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.