportedly private man had his life laid bare. Could you endure that? Why would any public offi cial sacrifi ce all hope of privacy in order to hold his/her offi ce? There are some crimes and character failings that obviously disqualify offi cials and lawmakers from serving. We should name them. In the month’s most serious beef I am completely fed up with the gigan- a box of soap tic new Coke “Freestyle” machines found in fast food places and even a local grocery store. My hometown had genuine soda fountains. A cherry coke was a glass of soda with a mea- sure of Coke syrup and a smaller mea- sure of cherry syrup, an occasionally perfect mix. In marches progress. In an attempt to be all things to all soda junkies these machines offer about 125 drink choices to customers. The fi rst prob- lem is obvious. A bank of eight dis- pensers is replaced by one. You wait in line behind customers dealing, some for the fi rst time, with a slightly tem- peramental and complicated touch- screen. In the last few weeks I have been to fi ve places whose shiny new machines were out of Cherry Coke. In order to cut down on labor, the fi ve gallon bag-in-a-box syrups have been replaced with syrup cartridges similar to printer toner/ink cartridges. Lord Google says that merchants some- times must replace two or three of these cartridges during a heavy lunch rush. They aren’t. When I asked at the counter I got a shrug. I returned disheartened to my sticky table. Em- blematic of the American rush toward profi t over service. Grumble, grumble, grumble. See you next time. (Don Vowell gets on his soapbox regularly in the Keizertimes.) Kitz or Brown, people will have views My mother-in-law, bless her de- parted soul, had a few choice expres- sions she liked to share. One of them had to do with chronic complainers about whom she’d comment, “He would even complain if he were hung with a new rope.” That seems fi tting for those folks who the very day Katherine H. Brown was sworn in as Oregon’s 38th governor already de- cided she will not work out and offers only more grief to them. As far as Oregon history is con- cerned, during the last 75 years, a pe- riod of time that includes the birth of most Oregonians alive today, the state’s voters have selected a Republican for governor nine times and a Democrat eight times. That means, one may surmise, based on all the complain- ing about another Democrat in the person now of Gov. Brown, that there have been as many Republicans to grouse about “another Democrat!” as in former years the other party took pity on themselves. The bottom line is that Oregon has been as inclined to elect one party to lead the state as the other, which says there’s been a fair amount of moderation and even- handedness in Oregon. Meanwhile, offered here are sam- ples of complaints that appeared in mid-Valley newspapers the day after Gov. Brown took offi ce: • “Morals will further decline. More people will gain from gifts from the government, enslaving more.” • “I think that, given the fact that Kate Brown is even further to the left than John Kitzhaber, things will de- cline in Oregon as we’ll see a new wave of tax hikes that will drain much- needed funds from our economy and new laws that will put even greater restrictions on our basic freedoms.” • “I doubt there will be much change with Kate Brown as gover- nor because we’ll still have the same elected offi cials in offi ce. That is, un- less The Oregonian and/or Willamette Week make unsubstantiated allegations against one or some of them, starting another slanderous feeding frenzy and resignations(s).” • And, among so many slanderously negative others, “I think Oregon will decline socially under Kate Brown.. . because of her refusal to put Jessica’s Law on the fl oor of the Senate.” If we did not pay attention or al- ready forgot what Gov. Brown said in her prepared speech on Feb.18, let’s remember what she said she would do as governor of Oregon: “I have sought to promote transparency and trust in government, working to build confi dence that our public dollars are spent wisely. As your governor, this will not change. I will be a governor who wants to hear the concerns of ev- eryday Oregonians. We must restore the public trust. “I pledge to you today that for as gene h. mcintyre long as I am governor, I will not seek or accept any outside compensation from any source. And I pledge fur- ther that while I am the governor, the members of my household and mem- bers of my staff will not seek or ac- cept any outside compensation, from any source, for any work related to the business of the state of Oregon. That simply will not happen.” Further, she said she wants to pass legislation that strengthens the Ore- gon Government Ethics Commission and strengthen laws to ensure timely release of public documents. So, can you extinguish your torch- es and put away your pitchforks oh ye disgruntled Oregonians and not look for them again unless Gov. Brown does not keep her word. For the mo- ment, her words have made some very worthy promises to us; ones she vows to keep. For gosh sakes, let’s give her a chance to guide us further along the pioneering trail for which Oregon has been known, save for a recent bump, to practice clean government since 1859. Incidentally, for those seeking to fi nd good works in the Brown admin- istration, you can look to a press con- ference she held two days after tak- ing offi ce, something her predecessor never did and seldom otherwise held one. Further, she treated the journal- ists attending with respect and consid- eration, not like the apparent natter- ing nabobs of no account view from ones held by the previous governor. (Gene H. McIntyre’s column appears weekly in the Keizertimes.) A new representative’s perspective By REP. BILL POST This has been quite the month in the Oregon Legislature. These days have been full of meetings, commit- tee hearings, fl oor votes, and I’ve felt like I am drinking from a fi re hose. I am extremely honored to be rep- resenting you in the legislature, and have done my best to ask the ques- tions that you and your family might ask if you were listening in on these discussions. During one committee, a person was expressing the value of a certain bill, and I just had to ask “What’s broken here?” because in my mind, if it isn’t broken, don’t fi x it. I have been assigned to two com- mittees: the Judiciary Committee and the Rural Community, Land Use and Water Committee. There are lots of people coming around my offi ce, wanting to bend my ear on their pet issue, and while I often listen, the people I like to hear from most are you and your neighbors. I personally answer every e-mail I receive from constituents and it is really good to hear your thoughts on issues and how draft legislation might impact your families. There have been more than 1,700 bills introduced so far this session, and there will probably be many more. I know I can’t fi x everything by being here as your state represen- tative but here are a couple bills I’ve introduced: HB2969 is a bill to cut through some red tape and help small busi- nesses. The other bill is HB3051, which would provide concealed handgun license reciprocity. It seems to me that if you have a drivers li- cense from another state and can drive your car le- gally into Oregon, you should be able to do the same thing with a concealed weapon if you are properly licensed. You have probably been follow- ing the news about the governor. All I can say is that this has been a historic moment for our state. Both the House and the Senate have been passing bills and working hard, but there has been a vacuum of execu- tive leadership in all this. Now that Kate Brown has been sworn in as our 38th governor, I hope we can from the state capitol move forward on behalf of all Or- egonians. This week a group of retired citi- zens came for a tour of the Capi- tol building and I was able to speak with them for a few minutes. One thing I stressed to them was “This is your building.” Currently my name is on the front of my desk on the fl oor, but at some point it will just be a little brass plaque on the side, joining a long list of other represen- tatives who are long forgotten. I am here to work for you—please don’t hesitate to contact my offi ce, come by for a tour, or sit in on a fl oor ses- sion or committee. (Bill Post represents the 25th House district which includes Keizer. He can reached at 503-986- 1425 or via email at rep.billpost@ state.or.us. )