SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 30
SECTION A
JUNE 26, 2015
$1.00
Mom pleads guilty in fatal fire case
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
A Keizer mom has pleaded
guilty in a case involving the
death of her 4-year-old son.
Niya Breann Sosa-Marti-
nez, now 24, pleaded guilty to
three charges earlier this month,
including manslaughter in the
fi rst degree. Fire destroyed the
apartment on
Susan Court
Sosa-Martinez
shared
with
her two young
children last
Oct. 24. Sosa-
Martinez was
able to get out Sosa-Martinez
but 4-year-old
Andre Joaquin Sosa died in
the fi re. His older sister, 6 at
the time, was at school when
the fi re broke out.
A trial was set to begin
in late August, but the guilty
pleas mean that won’t be tak-
ing place. A sentencing hear-
ing is scheduled for July 22.
In court papers dated June
9, Sosa-Martinez pleaded
guilty to the manslaughter
charge as well as two counts
of endangering the welfare of
a minor, one count for each
child. The papers call for a
sentence of 120 months in
prison. Information from last
fall indicated Sosa-Martinez’s
husband, Alex Sosa, was al-
ready in prison at the time of
the incident.
While Sosa-Martinez did
not write much in the court
papers, what jumps out is her
answer about the basis of her
guilt.
“I allowed my minor chil-
dren to remain in my home
where I conducted illegal
activity by using marijuana,”
she wrote in conjunction
with court-appointed attor-
ney Ron Gray. “Further, in
using marijuana a fi re started
which caused the death of my
4-year-old son due to my ne-
glect and reckless conduct.”
Sosa-Martinez
appeared
in Marion County Circuit
Court that day before Judge
Courtland Geyer. Geyer read
off each of the three counts,
with Sosa-Martinez pleading
guilty to each one.
Please see GUILTY, Page A7
Splash Fountain
hours (kinda) set
Mural
timeline
uncertain
PAGE A2
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Craig Murphy
A memorial was set up last October a short distance from the apartment fi re that claimed the
life of 4-year-old Andre Joaquin Sosa. His mom, Niya Breann Sosa-Martinez, has pleaded guilty
to three charges, including manslaughter in the fi rst degree.
Porter’s to become
Full Monty’s in July
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Porter’s Pub is changing
hands – not to mention names
and style – again.
The longtime bar is expect-
ed to reopen late next month
as Full Monty’s Bistro. There
will be a public hearing on a
liquor license application for
the new business at the July 6
Keizer City Council meeting.
The change is the latest in
a line of them. Don Porter
opened Porter’s Pub at 4820
River Road North in 1993
before passing away in May
2005. His daughter owned
it next. After another owner
took over, David Thomas
bought the establishment in
July 2012.
Denny and Lisa Graue
bought the bar last spring
and reopened it in May 2014,
changing it into a sports bar
and renaming it The Pub.
By Febru-
ary, the Graues
were looking
for a buyer.
Lance Case,
who will serve
as
district
manager for
Case
the new own-
ers, said the
new owners closed the trans-
action on June 15 and closed
The Pub last Friday, June 19.
“Our hope is to be open
late July,” Case told the Keiz-
ertimes on Monday.
Case said the idea is for
the Keizer location to be the
fi rst of a series of Full Monty’s
restaurants, hence his district
manager position.
“This is our fi rst in this
area,” said Case, who noted
all three men involved have
extensive restaurant experi-
ence. “This will be the start of
the Full Monty concept. We’ll
grow and learn our mistakes
from this one. Our concept is
a pub with fresh ground sir-
loin burgers, appetizers, salads
and a full bar with 24 taps.
The beers will change with
the season and we’ll have local
brews.”
Case said a key part of the
concept is making Full Mon-
ty’s family friendly.
Please see MONTY, Page A7
Saturday in the park...
Weathers out
of orchard
lease
PAGE A3
Keizer PD
holds Blast
Camp
PAGE A5
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Craig Murphy
If forecasted high temperatures for Mondays and Tuesdays this
summer are below 95 degrees, expect to see this sign at the
Splash Fountain behind Keizer Civic Center.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Hoping to use Keizer’s
Splash Fountain on Mondays
and Tuesdays?
Better hope for extreme
heat.
Next week might just qual-
ify.
A heat wave is expected to
hit Keizer this weekend, with
highs forecasted to be in the
90s through next week. That
includes upper 90s on Monday
and Tuesday.
If that holds true, it will be
enough to open Splash Foun-
tain in Chalmers Jones Park
behind the Keizer Civic Cen-
ter at 930 Chemawa Road
North.
Shortly after an inquiry
from the Keizertimes on June
18, an announcement ap-
peared on the city’s Facebook
page about the summer sched-
ule.
“The Splash Fountain will
operate Wednesday to Sunday,”
the announcement read in
part. “The hours of operation
will be from noon to 7 p.m.
This schedule will continue
through the Labor Day holiday
weekend. Please note that the
operation will be dependent
on the forecasted temperature
being 75 degrees or higher.”
On Wednesday Bill Law-
yer, Public Works director for
Keizer, said the fountain could
be open Mondays and Tues-
days, but only if a rather stiff
requirement is met.
“Closed on Mondays and
Tuesdays for maintenance un-
less the forecasted temperature
is 95 degrees or above and
then it will be open the same
hours,” Lawyer said.
The same issue was brought
up last year, when the Keiz-
ertimes questioned why the
fountain, which was fi rst op-
erational on a limited basis in
2010, couldn’t be open on all
hot days.
Robert Johnson, parks su-
pervisor for Keizer, gave two
reasons last July for the foun-
tain being closed two days a
week.
“It gives us time to do rou-
tine maintenance,” Johnson
said at the time. “We hired
a temporary person, not a
city employee, to do an off-
set schedule, from 10 a.m. to
7 p.m. He can only work fi ve
days a week. To have it open
seven days a week, we would
have to bring in an additional
person and the funds are not
available.”
Johnson indicated changing
the schedule was up to Lawyer,
who in turn pointed back in
Johnson’s direction.
Please see SPLASH, Page A7
45
Ito signs
with
George Fox
PAGE A10
KEIZERTIMES/Lyndon A. Zaitz
It may not have been the 4th of July, but Keizer Rapids Park was still a busy place last
Saturday morning, June 20. Top: children and adults alike explore the new Big Toy play
structure, which had its grand opening. Above: Walkers and their dogs start the Bark for Life
event, which was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. For more photos of both
events, please see the respective photo albums on the Keizertimes Facebook page.
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