JUNE 12, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A9
TURF,
continued from Page A1
It will be held as a contin-
gency fund, in case of overruns,
until the project is complete.
The turf project will now
proceed as planned with ex-
isting fi eld beginning to be
removed the week of June 15.
After removal is complete, the
groundwork will be laid for
the new turf, meaning rock,
concrete and drainage piping.
The actual turf will be installed
beginning in July.
McNutt, who has helped
oversee projects at four other
district high schools, said he’s
dealt with the fourth-and-goal
scares every time out.
“We had the same thing
happen at Sprague when we
did the fi rst one and something
similar every time since,” he
said.
The is the fi rst time in the
career of Ron Richards, Mc-
Nary athletic director, that a
new fi eld will be installed un-
der his purview. Richards said
the existing fi eld is good for
football, but he is eager to see
Celtic soccer teams use the turf.
“More and more, those
teams are playing away games
on turf and that changes things
a lot for them,” Richards said.
“Having a home structure that
handles their use is going to be
great.”
Richards said the project
was unexpected and exciting.
“I most want to thank all
the volunteers and the Athletic
Booster Club members who
have made this possible in a
short amount of time,” he said.
“Our goal now it to make sure
we continue the fundraising ef-
fort to make sure the ABC can
use other funds to support our
school and club teams.”
With the new turf, McNary
will be able to host more activ-
ities, both school- and commu-
nity-related year-round. Each
time the natural fi eld is used it
needs time to recoup and re-
condition, which translates into
only about 160 events per year.
The new fi eld is expected to
withstand 10 times the traffi c.
More sporting activities, in-
cluding McNary’s soccer and
lacrosse teams will be able to
host games on the fi eld. The
McNary marching band will
be able to practice there, and
additional physical education
classes will be able to use it.
“We have a good crew
working on this project and
many of them have ties to Mc-
Nary,” McNutt said.
The fi eld is expected to be
prepared for a grand unveiling
Saturday, Aug. 22, the date of
McNary’s annual Blue Day.
“Aug. 22 will be one of the
biggest days for the school in
the past decade,” Bethell said.
crossword
PALMA,
continued from Page A1
Dylan Juran said selling a
park was expensive and sound-
ed scary, but the park wasn’t
exactly enduring to him.
“I don’t care for that park, to
be honest,” Juran said.
Richard Walsh stopped
short of suggesting a sale and
instead asked for an appraisal
to be done to see what the
property is worth. That idea
was approved and the idea was
discussed at last week’s council
meeting.
Before councilors talked
about the subject, however,
three citizens asked for the
property to be saved.
“I know it’s overgrown, but
that can all be fi xed,” said Dar-
rell Richardson, who lives next
to Sunset Park, which was re-
done over the years. “Then we
won’t lose a park on the river.
If you sell, maybe you can pur-
chase another piece close to
the river so people can use the
river. Keizer is made up of vol-
unteers who would go down
and clean it up.”
Mayor Cathy Clark em-
phasized no decision has been
made yet.
“The question was if pro-
ceeds could be used for other
parks,” Clark said. “The thing
tonight is whether to get an
appraisal.”
Richardson said the money
and land would both disappear
after a sale.
“I’m opposed to the selling
of the land,” he said.
Public Works Director Bill
Lawyer discussed the Parks
Board discussion.
“They want to look at the
options,” Lawyer said. “They
see it as not highly desirable
because of the shape, the steep
bank and the tough river ac-
cess. Selling the property was a
big discussion. No one knows
what it is worth. We need to
get an appraisal to see what
could be done.”
Gary Blake noted he was
representing citizens from the
neighborhood around the park
and has gotten many com-
ments on the topic.
“To help improve the park,
one citizen is donating to help
build walkways,” Blake said.
“The neighbors are very inter-
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Craig Murphy
Keizer City Councilors and Parks Board members looked at
Palma Ciea Park during the annual Parks Tour last September.
ested in the park. Please keep
us in the loop. We’re glad to of-
fer options for the long-term.”
Clark was glad to hear the
interest.
“This is the conversation
that is just beginning here,” she
said. “I don’t know where it
will end but it’s good (to dis-
cuss it).”
Blake said a “number” of
people want to make the park a
destination.
“They want it similar to
Sunset Park, where you can go
right down to the river,” Blake
said. “They want Palma Ciea
to have a friendlier outlook so
people will want to go there.”
Rhonda Rich, president of
the West Keizer Neighborhood
Association, urged no sale.
“Money from a sale is en-
ticing,” Rich said. “But once a
park is sold and the money is
spent, you can’t go back. This
is a neighborhood park. Let’s
have conversations. I don’t see
an urgency to do this.”
City attorney Shannon
Johnson later recommended
councilors approve getting an
appraisal. Councilors eventu-
ally approved spending $1,900
on the appraised by a 5-2 vote,
with Kim Freeman and Dennis
Koho going against the mo-
tion.
Committee continues to look at ped safety
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
What, if anything, can be
done to lessen the likelihood
of pedestrian versus vehicle ac-
cidents at intersections such as
River Road and Sam Orcutt
Way in Keizer?
That issue has been looked
at recently by members of the
Keizer Traffi c/Bikeways/Path-
way Committee. Committee
members have talked about do-
ing a Public Service Announce-
ment (PSA) to bring attention
to the issue.
Sgt. Trevor Wenning with
the Keizer Police Department
noted earlier this year there
have been four injury accidents
at the intersection, all involv-
ing vehicles turning left from
Orcutt onto River and making
contact with pedestrians.
Committee members have
been looking into what can
be done to educate the public
about potential safety issues.
“I did a little bit of look-
ing into what published mate-
rials there are around the left
turn issue on River Road,” Pat
Fisher said at last month’s com-
mittee meeting. “Quite a bit of
research has been done. I didn’t
read the full reports, but I got
the gist it’s an unpredictable
situation and a diffi cult one
to prevent. One study talked
about t-intersections like we
have, which can have a higher
crash rate than a full four-point
intersection because there’s no
oncoming traffi c. Drivers start
turning right away when the
pedestrian is in a more vulner-
able position, in the crosswalk.”
Fisher noted she had talked
to Nicole Charlson, the Traffi c
Safety coordinator at the Or-
egon Department of Transpor-
tation, about the topic.
“Her recommendation was
to wrap the left turn safety with
pedestrians into a more general
type of announcement about
driver/pedestrian safety,” Fisher
said. “We could do it more as
a news release, say in August
before school’s starting, then
October and again in March. In
this case, it was brought up the
changing sun angle in March
and September might be a con-
tributing factor.”
Fisher suggested the com-
mittee could put together talk-
ing points, then have city staff
interviewed for a news piece.
“I like what I’m hearing,
even though I have some ques-
tions,” said committee member
John Henry Maurice.
Fisher said a PSA could be
aimed at both drivers and pe-
destrians.
“It would be a reminder (for
drivers) to watch out for pedes-
trians and why they are at risk
to that kind of turning,” Fisher
said. “It’s also a message to pe-
destrians to look for oncoming
traffi c.”
While Maurice liked the
dual audience, he also had a
personal issue.
“I don’t want to ignore my
belief that drivers are some-
times more aggressive and im-
patient than they should be,” he
said. “Says the person hit by a
drunk driver and left to die. I
have some issues with this.”
Kathy Lincoln liked the idea
of reminding the public.
“It doesn’t hurt to remind
people frequently in general
to look out for little people, or
people on skateboards,” Lincoln
said. “We need to remind peo-
ple as much as we can.”
Fisher also noted she’s found
some roundabout videos from
Washington that can be used,
in light of the roundabout ex-
pected to be built at Verda Lane
and Chemawa Road next year.
GRADS,
continued from Page A1
“But it was a selfi sh ner-
vousness,” he said. “He had lost
the ability to breathe without
concentrating on every breath.
But he spent every one trying
to make us comfortable. He
gave. He doesn’t feel sorry for
himself, he opened up a foun-
dation to raise money for ALS
research.”
Borresen added that the
lesson was reinforced as one
of the McNary grads, Pay-
ton Williams, battled cancer
throughout his senior year.
“You gave time and money
to help a fellow student in
need. You rallied around him.
You gave hugs, support and
encouragement. It was inspir-
ing to see how you surround-
ed him,” he said. “Then Pay-
ton showed all of us how to
give at a student assembly. He
told his story. Tired and sapped
of energy, he gave his thanks
and appreciation and love and
he took the time to remember
and thank his family.”
Shortly thereafter, Borresen
had all the students rise up and
applaud the parents, family
and teachers who had given
of their time to get the stu-
dents to the milestone of high
school graduation.
“The opportunities ahead
of you are vast, make sure you
take advantage of all that is
available to you, but remem-
ber it’s your turn to give,” he
said.