SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 40, NO. 6
SECTION A
NOV EMBER 9, 2018
$1.00
Council adds 2 new faces in Jan.
Kohlsr, Smith to rsplacs Andsrson, Ryan
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
As one of his many vol-
unteer service efforts, Dan
Kohler has served on boards
that awarded Eagle Scouts
their wings. It’s a momentous
and personal achievement
in any young scout’s life, but
Kohler’s advice was often the
same.
“I always challenge the boys
to get involved and do their
part even when it’s hard,” said
Kohler, who was projected to
win a Keizer City Council
seat being vacated by Bruce
Anderson. “It is hard, and I
needed to put up or shut up.”
At press time, Kohler had
about 64 percent of the votes
tallied. Mike De Blasi, a long-
time member on city advisory
committees, also ran for the
seat.
Joining Kohler on the city
Dan Kohlsr
Elizabsth Smith
council next January will be
Elizabeth Smith, who was
projected to win the seat be-
ing vacated by Amy Ryan.
Smith entered the race along-
side opponent Shawn Lapof.
“I am extremely humbled,”
said Smith. “I’m blown away
by the support of people who
reached out in support of my
message.”
Smith had garnered nearly
71 percent of the vote at press
time.
Kohler echoed Smith’s
sense of humility at the task
laid before him.
“It feel like the hard work
Facing a crisis
starts now, but I am thrilled
and humbled to have earned
the support of so many of the
people I talked with the past
few months. They want Keizer
to be a place where they live
and enjoy, and I get to be a
voice for them.”
Smith added that one of
the most common refrains
from people she met on the
campaign trail was that resi-
dents felt no one was listening
to their concerns, she wants
to change that perception as a
councilor.
“Leaders motivate other
people to take action, and my
hope is to help some of those
people make their voices
heard. I’m excited to see what
comes tomorrow,” Smith said.
The only other Keizer-cen-
tric issue on the ballot this
year was a local option levy
for the Keizer Fire District. It
was passing with a resounding
72 percent “yes” vote at press
time.
“Keizer Fire District would
like to thank the people of
Keizer for their continued
support of our emergency
services, here at home.” said
Keizer Fire District Board
President Chet Patterson.
Keizer Fire Chief Jeff Cow-
an added, “We are sincerely
grateful for the trust and faith
you place on us. We have a true
passion and belief in the noble
cause of service to others, of-
ten in their most crucial time
of need. We will continue to
earn that trust with pride and
respect every day.”
Republicans were winning
the day higher up the ballot.
Kevin Cameron and Colm
Willis looked to be headed for
seats at the Marion County
MHS ousted
in playoffs
PAGE B1
Plsass sss COUNCIL, Pags A2
City council brisfsd on
arsa’s homslsss initiativs
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Keizer City Council was on the receiving end of some sobering
news regarding the state of homelessness in Marion and Polk counties,
Monday, Oct. 29.
Jimmy Jones, the director of the Community Action Agency
ARCHES Project, said that while good work is being done, the depth of
the homelessness issue in the two-county area was only revealed recently.
“We’re facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions,” Jones said.
REGROUNDING THE CONVERSATION
Data on the area’s homeless population was always spotty at best, Jones
said.
The two primary sources were an annual point-in-time homeless count
that provided an annual snapshot of the number of people affected by home-
lessness and and surveys of individuals currently being housed through sup-
port programs.
“Those resulted in an enormous undercount and never more than 10
percent of the actual population being accounted for,” Jones said.
Jones implemented a new screening tool, the Vulnerability Index and
Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT), that helps
identify unique needs and matches them to the best available ser-
vices. To date, more than 5,200 of Marion and Polk homeless resi-
dents have been surveyed using VI-SPDAT.
Jones said the conclusion is that the area’s homeless “have a much
higher vulnerability than what we would expect.”
The VI-SPDAT tool ranks individuals on a scale of 0-20, 0 be-
ing the individuals most likely to be able to fi nd new housing on
their own and 20 being the chronically homeless most likely to
die on the streets around the age of 50 without some sort of inter-
vention.
Jones said there was no one local with a rank of 20, but there
Plsass sss CRISIS, Pags A6
School board
to vote on
eminent
domain
action
PAGE A2
Crystal Apple
winners shine
PAGE A3
Chambsr of Commsrcs
hsading back to Rivsr Rd.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
After a long sojourn to an
offi ce in Keizer Station, the
Keizer Chamber of Com-
merce is coming back to Riv-
er Road North.
Executive Director Dan-
ielle Bethell made the an-
nouncement during a Keizer
City Council meeting Mon-
day, Nov. 5. The new offi ce
will be located at 4118 River
Road N., but Bethell wasn’t
sure exactly what day it will
open.
“Moving back to River
Road was one of the three
priorities when I was hired,”
said Bethell, who was hired
in April 2016. “We started the
conversation soon thereaf-
ter, but we had to have some
growth before we could make
it happen.”
The new space will near-
ly double the available square
footage of the Chamber’s ex-
PAGE B1
Wolverines
win at
All-City
PAGE B1
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Ths Ksizsr Chambsr of Commsrcs signsd a lsass on a nsw
Rivsr Road offi cs in lats Ssptsmbsr. It will bs locatsd at 4118
Rivsr Road N.
isting Keizer Station offi ce,
from 900 square feet to 1,650.
It will allow for dedicated
offi ces and a boardroom for
meetings as well as a new visi-
tors’ center.
“It will be a large open
space, and there will be infor-
mation for tourists, like maps,
but also showcasing things like
the drama program at Mc-
Nary High School or Keizer
Homegrown Theatre,” Bethell
said.
It will also allow the Keizer
Chamber to take part in larg-
er tourism efforts put togeth-
er by Travel Salem and Travel
Oregon. Bethell said it will be
a stop on the Oregon Wine
Charm Trail.
Plsass sss CHAMBER, Pags A2
A banana
grows in Keizer
Submittsd
Roy and Judy Zisbart ars going bananas. Ths coupls, who livs
on Bailsy Court Northsast, rscsntly discovsrsd a bunch of ba-
nanas growing on a trss in thsir yard. Judy said thsy purchassd
ths trss about two ysars ago and thsir grandson plantsd it. It’s
ths fi rst tims ths trss has producsd fruit.
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