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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 2017)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 7 SECTION A NOVEMBER 17, 2017 $1.00 Theater design unveiled, approved Submitted By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes The owner of a planned cinema still hasn’t signed a lease to locate on a city- owned portion of land in Keizer Station, but all the evidence points to it becoming a reality. At a meeting of the Keizer Planning Commission Wednesday, Nov. 8, the plan- ning commission approved a design vari- ance that will allow the theater building to have fewer windows and compensate for the lack with additional landscaping. “The requirement is 50 percent glaz- ing/windows on the ground fl oor accord- ing to the master plan for Keizer Station but, since it is a theater, that many windows The concept design for a nine-screen theater in Keizer Station was approved last week by the Planning Commisssion. Please see THEATER, Page A7 SKSD MANDATORY REPORTING Board voted for judicial review, no mention of new policies lieved the Fair Dismissals Appeals Board (DFAB) By ERIC A. HOWALD made the wrong decision to reinstate the coun- Of the Keizertimes A decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals selor involved in the inciting incident, but “I regarding the dismissal of an employee for fail- think that it’s in the interest of children and pro- ure to report a potential case of sexual abuse (see tecting children and it’s incredibly important that related story, Page A2), threw a wrench into the we bring this forward.” Board Member Jesse Lippold contended that way the Salem-Keizer School District had been interpreting its mandatory reporting guidelines. such an action would reinforce the need to re- While the court sided with the counselor port and it would take pressure off teachers be- who chose not to report a somewhat vaguely- cause they wouldn’t have to make extra judge- ment calls or perform described incident of investigations. abuse, it additionally deter- Board Chair Paul Kyllo mined that for mandatory disagreed. reporting to be required “I think it puts more “reasonable suspicion of responsibility to report any sexual abuse necessarily suspicion they hear,” Kyl- encompasses a judgement lo said. “Any time there’s as to whether the asserted somebody having sex physical contact was sexu- under the age of 18 they ally motivated.” Essentially, must report it. Therefore, the court said that for an any time they don’t report incident to fall under the it, under the new standard sexual abuse category, and therefore trigger manda- — Paul Kyllo, SKSB Chair we are setting, it means the mandatory reporter tory reporting to the De- could be sent to the police partment of Human Ser- and put before the DFAB vices, the incident had to include the touching of private or intimate parts board. We create that new problem.” Kyllo added the reporting guidelines might for the purpose of arousing either party. That determination, and two executive ses- also be weaponized by students who are mad at sions on the topic, led to a special meeting of one another. “I believe that then clogs up the system and the Salem-Keizer School Board on Aug. 15 to consider asking the Oregon Supreme Court creates more problems than it helps solve in any for clarifi cation on mandatory reporting laws. way, shape or form,” Kyllo said. Board member Kathy Goss worried that a Board members approved moving forward with court might respond with requirements the dis- the request in a 4-2 vote with one abstention. While the board is no longer seeking to pun- trict didn’t want. “The court has to rule on the facts but, in so ish the counselor whose actions led to the court decision, the action has led to new guidelines doing, they could articulate a standard that is bet- for mandatory reporting in the Salem-Keizer ter for (mandatory) reporters, the same or worse. School District that includes a student inquiring That’s all within the conceivable,” said the school about birth control options after admitting to sex district’s attorney Paul Dakopolos. Lippold responded, “I don’t want a teenager with a partner; reports of a pregnancy; a student confi ding in a teacher after being kicked out of who is worried about whether or not she is his home for divulging a sexually active, same- pregnant to be taken to court to be prosecut- sex relationship; in addition to suspected abuse ed along with any other because we decided to take this to court.” or neglect. Board Member Sheronne Blasi said she be- Please see REPORTING, Page A2 “I believe that ... clogs up the system and creates more problems than it helps solve in any way, shape or form.” What prompted the school district to revise guidelines? PAGE A9 MAY 2012 A high school coun- selor talks with a stu- dent who claims she was 'molested' by her younger brother. After further questioning, the counselor determines the contact was meant more to antagonize the student. No report is made to DHS or police, but the counselor con- tacts the mother. AUGUST 2013 The counselor appeals the dismissal to the Or- egon Fair Dismissal Ap- peals Board and it is overturned. The counsel- or returns to work and re- ceives back pay for time lost. Two months later, the school district peti- tions the FDAB for recon- sideration. The board up- holds its original decision. The school district fi les appeal with the Oregon Court of Appeals. AUGUST 2017 The Salem-Keizer School Board convenes a special meeting and votes, 4-2, to ask the Oregon Supreme Court for clarifi cation on the mandatory reporting statute. There is no men- tion of updating existing policies or guidelines. OCTOBER 2012 The student repeats the claim to the non-custo- dial father and he accus- es the counselor of neg- ligence. The counselor is placed on leave on Nov. 1 and recomended for dismissal by Superinten- dent Sandy Husk. The Salem-Keizer School Board approves the dis- missal in January 2013. PAGE A3 The Oregon Court of Appeals upholds FDAB the decision in a 2-1 vote. However, the court in- troduces the notion that incident reporting must be accompanied by suspicion of sexual con- tact, which is defi ned as "arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of ei- ther party." No manda- tory reporting training in the state has ever cov- ered asking such ques- tions according to Paul Dakopolos, an attorney for the Salem-Keizer School District. OCTOBER 2017 New guidlines for mandatory reporting are rolled out in the form of training slides for SKSD teachers and staff. In addition to cases of abuse and neglect, mandatory reporters must call DHS in instances of a student inquiring about birth control options after admitting to sex with a partner; reports of a pregnancy; a student confi ding in a teacher after being kicked out of his home for divulging a sexually active, same-sex relationship. for bond forum KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley District will appeal league realignment MARCH 2017 Follow the yellow brick road Keizer turns out Dorothy, played by Grace Condello, arrives in Munchkinland. The curtain falls on McNary High School's production of The Wizard of Oz this weekend. Final perfromances are Friday and Saturday, Nov. 17 and 18, at 7 p.m. and a matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Diede to play D-I By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes Of the fi rst four bond measure forums, Lillian Go- vus, director of community relations for the Salem-Keiz- er School District, said Mc- Nary High School’s drew by far the largest crowd as more than 70 people packed into the library on Monday, Nov. 13 to see how Keizer schools would benefi t from a nearly $620 million bond package. About half of the attend- ees were focused on Mc- Nary, which would receive $42 million to build 14 new general classrooms, one new science lab, one fl exible lab space and two Career and Technical Education spaces. The money would also go towards reconstructing offi ce space so it’s easier to check students in and out and re- locating softball/soccer fi elds and tennis courts to the near- ly 4.5 acres purchased from St. Edward Catholic Church, which would allow for park- ing expansion and give Mc- Nary a blank slate to recon- struct the school’s entrance. But it was an item that wasn’t on McNary’s list that led the discussion—a new or- chestra room. “It’s a storage space and it can’t be anything more than that with our current num- ber of students,” McNary senior Emma Snyder said of the current orchestra room, adding that the orchestra consistently fi nishes top fi ve in the state. Please see BOND, Page A7 Schools salute vets PAGE A4 Playoff run ends PAGE A9