SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 38
SECTION A
AUGUST 21, 2015
$1.00
Haggen to close its Keizer store
KEIZERTIMES fi le/Craig Murphy
The former Albertsons reopened as Haggen in late April, but will close soon.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
It wasn’t that long ago Keizer had
three grocery stores.
Soon, there could be just one.
In late April, the Albertsons at 5450
River Road North became a Haggen.
Washington-based Haggen went from
18 stores mainly in Washington to 164
around the West Coast in a short amount
of time, taking advantage of conditions
from a Albertsons-Safeway merger.
Worries at the time about such fast
growth proved well founded, as the
company sent out a press release Aug. 14
announcing the closure of 27 stores. The
closure list had fi ve Oregon locations
listed, including the one in Keizer.
The news came just a few weeks after
a Los Angeles Times story reported Alb-
ertsons was suing Haggen for $41 mil-
lion, with Albertsons claiming Haggen
failed to pay for inventory that was part
of the changeover at 38 of the acquired
stores.
Deborah Pleva of Weinstein PR,
speaking on behalf of Haggen, said clo-
sures or a review to evaluate how new
stores were doing was not in the com-
pany’s original plans.
Another
subdivision
PAGE A2
Please see HAGGEN, Page A9
cover girl
Keizer
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
When she was a McNary
High School student, Alesha
Cubitt was likely most
memorable because of her
hair.
She changed colors and
styles regularly, even went so
far as to shave it.
“I was a complete tomboy,”
Cubitt said. “I was actually
really shy, I did track in high
school and always got last
place. I wasn’t great at school,
but I got through it.”
After graduating, Cubitt
found work as a line cook
at Emerald Pointe Senior
Living Community. She was
still working there in 2014
when she fi nally got around
to sending some photos to
Portland’s Muse Models
agency. For years friends and
associates had encouraged
the 5-foot-10 Cubitt to give
modeling a shot.
This month, with her
natural copper locks grown
out to her shoulder, Cubitt
is on the cover of a major
Japanese fashion magazine,
Spur. The cover is the result
of her second international
modeling trip and it’s her
second cover on an overseas
magazine.
After connecting with
Muse Models and garnering
more than a little excitement
about her look, Cubitt was
sent to New York City where
she got her fi rst real taste
of the modeling life and
connected with Next Model
Management, the agency
sending her to the far-fl ung
corners of the globe.
“I went to do some testing
to
Construction
ahead
PAGE A5
American
Family's
new agent
PAGE A6
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
shoots to get myself out
there and I just kind of hung
out and practiced how to
walk,” Cubitt said. “I learned
that one of my feet kind of
pointed in when I walked
and I had to learn a whole
new way to walk. It’s a lot
Keeping the
courts open
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
The sand volleyball courts have been a popular addition to
Keizer Rapids Park.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
The three new sand volley-
ball courts are being used.
But please, be courteous
and share with fellow Keizeri-
tes.
That was the message from
Hans Schneider, who spear-
headed the project at Keizer
Rapids Park, to members of
the Keizer Parks and Rec-
reation Advisory Board last
week.
“The courts are complete,”
said Schneider, who did the
Submitted Photo
Left: McNary graduate Alesha Cubitt with a copy of the Japanese fashion magazine, Spur. Her photo made the cover of the Sep-
tember 2015 issue. Part of Cubitt's spread in a recent Japanese issue of Madam Figaro. Cubitt's star is on the rise with her mother
agency, Portland's Muse Models.
project with $5,000 in assis-
tance from the Parks Board’s
matching grant program.
“It’s still a little bit of a work
in progress. We are adding a
sprinkler system. We are talk-
ing to Robert (Johnson, parks
supervisor for Keizer) about
getting a sand dig area for kids.
Kids are using the sand and
bringing dirt into the courts.
Maybe we could put up a sign
for kids to use the sandbox.”
Another change has been
in terms of watering.
Please see COURTS, Page A9
harder than it looks, but I’ve
gotten better at it ever since.”
She put those skills to work
on her fi rst international
modeling trip to Australia
earlier this year where she was
part of the 2015 Mercedes-
Benz Fashion Week.
“So far, I really like doing
shows. I like photo shoots,
but the adrenaline of trying
to fi t into what the designers
want as far as attitude on
the stage is fun,” she said.
She stayed Down Under for
a month-and-a-half while
working runways and taking
part in fashion shoots.
“The best part was staying
at Biondi Beach, which was
just beautiful,” she said.
Cubitt just returned from
her second international
Please see COVER, Page A8
No more Tightwad Tuesdays
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Say goodbye to Tuesday
Community Days at Keizer
Community Center.
When the new city hall
opened in 2009, the city con-
tracted with an outside com-
pany to manage the facility.
Those duties were brought in-
house the following year and a
new rental rate structure was
adopted in 2011.
The rates have been the
same since then, but have
drawn increased scrutiny dur-
ing the last couple of budget
seasons. Revising the rates
became a high priority in the
spring since about $90,000 a
year in general fund money
is being used to offset losses
from facility rentals.
In particular, the Tuesday
Community Day discount
rate – sometimes referred to as
Tightwad Tuesday – has come
under fi re. While the intent six
years ago was to allow groups
to rent space in the commu-
nity center for an entire day at
a fl at rate, state agencies were
the most common users, tak-
ing advantage of the lower
rates and stacking up meetings
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Per usual, the parking lot at the Keizer Community Center was
full Tuesday as groups took advantage of lower Community
Day rates. The special Tuesday rates have been eliminated.
or conferences on Tuesdays.
By taking advantage of those
rates, that meant less revenue
for the city.
“The Community Day rate
is not being utilized by Keizer
groups,” city recorder Tracy
Davis said.
That has now been
changed. A resolution ap-
proved by Keizer City Coun-
cilors on Monday eliminates
the Tuesday Community Day
special rates. Small rooms
(1,000 square feet) will now
be $25 per hour, as opposed
to $15 for two hours and $15
per additional hour in the past.
On Community Day, the rate
was a fl at $15 per day.
Medium rooms (3,000
square feet) will now be $100
per hour (up from $90 per
hour and $90 per day fl at rate
on Tuesdays), with a 25 per-
cent rental discount for Keizer
citizens not using the room
for business and a 20 percent
discount for government part-
ners. The large ballroom rate is
now $250 per hour, up from
$220 per hour (or $220 per
day on Tuesdays), with the
same discounts for Keizer citi-
zens and government partners.
Please see RATES, Page A8
Volcanoes
hit a skid
PAGE A10