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