SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 5
SECTION A
NOVEMBER 4, 2016
$1.00
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Dr. Pritam Rohila thinks a lot
about peace, mostly because he’s
witnessed the horrors confl ict con-
jures.
Pritam was born in Rupar, India,
when it was still ruled by British
colonialists. When he was 11 years
old, Britain gave up control over
the land, but not before dividing it
up into the modern-day India and
Pakistan.
“It was not anticipated that there
would be an exchange of popula-
tions, but it happened because there
was looting and raping on both sides
of the ethnic divide,” Pritam said.
An agent
of peace
There were days when he
watched from his family’s roof as
other parts of the town burned. It
was a time of confusion because
Rupar was a northeastern border
town on the banks of the Satluj
River and home to Hindu, Sikh and
Muslim populations. For many days,
before and after the cleaving, there
was great uncertainty about which
country Rupar would call home.
In the end, Rupar remained part
of India, but factions were already
consolidating with Hindus and
Sikhs on one side and Muslims on
the other.
“One day, the chief executive of-
fi cer of the town went around to the
Muslim residents and told them he
could not defend them any longer.
He said he would provide safe pas-
sage to the nearest railroad station 30
miles away,” Pritam said.
Dr. Pritam K. Rohila
Keizer School alums:
Get ready for reunion
As part of the centennial
celebration of the Keizer
School building, the Keizer
Heritage Center is holding
an All Class Reunion on
Saturday, Nov. 12, from 1 to
4 p.m..
The organizers of the All
Class Reunion is seeking
and inviting anyone who
was a student at any time at
the school as well as former
teachers and staff.
If you were a teacher or
principal at Keizer School
when it sat at the corner of
River and Chemawa Roads
in downtown Keizer, the
Keizer Heritage Foundation
wants you to be part of this
event that helps mark the
Please see PEACE, Page A9
Keizer vet has new roof
over her family’s heads
100th birthday of the build-
ing.
Contact the Keizer Heri-
tage Foundation at 503-
393-9660 or Lyndon Zaitz,
the foundation president, at
503-930-1860.
The Keizer School build-
ing was taken out of use in
1987. It was purchased by
the Keizer Heritage Foun-
dation and moved to its cur-
rent location on the Keizer
Civic Center campus in
1999. After renovation the
Center became home to the
Keizer Community Library,
the Keizer Art Association
and its Enid Joy Mount Gal-
lery, foundation offi ces and
an event room.
Riding creepy
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Colleen Skelton, 7, takes a ride in a Halloween-themed rat rod
supplied by the Cherry City Bombers at the Horrorween event
at Keizer Village Shopping Center Saturday, Oct. 29. Tony
Grove, owner of Tony's Kingdom of Comics, organized the
event. For more photos, see Page A8.
Set your
clocks and
watches
back one
hour
SUNDAY,
NOVEMBER 6
Orchestras
perform
PAGE A3
Celts stun
West Salem
PAGE A10
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Staff Sgt. Charleen Stancliff (middle) with her daughter Nicolette Parra (left) and Trever Pfeifer
of Pfeifer Roofi ng in front of Stancliff's home where a new roof was being installed thanks to a
Owen Corning Roofi ng veteran support program.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
A Keizer veteran has a new
roof this week thanks to the
collective efforts of the Ore-
gon Service Member & Fam-
ily Support Offi ce, Owens
Corning Roofi ng and Pfeifer
Roofi ng.
“Seeing this roof happen, it
kind of reminds you about the
reasons behind the fi ght. You
fi nd amazing people along
the way that remind you why
you’re doing what you’re do-
ing,” said Staff Sgt. Charleen
Stancliff.
Stancliff enlisted in 2005
and spent almost a year in
Baghdad, Iraq, in 2009 before
returning home where she
continues to serve in an ad-
ministrative capacity.
“It’s not exciting in the
same way that people think
of the military, but it’s excit-
ing to see people be success-
ful in their military careers or
getting awards because of the
work I do,” Stancliff said.
Earlier this year, Stancliff
made an appointment to talk
about an estimate for a new
roof when a door-to-door
salesman knocked. The initial
estimate came in at $35,000,
but after a six-hour visit, a
sales representative got it
down to about $20,000 with
no down payment.
Celebrating 10 Years
of Serving Patients
Stancliff spent the next day
talking about it with friends
and decided to cancel the
contract when she got off
work. As she was leaving for
the day, she encountered an-
other friend who told her talk
to the Oregon Service Mem-
ber & Family Support Offi ce.
“We do many different
things. We have family assis-
tance specialists located in 10
different regions throughout
the state. We help veterans,
service members and their
families and not just for the
Army or National Guard, but
all branches of the military,”
Soccer teams
ousted in
1st round
PAGE A10
Please see ROOF, Page A8
1165 Union St. NE #100• Salem (503) 588- 2674
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