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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 2017)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 12 SECTION A DECEMBER 22, 2017 $1.00 Field fee increase sparks renewed tension in Keizer’s youth sports The last year the comments By ERIC A. HOWALD have been overwhelmingly Of the Keizertimes The Keizer City Council positive. We are rebuilding balked at a request to hike fi elds and making capital im- fees $10 per fi eld usage at the provement. As we put more Keizer Little League complex money into the fi elds we want during its meeting Monday, to make sure that we main- tain the fi eld,” Dec. 18. Arnsmeier The re- said. “It’s not quest came “ We're doing a cheap com- from Keizer our best to plex to run Little League and we are (KLL), which rebuild a once- proud to do manages the glorious park.” so, but it takes fi elds under money to do a contract — Brad Arnsmeier, so.” with the city, Keizer Little League President While the and drew council ended sharp rebuke from McNary Youth Baseball up requesting more informa- (MYB), the former Keizer tion before making a decision, Youth Sports Association. KLL the ask seemed to renew old President Brad Arnsmeier said animosities between KLL and the fee increase was needed to MYB before the meeting was help maintain the complex, over. To help make its case, KLL especially in light of recent investment in rejuvenating the supplied the council with a list of expenses and improvements facility. “We’re doing our best to Please see FIELD, Page A12 rebuild a once-glorious park. Merry Christmas! File Keizer Little League players round the bases during an opening day ceremony. KLL, which man- aged Keizer Little League Park, is seeking to increase fi eld reservation prices by $10 across the board. The proposal is meeting with resistance. 2 arrests in River Road robberies Girls b-ball 7- 0 PAGE A13 B. Thompson Season of Love KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald The Whiteaker Middle School choir program held its Season of Love performances earlier this month in front of near- capacity crowds at Salem Alliance Church. In addition to student choirs, numerous other local musical groups got into the act. For more photos, please see pages A8 and A9. J. Libokmeto By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes A single-car crash led to the arrest of two suspects – one each – in the robberies of Shari’s Cafe and Pies and Good Times Grill on River Road North in Keizer. Good Times Grill was robbed by two armed men on Dec. 11. A Shari’s manager was pushed to the ground, and a cash drawer was stolen, on Dec. 7. On Monday, Dec. 11, Sgt. Jeff Goodman responded to the scene of a single-vehicle Please see ROBBERY, Page A12 KCFB ‘hires’ new operations manager By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes When Jim Johnson be- came the treasurer for John Knox Presbyterian Church in the late 1990s, he didn’t realize that managing the books for the food bank the church op- erated was part of the duties. But, it was okay J. Johnson by him. “I couldn’t work at the food bank because I was still employed full-time, but I wanted to be involved,” Johnson said. And, he stayed involved, too. Johnson managed the food bank’s accounts through a name change to the Keizer Community Food Bank and right up un- til the day the operation be- came its own non-profi t in 2012. Johnson retired from the workforce in early 2017 and, since March, he’s been a regular fi xture at the food bank as a volunteer. His time in that role caught the eye of Rev. Curt McCormack, the food bank president. “He never stands around waiting for someone to tell him what to do. That’s the kind of guy you want as a manager because you never ask a volunteer or employ- ee to do something you wouldn’t do yourself,” Mc- Cormack said. This fall, Johnson was named as the food bank’s operations manager. “My job is to manage the churches that volunteer and Please see FOOD, Page A10 By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes The McNary Estates Homeowners Association caused a minor neighborhood stir when some residents were asked about religious-themed holiday signage in their yards. It didn’t take long for some residents to start responding to requests to remove the signs on a social media site, next- door.com, and the disagree- ments grew from there. The board has since backed away from the decision to act on sign code enforcement for this holiday season. HOA President Ray Straughan said the fi ve-mem- ber board was attempting to respond to objections to some of the signs placed on proper- ties within the north Keizer subdivision, particularly when there were not other “Christ- mas-y” decorations accompa- nying it. Straughan said an em- ployee of the HOA was tasked by the fi ve-member board with asking residents whether they knew about Convenant, Conditions, and Restrictions that require McNary Estates homeowners to apply for per- mission to display signs in their yard, but that wires got crossed in the execution. Some residents were con- HOA backs away from sign kerfuffl e Choirs at the Capitol PAGE A4 Hunter returns to MHS court PAGE A13 Submitted Signs like the one pictured became the center of disagree- ments between residents and the Homeowners Association in McNary Estates. tacted last week regard- ing signs with messages like “Keep Christ in Christmas” and “Christmas Jesus’ Birth – When God Came to Earth” and asked to remove them while other decorations were not singled out as violations. One resident said that, to her knowledge, no one in the neighborhood had ever been approached to remove signs supporting athletic teams, name plates or other common lawn decor. Straughan, in a statement supplied to the Keizertimes, said the intention was for all violations of the signs rules were going to be addressed. Please see HOA, Page A12