PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 20, 2015
KeizerCommunity
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Audio journal presents
look into Celt senior’s life
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Members of the McNary High School Rotary Interact Club play an icebreaker game with Keizer
Rotary mentor Chuck Fisher.
MHS Rotary out to do some good
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Dontae McNeill joined the McNary High
School Rotary Interact Club at the urging
of his former coach Isaac Parker. However, it
wasn’t long before he found his own reasons
to stay.
“In the fi rst meeting they showed us a video
of a girl with a backpack fi lled with school sup-
plies and then they show all the ways the things
in it could help. It helped a lot of less fortunate
people. I saw that and it was sad at fi rst, but
then I saw the smiles on the kids’ faces and I
was smiling. I thought about how neat it would
be to make someone that happy,” McNeill said.
McNeill is the current president of the club and
will likely fi ll the same role next year as the club
got a late start.
The MHS Rotary Interact Club is an off-
shoot of Keizer Rotary. In the same way that
Rotary seeks to bolster community projects
and efforts, the Celtic students are looking to
do the same around the school and through
reaching out to the community at large.
“We’re talking about setting up a volunteer
project with some of the retirement homes and
going in to talk with the residents there,” Mc-
Neill said. “I thought getting to talk with new
people might put a smile on their face.”
Chuck Fisher, a member of the Keizer Ro-
tary, is acting as a mentor to the students along-
side teachers Brad Lomax and Derick Handley.
Keizer Rotary has been looking to start an In-
teract Club at McNary, but the project didn’t
fi nd its legs until this year.
“They seem to be all in and very excited,”
Fisher said. “I like working with youth and it
fulfi lls my own obligations as a board member
of Keizer Rotary,” Fisher said.
While the club is in its nascent stages, Fisher
already has his eyes on a big, interesting future.
“I think the international connection is the
one I want to bring to bear. Sometimes clubs
from different countries will meet somewhere
else and do a project together at a place none of
them have been,” he said.
Fisher said the club members have also ex-
pressed interest in reaching out to the local
middle schools and creating additional chapters
there since the minimum age for participation
is only 12 years old.
Communications offi cer Lisa De La Cruz
said she heard about the club through the Mc-
Nary AVID program, which shepherds students
through high school who are likely to be the
fi rst in their family to attend college.
“I have to do community service as part
of graduating, but I want to do it, too,” De La
Cruz said. “It is a good group of people. We’re
collaborating and fi nding more things to do and
ways to get involved. We’re about giving back,
making a difference and having fun.”
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By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
In January, I met with Mc-
Nary High School senior Da-
vid Henderson and handed him
a small voice recorder. We’d
never met before, but I wanted
to know more about his life as a
high school student.
“My fi rst thought was it
would be interesting, but I
wasn’t sure about putting my
thoughts out there for other
people,” said David, 17.
His second thought was:
“Why me?”
If he had asked me that
question at the time, I would
have told him I wanted the ex-
actly type of person who would
ask that question. In the end, he
answered it for himself.
“I fi gured that maybe I was
qualifi ed to do it. I’m sure there
are other more interesting peo-
ple, but why not me?” Hender-
son said.
For about three weeks, David
recorded some of his thoughts
about school, life and faith,
among other topics. The result
is the fi rst episode of McNary
Radio Diaries. You can listen to
it online at keizertimes.com.
The goal of McNary Ra-
dio Diaries is to give voice to
students who might otherwise
not see their name in our paper.
The ones who may not speak
up often in class, but still have
a lot on their plates and even
more on their minds.
Initially, David found it odd
to walk his dogs while talking
into a recorder, but he warmed
Seniors:
Got talent?
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
McNary
Radio Diaries
up to it surprisingly quickly.
“It felt nice to just talk and
not worry about boring other
people,” David said.
As I listened to the raw audio
of David’s recording, I found
myself cheering him on. Even
as he sometimes struggled with
words, I could feel his frustra-
tions with things like standard-
ized testing and the relief that
came with little victories.
When I talked with David a
few days ago, I asked him what
he learned from being part of
this project.
“That I can have opinions,
Seniors, polish up your talents.
The Keizer Iris Festival’s second
annual Senior Talent Show will be
held at Keizer/Salem Area Seniors
in May and registration for entrants
has begun.
The 2014 talent show featured a
McNary High School senior
David Henderson is the fi rst
subject on the McNary Radio
Diaries, a new production of
the Keizertimes.
and they might be ones that
people want to listen to. In
school sometimes, it doesn’t
always feel like that but maybe
(my opinions) actually do mat-
ter,” he said. “Also, be open
about how you feel about
things, even if you feel like no-
body else would care. That’s the
stuff you should be putting out
there.”
The grin that spread across
my face hurt my cheeks. That
was precisely the point.
(Final note: If you listen to
McNary Radio Diaries online,
I would love to know what you
think. Please send critique or feed-
back to news@keizertimes.com.
Lastly, I would like to thank Haris
Khan, a junior at McNary, who is
a Pro Logic ninja and helped me
greatly with this project.)
variety of talents, including singing
and dancing, by seniors from around
the region. The Senior Talent Show
will take place 1 to 4 p.m. on Sat-
urday, May 16. To register contact
Shelly Paddock at 503-871-4466 or
via email shellyrocks2@gmail.com.
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WorshipDirectory
These Salem-Keizer houses of worship invite you to visit.
Call to list your church in our Worship Directory: (503) 390-1051
John Knox Presbyterian Church
JOIN US FOR
SUNDAY WORSHIP
8:30 am • 10 am • 11:30 am • 6 pm
PEOPLESCHURCH
4500 LANCASTER DR NE | SALEM
503.304.4000 • www.peopleschurch.com
Celebration
Services
Saturday Evening
6:00 pm
Children’s Programs, Student and Adult Ministries
1755 Lockhaven Dr. NE Keizer
503-390-3900
www.dayspringfellowship.com
452 Cummings Lane North • 393-0404
Father Gary L. Zerr, Pastor
Saturday Vigil Liturgy: 5:30 p.m.
Sundays: 8:15 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
La Misa en Español: 12:30 p.m.
Rev. Dr. John Neal, Pastor
Worship - 10:30 a.m.
Education Hour - 10:00 a.m.
Nursery Care Available
www.keizerjkpres.org
Jason Lee UMC
820 Jeff erson St. NE
Salem OR 97301
9:00 am
Dr. Jon F. Langenwalter, Pastor
The church with the purple doors
10:45 am
Worship at 9:30 am • Child Care Available
Sunday Morning
and
503-364-2844
Faith Lutheran Church
4505 River Rd N • 393-4507
Sunday Schedule:
9:00 a.m. Children’s Church
9:15 a.m. Adult Bible Study
9:30 a.m. Children’s Activities
Pastor
Virginia Eggert 10:30 a.m. Worship with Communion