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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2015)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 33 SECTION A JULY 17, 2015 $1.00 Matching grants spared cut By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes A matching grant program was spared a big cut Tuesday night. Members of the Keizer Parks and Recreation Advisory Board were faced with the possibility of having to cut $9,000 out of an already limited budget for their matching grant pro- gram, which matches dollars and la- bor put into projects at parks around Keizer. When Tony Weathers recently got out of his contract to operate the fi l- bert orchards at Keizer Rapids Park, the $9,000 in rent he paid the city an- nually to use the city-owned land had to be removed from the parks bud- get. As mentioned previously in the Keizertimes, Weathers was concerned about potential litigation of pesti- cides sprayed on the orchards wafting Photo courtesy Clint Holland onto the Big Toy, which was built last Funding was not cut from the Keizer Parks and Recreation Advisory Board's month by community volunteers in matching grant program on Tuesday night, meaning projects like Jerry Nuttbrock's part of the orchard. amphitheater work can continue. One possibility was for the funds to come out of the matching grant program, now in its second year. Parks Board members have pushed hard to increase money for that fund and ended up with $15,000 for this fi scal year. Of that total, $5,000 has already been pledged to the sand volleyball courts being built at KRP by Hans Schneider, leaving $10,000. At their meeting Tuesday evening, Parks Board members didn’t even dis- cuss the idea of cutting $9,000 from that fund and instead focused on oth- er places to make the cut. Public Works Director Bill Law- yer said he had some ideas of where to cut, but didn’t want to steer Parks Board members toward a particular decision. J.T. Hager opined the need to cut was being unfairly placed on the laps of Parks Board members. “What’s our time frame?” Hager asked Lawyer. “This is a blindside thing. I saw the fi gures in the budget, Please see SPARED, Page A8 Art as an ad? Couple needs help af ter fi re ? More questions on mural PAGES A2 Adult foster care home opens PAGES A3 KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy Boucher Jewelers has proposed putting this large diamond ring from May's Iris Festival Parade outside their store. By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Could public art be con- strued as illegal advertising in Keizer? That question has come up regarding a proposed piece of art for Boucher Jewelers, located at 4965 River Road North. Lore Christopher, chair of the Keizer Public Arts Com- mission (KPAC), said the longtime business had a fl oat with a large ring in May’s Iris Festival Parade and would like to now have that artwork in front of its business. The issue has been discussed at the last two KPAC meetings. “It’s really kind of cool,” Christopher said at last month’s KPAC meeting. “It has a shaft, big diamonds and prongs that hold the diamonds. It’s a cool sculpture. I told them it could not advertise their business; it’s just a giant diamond ring with an eight-foot base. They want Please see ART, Page A8 That's a nice trailer... KEIZERTIMES/Lyndon A. Zaitz Bob Gallagher shows off his 1955 Airfl ow to Tammy Wild at the vintage travel trailer show at Willamette Lutheran Retirement Center Thursday, July 9. KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy Debbie and Randy comfort each other while standing in the midst of what used to be their home just outside of Keizer. A fi re on June 20 caused the couple to lose everything. By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Randy Wilson broke the promise he made on his wife Debbie’s birthday. Randy often tells his wife to hurry up or move faster. The day before her June 20 birthday, Debbie mentioned her birthday wish: for Randy to not tell her once on her birthday to hurry up. Randy agreed, but ended up breaking the promise the next day. For good reason, however: he discovered their house was on fi re and wanted to get out alive. The Wilsons were getting ready to go to lunch on June 20 when disaster struck. They had noticed what seemed to be a lot of fl ies, so Randy went to the back of the 115-year- old home just outside of Keiz- er to investigate. “The fi re was cover- ing over the back porch and fl ames were coming out of the pump house,” Randy said. “The basement and attic were engulfed and we didn’t real- ize it. It was already beneath, above and behind us. I opened the back door and the win- dows blew out. I told her to hurry up. I got the dogs out. Within one minute, it was all we could do just to get out.” Debbie, Randy and their two dogs got out safely, though Randy had to go back in a couple of times since one of the dogs kept going back in. Several fi re departments responded, but the relative remoteness of the location – the Wilsons live about a half- mile off Highway 99 – meant the initial responding hydrant truck had trouble getting wa- ter on the fast-spreading fi re. Making things worse, Randy had a number of lawn mowers and weed whackers full of fuel, which only ac- celerated the blaze. Worse yet, Randy had collected a number of fi rearms and knives plus in- herited a large collection from both his father and grandfa- ther. Emergency crews kept their distance in fear of the constant popping noises be- ing live ammunition, though Randy said that was actually the transformer popping. “I just watched my house burn down,” Randy said. “It was burning so quick, I couldn’t believe it. The house was 115 years old, so it was like dry hay. It was the worst monster you could face.” The Wilsons were safe, but lost everything. A Randy and Debbie Wilson relief fund has been set up at Wells Fargo. Even a safe with valuables was charred, since the door wasn’t latched all the way. Among the items lost were two ice cream birthday cakes for that eve- ning. Dream hits KRP stage By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Audiences will have four days only to catch Keizer Homegrown Theatre’s pro- duction of Shakespeare in the Park product of A Midsummer Night’s Dream this month. Performances are at the Keizer Rapids Park amphithe- ater on July 22 through 25 at 7 p.m. each night. The perfor- mances are free, but donations will be gratefully accepted. “For people who are not familiar with the show, they’ll be surprised with what Shake- speare came up with. Most of the time he was writing about characters that are histori- cal or could be historical and here you have fairies running around the forest. People of all ages will enjoy the story,” said Lyndon Zaitz, who plays Puck in the production. The story is set in the days immediately preceding a royal wedding. A daughter rebels against her father’s wishes for her marriage, and craziness ensues in the forest as she at- tempts to elope. In the mean- time, there is discord in the fairy world which spills over into the world of mortals. The lovers and a band of players preparing for the nuptial en- tertainment are caught in the middle. For those expecting a run-of-the-mill production, KHT’s is anything but. In di- rector Linda Baker’s version of the play all of the characters have been age-swapped. The eloping lovers in the play, who are traditionally played by younger actors, are residents of a retirement community. Meanwhile, the parts usu- ally given to older actors have been taken on by some of the younger members in the KHT cast. “We have grumpy old Puck who doesn’t care, and I think it’s fantastic. It adds a whole new layer to the character and to the show,” said Jeremy Clubb, who plays Oberon, king of the fairies. The fairy-folk even have their own fl utist in Sherry Lanning, a veteran perform- ers of events such as the World Beat Festival. Please see DREAM, Page A8 PAGES A10 Please see FIRE, Page A12 Come spend a night among the fairy-folk KHT’s Volcanoes record a sweep Update on 25 fi elds PAGE A11 KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Tatiana (Asel Swango) and Oberson (Jeremy Clubb) dance in rehearsals for Keizer Homegrown Theatre's annual Shakespeare in the Park production.
