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