SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 8
SECTION A
JANUARY 22, 2016
$1.00
Busted!
Chamber
awards
banquet
Saturday
PAGE A2
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
A large amount of stolen equipment was found at a house on Marino Drive Tuesday. Four people have been arrested so far.
Theft ring cracked on Marino Drive
77 lbs of pot seized
of the day processing the theft
ring scene.
And what a scene it was.
There were cars, utility
trailers, ATVs, quads and
various wheels, compressors
and construction tools galore.
That was just the stuff found
outside and in the garage.
“There was a whole bunch
of stolen property,” said Jeff
Kuhns, deputy chief with the
Keizer Police Department.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
While medical marijuana may be legal in
Oregon, there are limits.
Keizer’s David Lester Nicholson found
that out the hard way.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Jan. 18, Sergeant Jeff
Goodman with the Keizer Police Department
Nicholson
observed 39-year-old Nicholson driving a
U-Haul van eastbound on Lockhaven Drive
Northeast from River Road North. Goodman paced the
vehicle and found it was traveling at about 50 mph in a 35
mph zone and thus pulled the
Please see POT, Page A7
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
A neighborhood nuisance
on Marino Drive is no more.
Around 5 a.m. Tuesday,
offi cers from various agencies
served a search warrant at
555 Marino Drive North in
Keizer and arrested Alexandria
and
Donnie
Carpenter,
Yvonne Connors and Rudy
Sobremonte.
Offi cers then spent the rest
“This is a serious theft ring.
It sounds like maybe these
people were going to new
construction sites and ripping
off doors and new appliances,
anything not secured down.
This is a really extensive ring.”
Lt. Andrew Copeland used
a highly technical term to
describe the scene.
“This is a really huge
cluster,” Copeland said.
Please see RING, Page A9
Mayor gives
update at
WKNA
PAGE A3
Vets help out a brother
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Make no mistake, Terry
Lowells greatly appreciated
the new ramp.
But his favorite part was
something that couldn’t be
seen.
“One big thing is missing:
the red tape,” Terry said with
a big smile.
Terry, who served with
the Marine Corps during the
Vietnam War, had a third knee
operation this week. As such,
the steps at his house on Bever
Drive were getting too hard to
navigate.
Wife Sherry didn’t know
where else to turn, so last
Saturday she called up Marion
Post 661 Veterans of Foreign
Wars (VFW) in Salem.
“I was asking if they knew
of services that might be
available,” Sherry said. “I just
Stories
We Like
“ One big thing
is missing:
the red tape.”
— Terry Lowells
Saluting the people that make
us proud of our community
capitolauto.com
wanted information about
where to go. I was expecting
several months of waiting.”
It didn’t take that long. Not
even close, actually.
The next day, Joe Ramp
called some veterans together
at the VFW and explained the
need. On Monday, a group
of veterans – Tom Reeves,
Eric Jones, Jesus Montes, Tom
Vanderhoof and Wes Larson –
equipped with tools and
lumber showed up at the
Lowells house.
“This is a community
project from the post, part of
Vets Helping Vets,” Vanderhoof
said. “Joe rounded us all up. It
needs to be done by the end of
today. They found an infection
in Terry’s knee, so he can’t get
up and down the three steps
in front of his home. This is an
emergency project.”
Reeves was in charge
of the design and project
overall, fi tting since he was
Please see VETS, Page A3
Heroin: A devious liar
with a powerful pull
By SAMANTHA NIXON
For the Keizertimes
Editor's Note: In a recent
Chasing Dark story, Elizabeth
Smith talked about her daugh-
ter Sam Nixon's struggles with
heroin. This is Sam's fi rst person
tale of what she went through and
what she wants
Samantha
others to know
Nixon
about heroin.
(right) and
c hasing
Dark
her mother
Elizabth
Smith.
I’m sure
people who
(Submitted
have
never
Photo)
tried heroin
think, “Why would anyone
ever want to?”
We hear stories about
overdoses, arrests and beautiful
souls’ transformations into
unrecognizable individuals all
the time.
We’re in the midst of an
epidemic, and I want to say
fi rst and foremost: heroin does
Chasing Dark is an ongoing series looking at heroin
abuse in Keizer. For past stories, please visit
keizertimes.com/category/chasing-dark/
not discriminate.
Some of us are more
susceptible
to
becoming
enslaved in the throes of
addiction due to a complex
combination of genetics,
circumstances, mental illnesses
and social factors. But heroin
does not care about the
superfi cial differences that
trick us into believing the lie
that we or our loved ones are
immune to her reach.
Please see HEROIN, Page A7
Anatomy
of Gray
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Terry (middle left) and Sherry Lowells (middle) have a new
ramp at their home thanks to VFW volunteers Tom Vanderhoof,
Jesus Montes, Wes Larson, Tom Reeves and Eric Jones.
PAGE A5
Family fi les lawsuit vs.
McNary Estates HOA
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
It started with a request last
April.
It ended with the Kuhn
family leaving their longtime
McNary Estates home in
August and fi ling a lawsuit
against the McNary Estates
Homeowners Association.
This marks the second
time in less than fi ve years the
McNary Estates HOA has been
sued over a Fair Housing Act
complaint. A judge ruled against
the HOA in the previous case,
as mentioned in an August
2011 Keizertimes article.
Gary and Renee Kuhn sold
their home as a result of what
transpired over a four month
period and moved, along
with their 33-year-old special
needs daughter Khrizma, to
Woodburn in the fall.
In addition to the overall
McNary Estates HOA, the
Fountains HOA – one of
Next level
PAGE A10
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Khrizma Kuhn exits her
family's RV with a big smile
on Tuesday.
fi ve subgroups within the
neighborhood – is also named,
as well as McNary Estates
HOA president Teresa Girod
and former Fountains HOA
president Richard LeDoux,
who lived next door to the
Kuhn family.
Please see LAWSUIT, Page A9