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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2018)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 31 SECTION A MAY 4, 2018 $1.00 Keizer’s gentrified future? City is becoming more affl uent, older & only 6,500 jobs TIGARD 12 TH KEIZER 13 TH LAKE OSWEGO 14 TH N NW NE W E SE SW S Keizer recently passed Lake Oswego to become the 13TH LARGEST CITY IN OREGON Golfers qualify for state The number of households with PAGE B1 incomes less than $50,000 is decreasing dramatically, while the number of households with an income of $100,000 has increased LOWER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS are concentrated in south and southeast Keizer where renter-occupied homes are most prevalent. by one-third. < $50K > $100K AVERAGE COST OF RENTING IN KEIZER has increased more than 50 percent in fi ve years. Please see FUTURE, Page A12 50 PERCENT a whole. However, Keizer has far outpaced all the sur- rounding areas in terms of income growth. The median income of a Keizer house- hold is $52,000 compared to $43,500 in Salem and $45,600 in Marion County. The data is based off the 2010 U.S. Census with updates us- ing other inputs. Portland- based Otak and Angelo Plan- ning Group are compiling the statistics. The number of households making less than $25,000 has dropped 5 percent since 2000, and the number of even moderate-income house- holds is decreasing steadily. In the past 18 years, the num- ber of households making less than $75,000 is declining rapidly while the growth of households making $100,000 or more is steadily increasing. Both trends are projected to continue for at least the next fi ve years. The housing market is also being strained as a result of skewed growth. Lower- income families typically are only fi nding residences in the southeastern portions of the city where more rental prop- erties are found. Coupled with meteoric rises in rental 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 KEIZERTIMES/Andrew Jackson By ERIC A HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Gentrifi cation – the pro- cess by which urban or blighted areas are gradually reshaped to more middle- class tastes, and push out lower-income families – is generally thought of as a big city problem, but a draft re- port prepared to inform the revitalization of River Road North depicts something like gentrifi cation already hap- pening in Keizer. The city has drafts of the current study, which fo- cuses on River Road North posted on its website, www. keizer.org, but information included in the reports cover various aspects of the city as a whole and show how Keizer is becoming a more affl uent place and a less attainable ad- dress than it was in the past. Keizer recently surpassed Lake Oswego to become Oregon’s 13th most popu- lous city. Its growth in the past 18 years is roughly equal to that experienced in Sa- lem and Marion County as Lessons in food will last a lifetime By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes Jim Taylor’s mom used to joke that he would grow up to be a singing chef. With his latest endeavor, Tay- lor is on his way. After a dozen years as a choir teacher at McNary High School, Taylor now teaches food classes at Claggett Creek Middle. “I did all my singing fi rst, now I’m a chef,” said Taylor, who came to Claggett Creek last year to provide more elec- tive opportunities for students. After teaching video produc- tion, drama and foods for a school year, Taylor now teaches a full load of food classes. Food is a passion of Taylor’s, particularity growing it. Three years ago, he created a food forest at his home in Herrera to run for 2nd council term By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Roland Herrera will be seeking another term in Po- sition 4 on the Keizer City Council. Herrera was fi rst elected in 2014 and will be back on the ballot this November. City councilors serve four-year terms. Aside from policy achieve- ments like supporting a fee to add police offi cers, Herrera said his proudest moments have been inviting others into the fold of municipal government. Please see HERRERA, Page A9 KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley Rethinking River Road PAGE A2 Band accolades PAGE A3 Please see FOOD, Page A12 Yusof Khodatars-Alcala, a seventh grader at Claggett Creek Middle, and principal Aaron Persons dump out a load of dirt from Highway Fuel into a bed in the school's new garden. Fox on the Fairway premieres KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley Wendy Braun lays a big kiss on Jordan Reid in a scene from The Fox on the Fairway, debuting at Keizer Homegrown Theatre on Friday, May 4. By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes When Linda Baker, founder of Keizer Homegrown Theatre, read The Fox on the Fairway, a farce by Ken Ludwig, she knew just the man to direct it—2005 McNary graduate Kevin Straus- baugh. “When I was at McNary, I did a bunch of directing classes and she (Baker) always said I had a natural talent for directing,” Strausbaugh said. “She saw this show and how ridiculous and silly and farcical it is and knew that I would bring this show justice.” Strausbaugh calls Mel Brooks one of his biggest infl uences. “I’m a very eccentric person,” Strausbaugh said. “I love this kind of humor. I actually have a few little bits in here that are from Mel Brooks movies. Anyone who is also a Mel Brooks fan, like myself, will get them, but if they don’t, it’s still funny.” The Fox on the Fairway opens Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m. at Keizer Homegrown Theatre, 980 Chemawa Rd. NE. with additional shows May 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. and May 6, 13 and 20 at 2 p.m. “It’s just a constant punch line, line after line after line of punch lines,” Strausbaugh said. Please se FOX, Page A9 Lego thief busted A suspected thief who burglarized a Lego-themed Keizer store was caught and arrested as he tried to sell the goods to another store in Or- egon City later the same day. Keizer police offi cers responded to an alarm at Bricks and Minifi gs at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 24. The store is located at 3670 River Road N. Please see LEGO, Page A9 Celts take Titans down a notch PAGE B1
