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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2015)
PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 16, 2015 Transit board member talks of tax presented by DRIVE A LITTLE – SAVE A BUNCH! 3893 COMMERCIAL ST SE • SALEM MORE INFO AT NORTHERNLIGHTSTHEATREPUB.COM Lights, Comedy, Laughs! Saturday, October 17, at 11:00 am MOVIE: I NSIDE O UT [ PG ] Sensory Sensitive Show ONLY $3 Special showing for kids and adults with Autism or other sensory sensitivities. LIVE STAND-UP COMEDY! UFC193 - Sat, Nov 14 SATURDAY, NOV. 7 Rousey vs. Holm Quinn Dahle & Ed Hill 7 pm & 9 pm (21 & Over) Admission only $10. Reserved Seating for this show. 9 FIGHTS IN ALL ON THE HUGE SCREEN Live Fights at 5:00 (21 & Over) - Tickets $12 Reserved Seating Available Now Online. WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE Today in History Eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure (Baby Jessica) is rescued from a an abandoned water well in Midland, Texas after being trapped for 58 hours. The event had people from around the glued to their televisions. — October 16, 1987 Food 4 Thought “The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power.” — Daniel Webster The Month Ahead FINAL PERFORMANCES Doubt: A Parable, Tony-winning play by John Patrick Shanley will have its fi nal three performances this weekend at Chemeketa Community College Auditorium, Bldg. 6. Shows at 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday, Oct 17, 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 18. Tickets are $12, available at the door. keizerhomegrowntheatre.org. Friday, October 16 An Evening with Edgar Allen Poe, 7 p.m. at Deepwood Estate. Tickets are $15 regular, $12 members. Seating is very limited. historicdeepwoodestate.org Sunday, October 18 Lunch/dance at Keizer/Salem Area Senior Center, corner of Cherry Ave. and Plymouth Drive. Lasagna meal served at 12:30 p.m, dancing to Crossfi re follows. Tickets are $13, $11 in advance. 503-390-7441. Monday, October 19 Keizer City Council meeting, 7 p.m. in council chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE. Tuesday, October 20 Keizer Points of Interest Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at Keizer Civic Center. By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Opposition to the proposed business payroll tax to pay for local transit service has been rather vocal. But there are those calling for the Salem-Keizer Transit District’s 0.21 percent payroll tax on the Nov. 3 ballot to be passed. Kathy Lincoln from the Salem-Keizer Transit Board of Directors falls into the latter category. Lincoln spoke about the measure at the Oct. 8 West Keizer Neighborhood Asso- ciation meeting. The tax would pay for extended evening bus service, weekend service and free bus passes for area middle school and high school students. The extended service would be phase two of the transit district’s Moving Forward plan. “We haven’t had these ser- vices here since 2009,” Lincoln said. “There is (currently) no service from 9 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday. We have almost 200,000 people in the area. We need a bus service to at least bring us up to the service in Corvallis and Tillamook. Eu- gene-Springfi eld has an amaz- ing service. More transit ser- vices allows for a larger labor pool, brings people downtown and allows more people to at- tend events on the weekend. It’s Saturday, October 24 Bowser’s Boo Bash, the Willamette Humane Society’s annual costume party, dinner and auction benefi ting animals, will be held at Salem Convention Center from 5 to 9 p.m. Advance tickets are $60, $75 after Oct. 16. info@ whs4pets.org. In My Life: a musical theatre tribute to The Beatles, 7:30 p.m. at the Elsinore Theatre. Tickets begin at $35. www. elsinoretheatre.com possibilities of rate increases are pretty slim in the foreseeable future.” Lincoln noted the property tax brings in about $10 million a year, while the .6 percent tax on wages for state employees brings in more than $5 million. “Oregon state pays more (in percentage) than we’re ask- ing with this tax,” Lincoln said. “This would be on privately owned businesses and the self- employed. It would also be on hospitals. Hospitals are not pay- ing for transit services now, but they are heavy users of transit.” Lincoln pointed to the Lane Transit District in the Eugene- Springfi eld area as a model ex- ample. “That is a successful system, with a .7 percent payroll tax,” she said. “They have solid busi- ness support. It’s such a good system, they get a lot of federal money. We don’t get that (fed- eral money), since we have a little podunk service. It’s an es- sential service. We need an ex- panded transit system in Salem- Keizer.” According to Lincoln the payroll tax was seen as the best way to expand the system. “The payroll tax is the only option we really had,” said Lin- coln, who joined the transit board after the decision had already been made. “Businesses feel upset, but they stand to benefi t because of more shop- pers and labor pool. A healthy transit system attracts young people to live in the area. I know there is a lot of public support for this.” Nate Brown, the director of Community Development for Keizer, on hand for another presentation, disagreed with an audience member’s assessment of the current system being suf- fi cient. “The system is not fi ne,” Brown said. “My fi rst reaction to the payroll tax option was holy mackerel, that’s a tough way to go. But we constantly deal with transportation issues. We’ve got to fi nd a way to have a decent public transit system. I wish there were better answers and that the state had a better system. The system is not fi ne the way it is.” Gary Blake asked why the system needs to be expanded via the payroll tax. “Where does personal re- sponsibility come in?” Blake asked. “This is putting the re- sponsibility on businesses.” Lincoln said not having bus service on the weekend would be equivalent to being in a wheelchair on a 12 th fl oor apartment and having the el- evator turned off for the week- end at 9 p.m. Friday. “It’s an enormous problem,” she said. SKSB elects budget committee By HERB SWETT For the Keizertimes Two of fi ve candidates, one an incumbent, were elected to the budget committee of the Salem-Keizer School District by the Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday. Each position is for three years, to end June 30, 2018. The incumbent is Mark Bateman of Salem, who has two children in the school system and has been chair of the Sherwood city budget committee. The other is Marcia Atkinson of Salem, who has served two terms on the Portland Community College board of directors and taught business classes at PCC. One of the other three can- didates was Michael Elliott of Keizer, who is state school fund coordinator for the Oregon Department of Education and has a daughter who is about to enter the school system. The others were Kyle Carl- ton of Salem, an underwriter for the State Accident Insur- ance Fund, who has a daughter in kindergarten in the school system, and David Gulliver of Salem, who works for the Or- egon Department of Human Services in the self-suffi ciency programs for Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. Director Chuck Lee of Keizer commented what he called the “high caliber” of all fi ve applicants and urged that the three who were not elected consider applying in the future. • The board approved its annual proclamation of Hands and Words Are Not for Hurting Week, which will be the week of Oct. 18-24. The proclama- tion calls for ending all forms of physical and verbal abuse. • The board discussed a vote, to be held sometime after a Nov. 3 work session on revi- sions to various board policies. Director Chris Brantley said he will not vote for such a pro- posal unless it includes a provi- sion for board members to let more public opinion be heard on district matters and one for the board to listen to more ex- perts on school policies. • Natalie Altermatt of Keiz- er was one of three audience members who spoke to the board. She complained that not enough science classes were available for students in sixth and seventh grades, in- cluding her son. Jerry Thomp- son of Salem, a director of Sa- lem Area Mass Transit, urged voter approval of a proposed .21 percent business payroll tax to provide extended bus service. Brittany Cronin of Portland, a campaign organizer for Oregon State Public Inter- est Research Group, spoke in favor of eliminating corporate tax loopholes for offshore op- erations. Personnel actions approved by the board include the fol- lowing involving the McNary High School attendance area: • Contracts for employment as temporary full-time teachers of Connie Schroeder, second grade, English for speakers of other languages, Keizer El- ementary School; Vanessa Ritz, fi rst grade, Gubser Elementary School; and Lori Lloyd, fi fth grade, Clear Lake Elementary School. • A contract for employ- ment as a fi rst-year probation part-time teacher of Christo- pher Tasner, mathematics, Mc- Nary. local weather public hearings Thursday, October 22 First Anniversary Soiree at The Arbor at Avamere Court, 450 Claggett Ct. N., 5-7 p.m. It will feature a glitz and glamour theme of the 1920s and 30s to refl ect the lives of the facilities residents. Spirits and appetizers will be served. Come dressed in period costume. 503-383-6084. an essential public service any- more.” Lincoln, who ran unopposed for a transit seat in the spring, noted the transit district had levies fail in 2006 and 2008. That led to a question this year: adding to property taxes or a payroll tax. The transit district had a survey done to get feed- back. “We found overwhelming support for using the payroll tax, which hasn’t been popular with a lot of people,” Lincoln said. Both the Salem and Keizer Chambers of Commerce have been running organized cam- paigns against the proposed tax, claiming it’s unfair. Lincoln said there are about 5,600 businesses in the area, with a median annual income of $80,000. The tax would equate to $169 a year on an $80,000 payroll. The tax could be increased up to .002 percent a year, meaning it could be .23 percent after one year and so on. “More service would start in 2016 but we would not col- lect the tax until 2017,” Lincoln said. “We don’t have any inten- tions on raising it in the future. Payroll is going up, but transit will attract new business to the area. Hopefully those things will work together so there’s no need for the higher tax. The The Keizer City Council will hold a public hearing on Monday, Oct. 19 to consider a liquor license application and change of ownership for Salsa Rica Restaurant, located at 3844 River Road N in Keizer. The hearing will take place at 7 p.m. in coun- cil chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road N. Council will hold another hearing on Oct. 19 for a new liquor license application for Pats 1 Cig, located at 4486 River Road N. The applica- tion is for off-premises liquor sales. Council will also have a hearing Oct. 19 to consider a proposed text amendment to Section 2.203 (permitted uses generally) to the Keizer Development Code to pro- hibit the storage or display of merchandise or other mate- rial for commercial use on a sidewalk, street, median or other portion of a right of way. sudoku Saturday, October 24 – Sunday, October 25 Clackamette’s 51st Annual Gem & Mineral Show Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. Free admission. 503-631-3128. Tuesday, October 27 Keizer Public Arts Commission meeting, 6 p.m. in council chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE. Saturday, October 31 Community Harvest Party—Safe Zone for Kids, 1-3 p.m., Village at Keizer Ridge, 1184 McGee Court NE behind Emerald Pointe Retirement Community. Oregon Dream Ponies, food, music, candy. Free admission. 503-390- 1300. Monday, November 2 Keizer City Council meeting, 7 p.m. in council chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE. Tuesday, November 3 Community Build Task Force meeting, 6 p.m. in council chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE. Friday, November 6 Holiday craft bazaar sponsored by Salem Hospital Auxiliary in Building D on Oak Street. Free parking in hospital garage. Twenty-fi ve vendors. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 503- 364-7785. Sunday, November 8 Thomas Lauderdale plays Gershwin with the Salem Concert Band, 3 p.m. at the Elsinore Theatre. Tickets range from $25 - $35. www.elsinoretheatre.com Monday, November 9 Golden Dragon Acrobats, 7:30 p.m. at the Elsinore Theatre. Tickets range from $20-$35. www.elsinoretheatre.com looking back in the KT 5 YEARS AGO Japanese infl uence in Keizer area could be recognized by group Enter digits from 1-9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. A project commemorating the Japanese infl uence in the Keizer area could be on tap. 3893 COMMERCIAL ST SE THIS WEEK’S MOVIE TIMES 10 YEARS AGO Sports center fi scal outlook unveiled Two leading advocates of the Keizer Sports and Community Center last week unveiled more detailed fi nancial projections for the proposed project in North Keizer. 15 YEARS AGO Woman’s body found in Keizer yard Police are investigating the death of a body found in a Keizer yard by a local resident. 20 YEARS AGO District battles glitches in fi re call dispatching The Keizer Fire District is seeing delays -- an average of almost three minutes -- for 9-1-1 emergency calls to reach its crews. KEIZERTIMES.COM Web Poll Results How many guns do you have in your household? Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (PG-13) Fri 6:20, 7:55, Sat 6:45, 9:10, Sun 8:10 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 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