SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 40, NO. 9
SECTION A
NOV EMBER 30, 2018
$1.00
Council
wants
public
input
on rate
increase
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Keizer City Council
will be voting on garbage
service rate increases at its
meeting Monday, Dec. 3, and
it will likely come down to
the best of diffi cult options.
Councilors opened a public
hearing on the matter at its
Nov. 19 meeting and it will
be continued Monday with
time for residents to chime
in. Monday's meeting begins
at 7 p.m. at the Keizer Civic
Center.
Keizer's two local haulers,
Loren's Sanitation Services
and Valley Recycling and Dis-
posal, are requesting an in-
crease to garbage rates as a re-
sult of turmoil in
recycling markets.
Action by Chi-
na – which once
purchased
the
bulk of the West
Coast's recyclable
materials – placed
to changes in China's market for recyclable
new limits on
materials that call for stringent refusal of
the contamina-
contaminated items.
tion of accepted
What accounts for contamination?
materials.
The
Garbage that should have been put in
new contamina-
the gray bin, glass, styrofoam, plastic fi lm
tion standards are
(like shopping bags), child car seats (yes, it
diffi cult to meet
happens), blue tarps, carpet padding and
while
fi nding
more. Anything that potentially pollutes the
TALKING
trash
Boys
basketball
preview
PAGE B1
KLL Task
Force digs in
PAGE A2
WHAT CONTAMINATION? How that fee ends up
on your garbage bill and what it covers
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
So, you opened your most recent garbage
bill and found a $10.83 charge for recycling
contamination. Now what?
First, don't get mad, get information.
“We're using the contamination charges
to have the conversation with customers,”
said Greg Dittman, operations manager for
Valley Recycling and Disposal.
If it's the fi rst time you've had the charge
appear on your bill, both Valley Recycling
and Loren's Sanitation are willing to wipe
it off the slate in return for a few minutes of
education regarding what can and can't go
into the blue commingled recycling bins.
Contamination charges are receiving
more attention lately as haulers try to realign
expectations for what can and cannot be
recycled. The businesses are trying to adapt
Please see FEE, Page A7
Please see
TRASH, Page A7
KNOW needs
helping hands
PAGE A3
Homeless student population trending upward
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Keizer City Council was
hit with some alarming numbers
regarding homelessness in the city's
student population at a November
work session.
In the 2016-17 school year, there
were 61 homeless McNary High
School students, another 19 at Clag-
gett Creek Middle School and a doz-
en more at Whiteaker Middle School.
The situation hasn't improved.
“There are many more this year
than last year,” said Julie Conn-John-
son, the Salem-Keizer district home-
less liaison.
In recent months, local homeless-
ness advocates have tried to get a better
handle on the actual numbers in the
area and the homeless student pop-
ulation is just one component of the
larger picture.
Salem-Keizer School District also
works closely with HOME Youth and
Resource Center in Salem to ensure
that the area's homeless youth are
receiving the needed attention. In a
recent 100-day challenge, members
of several local service and
law enforcement agen-
cies compiled a list
of 231 homeless
youth in the
In 2017
area, but
Salem-Keizer
living on the street, the majority are
couch-surfi ng and there is no one
looking out for them,” said Tri-
cia Ratliff, HOME program
director. “What making
that list told us was
that we had to
highest in Oregon
School District was
for its number
do better at
of homeless students
cross-refer-
ring. Every
youth
ac-
cessing ser-
vices at one
site should
be accessing
services at
other sites”
BY THE NUMBERS
Homeless
students are
identified
homeless Salem-Keizer students
in a vari-
ety of ways.
at Whiteaker
at McNary
at Claggett Creek
12 Middle School
61 High School 19 Middle School
Teachers and
counselors
*Data from 2016-17 school year, counts are already higher this year.
notify
the
many of the students don't district when they suspect someone
always conform to traditional stereo- is housing insecure, friends of the stu-
dents may also seek help on behalf of
types of sleeping on sidewalks.
“Only about 5 to 10 percent are someone who is homeless. Sometimes
5
TH
HOMELESS
STUDENTS
1,132
students give their school's address as
their permanent one, which is another
tell. There are also some homeless fam-
ilies willing to ask for help or assistance
at the school itself.
What happens after a student is
found to be struggling for shelter can
also be a delicate matter.
“Even telling teachers or counselors
isn't something that happens pro for-
ma. We let food services know and the
student immediately gets qualifi ed for
a free meal program,” Conn-Johnson
said.
The district concentrates on getting
the students enrolled or re-enrolled at
school, a steady source of meals and
providing them with school supplies
and transportation if needed.
HOME, which is operated by the
Mid-Willamette Valley Community
Action Agency, is a drop-in center
where homeless youth can connect
with other support services and spend
some time commiserating or studying
out of the elements, but it only
operates between noon and 7 p.m.
Monday through Friday. The area's fi rst
Please see HOMELESS, Page A7
Development, not boundary will change student numbers
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
At fi rst glance, proposed
map of the McNary High
School boundary may appear
overwhelming.
However, there
aren't
any planned changes to the
existing boundary lines. The
most signifi cant impact would
most likely come in the form
of currently undeveloped areas
being built out. There is at least
one planned development of
500 new homes – between
Kale Street Northeast and
Hazelgreen Road Northeast
in Salem – that is included in
the existing boundary.
But district offi cials
say there isn't cause for
concern.
“The process that
we're using for growth
estimates takes into ac-
count all the develop-
able land and (that area)
is in the plan we used
to craft the bond,” said
Mike Wolfe, the school
district's chief opera-
tions offi cer.
Still, parents, students, school
neighbors and community
members are invited to attend
Boundary Review Task Force
“The process that we’re
using for growth estimates
takes into account all the
developable land and (that
area) is in the plan for the
we used to craft the bond”
Listening Sessions on Dec.
4 to share feedback on area
boundary adjustments. In
Keizer, the listening session
will be held from 6 to 8
Mike Wolfe,
School district’s
chief operations
offi cer
p.m. at Kennedy Elementary
School, 4912 Noren Ave. NE.
A Spanish interpreter will be
on site.
Boundary adjustments in
other areas of the district are
needed to relieve overcrowding
and put to use the new spaces
being built in the 2018 bond
program. During the boundary
review process, all school
attendance area boundaries
in the Salem-Keizer School
District are being reviewed, but
not all will be adjusted.
Presentations
at
Four
Corners Elementary School,
500 Alma Ave. S.E., and Waldo
Middle School, 2805 Lansing
Ave. N.E., the same evening
will be co-presented in English
and Spanish. Childcare and
snacks will be provided.
Pro tips
from fishing
guides
PAGE B1