SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 14
SECTION A
JANUARY 5, 2018
$1.00
The nut of Measure 101
How do voters want to fund healthcare?
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
On Jan. 23, Oregon voters
will decide whether or not
to keep some major sections
of a bill designed to help pay
for healthcare for the state's
low-income individuals and
families.
Ballots should be arriving
soon asking voters whether
they approve of the House
Bill 2391's methods for paying
these costs or reject certain
fi nancial aspects of the bill.
As written, HB 2391
imposes, among other things:
temporary assessments of 1.5
percent on premiums charged
by health insurance companies
for a time period of two years;
and an additional .7 percent
assessment on large hospitals.
Those assessments drew
the ire of Rep. Julie Parrish
(R-37 Tualatin/West Linn)
and Rep. Cedric Hayden
(R-7 Roseburg) the chief
petitioners behind Measure
101 that voters will be asked
to decide on.
“We
have
surgically
extracted fi ve pieces. If we
Celts slay
Timberwolves
YES VOTE
Adds additional funding for roughly 1 million
Oregonians enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan.
PAGE A11
Lowers the cost of insurance for 210,000 Oregonians
purchasing coverage in the individual market.
Maintains the ability to receive substantial
federal matching funds.
NO VOTE
A no vote would create a hole in the state budget
of $210 to $320 million for the current fi scal year
with the additional loss of federal matching funds.
During the short 2018 session, state legislators would have to
fi gure out how to come up with additional funds from other
areas or seek cuts in health care programs or in other areas
(like education or public safety) of the state.
At greatest risk would be Oregonians who don't get insurance
through their employer. Coverage might be reduced or eliminated.
wanted to blow up Medicaid,
we have the ability to refer the
entire package to the ballot,”
Parrish said.
Parrish and Hayden took
it upon themselves in recent
weeks to visit newspapers
throughout the state to drum
up opposition to the funding
mechanisms included in
the bill, but neither claimed
opposition to the social safety
net created by programs like
Medicaid and Medicare.
The main points of their
argument hinge on the way
money will change hands and
what will happen after it ends
up in government accounts.
At issue are sections of the
bill that: impose an assessment
on the gross premium
amounts collected by the
Public Employees' Benefi ts
Board; impose a 1.5 percent
assessment on the insurance
and managed care organization
premiums; allows insurance
companies to pass along the
1.5 percent increase to policy
holders; and establishes a new
.7 percent assessment on large
hospitals.
The
new
assessments
are expected to generate
an additional $210 to $320
million, but those fi gures are
only part of the equation. The
Please see MEASURE, Page A7
It’s coming
Keizerites might just be
shopping at Waremart by
Winco at the end of the month.
Keizertimes reached out to a
spokesperson for the business
last week and didn't receive
a reply, but a sign posted on
the front of the store at 5450
River Road North suggests
the grocer plans to open by the
end of January.
That's not the only
indicator that things are
moving ahead at full speed.
3 charged
with
threatening
graffiti
PAGE A2
On Dec. 29, the city issued
Waremart's occupancy permit
suggesting that construction
is complete. In addition,
the Keizer City Council
approved Waremart's liquor
license in a unanimous vote
Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Local
firefighters
battle
California
blaze
A sign in the new Waremart
by Winco building heralds an
opening by the end of the
month.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
City has little recourse when homes sit vacant
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The house at the corner of
Sieberg and Arnold Street in
south Keizer looks abandoned
from the street. Several of the
windows are boarded up and
“Black Mold” is scrawled
across plywood in black
Sharpie on the main entry, a
warning to those that might
try to gain access. However,
the most cursory of glances
shows the tell-tale signs that
not everyone has heeded the
caution.
A detached storage shed
door is cracked open, but there
isn't anything of value in sight
even after it's opened further.
Cast off tools and buckets
along with what looks like a
furnace all appear to have seen
better days. Another open
entry in the rear of the house
grants a clearer perspective
on the likely condition of the
main living space.
Even before sliding the
door further ajar, the smell
of mold and mildew is
overwhelming. A mattress lies
rotting on its fame, on top of
that a bright red pillow chair is
turning black with decay. The
ceiling, aside from one stalwart
patch, has all fallen in on the
room.
The home is owned by a
Salem man, but there hasn't
A vacant home in south
Keizer is attracting un-
wanted attention, but the
city has little recourse for
dealing with such homes.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
been any regular occupancy
in a while. In the intervening
time, it's become the “creepy
house” for local youth, said
one neighbor. Students from
nearby Claggett Creek Middle
School dare each other
venture inside, others abscond
with schoolmates' backpacks
and notebooks at school and
then toss them into one of
the open doors meaning the
victim has to summon up the
courage to retrieve them, he
said.
Vacant and abandoned
properties are not an albatross
around the neck of Keizer as
much as other cities, but when
problems do arise, city offi cials
don't have the tools to correct
the problems that some other
jurisdictions do.
“It's
diffi cult
because
whenever we are dealing
with property rights, we
have to walk a fi ne line,” said
Community
Development
Director Nate Brown.
At any given moment,
Keizer Code Enforcement
Offi cer Ben Crosby is trying
to oversee activity at about six
vacant or abandoned homes
and the livability issues that
tend to crop up around them.
“Typically, we have two
types, ones that are being
foreclosed on and then empty
rentals,” Crosby said.
Attending to the needs
of the properties is only one
of Crosby's many duties and
Please see VACANT, Page A9
Wounded
Warriors
reel 'em in
PAGE A11