APRIL 8, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A9
NEIGHBORS,
continued from Page A1
getting more traffi c and
involvement, including from
people not even in school. They
are characters, I’ll put it that way.
They’re smoking something.
They hide and smoke whatever
they’re smoking. If they lock the
gate, our problem is solved.”
Anderson agreed with
Catlow’s assertion a mudhole is
being formed by students.
“There is car parking on
Mike’s property, making a
mudhole,” Anderson said. “They
are parking in front of the fi re
hydrant and making noise.”
Police chief John Teague
was disappointed to hear of the
problem.
“Sandy Drive was a problem
for 30 years until we solved it last
year,” Teague said. “Evidently
it moved your way, which is
unfortunate. We don’t want to
see it in your neighborhood.
I don’t see the diffi culty in
locking the gate offhand. I
know we – and the school –
have an interest in being good
neighbors.”
Councilor Amy Ryan said
students are having to fi nd
additional places to park this
year.
“It sounds like we have
a parking problem,” Ryan
TRIP: ‘I want to get 50
people interested...’
(Continued from pg. A1)
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Charles Anderson (right) has started a petition signed by
neighbors like Michael Catlow (left)
said. “Maybe we need to fi nd
another solution for parking.
The issues have changed this
year, which is important to note.
It’s not just the loitering like we
had before.”
Siri Scales, the youth
councilor
from
MHS,
confi rmed a parking change has
helped build the problem.
“There is a huge parking
issue on campus,” Scales said.
“It’s led to the issue of students
walking around your properties,
causing problems. Sophomores
can now park on campus. In
the past, they couldn’t park on
campus.”
Mayor Cathy Clark said the
issue would be followed up on,
both with police and the school.
KEIZER HOME FOR SALE
1211 Ridgepoint St NE, Keizer
This is the one you’ve been waiting for.
Park Meadow, Clear Lake School, 4 bedroom, Formal Living Room with open formal
dining. Family room with gas fi replace open to kitchen that opens to outdoors. Large
backyard with patio. 4 bedrooms upstairs Master Suite with large walk-in full bath with
large walk-in closet. Soaker tub & Dual sinks. Cul de sac living at is best! MLS#702230
APRIL & BRIAN McVAY
503.510.6827
mcvaythree@gmail.com
CALL US TODAY to find out
about our upcoming listings.
“Clearly there is a capacity
issue at the school,” Clark
said. “We need well placed
reminders for students about
what is and what is not
appropriate behavior. Sgt.
Trevor Wenning is more than
willing to be instructive. We’ve
seen commitment on the part
of our police to follow through.
“I want to tell you how much
I appreciate you bringing your
concern here,” the mayor told
the neighbors. “When people
park in front of your driveway,
that’s the time to call. That helps
us address the problem in real
time. Say something.”
Jacquelyne Downer, another
Newberg Drive resident, noted
she has lived in her house for 49
years.
“This is the worst it has
been,” Downer said. “Between
the cars and the parking, this is
out of hand. It’s never been this
bad. If they block my driveway,
I’ll have their car towed. They
are also blocking the fi re
hydrant. I think it’s fi ne people
are meeting with the principal
and Trevor, but their hands are
tied. Max Court used to have
a big padlock and we didn’t
have the parking problems then.
When the gate was unlocked,
we had problems. How come
you took the padlock down?”
Clark noted the outcry from
citizens two years ago led to the
locked gate on Sandy.
“The things we heard from
people on Sandy made my
hair stand on end,” the mayor
said. “With the behaviors of
some of the youth, locking the
gates fi nally got some of the
behaviors to stop.”
BETTER THAN NEW
WITH A CLASSIC TOUCH
BEFORE
AFTER
FREE
ESTIMATES
503.393.2875
remodelkeizer.com
CCB#155626
EXPERIENCE
• PROFESSIONALISM • TRUSTWORTHINESS
The MHS students –
Maret, Shore, Robbins, Chloe
Sheffi eld, Megan Schneider,
Ivon Ortiz, Ashley Maceira,
Bryanna
Anhalt, Abigail
Devlin, Cassidy Brunkal,
McKenzie Beard and Jannicke
Martin – were each paired
up with another Celt and
then put into a larger group
of students from across the
country. Each of the groups
went to different places on
different days. Students arrived
in D.C. on March 20 and
returned home that Friday.
“Close Up is the longest-
running program for student
involvement,” Kirch said. “It's
been at least six or seven years
since McNary did it.”
Maret, Robbins and Shore –
three of the eight sophomores
on the trip – want to return
next year. Not only that, but
they want more Celtics to join
them.
“I want to get 50 people
interested for next year and I
want at least 20 on the group
going,” Maret said. “We had
a mock Congress, which was
a great experience. We were
talking about bills that are
affecting us. We got to argue
about bills and see what is
better for us. They have classes
about this (in other schools).
I'm happy I got to go, but I
want it to be a big deal here.
It's a great trip.”
Robbins
said
the
experience exceeded her
expectations.
“I thought it would be a
tour guide, but it was more
like having class for a week,”
Robbins said. “We had 25 in
our group. Seeing all the kids
and hearing their viewpoints
and learning from them was
the big part for us. A lot of us
had had government classes
here, but hearing from another
point of view, from someone
who's from Boston, was great.”
For Shore, the trip brought
things and people – including
U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader from
Canby – to life.
Photo courtesy Jordy Maret
Among other things, the McNary students visiting D.C. got to
chat with U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader (center).
“I
learned
our
representative is a real person,”
Shore said. “He was really
funny. It was weird seeing all
the buildings up close that
you've read about. They were
there. You could touch them.
They're not just in a book.”
Maret was apprehensive at
fi rst about being around so
many new people, but ended
up quickly bonding with
some Puerto Rican students
in her group.
“It ended up being so
much fun being with the
different kids,” Maret said.
“We were able to explore for
ourselves. One thing I learned
about myself was I'm able to
make friends quickly. Also, the
White House was a lot smaller
than I thought it would
be. It was like a big house.
One other thing I learned
was the government works
differently than I have heard
from my parents and other
kids. They talk about how bad
the Democrats are, but our
representative (Schrader) is a
Democrat and he was cool.
He's actually a funny guy. I
found we have some of the
same viewpoints as well.”
Maret and Robbins had
already signed up to compete
for junior class president, but
the trip inspired them to do
more.
“I want to get involved in
school more,” Robbins said.
“I want to have a say for the
crossword
junior class. I thought it would
be a good opportunity.”
Kirch had taken groups at
a previous school on the trip
and knew this year's students
would get a lot out of it.
“The civic education is the
big thing,” said Kirch, noting
students paid about $2,000
each to go. “Their experience
is so much more than just a
tour. It's the civic education
part, learning about their
role in our society. It's a life
changing experience. I was
happy for them to have the
opportunity. Now we have
girls who can share about the
trip with their peers. We can
start planting the seeds for
next year. Maybe we could
do a Close Up club, maybe
working with our government
classes.
“It was awesome,” the
teacher added. “To see their
growth in fi ve days in terms
of confi dence, leadership
skills and the academic
conversations with students
around the country is
outstanding. I was really proud
of them.”
If Maret has her way, Kirch
will have more students to be
proud of next year.
“I'm happy I had the
opportunity to go,” Maret
said. “I want it to blow up
and be big here. I want a ton
of kids to go. It's such a neat
experience, we need to make
it happen.”