SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 43
SECTION A
SEPTEMBER 25, 2015
$1.00
Pearson gets 40 years to life
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Brett Pearson (right), fl anked by attorney John Storkel, tears up
while listening to a family member speak during his sentencing
hearing on Wednesday morning.
Keizer Chamber,
others against
transit payroll tax
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
SALEM – Keizer teenager
Brett Angus Pearson was sen-
tenced to life behind bars with
the possibility of parole after
40 years on Wednesday for his
involvement in a shooting that
killed his mom and injured his
dad.
Brett, who turns 19 on Oct.
7, pleaded guilty to several
charges in the spring in con-
nection to the March 5, 2014
shooting at his family’s home.
Marion County Circuit Court
Judge Dale Penn read the sen-
tence in a courtroom fi lled
with family members, in-
cluding Brett’s father Wilfred
“Bill” Pearson, who recovered
from the shooting that left his
wife Michelle dead.
Brett was charged with ag-
gravated murder, attempted
murder with a fi rearm and
conspiracy to commit aggra-
vated murder.
Miller entered a guilty plea
last week and had his sentenc-
ing later on Wednesday. He
received the same sentence as
Brett.
The main question for
Brett Pearson was if Penn
would have the 10 years for
the attempted aggravated
murder charge run concur-
rently or consecutive to the 30
years for the aggravated mur-
der charge. Penn ultimately
went with consecutive, mean-
ing Brett won’t be eligible
for parole until after 40 years.
There was no additional time
for the conspiracy charge, as it
was merged into the attempt-
ed aggravated charge.
“This is a heavy sentence,
but this is a heavy crime,”
Penn said to the teenager. “I
hope as you leave the court-
room the words from your
family members will continue
to move through your head. I
have no doubt your mother
would forgive you if she were
here today.”
Deputy District Attorney
Brendan Murphy said the real
Brett Pearson was “the one
that walks through his moth-
er’s blood without any emo-
tion at all” and thus deserved
the extra time.
Playing tuba
at the top
PAGE A5
Please see PEARSON, Page A11
Adopting with faith
A special
haircut
PAGE A6
Submitted
The Keizer Chamber of Commerce has been pushing against a
proposed payroll tax to pay for improved transit service.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
What’s not to like about
expanded local transit service?
Well, the added cost, for
one.
That is indeed the case
with the Salem-Keizer Tran-
sit District’s proposed business
payroll tax, which will be on
the Nov. 3 ballot. As proposed,
the tax would levy .21 percent
of a business’ annual payroll
which would bring in an es-
timated $5 million a year. That
revenue from Measure 24-388
would pay for weekend tran-
sit service, expanded evening
hours, holiday service and a
student bus pass program.
Both the Salem and Keizer
Chambers of Commerce have
come out strongly against the
tax. The Keizer Chamber is
holding a Community Con-
versation on Wednesday, Sept.
30 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at
Keizer Quality Inn and Suites
to discuss the issue. Cham-
ber leadership is encouraging
business owners to pick up
“Stop the employer tax” signs
and to visit www.stopemploy-
ertax.com.
Please see TAX, Page A11
Council approves
Bowden Estates
Submitted
The revised intersection of Burbank Street and Trent Avenue.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Look at what’s coming
around the corner.
More houses – 32, to be
exact – are coming after Keiz-
er City Councilors reversed a
Hearings Offi cer decision and
approved plans for the houses
to go in at Burbank Street and
Trent Avenue.
Last month, Keizer Hear-
ings Offi cer Cynthia Domas
denied the plans submitted
by Mark Farrow on behalf of
Trademark Enterprises LLC
for property owned by Rob-
ert Bowden and Doug Harner
on behalf of JDC Homes LLC
to build the homes on 5.73
acres of land.
The key reason for the de-
nial last month was concerns
about compromised sight lines
at the intersection of Trent
and Burbank.
Since then, an alternative
design of the intersection was
proposed that entailed adding
a stop sign at Burbank Street,
no parking along two sec-
tions of Trent Avenue at the
intersection and raised refl ec-
tive bi-directional placement
markers through the intersec-
tion. The denial was appealed
by Mark Grenz of Multi-Tech
Engineering.
MHS netters
rebound
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
The Krahn family of Keizer (from left: daughter Avery, father Matt, mother Breea and daughter
Paisley) is looking forward to adopting a young boy from Ethiopia. The family still needs to raise
about $30,000 but has faith God will provide.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Avery and Paisley Drahn
can’t wait to meet their baby
brother.
The 7- and 4-year-old sis-
ters don’t know exactly when
the newest addition to the
family is coming, what he’ll
look like or his name.
But they are still excited.
“We’re sharing bunk beds,”
Avery proclaimed with a big
smile. “I’m going to be on the
top one. We’re going to play
with him.”
Paisley was likewise happy
to hear the news.
“I was really excited,” the
younger and more shy sister
said.
Parents Matt and Breea
Drahn are excited as well.
Even though there are obsta-
cles, they cling to their faith.
“We’ve had friends who
have adopted,” Breea said.
“It was something we didn’t
feel we were called to do. We
thought it was a great thing,
but we didn’t feel called in
that particular area until a year
ago. Matt and I wanted to have
another child. I was sitting to
read the Bible one day. God
just broke me. I was emotion-
al. I was almost grieved and
upset.”
Breea, 27, met with two
close girlfriends who are also
her accountability partners.
They introduced her to the
book “Kisses from Katie,”
about a woman who moved
to Uganda and adopted 13
girls, following God’s direc-
tion.
“It was so inspiring,” Breea
said. “I couldn’t put the book
down. I told my husband God
really wanted us to adopt and
maybe that was why I was
broken.”
Matt’s reaction surprised
her.
“For the fi rst time ever, I
said, ‘Yeah, I think you’re right
about this,’” recalled Matt,
33. “God totally opened our
hearts and placed such a bur-
den for the fatherless.”
The Drahns are working
through Christian organiza-
tion America World Adoption
Agency to adopt a boy be-
tween the ages of 2 and 5, if
not younger. Ethiopia has the
largest population of orphans
in the world, with 4.6 million
children needing homes. One
in six children in Ethiopia
die before the age of 5, while
more than half of the children
have stunted growth and de-
velopment.
On average, an Ethio-
pian adoption costs between
$35,000 and $40,000. The
Drahns have raised about
$10,000 so far and estimate
they still need about $30,000.
A gofundme.com account
(https://www.gofundme.
com/drahnadoption) has been
set up, with $445 raised as of
Tuesday afternoon.
Please see ADOPT, Page A11
PAGE A8
Ride the rails
for adventure
PAGE A9
Willing to serve...
Bill Bowman
(left) and
Shawn Stevens
help repair
bicycles during
the annual
ServeFest put
on by Lakepoint
Community
Church last
Sunday, Sept.
20 at Keizer
Civic Center. For
more photos, see
page A12 and
also check out
our gallery on
Facebook.
KEIZERTIMES/
Andrew Jackson
Please see BOWDEN, Page A11
SMOKED HICKORY RANCHER’S MESQUITE NORTHWEST APPLE COUNTRY CHERRY MOUNTAIN MAPLE GOURMET BLEND PACIFIC ALDER
Gourmet
BBQ
Pellets
12
7 FLAVORS by PACIFIC PELLETS
SPECIAL
$ 99
20LB BAG
EVERYDAY
WHERE THEY MEET OR BEAT ANY PRICE!
4415 River Rd N Keizer • (503) 393-5450 • copper-creek.net