SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 3
SECTION A
OCTOBER 20, 2017
$1.00
Complaints, solutions abound
at McNary community forum
Offi cials also unveil plans post-bond measure
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Salem-Keizer School
District (SKSD) is already
planning how it might revamp
the McNary High School
campus in 2019 if a new bond
measure passes next year.
That may sound like
putting the cart before the
horse, but the cost of what
might be a massive project is
a factor.
“We are moving forward as
if the bond will pass because,
if we don't it, it will delay the
whole program and cost $30
million more. It makes sense
to do that prep,” said SKSD
Chief Operations Offi cer
Mike Wolfe.
Wolfe
and
Principal
Erik Jespersen unveiled a
conceptual map of potential
changes in the works at the
school during a community
forum at McNary Thursday,
Oct. 12. School and city
offi cials called for the forum
to deal with the impacts of
a growing student body on
A conceptual redesign of the
McNary campus was unveiled
at a forum last week. Any work
is dependent on the passage
of a bond measure in 2018.
parking and traffi c in the
surrounding neighborhoods.
“One of the reasons
McNary is one of the fi rst
in the queue is because of
parking issues,” Wolfe said.
For the past two years,
neighbors along Newberg
Drive North have voiced
complaints to the Keizer City
Council and Salem-Keizer
School
Board
regarding
drastic increases in school-
related traffi c and parking on
their street.
The
conceptual
map,
and the changes it forecasts,
hinge on striking a deal for
additional land behind St.
Edward Catholic Church.
School district and church
offi cials are already in talks for
an acquisition.
If
everything
goes
according to the concept plan,
the softball fi elds and tennis
courts would be moved to
the fi eld behind the church.
The current softball fi elds
would be converted into
additional parking and a
Please see FORUM, Page A9
Relocated
Softball Fields
and Tennis Courts
3
4
2
The
Arbor
at
Avamere
Saint
Edward
Catholic
Church
PAGE A12
1
1. Expansion of administrative offi ces (970 square feet) to accommodate
additional staff needed to serve larger student population.
2. Career Technical Education (CTE) addition supporting one large,
and one small CTE program area (9,000 square feet), as well as
replacement classrooms (CTE and other) for those lost in the
demolition (17,200 square feet).
Parking
Expansion
(New Drop-off
Lane)
KEIZERTIMES/Andrew Jackson
3. Flexible learning space (2,500 square feet) and science lab with
prep area (1,625 square feet).
4. General Classrooms (13,020 square feet), Special Education
Classrooms & Support (3,938 square feet), Extended Learning and
Small Group Areas (2,200 square feet).
Community support pours Keizer man headed
to prison for at least
in after death of KPD K9
Submitted by KPD
Offi cer Scott Keniston and Bruno in a Keizer class-
room. Bruno passed away Oct. 12 at the age of 5.
Less than a week after
the death of a Keizer Police
Department K9 the funds
to purchase a new one have
already been raised.
“We've already received
well more than enough to
purchase a new dog, but those
interested in supporting our
K9 unit can donate to the
fund to purchase cameras for
the dogs,” said KPD Chief
John Teague at a Keizer City
Council meeting Monday,
Oct 15.
On Oct. 11, around 4 p.m.,
Keizer Police K9 Bruno passed
Price of
adding Bend
schools to
GVC: $700K
away from a
severe bac-
terial infec-
tion. Of-
fi cer Scott
Keniston,
Bruno's
par tner,
took
the
Bruno
K9 to the
veterinarian on Tuesday, Oct.
10, to have an abscessed tooth
removed.
Bruno
exhibited
a
couple
other
symptoms
that were not related to
the abscessed tooth, so the
veterinarian imaged Bruno's
chest. The results showed a
few lumps in the chest area
and near the lungs. Doctors
at the veterinarian clinic
recommended
Offi cer
Keniston take Bruno to Dove
Lewis Animal Hospital in
Portland.
Bruno was immediately
taken to Portland where it was
discovered he was suffering
from a severe bacterial
infection. There was an
attempt to clear the infection,
but the infection had spread
Please see K9, Page A9
Domestic
violence in
spotlight
PAGE A2
25 years in murder
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
A Keizer man has been
sentenced to life in prison
with a minimum of 25
years after pleading guilty to
stabbing another man after
his car crashed into a tree.
Darnell Harris, 37, was
sentenced by Judge Tracy
Prall for the murder of
32-year-old Andrew Ramon
in Salem in November 2016.
Salem police offi cers re-
sponded to a report of a
single vehicle crash into a
tree at the intersection of
Liberty Street Southeast and
Superior Street Southeast
in Salem about 1:30 a.m.
on Monday, Nov. 28, 2016.
Offi cers found a Chevrolet
Trail Blazer that had run into
a tree and found Ramon de-
ceased inside.
An autopsy revealed
that Ramon had died from
multiple stab wounds and
not the result of the crash.
An investigation into the
circumstances surrounding
the incident found that
Ramon had been involved
in an altercation with Harris
hours before the crash.
Harris was arrested three
days later.
Court records show that
Harris threatened potential
witnesses
on
the
day of the
murder,
but those
charges
w e r e
dropped as
D. Harris
a result of
Harris' guilty plea. However,
in January 2017, Harris
was indicted for soliciting
another inmate at the
Marion County jail to kill a
witness who testifi ed in front
of a grand jury regarding
Ramon's death. Harris was
convicted of solicitation of
murder and tampering with
a witness in connection with
the jailhouse incident. He
received sentences of 9 years
and four months and 13
months, respectively, on the
latter charges.
Prior to sentencing,
Harris' attorney fi led a
memorandum to the court
asking for leniency and
shedding some light into
Harris' background.
Harris is the father of
a
19-month-old
child
and graduate of McKay
High School who joined
U.S. Marines shortly after
receiving his diploma. He
was injured during military
WMS choirs
perform
PAGE A11
Please see MURDER, Page A8
Some Keizer parks may get designated smoking areas
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Keizer Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board
has recommended establishing
smoking areas in Keizer parks.
If
the
Keizer
City
Council agrees with the
recommendation, designated
smoking areas would be
established in parks where such
spaces make sense. Smoking
would not be permitted in some
of the city's underdeveloped
parks where the space is small
or does not lend itself to
creating such a space. Smoking
is currently permitted in Keizer
parks, but state, county and
even Salem parks have smoking
bans in place.
The
discussion
was
prompted by a request from
Darrell Richardson, who lives
adjacent to Sunset Park in
west Keizer.
Lady Celts
soccer rout
N. Salem
“I would like to see
someone
do
something
about it. I've been to the city
council and now I am asking
you,” Richardson told board
members.
The
request
sparked
sometimes heated debate
between members of the
board and Richardson himself.
Richardson said smoke in
Sunset Park wafts across his
Please see SMOKING, Page A9
PAGE A12
File photo