PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 16, 2016
KeizerOpinion
KEIZERTIMES.COM
That time of the year
It is that time of year
when people say “It’s that
time of year to...” They
mean it’s the time of year
to be nice to others; to give
to those less fortunate then
ourselves.
Toys and clothing are
delivered to children in
need in our region. Boxes of the mak-
ings of a holiday meal are delivered to
households in need ‘this time of year.’
This week’s weather should remind
us that not everyone around us is
warm, has an appropriate coat to face
the freezing temperatures. In Salem,
the Mid-Valley Community Action
Agency is overseeing two warming
stations. The American Legion post on
Lilac Lane in north Salem will open a
warming station for veterans only.
Warming stations are needed not
only by those who live on the streets,
but also those who, for whatever rea-
son, have no heat in their homes. Keiz-
er doesn’t have a big homeless popula-
tion but there are those whose homes
do not have adequate heat. Keizer’s
organizations—especially its houses of
worship—need to live their missions
and faith and give a helping hand to
those most in need. As the Jackie De-
Shannon song says: “Think of your
fellow man, lend him a helping hand.
Put a little love in your heart.”
There is no doubt that Keizer
is generous—it provides
monthly community din-
ners, it donates money for
playgrounds and football
fi elds. Charity cannot al-
ways be given on the do-
nor’s schedule—we are
called to offer assistance
when it is needed, such as
a freezing cold snap coming through.
Simonka Place in Keizer is packed
and cannot act as a warming station,
much as the Union Gospel Mission
itself. Our community may not have
a large number of people who need
shelter from the cold, but surely local,
centrally located churches can open
their doors, arms and hearts to those
who can’t just turn up the thermostat
or throw another log on the fi re.
The same can be true for the city
and its Civic Center. Baring a sched-
uled event, could the conference cen-
ter at the Civic Center not be avail-
able for those in need?
Society is called on during these
few days of cold to be charitable and
giving. We must all remind ourselves
that charity and caring are not for
holiday season only. People get cold in
February, people are hungry in June.
Yes, it is that time of year, but ‘that
time of the year’ should be year round.
Lending a helping hand is a year
‘round proposition.
—LAZ
editorial
Community
spirit is alive
letters
To the Editor:
It is Sunday morning,
the day after the Keizer
Chamber Foundation Giv-
ing Basket Program’s gifts
were delivered, and the morning after
the Keizer Chamber of Commerce
Holiday Light Parade. Both were suc-
cessful.
Thank you to the Keizer Cham-
ber Foundation, the members of
both the Keizer Network of Wom-
en (KNOW) and Men of Action in
Keizer (MAK), two groups of the
Keizer Chamber.
Success? How is it measured? By
the smiles on faces and tears in the
eyes of parents who aren’t able to af-
ford gifts for their children. Success
is seeing families running down the
street together and children dancing
in the dark in anticipation of seeing
Santa. The Keizer Chamber Foun-
dation served 377 children with the
help of community and business-
es. When they said they couldn’t the
Keizer Chamber of Commerce, with
the support of local businesses and
community did it anyway.
Your Keizer business and commu-
nity volunteers working together are
what make our community a won-
derful place in which to live. Thank
you to all who supported these events
by purchasing gifts, donating time
with wrapping and delivery. Thank
you all who volunteered to make our
parade happen. Success isn’t mea-
sured with material things, it’s mea-
sured with memories.
Success is seeing joy!
Audrey Butler
Keizer
What you
wish for
To the Editor:
Noam Chomsky would write, “It
was ever thus,” but I am neither old
nor smart enough to cite the histori-
cal precedent. What I can say is that
never in my memory has the repudia-
tion of government of, for and by the
people been so obvious, so “in your
face peasants.”
One look at the good old plu-
tocrats club that will make up the
Trump cabinet should be enough to
have Trump voters wondering “Seri-
ously, is this what I wanted?”
So much for populism—for Medi-
care bargaining to lower drug prices,
(amendment killed with objection
from big pharma pawn Senator Roy
Blount)—for 35 percent tariffs on
manufacturers moving out of the U.S.
(easier to give a $7 million taxpayer-
funded bribe to a billion dollar cor-
poration). And what should be the
last straw—the appointment of a
climate-change denier to head the
EPA. What’s next? Putin pal Exxon
CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary
of state? (Oh, wait that could hap-
pen.) Still a few weeks until Trump
takes offi ce, but so far his election is
a painful lesson in being careful what
you wish for.
Martin Doerfl er
Keizer
The green truck
By REVEREND
CURT McCORMACK
It was the Christmas of 1952, I
was 8 years old. There was only one
item on my Christmas list that year,
it was a yellow scale model of a log
truck made by the Toy Company. It
was about 18 inches long with the
trailer retracted, almost thirty inches
with the trailer loaded with logs. It
was magnifi cent piece of work. The
front wheels actually turned with
a horn like knob mounted on the
hood, like a hood ornament. The
wheels seemed like they were infl at-
ed though I doubt they really were.
I wanted this log truck unlike
anything else in my life. My dad was
a logger, and it was every son’s dream
to, in some way, emulate his father.
I needed that truck. What made
matters a little envious for me, was
that my cousins had three of them.
Their father—my uncle—was also a
logger. Yes, when we visited I would
get to play with them but it wasn’t
the same as having one of your own.
I made my Christmas list, and
made sure Santa knew exactly what
I wanted. Now, an eight-year-old
boy knows very little about fam-
ily fi nances. We were never poor.
I always had food, clothing, a dry
roof and plenty of toys to keep me
busy. This particular year, things
must have been a little lean because
there were a lot of beans and ground
beef or venison, as it were. I did not
particularly care for venison burger.
However, an eight-year-old boy
doesn’t make the association be-
tween lean times and Santa’s ability
to bring the items on his Christmas
list.
The long-awaited night arrived.
The presents were stacked neatly
under the Christmas tree. My con-
cern was somewhat aroused by the
fact that there was not, under the
tree, a present big enough to contain
the beloved
log truck I
had desper-
ately awaited
for. It was
not unusual
for parents to
wait until the
last minute to
bring out ad-
ditional gifts, some unwrapped with
just a bow. Surely this was to be the
case.
Mom suggested that my sister and
I go to our rooms for awhile. Aha…
that was to insure time to uncover
or deliver to the tree those last min-
ute surprise gifts. I knew it; I could
hardly stand it, waiting for mom to
give the word to come out. Finally,
after what seemed like ages, mom
announced Santa had come and we
could come out of our room and see
what Santa had left on our behalf.
I charged out of my room head-
ing for the tree, eyes keenly survey-
ing all the gifts, looking, looking...
looking…Hmmm. It wasn’t there.
“Is this all?” I asked.
“What do you mean, Is this all?”
said mom. “Looks to me like Santa
has done well.”
Trying to hide my disappoint-
ment, I agreed. We proceeded to
open gifts, one at a time, oohing and
ahhing over each item opened.
I don’t remember any specifi c
items I got that Christmas. I do
know that the yellow log truck was
not one of them. As the last present
was open, dad said, “Oops, I forgot,
there’s one more.”
And off he went out the door to
the shop. He was back in a fl ash and
in his hands was…well, it wasn’t yel-
low, it was green, and it wasn’t the
one I had hoped for. But there in
dad’s hands was a green log truck…
as he handed it to me he said, “Be a
little careful, I’m not sure the paint
other
views
is completely dry yet.”
So this is what he had been doing
in the shop those cold evenings. I
set the truck down on the fl oor and
just looked at it. It wasn’t what I ex-
pected. I wasn’t sure whether to be
happy or sad. I looked it over care-
fully. It had genuine rubber wheels,
with a moveable and adjustable trail-
er. It looked pretty authentic carved
and cut with detail. Impressive—and
dad had made it just for me.
The next morning I couldn’t wait
to try it out and try it out I did. The
ground was cold and frozen outside
but when you got to haul logs you
got to haul logs. Well, I hauled a lot
of logs on that green log truck. I be-
lieve I literally wore it out! I never
did get a yellow Toy Company log
truck...I never even thought about
it after that. I had a green log truck,
custom made, just for me.
I think back on that Christmas
and realize how special that gift
was. I didn’t get what I wanted but
got what I needed. That’s the way
God, like a father, works. God al-
ways deals with our needs, seldom
our wants. What I needed on that
Christmas was a gift from my dad,
created and made by his own hands
which illustrated the depth and full-
ness of his love for me. A yellow,
Toy Company Log truck would
have been nice but would not have
had the same impact or carried the
same message. I’m eternally grateful
for the ‘green trucks’ in my life.
This Christmas, don’t be sur-
prised if you fi nd a ‘green truck’
under the tree for you. It may not
be what you want but it most likely
will be what you need…consider
yourself blessed as I do.
(Reverend Curt McCormack is
director of the Keizer Community
Food Bank.)
Sanctuary cities an open door for problems
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Reactions to the election of Don-
ald J. Trump are mixed. Neverthe-
less, one of his promises stands tall
among hopes for this writ-
er. Trump the campaigner said he
will block, on the day he enters the
Oval Offi ce, the immigration execu-
tive orders issue by the Obama ad-
ministration. This would be welcome
news although cabinet members
from Goldman Sachs and military
hawks cause considerable alarm about
follow-through from statements made
while Trump was in campaign mode.
Keep in mind, also, that any rever-
sals across the land will not be wel-
comed in cities declared “sanctuaries”
by the elected offi cials in them. These
“leaders” have wrongfully argued that
immigration law enforcement is racist
and bigoted but have had self-cen-
tered reasons for doing so.
Lately, too, most disturbing be-
cause it’s close to home, Oregon
State University’s president, Ed Ray,
has publically declared that he seeks
OSU’s campus as a sanctuary campus
and, worse, he will not comply with
U.S. federal law. Mr. Ray, it’s strongly
encouraged, should fi nd work over-
seas since he apparently wants to be
around foreigners so much and has
obviously been too long at OSU as
he thinks he owns it.
Whatever the case, the argument
has enabled elected offi cials in “sanc-
tuary cities” to impose their idiocy on
the residents under their authority. In
fact, what they do with this falseness is
facilitate the growth and development
of enclaves of terror in our nation.
There are many matters that the
Trump administration should ad-
dress and do so within his fi rst 100
days in offi ce—one would be to
eliminate these
lawless safe ha-
vens. They have
become
eas-
ily used by illegal
aliens and crimi-
nals, fugitives and
possibleterrorists,
to evade the in-
spection process conducted at ports of
entry where they’d otherwise be sub-
ject to arrest and rejection.
We should wake-up to the fact that
sanctuary cities do not provide pro-
tections to law-abiding residents who,
too often, become victims to the
crimes committed by these men and
women who’ve not obtained legal
permission to be in the United States.
Sanctuary cities endanger every per-
son, everywhere in the entire United
States, as they just as easily commit
their crimes in these cities (and on
campuses, too) as outside of them.
gene h.
mcintyre
Our borders and immigration laws
are the nation’s fi rst line of defense
against international terrorists, trans-
national criminals, fugitives from jus-
tice and those foreign nationals who
come here to end work opportunities
for Americans who thereby lose their
jobs and paychecks. Meanwhile, the
Immigration and Nationality Act,
when read, quickly dispel the bogus
claim that the U.S. immigration laws
discriminate: They apply the same to
all persons not legally here regardless
of race, religion, ethnicity and place of
origin.
Every American wants the United
States to be safe and secure. Mean-
while, the sanctuary cities and campus
participants force upon us those per-
sons who come to our country illegal-
ly, making them too often a threat to
life and limb. Sanctuary status is lame,
misguided and a death-wish.
(Gene H. McIntyre’s column ap-
pears weekly in the Keizertimes.)