SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 9
SECTION A
JANUARY 29, 2016
$1.00
and
the clock
goes to…
Bike helmet
support
PAGE A2
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
From left to right: Mark Caillier (First Citizen), Danielle Bethell (President's Award), John Honey (Service to Education) and Scott White (Merchant of the Year)
were the big winners Jan. 23 at the Keizer First Citizen Awards banquet.
Mark Caillier named Keizer’s First Citizen
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Two of the biggest projects
completed in Keizer last
year were the Big Toy play
structure at Keizer Rapids
Park and the new turf fi eld at
McNary High School.
Mark Caillier managed the
Big Toy project, while Danielle
Bethell was the key person –
along with Bob Zielinski – for
the turf fi eld project.
Fast forward to last Saturday
night's First Citizen Awards
banquet, put on by the Keizer
Chamber of Commerce at the
Keizer Quality Suites.
Keizer's First Citizen for
2015? Caillier.
And who did Zielinski, the
current chamber president,
bestow with the President's
Award? None other than
Bethell.
There were more MHS
connections. John Honey,
the former MHS principal
who opened the Career and
Technical Education Center
(CTEC) on Portland Road
along with Chuck Lee last fall,
was presented the Service to
Education Award by Chuck
and Krina Lee.
Scott White, the Keizer
Big Town Hero owner who
has donated to MHS and
various other community
organizations for years, was
honored with the Merchant
of the Year award.
While none of the
recipients were big surprises,
Caillier was probably the least
surprising of all. In addition to
being a former Salem Police
Department offi cer and a
former Keizer City Councilor,
Caillier is current president
of the Greater Gubser
Neighborhood Association
and also heads up the Claggett
Creek Watershed Council.
A longtime community
volunteer, Caillier worked
Kindness
seen at WMS
PAGE A5
tirelessly to coordinate the Big
Toy project, which was delayed
nine months and fi nally
built last June by an army of
community volunteers.
Caillier was introduced
by former mayor Lore
Please see AWARDS, Page A3
Large crowd discusses
grocery issues
WKNA marks
10 years with
new leader
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
It was a milestone evening for
the West Keizer Neighborhood
Association on Jan. 14.
For one, it marked the 10 year
mark since WKNA had been
restarted.
R. Rich
G. Blake
When WKNA restarted in
2006, Rhonda Rich was the initial president.
Rich stayed in that position – until the Jan. 14 meeting.
When it came time for the annual board elections, Gary Blake
nominated Rich to serve another term.
Rich declined, then turned around and nominated Blake for
the position.
“He'll do a great job,” Rich said.
There were no other nominations, so Blake is the new WKNA
president. Rich will serve as vice president, Carolyn Homan as
secretary and Carol Doerfl er, Art Mauer, Sarah Head and Clint
Holland as members of the board of directors.
Before the elections began, Rich talked about the milestone
evening.
“It is 10 years this month since we reactivated the neighborhood
association,” she said. “It's been a real pleasure doing it for 10
years. You get to meet a lot of neat people. It's cool to be active in
the neighborhood and to give
Please see WKNA, Page A3
a voice to the neighborhood.
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
A majority of those attending Tuesday night's town hall meeting on grocery stores raised their
hands when Rep. Bill Post asked if they wanted a WinCo in Keizer.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
City leaders and a state
representative admitted there
wasn't much they could do
to persuade a grocery store
to come to Keizer during a
town hall meeting Tuesday
evening at the Keizer Fire
Hall.
State Rep. Bill Post
(R-Keizer) organized the
hour-long meeting to allow
citizens a chance to ask
questions, offer ideas or to just
rant.
The meeting, which at-
tracted a standing room-only
crowd of about 70 people, in-
cluded ideas from those highly
“I don't want to pay $4.69
for Cocoa Puffs when I pay
$1.98 for them at WinCo.”
— Amy Lietz
familiar with the process gro-
cery chains and realtors go
through when deciding where
to open a new location.
The topic of grocery stores
in Keizer has been a hot
issue for months, especially
since the former Albertsons/
Haggen store closed late last
September, leaving Safeway
as the only grocery store in
town. One audience member
noted Tuesday some Safeway
employees are weary from the
increased workload associated
with the uptick in business.
In recent months, there
have been various efforts to
woo potential new stores,
with much of the talk focused
Please see GROCERY, Page A7
Guitar class will keep hopes alive for solo artists
Photo by Nicole Ecklund
Uptown Music owner Paul Elliott and McNary teacher Jim
Taylor with guitars the store donated for a new guitar class.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
At Salem-Keizer schools,
studying music is a progression,
with gaps some students fi nd
themselves tumbling into.
Local students are lucky in
that they have the opportunity
to start exploring music in
elementary school. Beginning
in middle school, those students
become part of an ensemble.
Some discover other interests
and some discover being part of
a group isn't their forte. By the
time they reach high school, the
emphasis is on competitive, group
performances.
“At that point we start losing
people left and right,” said Jim
Taylor, director of McNary choirs.
To counteract forces that pull
students in other directions, Taylor
spearheaded an effort to create
a piano lab. It began three years
ago and is now at full capacity (96
students), with a lengthy waiting
list. He sees a new guitar class as
fi lling a similar niche at MHS.
“We have a lot of students
who tried music when they were
younger and never really found
'their thing.' The guitar class gives
them another chance,” Taylor said.
That sort of experience is
precisely why student Ryan
Cowan picked up a guitar.
“What I love about it is seeing
other people playing something
intricate and beautiful than
thinking, 'Wow, I could do that.' I
Please see GUITAR, Page A7
MHS bowlers
are a strike
PAGE A8
MHS boys
clobber
Grizzlies
PAGE A9