Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2016)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 23 SECTION A MAY 20, 2016 $1.00 Police chief emphasizes causes of recent crimes “ Then I saw the bullet holes in the house. It's scary. I'm from Los Angeles. I moved here to get away from this (stuff ). This is scary.” — Margarito Galvez Jr. By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes A drive-by shooting last weekend means there has been a major crime in Keizer each of the past four months. No one was injured early Sunday morning, May 15 when several shots were fi red at a house and a car on the 4900 block of 13th Avenue North. In February Jerrid Goodpaster was fatally shot at Keizer Station, while in March there was an armed robbery at One Stop Smoke Shop and a shooting in the Bi-Mart parking lot. In April there was a fatal stabbing at a residence on Brooks Avenue. Not surprisingly, the string of crimes has left some Keizerites on edge and wondering what's going on. John Teague, Keizer police chief, sought to calm fears on Monday. “We’re thankful that the incidents previous to this one weren’t long investigations: we very quickly fi gured out who-done-it and affi rmed that the public wasn’t in danger of random victimization,” Teague told the Keizertimes. “The com- mon denominator to all of the earlier incidents is a high-risk lifestyle involving intoxicants. The shoot- ings, for ex- ample, alleg- edly involved drug debts, not something for which a guy turns to Chief Teague the police or the courts for resolution.” Teague said in some respects last weekend's shooting was “qualitatively different” from the other incidents. “In another way – if there was a high-risk lifestyle – it may be quite like them; we’re Iris Festival time is here PAGE A2 KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy The back window of this Honda, which was parked in front of a home on the 4900 block of 13th Avenue early Sunday morning, May 15, was shattered by a bullet. continuing to investigate,” Teague said. “In the meantime, I expect most people aren’t fearful that they or their homes are at similar risk. Still, even apart from running with a risk- prone crowd, it’s a legitimate concern that a good guy may suffer merely for being around one of these things when it unravels. Even the most diligently aware person, for example, wouldn’t have avoided the shopping center or coffee shop where and when the shootings occurred.” So why are the incidents happening here, and why now? “There really is no pattern in the randomness,” Teague said. “Similar to if a guy threw handfuls of marbles across a fl oor, he would expect to see most of the marbles spread out, but some will group together, even where there’s no obvious reason for it, like a dip in the fl oor. I suspect that’s where the public is at the Library Tea Party PAGE A5 Please see CRIME, Page A8 Coffee place, sub shop coming to Russell, Martindale shine at Schoolhouse Square DYWK scholarship program By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Keizer's busy focal point intersection at River and Chemawa Roads could soon be known as Coffee Corner. Or would that be Koffee Korner? C o f f e e aplenty is already readily available: Starbucks is currently located in the Schoolhouse S q u a r e Shopping Center, Dutch Bros. coffee stand is a little south of the intersection and there is a Starbucks inside the Safeway on the southeast corner of the intersection. As mentioned previously in the Keizertimes, the standalone Starbucks is being replaced soon by a new building two addresses shy of Dutch Bros, while a new building with two tenants is planned for the corner of the Schoolhouse S q u a r e property. One of those tenants will be a coffee drive- through, meaning four places to get coffee – three of which will have a drive- through option – within a few hundred yards of each other. Darren Bloch, principal of Bloch Properties which closed on Schoolhouse Square late last year, confi rmed MHS singers take title PAGE A6 Please see SQUARE, Page A9 Around we go KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Elizabeth Russell and Sydney Martindale were named co-Distinguished Young Women of Keizer during the annual scholarship program Saturday, May 14. See page A6 for the story. Koho to step down from city council This follows a March heart By CRAIG MURPHY attack that left Koho in the Of the Keizertimes Dennis Koho was already hospital for weeks. He's been going to leave the Keizer City slowly recovering, only to face one setback after Council once his another. term ended in “ I ' m January. recovering, or He's just moving at least I think up the timeline a so,” Koho said. bit. “Everytime I Koho, the think I'm doing former Keizer better, I go to mayor and current work for a while, city council Dennis Koho then I fi nd myself president, told the Keizertimes on May 13 he's back in the hospital a couple resigning from the council. of days later. Due to that reason, I am resigning from the city council on June 1.” After consulting with current mayor Cathy Clark, Koho changed the date on Monday to July 1, since that will get him through the budget season. Koho said he reached the decision in part after conversations with wife Lori. “It was an extremely diffi cult decision,” he said. “If it wasn't for my wife, I wouldn't do it. She explained a few things to me as only she can do. If the shoe was on the other foot, I'd probably ask her to do the same thing. For me, volunteer activities are important, but they're not the most important things. Please see KOHO, Page A9 Courtesy of American Public Works Association Construction of a roundabout at Chemawa Road and Verda Lane, similar to the one seen here, will start in mid-June. By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes It really is happening. After several delays, the intersection planned for years at Chemawa Road NE and Verda Lane NE is fi nally being constructed this summer. Bill Lawyer, Public Works director for Keizer, confi rmed the timing last week. “The schedule for the project is to close the intersection beginning June 15 for construction and the intersection must be reopened no later than Sept 2,” Lawyer said. “The contractor will be doing some preliminary work prior to June 15 that includes installing the detour signs, placing erosion control measures and mobilizing equipment to the job, but actual construction activities are not scheduled before June 15.” Once the road is closed, it's closed to all. “The closure will affect all motor vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffi c,” Lawyer said. The roundabout – much maligned in the community for years – is replacing the current four-way stop which often produces long Please see AROUND, Page A8 McNary sends some to state track PAGE A10
