SEPTEMBER 7, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
Opinion
Keep the conversation going
By CASEY CHAFFIN
On Saturday, Sept. 1, in seeming
response to a set of Keizertimes stories
on hate crimes and bias incidents,
Oregon State Rep. Bill Post created
a poll in the Keizer, OR Facebook.
Post’s poll asked: “Do you feel like
Keizer is a ‘racist’ or ‘non-inclusive’
community?”
The poll set off a dis-
cussion about hate and
inclusivity in Keizer.
Much of it ran along the
lines of “Keizer is great,
everything’s fi ne” and
“racism is everywhere
so stop attacking Keizer.”
But there was a subset
of commenters talking
about structural inequal-
ity and several people of color shar-
ing their experiences with discrimi-
nation in Keizer.
As a contributing writer to the
set of stories about hate in Keizer, it’s
the kind of conversation I wanted to
see. Some of the comments made me
angry, but I was encouraged to see
people grappling with what it means
to live in this community and what
it means to ostracize others.
As I was scrolling through com-
ments, I noticed an admin of the
Keizer Facebook group was telling
people “political/religious com-
ments” weren’t allowed. I thought,
how are we supposed to discuss hate,
discrimination and racism without
getting political? These are political
issues and we need to discuss them,
even if it starts arguments and ruffl es
feathers.
I was disheartened later that day
to see that the admin ended up de-
leting the entire post with all the
comments, and then made a new
post with a disabled comment sec-
tion redirecting people to the Keiz-
ertimes website to vote in the poll ad-
dressing the homophobic language
in the Keizer city charter. In doing
so, the admin shut down a conversa-
tion about hate and discrimination
and racism—and in the process shut
down my hope of progress toward a
better Keizer.
Neither the ques-
tion of what it means
for Keizer to be inclusive
nor the dismissal of that
question are new. This
topic has previously been
brought to the city coun-
cil. In the past year since
Keizer citizens requested
the city council pass an
inclusivity resolution, it
was discussed at only one work ses-
sion before disappearing completely.
If every forum for dialogue is shut
down, we will not make progress—
only stagnate in our current posi-
tions.
Hate is an uncomfortable issue to
discuss. Looking at our own com-
munity and seeing something we
don’t want to see is jarring. But we
need to get uncomfortable. That dis-
comfort is the beginning of under-
standing. And understanding is what
we need to address the systemic fl aws
that allow hate to go unchecked. We
need to create spaces where we can
discuss these issues of discrimination
and inclusivity, because we need to
have this conversation now. We’ve
been putting it off since Oregon’s
founding. We can’t just delete the
Facebook posts and pretend like ev-
erything’s fi ne—because it’s not. And
it won’t get better until we can talk
about it as a community.
(Casey Chaffi n was an intern with
the Keizertimes this summer.)
Kudos
mained with the dog
until the owner ar-
rived. They also waited
for the police to arrive.
Given all the information avail-
able on how quickly a car can heat
up, it is astonishing that some pet
owners are still so thoughtless or
reckless that they will leave an ani-
mal in a locked car on a hot sunny
day. With recent temperatures in the
high 80s, the temperature inside
a car, even with a window open a
crack, can quickly exceed 120 de-
grees—potentially lethal for a pet.
The owner of the dog rescued
today did not seem appreciative of
the actions of the Good Samaritans.
Hopefully, on refl ection, she will re-
alize the favor they did for her and
her dog, or she will realize that she
is not an appropriate owner of a pet.
Doug Parrow
Keizer
guest
column
police scanner
MONDAY, AUGUST 27
• 1:02 p.m. - Producing, processing, or
storing of marijuana in public view on
1000 block Orchard Street N.
• 2 p.m. - Vandalism on 4900 block Rick-
man Road NE.
• 5:15 p.m. - Traffi c accident on 2500
block Chemawa Road NE.
• 7 p.m. - Arrest on warrant on 3600
block Brooks Avenue NE.
• 7 p.m. - Bicycle theft on 5400 block
McLeod Lane NE.
• 8:30 p.m. - Arrest on warrant on 6000
block Jacobe Street NE.
• 9:06 p.m. - Arrest on warrant on 100
block Garland Way N.
• 11 p.m. - Vandalism on 5100 block Wit-
tenberg Lane NE.
• 10:25 p.m. - Arrest on warrant on 4600
block River Road N.
• 10:31 p.m. - Arrest for possession of
methamphetamine on 4600 block River
Road N.
• 4:30 p.m. - Theft from vehicle on 5100
block 7th Avenue NE.
• 11:22 p.m. - Arrest for assault, criminal
damage, and violation of release agree-
ment on 1000 block Harmony Drive
NE.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29
• 5:22 a.m. - Arrest on warrant at inter-
section of River Road N and Garland
Way N.
• 5:45 p.m. - Burglary on 5100 block
Hasbrook Avenue NE.
• 2 p.m. - Theft from vehicle on 4900
block River Road N.
• 3:25 p.m. - Shoplifting on 3800 block
River Road N.
• 3:46 p.m. - Arrest for parole violation
on 900 block of Chemawa Road NE.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
• 12:45 a.m. - Arrest for DUII on 3300
block River Road N.
• 1 a.m. - Theft from vehicle on 600
block James Street NE.
• 2:18 p.m. - Arrest for probation viola-
tion at intersection of Crestwood Court
NE and Lockhaven Drive NE.
• 3:23 p.m. - Arrest for trespassing on
5700 block Crestwood Court NE.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
TUESDAY, AUGUST 28
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30
• 1 a.m. - Missing automobile on 1500
block Wittenberg Lane NE.
• 11:20 a.m. - Shoplifting on 6200 block
Ulali Drive NE.
• 11:28 a.m. - Fraudulent use of credit
card on 5000 block River Road N.
• 12:43 p.m. - Theft of motor vehicle
parts/accessories on 5000 block Windsor
Island Road N.
• 4:40 p.m. - Arrest for DUII at inter-
section of River Road NE and McGee
Court NE.
• 7:07 p.m. - Minor in possession of mar-
ijuana on 1400 block Chemawa Road
NE.
• 9 p.m. Vandalism on 4400 block Delight
Street N.
• 12:05 a.m. - Arrest for probation viola-
tion on 4600 block River Road N.
• 12:29 a.m. - Arrest on warrant at inter-
section of Cherry Avenue NE and John-
son Street NE.
• 12:59 a.m. -Arrest for DUI on 5400
block River Road N.
• 10:30 p.m. - Arrest for DUII at inter-
section of Chemawa Road NE and Wit-
tenberg Lane NE
• 9:20 p.m. - Arrest on warrant on 800
block Cummings Lane N.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
• 11:43 a.m. - Vehicle theft on 1500 block
Shady Lane NE.
• 8:57 p.m. - Arrest for giving false infor-
mation to police offi cer on 1400 block
Chemawa Road NE.
• 11:14 p.m. - Assault on 4300 block
River Road N.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 31
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
• 12:30 a.m. - Theft from vehicle on 4900
block River Road N.
• 1:05 a.m. - Homicide investigation on
400 block Cummings Lane N.
MHS band collecting cans
Members of the McNary High
School band will spread throughout
Keizer neighborhoods on Saturday,
Sept. 8, to collect redeemable cans
and bottles as a fundraiser to the
benefi t the band program.
Teams of band members will go
door-to-door seeking donations
of cans and bottles that can be re-
deemed. They will also accept cash
donations. Keizerites who will not
be home on Sept. 8 can choose to
leave their cans and bottles on the
front porch or in front of the garage.
Band Day is overseen by the Mc-
Nary Band Boosters who will set
up a station at the high school park-
ing lot to accept and sort donations
from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; they will ac-
cept donations at that site from peo-
ple who want to bring their donated
cans and bottles themselves.
Band Day is one of two major
fundraisers for the band held each
year. Proceeds fund band transporta-
tion to competitions, music, cleaning
of marching uniforms, band camp
and to hire professional musicians
to hold seminars for band members.
Additionally, you can contribute
to the band throughout the year by
registering for a free BottleDrop ac-
count and earmarking refunds for
the McNary Band. Once registra-
tion is complete, you will be able
to pick up special green recycling
bags that can be fi lled and dropped
off at BottleDrop Centers. The clos-
est BottleDrop Center to Keizer is
located at 1880 Commercial Street
N.E. in Salem. Hours are 8 a.m. to
7 p.m.
For information or questions,
visit mcnaryhsband.org.
letters
To the Editor:
Nice work on bringing
the conversation about racism in
our community to the forefront. It
would be lovely if you would keep
this conversation going through a
regular series on the topic.
Jessica Johnson
Keizer
Dog rescued
To the Editor:
Kudos to the folks at Keizer Sta-
tion who took the initiative to res-
cue a dog from a locked car today,
Wednesday, Aug. 22.
After seeing that the dog was in
distress and having failed to be able
to locate the owner, they did exactly
as the Good Samaritan law (ORS
30.813) prescribes: they broke into
the car, called the police, and re-
KEIZERTIMES.COM
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