SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 39, NO. 34
SECTION A
MAY 25, 2018
A
$1.00
It's KeizerFEST
B
Something to
cheer about
A: Valerie Maley and grand-
sons Jerry Fonfora and Toryn
Maley wait for the Iris Parade.
B: A member of The Beat Goes
On band marches down River
Road. C: Clowns led the parade
entry for France School of
Dance. D: Winners of the May-
or's Pet Parade Inky and BB.
C
D
More pics
in Section B
KEIZERTIMES/Parker Kehret and Random Pendragon
Trees will burn… soon? Cherriots mulls
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Piles of uprooted trees at Keizer Rapids Park
may already be reduced to ash by the time this
paper hits stands. Or not.
A group of volunteers, led by former city
councilor Mark Caillier began burning Wednes-
day, May 23, but the timeline depended on daily
burn windows set by the Oregon Department
of Agriculture.
Earlier this year, the same group of volun-
teers tore out the aging orchard on the site be-
cause it was no longer a break-even proposition
for the farmer who was harvesting it.
The city is permitted to burn the piles onsite
because the land they are on will continue to
be used for agriculture. The city got a verbal
commitment on Monday, May 21, from a local
farmer to use the land for grass seed.
No accelerants will be used to ignite or coax
the fi res once they are set
The approximately 20 acres of land will
eventually become part of Keizer Rapids park,
but outsourcing care of the area for agricultural
production will reduce costs to the city for the
time being.
At the city council meeting Monday, Keiz-
er Public Works Director Bill Lawyer said the
farmer hoped to begin planting in late summer
or fall.
The city has until June 15, when agricultural
burning is banned to complete the project.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Cari Emery and Meredith Mooney are two of the board mem-
bers guiding changes at Keizer United.
PAGE A2
cheaper fares
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Cherriots, the Salem-Keiz-
er public transit system, is cur-
rently reviewing its fare struc-
ture and seeking public input
on possible changes.
The full proposal and a
short online survey are avail-
able at www.cherriots.org/
better. Comment is being
sought through June 8.
Some of the possible
changes include:
• Instituting a reduced fare
program for low-income users,
provided the riders can supply
proof of Oregon Health Plan
coverage or SNAP benefi ts.
• Standardizing fares to
$2.25 on regional routes.
• Eliminating a $60 month-
ly pass that works only on
Please see FARES, Page A6
Keizer United sets new course
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
For almost two decades,
Keizer United has been a fun-
draising arm for a rotating cast
of other, small non-profi ts lo-
cated in Keizer.
In some ways, that was a
useful set-up. For instance, it
allowed organizations to pool
fundraising resources. How-
ever, the changing roster of
supported agencies left Keizer
United itself without a tan-
gible identity.
It came to a head when
the current chair of the group,
Meredith Mooney, met with
Mayor Cathy Clark last year
in the wake of being denied
fi nancial support from the city
during budgeting season.
“Cathy asked, ‘What is
Keizer United?’ We got to-
gether later and I told her
what I thought it could be,”
Mooney said.
Mooney envisioned a new
mission for the group as a
meeting ground for a wider
array of interests and foster-
Mail thief
arrested
ing force for collaboration.
Keizer United would become
a Community Partnership
Team, supplying lunch and in-
viting anyone on a mission to
serve the community to join
them.
“Whether you are a neigh-
bor or on city council, you
are welcome at this table
for a meal but, more impor-
tantly, organic collaboration,”
Mooney said.
That might seem like a
hazy realignment of Keizer
United’s mission, but it’s al-
ready yielding tangible results.
At a Keizer United meeting
Monday, May 21, two of the
featured presenters were Sa-
lem Harvest’s Elise Bauman
and Simonka Place’s Kathy
Smith.
Salem Harvest connects
famers and backyard growers
with volunteer pickers who
harvest crops from fava beans
to fruit for other area organi-
zations like the Marion-Polk
Food Share.
“There is lots of food being
wasted at the farm level be-
cause their contracts are fi lled,
the food isn’t pleasing to the
eye or the demand dries up,”
Bauman said.
An estimated 400,000
pounds of locally-grown food
is wasted each season. Vol-
unteers who help harvest are
permitted to keep half of what
they pick and the other half
goes to families and organiza-
tions in need.
Farmers and volunteers can
Please see UNITED, Page A6
Youth
councilor
heads to
college
PAGE A6
Crush wins
Iris tourney
PAGE B6