NOVEMBER 27, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5
KeizerCommunity
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Volcanoes Stadium hosts Santa
The Volcanoes and Keizer
Station will host Santa Claus
Saturday, Nov. 28, at noon.
The Man in Red will ar-
rive via helicopter at noon
and will meet all the good
boys and girls in attendance
between noon and 3 p.m. in-
side the Volcanoes team store.
Parking and admission are
free. E-photos are also free and
Santa will have a treat for all in
attendance.
Arrive early for a good spot
near the front of the line.
A collection of World Series
rings will also be on display
during the event. The 2010,
2012, and 2014 San Francisco
Giants offi cial World Series
rings will be on display from
noon to 2 p.m.
Mural meeting Dec. 2
The Keizer Commu-
nity Mural public meeting is
scheduled for Wednesday, Dec.
2 from 6 to 8 p.m. The meet-
ing takes place in the Iris B
room at Keizer Civic Center,
930 Chemawa Road NE.
If you live or work in Keiz-
er or are a Keizer Arts Associa-
tion member, you are asked to
attend this meeting if you are
interested in helping to create
the mural on the north wall
of Town & Country Lanes on
River Road.
During the meeting, an
overview and theme of the
proposed mural will be pre-
sented. Anyone wanting to
help with any facet of the mu-
ral is asked to do so.
Topics discussed during
the meeting will be creating
an image, transferring the im-
age through various methods,
color and applications. Project
progression and timelines will
be presented.
Artists of all ages and abili-
ties are welcome to attend.
Gubser turns on Dec. 4
The Keizer Miracle of
Christmas Lights Display will
begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4.
Cars will be roaming the
neighborhood from 6 to 10
p.m. through Dec. 26. The
route is about 3.5 miles long,
and can take several hours to
complete on busy weekends.
Sno Cop barricades will lead
drivers through the neighbor-
hood.
The tradition, which rais-
es money and food for the
Marion-Polk Food Share,
draws eyes from around the
region. It’s expected that near-
ly 20,000 vehicles will pass
through the neighborhood.
There’s no admission fee,
but the event is a fundraiser
for hungry families in the
mid-Willamette Valley, and
donations are always welcome.
Cans and non-perishable
food donations along with
cash are welcomed. A do-
nation site will be set up on
Mistwood Drive NE.
Organizers remind attend-
ees that there are no public re-
strooms available, and visitors
should keep their headlights
on at all times while driv-
ing through. It is a residential
neighborhood, so please be
aware and courteous to pe-
destrians and residents trying
to get in and out of driveways.
The display is also walkable,
with sidewalks throughout
the Gubser neighborhood. If
you choose to walk it, please
park at either Whiteaker Mid-
dle School, 1605 Lockhaven
Drive NE, or at Gubser El-
ementary School, 6610 14th
Avenue NE.
Aliens, vampires and faith
Keizer author takes on big questions in science fi ction
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Keizerite Kathleen Whit-
tam got her start telling sto-
ries on her father’s lap.
“Every night I would sit
on my dad’s lap and we’d
make up these ridiculous sto-
ries with cowboys. I would
be the hero and he would be
the bad guy, and that probably
kicked in my creativity,” said
Whittam.
Flash forward a few de-
cades and Whittam is now on
the cusp of releasing her third
book, the second in a planned
trilogy that got its start in
September with the release of
The Earth World.
The story is the tale of
Rose Flowers who has been
selected by an invading alien
race to help repopulate their
home planet. Rose struggles
to bridge the disconnect be-
tween her own hopes and
desires and the needs of her
would-be captors.
“It’s kind of about where
we draw the line at forcing
people into situations when
it serves the ultimate good.
I like looking at those situ-
ations and seeing where it
leads,” Whittam said. “Rose
questions a lot about the right
and the wrong of her situa-
tion, and there are some an-
swers she can’t disagree with
even though they are hard to
accept.”
Whittam retired from an
18-year career as a realtor
before ever sitting down to
wrestle with those types of
big questions on the page.
“When I started this, it was
the result of a conversation
with my ex-broker. He sat me
down and we started talking
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
to my about life after retire-
ment and he encouraged me
to write. It was almost like
someone needed to give me
permission. I hadn’t seriously
considered it until I had that
conversation,” Whittam said.
Her fi rst novel, released in
fall 2014, is titled Now and
Eternity. It also tackles a big
question.
“I wanted to look at how
far someone can go before
they can’t be forgiven,” she
said.
Now and Eternity tells the
story of Kara and her love
for two men: a vampire, Nate,
and Fred, a mortal. The book
examines issues of what fam-
ily means and what purpose
it generates, even for the un-
dead.
Whittam publishes her
work using Amazon’s Cre-
ateSpace, a suite of self-pub-
lishing tools and services. She
knew from the outset that the
publishers of Christian books
likely wouldn’t touch her
work because of the sexuality
and mayhem they encompass,
but her faith is a large pres-
ence in her work.
“With science fi ction,
Retired realtor Kathleen Whittam has released two books in
the past two years and is on the precipice of sending her third
out into the world.
there is something about
bringing up questions con-
cerning what reality is. Faith
tackles those same questions,”
Whittam said.
For a fee, CreateSpace
offers her access to editors
and cover designers that she
would otherwise have to
come up with on her own.
“You pay for everything
you do, but you work with a
team and they come up with
cover option and layout op-
tions,” she said. “It’s a little
overwhelming at fi rst, but it’s
not so bad once you’re into
it.”
She made use of editorial
services for the newest book
and feedback from an editor
has given her a lot of fodder
as she’s worked on the fi nal
book in the trilogy.
“I realized in the third
book that there has been no
mention of one of the main
characters, so I went back and
added a whole section that to
the second book that includ-
ed him,” she said.
Writing has opened up
new doors into her own
views on the world, usually in
the best ways.
She said, “One of the
things that I really started be-
lieving as a result of writing
is that none of us are perfect
people and, even though we
have imperfections, so does
everybody else. We can’t
dwell on our imperfections
nor judge somebody else.”
These days, Whittam tries
to spend about two hours a
day on her writing, but she’s
gone as long as six or eight
hours in marathon sessions.
“Another thing writing
has helped me with is in real-
izing I don’t have to have the
answers immediately. I can
play with different concepts
or ideas in all sorts of ways in
writing and in life, and fi nd
the ones that suit me,” she
said.
In a way, it’s like going
back to those days in her dad’s
lap playing pretend.
Whittam’s books are avail-
able in e-book and dead-tree
editions at amazon.com.
Christmas Trees
items of
5 OFF ANY ONE ITEM (on
$20 or more)
$
Nobles • Grands • Douglas • Nordmans
Up to 12 feet | Wreaths
985 Broadway St NE, Salem • 503-363-6033
Mon-Fri: 8 AM - 6 PM, Sat: 9 AM - 4 PM, Sun: Closed
www.jkcarpetdesigncentersalem.com
Hot Beverage Bottles (OSU, UofO and Seahawks designs!)
Mon – Sat, 9 am – 8pm | Sun 10 am – 7 pm (Nov. 27 – Dec. 15)
750 Commercial St. NE (Former Honda of Salem lot)
Formerly Martha Louise’s Trees 503-856-9177
WorshipDirectory
These Salem-Keizer houses of worship invite you to visit.
Call to list your church in our Worship Directory: (503) 390-1051
John Knox Presbyterian Church
JOIN US FOR
SUNDAY WORSHIP
8:30 am • 10 am • 11:30 am • 6 pm
PEOPLESCHURCH
4500 LANCASTER DR NE | SALEM
503.304.4000 • www.peopleschurch.com
Celebration
Services
Saturday Evening
6:00 pm
Children’s Programs, Student and Adult Ministries
1755 Lockhaven Dr. NE Keizer
503-390-3900
www.dayspringfellowship.com
Sunday Morning
9:00 am
and
10:45 am
452 Cummings Lane North • 393-0404
Father Gary L. Zerr, Pastor
Saturday Vigil Liturgy: 5:30 p.m.
Sundays: 8:15 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
La Misa en Español: 12:30 p.m.
Rev. Dr. John Neal, Pastor
Worship - 10:30 a.m.
Education Hour - 10:00 a.m.
Nursery Care Available
www.keizerjkpres.org
Jason Lee UMC
820 Jeff erson St. NE
Salem OR 97301
Dr. Jon F. Langenwalter, Pastor
The church with the purple doors
503-364-2844
Worship at 9:30 am • Child Care Available
Faith Lutheran Church
4505 River Rd N • 393-4507
Sunday Schedule:
9:00 a.m. Children’s Church
9:15 a.m. Adult Bible Study
9:30 a.m. Children’s Activities
Pastor
Virginia Eggert 10:30 a.m. Worship with Communion