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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2019)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 40, NO. 21 SECTION A FEBRUARY 22, 2019 $1.00 Schools, church strike $2.26 million deal A File Fight for literacy Co-tauGht classes essential to solution By MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes Coming into the school year, admin- istration at McNary High School knew that they were getting a high volume of incoming ninth graders that weren't reading at grade level — roughly 45 per- cent of the freshman class. During the fi rst semester, McNary offered literacy tutorials for students that needed remedial assistance to try and help them get back on track. However, at the start of second se- mester, the Salem-Keizer School Dis- trict made the decision to eliminate lit- eracy tutorials, or any English electives that were used as a substitute for students that were unprepared for ninth-grade English classes. The decision put the burden on Mc- have kids that are reading at a senior level Nary English teachers to try and fi gure in the same class reading the same text.” But Bouley is in her 12th year teach- out how to help struggling kids catch- ing freshman English at up, even though they McNary, and she is no were now put in a class “ This year, it’s stranger to rolling with that was above their the punches. skill level. been harder to Bouley is teach- “There have always differentiate the ing four English-nine been low readers and classes this semester there has always been extremes.” and two of them are high achievers,” Mc- — Melinda Bouley, co-taught by Nicole Nary English teacher McNary enGlish teacher De Blasi, who, along Melinda Bouley said. with being a co-teach- “But this year, it's been er, works in the special harder to differenti- ate the extremes that are there because education department at McNary. English classes are co-taught when without the literacy tutorials, you have to fi gure out how to support the kid that there are a high number of students on is at a third-grade reading level when I Please see LITERACY, PaGe A8 River Rd redux hones in on cyclists, pedestrians By ERIC A. HOWALD Visitors to an open house on revitalizinG River Road assess Of the Keizertimes some of the proposals com- About three dozen Keizer inG out of the study. residents, city offi cials and committee volunteers turned KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald out to give feedback on proposals for revitalizing Keizer’s commercial corridors 2 – Installing a two-way during an open house Tuesday, bike and walking path on Feb. 12. the east side of River Road. Among the various ideas on In this instance, vehicle travel the table is a way to transform lanes would be decreased from River Road to accommodate 12 feet to 10 feet and result in and promote multimodal a more comfortable travel bike transportation such as biking for riders of all levels. and walking. Consultants from 3 – Retaining all current Otak prepared three options lanes of travel, but reducing and asked attendees to place lane sizes to 10.5 feet across stickers indicating their level the board while installing of support next to the three four-foot bike lanes on each proposals. side of the road. Given the At a meeting of the Keiz- small bike lane size, Brown er Traffi c Safety said only the Committee two most courageous days later, Com- “ It’s not in riders would munity Devel- likely use the proGram bike lanes. the opment Director Nate Brown said to eliminate During the it was one of the open house, par- driveways” more divisive ticipants mostly issues, but prob- — Nate Brown, hated the idea of lems will persist eliminating the Community Develop. without change. center lane, they Director, City of Keizer “There are were lukewarm 32,000 trips a on Option 3 and day on River Road, and when a two-way bike and pedestri- we expanded it some of the an lane received the most sup- frontage on the east side was port. chopped off leaving businesses Brown said a fourth option with substandard parking,” is establishing parallel bike Brown said. paths on exterior streets, but The options Otak arrived that options on the east and at were: west sides are not as close to 1 – Removing the center River Road as most riders turn lane and installing would prefer. buffered bike lanes on both There might be sides of River Road. While opportunities to implement the bike lanes would be elements of all three options buffered, some cyclists might depending on the available be uncomfortable with the space at various points along close proximity to vehicle Please see REDUX, PaGe A8 traffi c. By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes A weeks-long standoff over six acres behind St. Edward Catholic Church came to an abrupt end on Valentine’s Day. Salem-Keizer Public Schools and the church leadership TO STARTER GUIDE struck a $2.26 million deal for that land that will allow the district to proceed with plans to expand capacity at McNary High School. “We recognize that like schools, churches are the hubs of the communities they serve, and we look forward to being good neighbors and partners. We appreciate their professionalism through this process,” said Salem-Keizer Superintendent Christy Perry in a statement. The district was slated to take possession of the property on Tuesday, Feb. 19, which will allow the district to proceed with fi ling the permits it needs to begin construction this summer. The six acres behind the church are expected to become softball fi elds and a soccer pitch with limited parking and a driveway for special education buses to reach the campus. The current softball fi elds will be used for additional parking, tennis courts and a more streamlined pick-up and drop-off traffi c pattern. McNary’s scheduled expansion includes additions to the north and south sides of the existing building that will eliminate the need for portable classrooms and result in 14 new general classrooms, a new science lab and two career- technical education spaces. The church and school district had been trading legal fi lings for the better part of two months over the district’s usage of eminent domain. HW: Health & Wellness SEE MAGAZINE INSIDE Keizer’s Kid Governor finalist PAGE A2 Girls bowling head to state tourney PAGE A10 WEST SALEM SHOOTING RANGE: A possible solution? A measure proposed by located in Polk County Oregon Senate President across the river, but the Peter Courtney would threat of fi nancial liability open the possibility of might force the hand of Polk County suing city and commissioners county jurisdic- who have been tions when bul- reluctant to take lets stray from action. private property Keizer residents and injure oth- have attended ers. Polk County The bill, Commissioner s’ Senate Bill 781 (SB781), Peter Courtney meetings several times during the may not have past year to ask an immediate impact on the dispute for an end to the shooting between residents of west taking place across the river Keizer and a shooting range and, were at one point, asked “how big a bubble” they wanted. SB781 would also make it explicit in Oregon Revised Statute that a county or city could adopt ordinances to “regulate, restrict or prohibit the discharge of fi rearms within their boundaries,” but the bill includes numerous exceptions in the vein of simply having permission to discharge a fi rearm on private property as a justifi cation for doing so. While the bill is a step PAGE A11 Please see GUNS, PaGe A8 This spring, we’ll be expanding to a FULL SERVICE CLINIC in Keizer. We’re bringing Orthopedic care, closer to home. to better serve the Keizer community Graneto returns to Celtic hardwood 5825 Shoreview Lane, Keizer • 503-540-6471 1600 State Street, Salem • 503-540-6300 ®
