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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 2019)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 40, NO. 23 SECTION A MARCH 8, 2019 $1.00 Muzzle nuzzled KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings A Keizer man perished in a fi re that consumed a mobile home off Chemawa Loop Northeast on Sunday, March 3. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. Man dies in mobile home fi re A fi re in a Keizer mobile home park claimed the life of a 62-year-old man Sunday, March 3. Keizer fi refi ghters were summoned to a mobile home fi re at Rainbow Gardens Mo- bile Village, a 55+ Senior Liv- ing Community, at 5:44 a.m. Firefi ghters were on scene in four minutes and were sum- moned to the scene by neigh- bors calling 9-1-1. Two residents — Mate Me- zei, age 62, and his wife Maria Mezei, age 59 — were inside the home at the time of the fi re. Neighbors Dan Garch- er, age 57, and his wife Linda Garcher, age 54, were awak- ened by a barking dog to the fi re. The residence is a sin- gle-wide mobile home with an attached porch. According to Keizer Police Department Deputy Chief Jef- frey Kuhns, Mr. Garcher went in to the burning house to try and rescue Mr. Mezei, but wasn’t able to as he was pushed back by the smoke and fi re. However, Mr. Garcher was able to rescue Mrs. Mezei from the home — both suffered se- rious injuries from the fi re and were transported to the hospi- tal by paramedics. Mrs. Garcher also assisted Mrs. Mezei once she was out of the building. Celts outsed from playoffs PAGE A14 KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Whiteaker Middle School eighth grader Knowledge McKenzie-Jackson gets a nuzzling from Caesar the No Drama Llama after an all-school assembly Friday, March 1. For more pictures and the story, see Page A2. Please see FIRE, Page A8 Leagues, city could spin off park mgmt. Merchant’s quiet voice belies his large heart KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Kyle Juran, Keizer’s 2019 Merchant of the Year, was honored by the Keizer Chamber of Com- merce in January for his efforts throughout the community. By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Kyle Juran is rarely the loudest voice in a room but, when he does speak or act, it comes from the heart. For evidence, look no further than this past year. In May 2018, he vol- unteered his services and the employees of Remodeling by Classic Homes to build a massive playhouse that served as the prize in a raffl e to boost the Keizer Network of Women’s annual Giving Bas- ket Program. The idea came together in just a few short weeks, sold out all 500 avail- able tickets and raised more than $2,000 for the giving baskets. Later in the year, Juran spearheaded the ef- fort to remodel the interior of the new Keizer Chamber of Commerce offi ce on River Road North. Juran downplays the signifi cance, but the project included rearranging most of the walls inside the space to fi t the needs of the chamber. He’s also a volunteer on the Keizer Planning Commission and a board member of the Home Builders Association of Marion and Polk Coun- ties. This year, he’s planning another fundraiser for a local nonprofi t to coincide with another play- house/fl oat (See sidebar, Page A8). “I got involved in the chamber because one of my customers encouraged me, and I began to enjoy be- ing available to other busi- ness people, but it goes both ways. They are there for me with friendship and more,” Juran said. Depending on how one counts, Juran is either the second-generation own- er of Classic Homes or the — Kyle Juran fi rst-generation owner of Remodeling by Classic Homes. His father started Classic Homes out of a love for remodeling his own family’s spaces and then moved on to build- ing them whole cloth. “He started with one or two at a time and then he built 28 homes, a few at a time, on Staats Lake,” Juran said. “It’s still fun to drive around the area and point out the ones he built to my kids.” “I began to enjoy being available to other business people, but it goes both ways.” We service all makes & models. No appointment needed. 3555 River Rd N, Keizer (503) 304- 7555 • www.QuickLane.com Please see JURAN, Page A8 By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Representatives of the city and the two leagues that make the most use of Keizer Little League Park appear to be moving toward es- tablishing a separate, but collaborative foundation to man- age and schedule events at the park. For the past few months, city of- fi cials have been encouraging Keiz- er Little League (KLL) and McNary Youth Baseball (MYB) to fi nd a new management model at the park because the fi rst one is a source of rifts dating back more than a decade. Current- ly, the city contracts with one of the leagues to manage the park which seemingly puts the other at a disadvantage. KLL holds the current contract, but MYB has in the past. Members of both leagues along with City Council- or Marlene Parsons and the Parks Advisory Board’s Matt Lawyer have been meeting as a subgroup to fi gure what a new manage- ment structure might look like and un- veiled their proposal at a meeting of the Keizer Little League Park Long-Range Planning Task Force Wednes- day, Feb. 27. The group proposed estab- lishing the Keizer Baseball and Softball Complex Foundation with a board of directors com- prised of the president and vice president of each league, members of the parks advi- sory board, a representative of the park’s concession stand and citizen representation. The board would be responsible for Proposal for facility includes possible renaming After school jiu jitsu PAGE A4 Whiteaker mentor honored PAGE A9 Celts all- conference awards PAGE A10 Please see PARK, Page A8 City Hall clean-up March 16 At least 100 volunteers are needed to help clean up around the Keizer Civic Center Saturday, March 16. Each year, the Rotary Club of Keizer and Claggett Creek Watershed Council host a morning of work ranging from pick- ing up trimmings from trees, shrubs and grasses to removing weeds and more. The clean-up is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon, but many hands make light work and could mean a quicker fi nish. Please see CLEAN, Page A8 Now a PROUD DEALER of: FREE 3-YEAR ROAD HAZARD WARRANTY WITH PURCHASE WE’LL BEAT ANY PRICE ON THE 15 MAJOR BRANDS WE SELL † • 30-day price guarantee • All makes & models †Valid on Quick Lane®-installed retail purchases only. Requires presentation of competitor’s current price ad/offer on exact tire sold by Quick Lane within 30 days after purchase. For online quotes, guarantee applies only to new tires sold on retailer websites. Excludes tires sold by third parties on marketplace sites and any resellers. Offer not available in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Quick Lane® is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company. See Quick Lane® Service Advisor for details. 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