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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2015)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 49 SECTION A NOVEMBER 6, 2015 $1.00 Transit tax fails; KFD levy OK'd By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Opponents and proponents alike agree Tuesday’s rejection of the proposed payroll tax to pay for increased local transit service wasn’t a vote against transit. Rather, it was a vote against that particular funding mech- anism. Area voters rejected the Salem-Keizer Transit District’s Measure 24-388 on Tuesday, which called for a 0.21 per- cent payroll tax to bring in approximately $5 million in new funding. Updated results released late Tuesday night by the Marion County Clerk’s Of- fi ce showed the measure fail- ing, with 19,790 voters (58.18 percent) against and 14,227 voters (41.82 percent) for. The results showed 60 of 65 pre- cincts counted, with a voter turnout of 35.67 percent. The Keizer Fire District’s $6.2 million equipment bond, Measure 24-389, was more successful. The measure was approved by 4,365 voters (64.17 percent) while 2,437 voters (35.83 percent) were against it. The results showed 11 of 12 precincts counted, with a 39.23 percent voter turnout. The payroll tax would have paid for the return of week- end transit service, extended weeknight service and free bus passes for local middle school and high school stu- dents. Those services were victims of budget cuts in 2009. There was plenty of op- position to the proposed transit tax. Both the Keizer and Salem Area Chambers of Commerce vigorously fought against the measure, claiming it was not a fair burden on lo- cal businesses. The opposition included videos and sign-wav- ing campaigns. But there was common consensus after the results came out about the message. Halloween power outage PAGE A3 KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy Bob Schafer drops off his ballot at the ballot drop box in front of Keizer Civic Center Tuesday, Nov. 3. Allan Pollock, general man- ager for Cherriots, noted there was agreement from both sides of the campaign expand- ed transit service is needed. Please see VOTE, Page A10 MHS grad wins ‘They won’t change on their own’ Met Opera contest Submitted Daniel Ross (right) with co-winner Felicia Moore after the Oregon District competition of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Patience is a virtue for most, but absolutely essential for an opera singer. Just ask McNary High School grad Daniel Ross. “I’m getting old enough that it is about time to start trying the bigger competi- tions. It seemed like the right time so I went for it,” said Ross, one of two Oregon Dis- trict winners in the annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The contest is the most prestigious opera competition in the country and the fi nal winner receives a job with the New York Metropolitan Op- era for its upcoming season. He’ll compete in the regional qualifi er, slated Jan. 10, in Se- attle. The fi nals will be held next March. Ross, a 27-year-old tenor, has been pursuing a career in opera since his high school days. “I had some natural talent and teachers who were able to direct me toward opera,” Ross said. “I just happen to have a particular talent and a rare voice type. Very few people are capable of making the sounds that I make and, even on stage with a symphony, my voice is trumpet-like and will still rise above the instruments.” After graduating from Mc- Nary, Ross earned a bachelor’s degree in music and went on to graduate studies at the Uni- versity of Cincinnati. While there, he was a featured singer in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s performance of George Fridric Handel’s Mes- siah. He moved back to Oregon in 2013 and performs regular- ly at Salem First Presbyterian Church, but larger roles have been elusive. “With the economic crash, it’s taken its toll on the arts and its far well from over. At least 14 opera companies I know of have gone bankrupt this year, and that’s slowed from previ- ous years,” Ross said. “Suffi ce it to say it’s diffi cult to fi nd work as a professional musi- cian. The competition was a way to put myself out there and network with new peo- ple.” Please see OPERA, Page A11 Holland looking for help for concert By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Despite a setback Monday evening, Clint Holland is still moving forward with plans for a Dec. 13 Christmas concert at Keizer Civic Center. His request to the Keizer City Council for a waiver in use fees for city hall was de- nied by a 6-1 vote on Monday, so his request now is for busi- nesses to help him offset the costs. “I’m still going to try and do it,” Holland said follow- ing Monday’s vote. “I’m try- ing to make it an annual event and want it to stay in Keizer.” Holland had brought up the idea during the Oct. 19 coun- cil meeting. While there was support expressed for the idea, there were concerns at the time about the city being asked to waive some fees. Those concerns were ex- pressed again this week, start- ing when city manager Chris Eppley introduced the topic. Holland submitted a report with estimated income and expenses, with expenses esti- mated at $12,970 and income estimated at $9,350 including 300 tickets at $30 each. The expenses included city fees of $2,575; Eppley said the city fees would be $3,325 includ- ing a $1,500 refundable de- posit. Please see HOLLAND, Page A11 By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Sometimes it starts with the prescription painkiller. Sometimes it is youth wanting to experiment. Sometimes it is curiosity about the old bottle sitting in the medical cabinet. Sgt. Bob Trump and Of- fi cer James Young with the Keizer Police Department’s Community Response Unit (CRU) know there are vari- ous ways people can get ad- dicted to heroin. They also know it often doesn’t end well. According to stats provided by Cara Steele at the KPD, the most common drug-related charge in Keizer, by a wide margin, continues to be un- lawful possession of meth- amphetamine. Last year, there were 69 charges in that cat- egory. A distant second was possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, with 35 charges. Unlawful possession of heroin was in third, with 15 charges last year. Numbers for meth have risen this year, as have the numbers for heroin. But Trump and Young both emphasize the stats don’t show the true number of heroin of- fenses or the true impact of damage caused by the highly addictive drug in this area. Chasing Dark is a continuing Keizertimes series looking at such an impact. “It’s hard to see the increase with stats,” Young said. “You can see a person clearly on meth or heroin, but there are no stats to back it up.” For example, consider how many people get addicted to opiates like heroin after com- ing off prescribed painkillers. “We see it quite a bit,” Trump said. “Probably way more than it shows up in a specifi c statistic. Heroin is readily available.” Young said that is a com- mon start to the addiction, c hasing Dark Big Toy grant help PAGE A5 Chasing Dark is an ongoing series looking at heroin abuse in Keizer. Be sure to see another story on page A2 and also pick up next week’s paper for the next installment. though not the only one. “A lot of times it is an in- jury,” he said. “When people can’t get more (painkillers) from the doctor but they are hooked on the opiate, they turn to street level heroin. A lot of times it will be after an injury or just experimenting. Sometimes it is a familial con- nection. Sometimes you’ll see the drug use going on in your house growing up, so you wind up using it yourself.” Trump said the addiction to opiates at fi rst seems harm- less. “It often comes from the doctor, so it’s seen as being safe,” Trump said. “Then (the prescription) dries up, but by now you are addicted.” Young said even leaving old bottles in plain sight can inad- vertently start the addiction. “Even something like a parent or a brother blowing a knee out, they got a prescrip- tion for a narcotic,” Young said. “That bottle sits in the medical cabinet or cupboard. In the cabinet you have vari- ous drug bottles. The 14-year- old in the home hears friends talking about a drug and real- izes those are the things in the cabinet, so all the pill bottles start disappearing.” The Keizer Police De- partment has a drug turn-in receptacle in the police de- partment’s lobby that Young suggested people utilize for old prescriptions. Young said the heroin seen locally is mostly black tar her- oin being imported in from Mexico. He holds up a stan- dard size water bottle to de- scribe quantities. “It can be transported un- detected,” he said. “Heroin in a package the size of a water bottle can be worth tens of thousands in value. Once it gets into the community, the heroin is broken up and dis- persed.” For years, it’s been said ar- eas like Keizer are susceptible to drugs due to easy Interstate 5 access. Yes and no, according to Young. “It is a nationwide thing,” Young said. “We’re on the I-5 corridor, one of the main drug traffi cking areas for the whole Please see HEROIN, Page A3 KHT 2016 auditions PAGE A6 Celts to face champs in FB PAGE A14 Slime him! KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald The top earners in the Kennedy Elementary School Jog-A-Thon slime their principal, Jesse Leonard, after soaring past their fundraising goal of $8,500. The students raised more than $10,000 that will be used for fi eld trips and classroom technology.