Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2016)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 20, 2016 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Iris festival and its future Diamond in the Rough, the 2016 Keizer Iris Fes- tival, kicked off earlier this month with the opening of the Keizer Art Associa- tion’s Iris and the Flowers exhibit including the art piece chosen for the 2017 festival (Merren Garland’s Total Eclipse of the Heart) on display through May 28. The Keizer Volunteer Fire Fight- ers Association held their annual Mother’s Day Breakfast; Cathy Clark led the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. Last weekend two young women, Sydney Martindale and Elizabeth Russell, were chosen as the 2016 Keizer’s Dis- tinguished Young Women. It’s been a busy festival thus far; it really kicks into high gear this week- end with the opening of the Keizer- fest tent and its full weekend of live entertainment. The festival will feature the pet parade and a total of fi ve run- ning events. The centerpiece of the festival is the Iris Festival Parade on Saturday. Traffi c routes will be affected, but that’s a small price to pay to celebrate one’s community. The festival is our community’s biggest event. Years ago, the Iris Festi- val was on the event calendar all by it- self. These days it is impossible to fi nd a weekend any time of the year that is event-free. A proliferation of festivals, concerts, tournaments and fundraisers over the past 10 years has divided the public’s attention. What used to be ‘parade Saturday’ is now jockeying for audiences with a number of other events in our area and throughout the region. Therein lies the challenge for the Keizer Chamber of Com- merce, organizer and ben- efi ciary of the festival—or- ganizing and promoting a festival that Keizerites feel they cannot miss. The festival has seen many changes over the years, ebbing and fl owing with the desires of the public. The parade is the linchpin of the Iris event; the Keiz- erfest tent is as popular as the music acts that play and the beverages served. The Keizerfest tent serves as reunion of sorts—former McNary High School classmates reconnect, friends, separated by busy daily lives, get to- gether and catch up. Beside the parade, the fi ve running events have become a major attraction for the festival—a marathon, a half marathon and 10-, 5- and 3-K races bring thousands of people out. The Iris Festival is the one time of the year for Keizer to show itself off. Thoughts of turning the festival into a regional event faded over the years. Staging a festival this large is not easy nor inexpensive. The number of vol- unteers needed is titanic. After decades of the Iris Festival being run by vol- unteers (whom get harder to recruit on the scale required for the task), it might be time to hire a full-time event planner. Keizer is on the cusp of positive and benefi cial growth. Hundreds of new housing units are being added, as are new retail stores and a possible ex- pansion of the city limits to the north. There is a lot to celebrate about Keiz- er. The Iris Festival is and should re- main our best advertisement. —LAZ editoriul Deal with the devil By MICHAEL GERSON In the category of credit where credit is due, Donald Trump has been exactly right in one important respect. He attacked the Re- publican establishment as low-energy, cowering weaklings. Now Republican leaders are lining up to surrender to him—ike low-energy, cowering weaklings. The capitulation has justifi ed the accusation. It would be impolite to name names. So I should not mention that former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who now angles for Trump’s vice presi- dential nod, once said: “He offers a barking carnival act that can be best described as Trumpism: a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republi- can Party to perdition if pursued. Let no one be mistaken—Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, ex- cised and discarded.” I should resist the temptation to recall how Rep. Peter King of New York, who now (reluc- tantly) backs Trump, once asserted he is “not fi t to be president, morally or intellectually.” Singling out individuals is unfair in so great a company. One by one, Republican senators have made their peace with a Trump nomination. Many in the House GOP leadership and caucus have urged Speaker Paul Ryan to get it over with and endorse the presumptive Republican nominee. It is humorous—in a sad, bitter, tragic sort of way—to see Republican lead- ers, and some conservative commenta- tors, try to forget or minimize Trump’s history of odious proposals and state- ments. And all this has taken place without (apparently) securing any concessions or guarantees from Trump himself. He now knows that he can violate any Republican or conservative principle and still get a round of crisp salutes, even from his strongest opponents. This is the white fl ag of ideological surrender. I understand the short-term politi- cal calculation. Better to have Trump, who is ideologically unpredictable, make Supreme Court nominations than Hillary Clinton, who is reliably liberal. Better to have Trump rather than Clinton make all those plum ex- ecutive branch appointments. Besides, if Trump is a liar, Clinton is a worse one. If Trump is a misogynist, well, consider Clinton’s husband. This justifi cation has a few fl aws. The fi rst is reductio ad Trumpism. If Clinton is the ul- timate evil, would anyone be better than she is? How about Trump’s ex-butler, who threat- ened President Obama on Facebook? How about Trump supporter Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty”? Of course not, a Republi- can would angrily respond. A prospec- tive president needs to be morally and intellectually fi t for the offi ce. He or she can’t be guilty of demagoguery or mean-spiritedness, or talk nonsense all the time. But this is exactly the issue. Were Perry and King correct in their initial diagnosis of Trump? If so, we are not dealing with the normal give-and- take of policy and politics. We have left the realm of half a loaf and you scratch my back. We are dealing with a question of fi tness for the highest of- fi ce in the land. It is not enough for GOP partisans to assert Trump’s su- periority to Clinton on this issue or that. They must justify that Trump has the experience, knowledge, tempera- ment, judgment and character to be president of the United States. That is a more diffi cult task. This leads to a second objection. Pursuing the short-term interests of the GOP, gained by unity, may actu- ally damage or destroy the party in the longer term by confi rming a se- ries of destructive stereotypes. Re- publicans stand accused of disdaining immigrants; their nominee proposes to round up and deport 11 million people. Republicans are accused of religious bigotry; their nominee pro- poses to stop all Muslims at the border. Republicans are accused of a war on women; the Republican nominee, if a recent New York Times expose is accu- rate, is the caveman candidate. All this is a particular blow to con- servatives, of which I count myself one. Conservatives latched on to the GOP as an instrument to express their ideals. Now loyalty to party is causing many to abandon their ideals. Conservatism is not misogyny. Conservatism is not nativism and protectionism. Conser- vatism is not religious bigotry and conspiracy theories. Conservatism is not anti-intellectual and anti-science. For the sake of partisanship -- for a mess of pottage -- some conservatives are surrendering their identity. It is a very bad deal. other views (Wushington Post Writers Group) Keizertimes Wheutlund Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemuwu Roud N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • emuil: kt@keizertimes.com Lyndon A. Zaitz, Editor & Publisher SUBSCRIPTIONS One yeur: $25 in Murion County, $33 outside Murion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Publicution No: USPS 679-430 POSTMASTER Send uddress chunges to: Keizertimes Circulution 142 Chemuwu Roud N. Keizer, OR 97303 Periodicul postuge puid ut Sulem, Oregon Being grateful at all times By CRAIG MURPHY There were no signs of the house. Is that a good omen or a bad omen? That question was going through my mind as I saw the fi eld where the burned out house sat last time I was here, 10 months earlier. Looking at the fi eld, you would never know there used to be a house where Randy and Debbie Wilson lived. Regular readers of the Keizertimes may recall the story from last July about the Wilsons. The two made it out alive when their house caught fi re in June—on Debbie’s birthday, no less —but they lost everything. All they had left was each other and their two dogs. I wanted to see the Wilsons this week before leaving here. I looked up the directions to make sure I re- membered exactly how to get there. After all, Nevada Street isn’t too easy to fi nd when you’re going 55 mph down Highway 99 just outside of Keizer. Going slowly up the half-mile gravel Nevada Street—a sign asks you to not exceed 10 mph, lest too much dust get kicked up—I didn’t know what I would see. Maybe Randy and Debbie enjoying a new home? Maybe a trailer? I get to the end of the road and see…nothing. I get out and see fa- miliar landmarks. The tire swing hanging off the tree over there. The gate back there. The neighbor’s house just up the road. But there was no sign of the Wil- sons. Well, that sucks. Maybe they are simply two of the thousands of homeless in the area. Or maybe they stumbled upon some great luck — the good Lord knows they certainly deserve it — and got back on their feet with a nice house somewhere. Who knows, maybe they passed away. Spotting a neighbor ing home, I walk that way. A man, Austin, asks if he can help. I explain I’m looking for Randy and Debbie. He offers to walk me over to them. As it turns out another neighbor, Juan Benavidez, has been letting the Wilsons stay in a trailer on his property since the fi re. Austin walks me over to Randy, who comes out from underneath the 1998 Ford Mustang he’s been working on. Randy readily admits he’s not much of a mechanic, but he’s trying to repair the rear brakes. It’s not going terribly well. But that’s fi ne with Randy. A friend had three cars and didn’t need the Mustang, so he gave it to Randy and Debbie. “It’s in pretty good shape,” a grateful Randy says. Debbie notes her Social Security application was accepted, so hope- fully sometime soon the couple will fi nally start getting some fi nancial help. “We’re hanging in there, with the generosity of friends,” she says. The couple had a relief fund set up last year via a friend’s Wells Fargo account. But only $275 was collect- ed and it was costing more to keep the account going than it was bring- ing in. On top of that, the friend with the account suffered a house fi re of his own last year. “We want to get out of this yard and get a place of our own,” Randy says. “Nothing has changed yet, but it will.” In some ways, the couple is stuck on last June 20, the day of the dev- astating fi re. “We do what we can,” Debbie says. “It’s still overwhelming. Every day I think about it. What can you checkered fl ug do? You just keep moving forward.” The couple can accept mail or donations at: Randy and Debbie Wilson, General Delivery, Salem, OR 97305. The Wilsons have nothing but kind words for Juan. “For him to do this was a big dent in his world,” Randy says. “It was not necessary, but he did it.” In general, grateful is a good way to describe the Wilsons. Yes, they lost all of their posses- sions. Yes, they are getting by thanks to the extreme kindness of a neighbor and good friend. Yes, they are still waiting for So- cial Security to kick in so they can get back on their feet. “My luck isn’t good,” Randy be- gins. He pauses, then looks over at Debbie, the woman he’ll be cel- ebrating a 26th wedding anniversary with the next day. “Actually, yes it is,” Randy cor- rects himself. “I would lose those things 100 times over again if I could still have you.” I realize at that moment the rea- son I came here. Sometimes when we have an incredible new chapter in life waiting for us, like I do next week with an exciting job oppor- tunity after 18 years in newspapers, we lose sight of the great blessings we’ve experienced in this chapter of our lives. Meeting and getting to tell the hard luck stories of people like the Wilsons and families in our Chasing Dark heroin stories has been a deep honor and blessing. “May God bless you,” Randy told me multiple times as we parted company. He certainly has, Randy. Thank you for the reminder of that. For that, I’m eternally grateful. (Cruig Murphy wus News Editor of the Keizertimes until this week.) Trade and tariffs could defi ne future There has been talk during this year’s presidential campaigns about free trade and trade protections. If Ameri- can people are inclined to look to the past they will fi nd that during the latter years of the 1800s, the U.S. was viewed as possibly the most protec- tionist nation on earth. The most notable industrialists of that age, often referred to as the rob- ber barons, were not interested in free trade. During that 54-year period from 1860 to 1914, U.S tariffs on foreign goods were often as high as 40 to 50 percent and America went from an emerging power to an economic gi- ant where our gross national product (GDP) was equal to England, France and Germany combined. President Chester A. Arthur saw to it that a U.S. tariff commission was formed. By the time Arthur took of- fi ce tariff policy was the hot Ameri- can topic of that day with low tariff advocates as strongly detested in the north as slave owners in the south had been before the Civil War. The pro-tariff argument went like this: Unless high duties on imported manufactured goods were imposed, American businesses could not com- pete with their European rivals. High import duties on shoes, steel, clothing and furniture, for example, were com- monplace in the U.S. for years before 1860; over the decades American in- dustry had become competitive and hugely profi table and wanted protec- tion through high tariffs. As the world turned to the U.S. in the 19th century, high tariffs didn’t only protect American industries from foreign competition; they also enabled businesses to charge higher prices for their goods inside the U.S. So, as the robber baron industrialists accumulated more and more wealth and lived ever more lavishly, the common American consumer got more and more upset. Consumers viewed high tariffs as enabling the rich to get richer by gouging them. Then, too, those Americans who opposed high tariffs on manufactured goods, often supported them on raw materials: the farmers who grew cot- ton opposed foreign competition as much as the owners of textile mills. Southern cotton growers wanted high taxes on Indian and Egyptian cotton while farmers in Ohio wanted high tariffs on imported wool. In the years immediately after, tariff battles were won by the protection- ists in favor of American manufac- turing. The rich industrialists were categorically opposed to free trade as they were most interested in cre- ating bastions of power and wealth like their counterparts in those parts of Europe undergoing the industrial revolution but were not about to open their doors to their rivals across the Atlantic. Whatever harm and diffi cul- ty the wealthy industrialists brought, workers and farmers were never their concern but did result in American industry rising to dominant interna- tional positions that was aided by the U.S. government, helping them at ev- ery turn. Tariffs once ruled and protected American industry but when the U.S. became more international, starting af- ter World War I, there was a wholesale change. Views on the results to Ameri- can business, industry and employment opportunities from the North Ameri- can Free Trade Agreement (NAF- TA) in the Clinton administration hold it in low regard while the current Trans-Pacifi c Partnership is anticipated by many to provide more trade breaks for the likes of China and Japan and more losses in general for us. American companies export a lot of goods and wants to keep it that way, which is true for a many in Oregon. So the debate about trade and tariffs and duties will go on with all parties concerned bang- ing on the doors of Congress and the White House to get what they want. The best predictor of the future is the past. The best guess, regarding tar- iffs, duties and trade agreements, is that nothing of monumental signifi cance will take place in these matters during the next four years. Donald Trump, as president, will make some more noise about tariffs, but, being wealthy him- self with a lot of self-interest in the mix, will make some threat-like state- ments about reforms, and, then, say- ing he was misunderstood, will back off and ignore the matter. Hillary Clinton and hubby simply want to be more fi lthy rich than they are already and not upset their rich buddies. As for Sanders, he’s highly unlikely to be the Democrat nominee as his rants and raves will almost certainly come to lit- tle because they are unrealistic in the current American political attitudes about socialism, “democratic social- ism” or otherwise. Things may appear grim. There have been many instances in U.S. history where survival has appeared threateningly dubious. However, posi- tive surprises have come before and may occur again even as bad as they may look before the future unfolds. Politicans and the city budget Last year the mayor brought in the manage- ment from the transit district to discuss their proposed tax increase on the business com- munity, again this tax increase was de- feated. I believe this is the community voicing their opinion. The mayor also points out that our tax rate of $2.08 was established in 1992 and comparable cities pay a higher tax rate than we do in Keizer. That comment begs the question, “So what?”Our mayor fails to note that the total city revenue has not been stuck at the 1992 level, it has increased with the growth in new homes, in- creased assessed value of homes and business. The mayor also left out the other funds the city receives such as license and fees, fi nes and forfeitures, charges for service and intergovern- mental revenue sharing. (Note: the as- sessed value of a home rises 3 percent every year, provided it’s lower than the market value.) Additionally, the mayor doesn’t mention that the Keizer Fire District has its own tax rate of $2.04, which is separate from the city opera- tion. In my opinion, the city staff hears the community and lives within our means. The politicians seem to hear, tax me more because comparable cit- ies pay more than we do. Sometimes politicians can drive me crazy. Jim Keller Keizer To the Editor: Sometimes politicians can drive me crazy. During a recent budget commit- tee meeting one position in the police department was not fi lled and we are told the problem is Keizer has such a low tax rate. Then we are told how the city has “stretched, matched, lev- eraged, granted and volunteered tre- mendously” and the “elastic has worn out.” This is a city staff managing an approved budget and not a fi nancial crisis. The mayor states there needs to be an honest conversation about what type of community we want to live in. In 2011, the mayor and several oth- ers conducted a very misleading cam- paign for a “Public Safety Communi- cation fee” which failed by 80 percent. gene h. mcintyre letters (Gene H. McIntyre’s column up- peurs weekly in the Keizertimes.) Share your opinion Email a letter to the editor (300 words) by noon Tuesday. Email to: publisher@keizertimes.com
