SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 30
SECTION A
JULY 8, 2016
$1.00
Young man dies after River Road collision
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
A 20-year-old Keizer man
died of injuries sustained
in a vehicle-on-pedestrian
collision in the early morning
hours of Friday, July 1.
Walter Westgarth, 65, of
Keizer was driving a 2005
Volkswagen
Passat four-
door wagon
northbound
on
River
Road North
in the curb
lane through
the intersec-
tion of Che-
mawa Road
Northeast
with a green
traffi c sig-
nal
when
Anthony
Jon Ernest
stepped off the sidewalk into
the roadway where he was
struck by the Passat.
It is not known whether
Ernest saw the vehicle or if he
was distracted.
Westgarth stopped his
vehicle immediately on River
Road and cooperated with
the investigation.
Ernest
sustained
life-
threatening injuries and was
transported to Salem Health
where he later died.
The driver showed no
signs of impairment and no
citations or criminal charges
have been fi led.
Ernest's mother, Jill Pallin,
posted on Facebook Saturday,
July 2, informing friends and
Cupcakes at
Keizer Florist
PAGE A2
Keizer Rapids
lands major
grant
KEIZERTIMES/ERIC A. HOWALD
PAGE A3
UPPER LEFT: Anthony Jon Ernest. ABOVE: A small roadside memorial was placed on the corner of River Road North and Che-
mawa Road Northeast in the days following the collision that killed Ernest.
relatives that brain trauma
suffered in the incident was
“irreversible.”
On
Monday,
Ernest
underwent organ donation
surgery. His heart, liver and
both kidneys were already
slated for delivery to other
patients at the time. Pallin
encouraged
friends
to
celebrate her son's journey
into new lives as they set off
fi reworks on July 4.
A Facebook memorial
page, included outpourings
from friends and family.
“I'm so glad we became
close friends. I still can't believe
you're gone. I will never meet
anyone else like you and I'm
so grateful for the times we
spent together,” wrote Shania
Sierra.
“Throughout the day I
keep catching myself thinking
about you and I just keep
saying, 'I cannot believe
Anthony's gone' and 'this
isnt real,' I don't think this
will ever actually hit me that
you're gone, Anthony. I don't
want to believe it and I don't
want to accept it. I love you,”
wrote Andrea Rodriguez.
Please see ERNEST, Page A7
Two-alarm blaze
in central Keizer
Submitted by Keizer Fire District
Fire crews responded to a garage fi re on Faymar Drive Northeast Monday, July 4.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Emergency services were
kept busy over the Fourth of
July weekend culminating in a
two-alarm fi re Monday, July 4.
Crews from the Keizer Fire
District were summoned to 804
Faymar Drive N.E. The owner
of the home awoke to crackling
and smoke and opened the
door to his garage to fi nd it
fully engulfed in fl ame.
While the source of the
blaze is still under investigation,
Division Chief Brian Butler
said the cause may have been
fi reworks.
“He got his wife and
stepdaughter out of the home
but. for right now, they can't
live there,” Butler said.
While the blaze was
contained to the garage after
about 20 minutes, the rest of
the home suffered severe smoke
damage.
Please see FIRE, Page A7
Worldly
lessons from
Cummings
teacher
No, Kevin
Costner
isn’t
moving
to Keizer
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
If you run in certain online
circles, you might have heard
that the star of Dances with
Wolves, Waterworld and Field of
Dreams is moving to Keizer.
While it isn't out of the realm
of possibility, the Keizertimes
was unable to contact
Costner's representatives for
confi rmation and the source
of the rumor is a website,
km8news.com.
The site has a disclaimer
stating, “KM8 News is a fantasy
news website. Most articles
on km8news.com are satire
or pure fantasy.” The contact
is fantasynewswebsite@gmail.
com.
Such sites are known as
“clickbait,” and are aimed at
generating advertising revenue
with sensational headlines and
photographs to attract readers,
typically at the expense of
quality or accuracy.
KM8 News also includes
PAGE A5
WIKIPEDIA/Gordon Correll
Costner, who isn't moving to
Keizer, at the 2014 Toronto
International Film Festival
reports of Eminem moving to
Jackson, Miss., and a previous
report of Costner moving to
Fredericton, New Brunswick
in Canada.
We're certain that Mr.
Costner travels widely with
his fi lm and music projects,
but Keizer hasn't shown up on
any of his tour dates, and isn't
listed in any fi lming locations
of his recent movies.
That said, we look forward
to his unannounced project
Tangos with Cows, which is
reportedly a “spiritual sequel”
to his hit 1990 fi lm, and we
would like to remind him that
there is at least one small herd
in Keizer city limits for the
time being.
Top draft
pick joins
Volcanoes
To arms,
to arms,
ye soldiers
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
Jack Bentley, a Navy veteran from Dallas,
was visiting Fort Stevens State Park 26 years
ago when he was asked if he wanted to fi re an
old Civil War cannon.
That’s all it took to convince Bentley to join
the Northwest Civil War Council.
“They were looking for recruits and I fell
into the trap,” he said. “I liked shooting that
cannon. That got me going and that’s why I’ve
been doing it ever since. I love it.”
Bentley was one of more than 300 reen-
actors who converged on Antique Powerland
PAGE A8
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
Jack Bentley holds a Henry rifl e used during
the Civil War at a reenactment in Salem.
in Salem for an annual Civil War reenactment,
which included battles and demonstrations,
July 2-4.
Tom and Catherine Harper, who live in
Hillsboro, have been reenactors for nearly as
long as Bentley. The Harper’s are in their 24th
year. Tom was in the battalion command up
until a couple years ago. Now he plays the part
of Cooper and Catherine has always been his
wife.
Please see CIVIL, Page A3
Keizer
www.skylineforddirect.com
3555 River Road N, Keizer • (503) 463- 4853
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