SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 24
SECTION A
MARCH 17, 2017
$1.00
Paint job leads to
nightmare for biz owner
Mike Selmer
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
For the past fi ve months, Jerry
Long’s RV has been sitting in the
parking lot of a Scio-based auto re-
pair shop. It went in for a paint job,
and as far as Long can tell, the only
work that’s been done is to remove
pieces from it.
“My main concern is that
someone else will get screwed,”
said Long, owner of Keizer’s ABB
Stoves.
In August of 2016, Long and
his manager at the store came to
an agreement with the owner of
Mike’s Auto Repair and Tow-
ing, Mike Selmer, to recondition,
repaint and perform some other
work on a 1995 Monaco Execu-
tive RV and repaint a 1986 GMC
Mayor:
‘The Keizer
way works’
Jimmy pick-up.
Long found out about Selmer
from an employee who had sent a
vehicle in for repairs and was satis-
fi ed with the work. Based on that
recommendation, he sent one of
the company’s van in for repairs
and Long was also satisfi ed with
the quality.
Long had no idea what he was
in store far with the RV work, or
that Selmer is a convicted felon
with a lengthy list of prior offenses
and convictions.
Long was given a total estimate
of $6,800 and gave Selmer a $3,500
deposit. The two men agreed that
the RV work would be completed
by Oct. 25 and the pick-up would
be completed within three weeks
after that. Selmer picked up the ve-
hicles in the second week of Sep-
tember.
In the fi rst week of October,
Selmer went to ABB Stove store
and said he would need an addi-
tional $600 for fi berglass needed to
complete the RV’s paint job. Long
said he agreed to the additional
charge and cut a check for the re-
maining balance, $4,200.
In the midst of working toward
the RV repairs, Long connected
with Selmer on other business-
related transactions. Long installed
two ductless heating systems at
Selmer’s Scio shop and cut an-
other $3,000 check to purchase a
forklift for ABB Stoves that Selmer
claimed was available at an auction
in Baker City, Ore. He has yet to be
Please see PAINT, Page A9
Keizer girls
take state
title at
Blanchet
PAGE A10
A
new
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark
delivered a largely upbeat
message in her annual state of
the city address delivered to a
gathering of Keizer Chamber
of Commerce members Tues-
C. Clark
day, March 14.
“The Keizer way works,” Clark said. “The
people who formed the city of Keizer took
charge of pride, spirit and volunteerism, thought
through what they needed and made it happen.
We started out as not-Salem, but we’ve become
a signifi cant part of the fi nancial and social fabric
of the region.”
Clark said the city survived the bursting of
Diehl
MHS
seniors
tackle civic
duties
PAGE A3
Please see MAYOR, Page A9
McNary’s
top choirs
hit stage
Crimes of the
Heart opens
at McNary
PAGE A5
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Dorothy Diehl is the new Community Service Offi cer at the Keizer Police Department and is serving in a wide
variety of roles.
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
Camryn Runnow during a rehearsal of Crimes
of the Heart.
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
Getting into Crimes of the Heart, a Pulitzer
Prize winning play about three sisters, Babe,
Lenny and Meg Magrath, who reunite at their
family home in Mississippi after Babe shoots her
abusive husband, was easy for McNary students
Camryn Runnow, Annie Purkey and Skyla
Cawthon.
They all have sisters.
“There's one particular scene where Lenny
gets really angry and upset at something that
Meg had done and it's a pretty easy place for me
Please see HEART, Page A9
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
In the last two weeks of Febru-
ary, thieves made off with valuables
from nearly two dozen cars parked
outside homes in northwest Keizer
neighborhoods.
In police lingo, a theft from a ve-
hicle is known as a car clout and 23
of them in a short span of time was
enough to warrant the attention of
the Keizer Police Department. It
was also a chance for KPD's new
community service offi cer, Doro-
thy Diehl, to make herself known
on the social media site nextdoor.
com She took the info from the
KPDS’s crime analyst and reached
out to the head of the Greater
Gubser Neighborhood Association
to have him post it on the Next-
door site.
“A big part of my job so far has
just been getting to know everyone
in the building and fi gure out how
I can assist them,” Diehl said.
Diehl has been on the job for
information on social media plat-
forms and through other means,
Diehl is responsible for coordinat-
ing and scheduling crime preven-
tion programs, acting as
liaison to civic groups,
crating and maintaining
brochures,
recruiting
and coordinating non-
sworn volunteers, lead-
ing tours of the facility
and then taking care of
the department’s fl eet
of vehicles, which can
mean everything from
shuttling vehicles to
— Offi cer Dorothy Diehl
and from service shops
and performing mainte-
nance checks and minor
repairs.
time job description.
In fact, Diehl distinguished
“It’s kind of the Keizer way of
doing things,” said Deputy Chief herself from the other applicants
Jeff Kuhns. “We took a look at what for the job by being unafraid to
we needed, the money available, and change a tire or serpentine belt.
Lt. Lance Inman said he
then came up with a job description
wouldn’t be surprised to see
that included all of it.”
In addition to helping disseminate
about three months and communi-
cating with neighborhood associa-
tions and neighborhood watches are
just one part of her sprawling, part-
“I’m excited to be the
one going out and
shaking hands and
being a point of contact
for the department.”
Please see DIEHL, Page A7
Reading
stars at
Kennedy
PAGE A8