SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 27
SECTION A
JUNE 5, 2015
$1.00
Big Toy pesticide concerns muted
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
When the orchard site was
discussed as a possible location
for the Big Toy play structure
last year, most of the concern
was the timing of getting the
land within city limits.
A less verbalized concern
was the spraying of pesticides
in the orchards where the
fi lberts are harvested and the
potential impact that would
have on the health of those
using the play structure.
The Big Toy is being con-
structed by an army of volun-
teers starting next Wednesday,
June 10. The fi ve-day build is
expected to conclude with a
soft opening of the play struc-
ture at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 14.
For the most part, concerns
of the pesticides are muted.
Not entirely, however.
In March 2012, Tony
Weathers with Willamette
Mission Farm, Inc. entered
into a fi ve-year contract with
the city of Keizer to lease the
fi lbert orchards for $10,000
a year. Weathers keeps all the
profi t he makes by harvesting
the fi lberts.
As part of the harvesting,
Weathers sprays pesticides on
the orchards three times a year.
Since the Big Toy is being
built in part of the orchards
used for farming, a concern
has been expressed about the
possibility of those pesticides
spreading to the play structure.
The person apparently
most concerned? Weathers.
But despite repeated messages,
Weathers only briefl y talked
to the Keizertimes last week
about what his concerns are.
“My concern is my ass be-
ing sued,” Weathers said be-
fore heading into a meeting.
“My concern is someone us-
ing the toy when the park is
closed, get fl u and found out
I sprayed. I have too much
to lose. I informed the city I
would like to get out of the
lease.”
City attorney Shannon
Johnson avoided questions of
whether Weathers would be
able to get out of the lease, or
if he’s already been released
from the lease.
Others aren’t as concerned.
Bill Lawyer, Public Works
director for Keizer, showed
the Keizertimes a June 2010
environmental site assessment
report from BB&A Environ-
mental that focused on condi-
Sidebar:
Big Toy
build dates
are here
PAGE A2
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Craig Murphy
Some concerns have been expressed about pesticides sprayed on trees in the orchards around
the Big Toy site at Keizer Rapids Park, but the project is still taking place next week.
tions of the 28 acre property
before it was purchased by the
city. Samples were collected
on May 21, 2010 and analyzed
for any recognized environ-
mental conditions (REC).
“It did not identify any ob-
vious contamination,” Lawyer
said.
The analysis looked pri-
marily at how much DDT
(dichlorodiphenyltrichloro-
ethane), DDE (dichlorodi-
phenyldichloroethylene) and
DDD (dichlorodiphenyldi-
chloroethane) were in the soil.
Small amounts of each were
found in three of the four sec-
tions, but all well below De-
partment of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) standards.
One area, the west portion,
was labeled as non-detected.
That’s the area where the Big
Toy is being built.
Please see BIG TOY, Page A14
Probation only for
Grad moves ahead, no excuses attempted kidnapper
called into question
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Payton Williams had a longer road to Friday's McNary High School graduation than most: he
was diagnosed with cancer last July but was declared cancer-free in May.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Many of the McNary High
School graduates who will
receive their diplomas Friday,
June 5, will have overcome
all sorts of challenges to make
that walk across the stage.
Fewer would measure
up to what Payton Williams
has overcome in the past 12
months. In July 2014, Payton
was diagnosed with differ-
entiated soft-tissue sarcoma
and two large tumors, one in
his back and the other in his
stomach. Not long after, he
began chemotherapy treat-
ments and went under the
knife twice to remove the tu-
mors. He was declared cancer-
free in early May.
“I didn’t really know what
to expect. I knew it wasn’t
going to be fun, but I didn’t
expect to be so sore for so
long. My back surgery was
four months ago and I didn’t
expect it to still be hurting,”
Payton said.
The tumor in Payton’s back
was so large that a signifi cant
chunk of muscle also needed
to be removed. It was replaced
with muscle from his shoulder
and is part of the reason be-
hind his long healing process.
Throughout his battle, Wil-
liams was surrounded by loved
ones, friends and the Keizer
community as a whole. A go-
fundme.com campaign raised
nearly $9,000 and that didn’t
include separate fundraisers
held by McNary’s choir, vol-
leyball, basketball and softball
teams alongside T-shirt and
bracelet sales launched by the
school and relatives.
Please see PAYTON, Page A14
Moles owner pushing to
improve city sign codes
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
The props in front of city
hall and the dryer in front of
his store may have been eye-
catching, but Nigel Guisinger
insists it’s not about his busi-
ness.
Guisinger, who bought
Moles Appliance at 3800
River Road in 2013, said
he’s fi ghting to make Keizer
– River Road in particular –
more business friendly.
But it was a battle between
Guisinger and city offi cials
that got things going last week.
Both sides agree Ben Cros-
by, the new code enforcement
offi cer for Keizer, took a sand-
wich board sign May 27 from
the sidewalk in front of Moles.
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Moles Appliance owner Nigel Guisinger used creative tactics to
draw attention to issues with city sign code issues.
Nate Brown, director of
Community
Development
for Keizer, said Guisinger was
warned the day before.
Please see MOLES, Page A11
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Even the presiding judge
seemed displeased with a plea
deal in the attempted kidnap-
pings of two
Keizer teens in
April.
Judge Don-
ald Abar told
Cody Black-
man, 31, of
Keizer, that he
did not under- Blackman
stand the dis-
trict attorney’s
decision to let Blackman off
with 60 months of probation
and registration as a sex of-
fender in Marion County.
“He sounds like a predator
to me,” said Abar to the attor-
neys present, before addressing
Blackman himself. “If you are
around minors, sir, you will be
picked up and taken to prison.”
Deputy District Attorney
Doug Hanson, who helped
negotiate the plea deal, said
that probation was the best
possible outcome given Black-
man’s lack of criminal history.
“Our guidelines are pro-
vided by the state legislature,
but since there was a period
of time between the fi rst and
second incidents we are now
able to start from the point of
him going to prison should
Mr. Blackman reoffend,” Han-
son said.
Blackman pled guilty to
two felony charges of attempt-
ed kidnapping stemming from
two separate incidents on April
16, within hours of each other.
Blackman admitted to stalk-
ing two McNary High School
students, one 16 and the other
15, along Verda Lane North-
east and on streets behind the
Keizer Quality Suites on Wit-
tenberg Lane NE, respectively.
Blackman was arrested the
following day and told inves-
tigators that he had rented a
Council
approves
budget
PAGE A3
Golden
Onions
awards
PAGE A6
Please see KIDNAP, Page A11
Black bear cub
seen in Keizer
A young black bear spot-
ted in Salem last weekend was
seen in Keizer Monday morn-
ing.
At around 10 a.m. on June
1, offi cers with the Keizer Po-
lice Department responded
to a call on the 3200 block of
Mayfi eld Place North about a
black bear being seen in the
yard of a densely populated
residential neighborhood at
the south end of city limits.
Three KPD offi cers re-
sponded, but none could lo-
cate the bear.
According to the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wild-
life (ODFW), there are 25,000
to 30,000 black bears in Or-
egon. Usually black, the bears
can also be brown, cinnamon
or blond in color. They are
known for being fast and agile,
as well as good swimmers and
climbers.
Previously, fi ve West Salem
residents called Salem Police
Department about seeing a
bear in the vicinity of Walker
Middle School. One witness
Submitted
This bear was spotted in
Keizer on Monday, June 1.
took a cell phone video of the
young bear eating pet food
from a bucket on a porch.
Based on the video, biolo-
gists believe the bear to be a
yearling, weighing 30 to 60
pounds.
A live trap was set out on
Monday to capture and re-
move the bear, but was moved
after calls indicated the bear
was roving north.
If a bear poses a threat,
ODFW recommends calling
911, giving the bear a way to
escape, steering clear of the
cubs, staying calm and not
making sudden movements,
backing away slowly while
facing the bear, talking to the
animal in a fi rm voice, avoid-
ing direct eye contact and
fi ghting back if attacked.
Baseball,
softball
lose at state
PAGE A12
We see what’s on the inside
So you get back in the game
1165 Union St. NE #100 – Salem
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