Keizertimes., February 23, 2018, Image 1

SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 21
SECTION A
FEBRUARY 23, 2018
$1.00
Nine
Eight
LIVES TO GO
Wentworth
signs
PAGE B5
Cat fi nds new
leash on life
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Some animals and humans
seem destined for each other.
Malibu gave Ryan Laudon
two chances just in case he
didn't get the message the fi rst
time around. The fi rst time
the pair met, Malibu was just a
stray in Laudon's south Salem
neighborhood.
“I heard him crying outside
and I went out and he'd gotten
tangled in my kids' soccer net.
He'd gotten the net wrapped
around his neck fi ve times
when he struggled, and one
of his paws was wrapped up
twice,” Laudon said.
Laudon freed the then-
kitten with a serrated knife,
but Malibu knew he'd found
a friend. He kept returning to
Laudon's home for free meals
and companionship.
Last week, Malibu turned
up at the Laudon's home with
a badly broken hind leg and
in more pain than Laudon
himself could bear. Laudon
suspects he was hit by a
passing car.
“He's such a cool cat, a
beautiful cat, and you could
tell he was in pain, but I swear
he was purring the whole
time,” Laudon said.
Laudon's rescuing instincts
kicked
into
overdrive.
Unfortunately, Laudon only
had $240 to his name and he
knew the medical treatment
Malibu needed could be
wallet-draining.
A series of phone calls to
friends and animal rescue
organizations – the Willamette
Humane Society was closed
the day Malibu turned up
injured – led Laudon to a
Salem veterinarian who he
heard worked with low-
income families.
He visited the following
day, but all he could get out of
the vet on duty was a write-
up of what would need to
be done. The exam alone
was going to cost all of what
Laudon had on hand, and he
would need to fi nd someone
to loan him $50 to cover that.
“I was really upset at the
time because I felt like I was
going to have to bring him
Playing the
anthem
PAGE A3
home and put him down,”
Laudon said. “I could have
paid it, but I still would have
had a broken cat.”
In retrospect, he thinks
that the staff at the clinic
might have suspected he was
the one to cause the injury
and understands more their
wariness.
Fortunately, Laudon had
Please see EIGHT, Page A8
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Ryan Laudon with Malibu who lost a leg to amputation after
being struck by a vehicle. The benevolence of a Willamette
Valley Animal Hospital vet gave Malibu a shot at recovery.
NEW VISIONS FOR RIVER ROAD Victim
sought in
attempted
carjacking
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Over the next year or so, the City
of Keizer is embarking on a revitaliza-
tion study including large portions of
River Road North and Cherry Avenue
Northeast.
That means if residents and business
owners want to have a say on what be-
comes of Keizer's “Main Street,” it's time
to get involved.
While the parameters of the study are
still somewhat loosely defi ned, the spe-
cifi c areas included are likely to be from
Weeks Drive to River Road North on
Cherry Avenue Northeast; Weeks Drive
to Greenwood Drive on River Road
North; Linda Avenue to Rose Park Lane
on River Road North; and Lockhaven
The Keizer Police Depart-
ment is asking for assistance in
fi nding the victim involved in
an attempted carjacking in Sa-
lem Saturday, Feb. 14.
The vehicle is described as
light colored, possibly white
or silver medium sized 4-door
sedan.
About 12:15 a.m., KPD
offi cers were
pursuing
a
stolen 1997
Ford Escort
that
ended
when spike
strips
were
deployed and
p u n c t u r e d A. Raymond
Nanez
one of the
vehicles tires
causing it to spin out at the
intersection of State and 17th
streets in Salem. After the Es-
cort came to a stop, the sus-
pect fl ed on foot.
The man fl ed west on
State Street Northeast and
then south across traffi c lanes
with KPD K-9 offi cer Buster
pursuing him. The pursuing
offi cers witnessed the sus-
pect attempting to gain entry
into another vehicle that had
stopped to yield to the chase.
The suspect tried to gain
entry into the vehicle through
the driver’s door and the driv-
er's side rear passenger door.
Buster intervened by bit-
ing him until the K-9 handler
Please see STUDY, Page A8
Please see VICTIM, Page A4
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Keizer Chamber hosting
community conversation City kicking off
River Road and Churchdale Avenue.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Keizer Chamber of Commerce
is hoping for a big turnout at it's fi rst-
ever Community Conversation on
Wednesday, Feb. 28.
The Chamber is inviting all Keizer
residents and business owners to join in
the talks that will help to create a vision
for the future of River Road North. For
Jonathan Thompson, chair of the Cham-
ber's Government Affairs Committee,
that means showing up even if you don't
plan on saying anything.
“You might not have a specifi c idea
you want to talk about, but somebody
else might say something that triggers a
response or your own idea for what we
should do. We want to hear all of that as
we decide what to do going forward,”
Thompson said.
The talks begin at 6 p.m. at the Keizer
Civic Center.
The idea for this particular conversa-
tion sprouted from the city's attempt to
enact a 1 percent fee on new construc-
tion and redeveloped areas to be used for
the creation of public amenities and/or
public art.
They received a nuanced discussion
at the Planning Commission, which
approved the idea and forwarded it to
the Keizer City Council, but the coun-
cil balked after lengthy testimony from
members of the Keizer Chamber and
other parties. Aside from discontent over
adding fees, some councilors took issue
with the lack of specifi city in what the
fee would be used for.
In discussing the future of River
Road and the possibility of a 1 percent
fee during an interview with the Keizer-
times two weeks ago, Mayor Cathy Clark
said, “We had the how, but not the what.”
Thompson said the fee proposal
“snuck up” on members of the Keizer
Chamber, but that members have made
more concerted efforts in the interven-
ing months to keep up with changes
Please see CONVO, Page A8
new River Road
vision study
Lend Me a
Tenor opens
PAGE A3
Ebbs,
Vincent,
Parra place
at state
tournament