JANUARY 22, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
Mayor gives update at WKNA
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
As Terry Lowells (back left) watches, Tom Vanderhoof (from left), Jesus Montes and Tom Reeves
work on a ramp for the Lowells on Monday.
VETS,
continued from Page A1
a construction contractor
before retiring.
Terry was humbled and
appreciative of the help
offered by his fellow veterans.
“It’s hard for me to ask for
help,” he said while watching
the ramp being built. “I’d
Taking the
challenge
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Students from Whiteaker
Middle School recited their
pledge for their Great Kind-
ness Challenge Week at
Tuesday’s Keizer City Coun-
cil meeting (above) and met
with mayor Cathy Clark later
(bottom).
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Grandma’s Coffee
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always been athletic until I had
knee problems. I was going
to get a few friends to help,
because I didn’t want to get
the whole world involved. This
kind of organization doing
this is very heartwarming.
They don’t even ask questions,
they just come in to help.
They are ready to help other
veterans. I’m grateful for all of
their help.”
Larson noted all of the
veterans working on the
project have some sort of
disability.
Terry
was
pleasantly
surprised to see the group
show up at his door Monday
morning.
“If you need help they’re
there, with no red tape
involved,” he said. “It just
blows me away how quickly
it went up. They just unrolled
and started building.”
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
A neighborhood associa-
tion meeting last week turned
into a quasi state of the city
address.
Mayor Cathy Clark was
the guest speaker at the West
Keizer Neighborhood Associ-
ation meeting Jan. 14 and gave
an update on what’s happen-
ing around the town. Clark
was elected to the Keizer City
Council in 2006 and won
the unopposed mayor seat in
2014.
“I’m more optimistic than
ever about what our com-
munity can do when we put
our heads together,” Clark
said. “This last year we did a
project they said couldn’t be
done. We done did it. We built
the Big Toy. You ought to be
proud of the neighbors who
did it. There were over 1,000
volunteers. It was two years
in the making and 101 per-
cent of the funds were raised.
There’s a grant being written
right now to add features to
make it more accessible for
kids with special needs. We
want this to be a place all chil-
dren of all abilities can come
and enjoy. Now all the naysay-
ers are saying, ‘I guess you did
it.’ Yeah, we did.”
Speaking of Keizer Rapids
Park, Clark also referenced the
sand volleyball courts done by
Hans Schneider.
“Those courts are always
busy,” the mayor said. “They
were beautifully done and
done right. You can hold a
tournament there. Volunteers
wanted to bring that amenity
to Keizer.
“Were we done? Oh no,”
Clark added. “We also did the
field turf project at McNary
High School. Danielle Bethell
and the boosters worked tire-
lessly to put in the turf field.
That field was in use again
tonight. It can be used 365
days a year. It’s not going to
be destroyed in the rain. More
student athletes can use the
field. It’s way more accessible.
It means more students can be
involved in sports.”
In short, Clark was proud
of what was accomplished last
Mayor Cathy
Clark gives
an unofficial
state of the
city address
Jan. 14 at the
West Keizer
Neighborhood
Association
meeting.
KEIZERTIMES/
Craig Murphy
year.
“It’s been a banner year,”
she said. “2015 showed when
Keizer puts its mind to it, we
can get it done. That’s what
makes Keizer so special.”
In terms of looking ahead
to 2016, the first thing Clark
mentioned was the recent
sale of Schoolhouse Square,
as mentioned last week in the
Keizertimes.
“It will be a good thing for
us to have more businesses and
vibrancy,” Clark said. “It will
transition to being a vibrant
place instead of being vacant.”
The mayor also referenced
the Keizer Creekside Shop-
ping Center, in the news quite
a bit in recent months since
Haggen closed there in late
September.
“Creekside is our other
challenging child,” Clark said.
“If there’s a way for the city to
be a partner and encourager,
there is the proper zoning in
place. We’ve done what we
can for it to be leased. Right
now, we are open for business.
We want property owners to
know that. Those spaces have
to be filled. We want to make
sure our economy moves for-
ward with a strong base.”
Clark noted some new
businesses came in along Riv-
er Road last year.
“We’re a great place to
live and do business,” she said.
“People really do support
their neighbors. But if you
do a slipslop job, word gets
around fast. We expect you do
do the right job. We’re proud
of who we are, we’re proud of
our businesses and we want to
make sure they’re proud to do
business here.”
The mayor mentioned
the Bonaventure and Moun-
tain West project going on at
Keizer Station Area C, which
will add 180 apartments and a
154-unit senior living center.
“Area C is now under
construction,” Clark said.
“McLeod Lane is connected
through. Sidewalks will go in.
We’re waiting for the retail
portion to sell. It’s ready to go.
Businesses that are interested,
come talk to us. That’s what
we deserve.”
While the city could use
a conference center – some-
thing Clark hopes can come
in the future with a new Keiz-
er Station hotel – the civic
center is being heavily used.
“The numbers we’ll see
with dollars coming in, we’ll
see improvement like we see
at the Keizer Heritage Cen-
ter with booking and rental
fees,” Clark said. “That runs
the heritage center. Over here,
it maintains the building and
makes it available for groups
like us to meet here tonight.”
Clark also mentioned the
city is working with Salem
and Marion County to deal
with homelessness.
“Doing what we’re do-
ing isn’t doing it,” the mayor
said. “We’ve looked at how
we can collaborate to address
the needs of the homeless-
ness community. An initiative
will get underway on Feb. 17.
We’ll look at what we’re do-
ing, what are the best practic-
es, pitfalls to avoid, where are
the gaps and practical changes
that will impact the availabil-
ity of housing. It’s very com-
plex. There are no two stories
that are the same.”