MAY 31, 2019, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5
Opinion
Celebrate a fl ower
or a community?
We refuse to believe that Keizer-
FEST (born as the Keizer Iris Fes-
tival) has run its course. But we do
think that its current home at Keiz-
er Lions Club and Cherry Avenue
is the best place for an event of this
size.
When the festival
moved from Keizer Sta-
tion to the Keizer Lions
Club a few years ago it
solved a problem. Keiz-
er Station was building
out leaving no space for
all the elements of the
festival. With no better
alternative and a land-
lord that was amendable,
the event was shoehorned into the
yard at the Lions Club. Utilizing
that property plus closing down part
of Cherry Avenue, the festival had
found what some people consider
its forever home.
When the main tent was erect-
ed at previous sites—especially on
River Road, the community got
excited: they were reminded that
it was festival time. The main tent
placed at the Keizer Lions Club is
not readily visible from important
River Road traffi c.
Some have said that Keizer Rap-
ids Park is the ideal location for
KeizerFEST. It is a nice idea but it
is too far off the beaten path and as
amenities are added at the park, the
space for a festival would grow ever
smaller.
We think the only viable, long-
term solution to the future of Keiz-
erFEST is to negotiate an arrange-
ment with Volcanoes Stadium.
The festival is important for
the Keizer community—residents
and businesses alike. The event was
known as the Keizer Iris Festival
for the fi rst 30 plus years of its ex-
istence. The name was changed to
KeizerFEST in 2018. Keizer has
billed itself as the iris capital of the
world for years, and it still is, thanks
to Schreiner’s Iris Gardens north of
the city.
The festival has always
been a celebration of
Keizer itself. That’s one
good reason to site the
festival where the most
people can see it, and
hopefully, visit. As a city
we can celebrate alone by
ourselves or we can invite
the surrounding areas to
see what Keizer has to
offer—its businesses, its parks and
amenities.
By placing KeizerFEST at a site
with high visibility—such as the
stadium—you make it easy for res-
idents and passers-by alike to see it.
Out of sight, out of mind; in sight,
top of mind.
We have been loyal supporters of
the Keizer Iris Festival and Keizer-
FEST and nothing will change that.
We think Keizer has many things to
be proud of and celebrate. Keizer is
now home to two large parades—
KeizerFEST and Holiday Lights in
December. The May festival, once
the only event on the calendar, is
now competing with dozens of oth-
er events and activities. That’s why
the festival needs to grab any advan-
tage it can to be the preferred event
for people to attend on the third
weekend in May.
As volunteers in the community
we are ready to roll up sleeves and
do what we can to assure Keizer’s
premier community event contin-
ues far into the future.
— LAZ
editorial
No winners in infrastructure spat
By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
Here’s a scary thought about last
week’s skirmishes between President
Donald Trump and the Democrat-
ic leaders formerly known to him
as “Chuck and Nancy”: Both sides
think they won.
When both parties
think they’ve won, dear
reader, that
probably
means you lost. Because
there always has to be a big
loser in Washington.
The plot device in last
week’s soap opera was a
$2 trillion infrastructure
package. After last month’s infrastruc-
ture meeting with Trump, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
emerged from the West Wing to tout
an agreement on the big-dollar price
tag and the initiative’s scope, which
would encompass not only roads,
ation for what is being voted on.
By REP. BILL POST
airports and water but also broad-
What are the pros and cons of band, housing and clean energy.
As I begin to write each month-
ly column, I try to write something these tools? The pros are: the process
Glowing, Schumer told reporters
with the perspective of “I’ve never is slowed down in hopes of not pass- that, during the session, Trump never
been to the Capitol and I don’t un- ing bills that have not been thorough- even mentioned the 11 congressio-
derstand what those people do down ly debated in their perspective com- nal investigations into his fi nances,
mittees, and the potential opportunity taxes, Russian ties, possible obstruc-
there.”
Until I was elected, I wondered the for more negotiations. The cons are: tion of justice and more. “He didn’t
it slows down the process bring it up,” Schumer offered.
same thing. For instance,
(again), potentially killing
the matter of the recent
Pelosi had asked for the meeting
legislation and it’s a very —which was supposed to show she
walkout by the Senate Re-
painful process for each is serious about getting things done.
publicans—what did that
party, thus it’s known as Forget that the package was a $2 tril-
actually mean? Though
the “nuclear option” be- lion pipe dream.
you could argue that this
cause no one likes it.
was a partisan procedure,
I still haven’t heard a good answer
So, what did the walk- as to why Trump sat back while Pe-
when in truth, it is a part
out accomplish? Accord- losi and Schumer said he had agreed
of the legislative process
for any minority party in the Legis- ing to sources I’ve heard, Gov. Kate to present the details of how he
lature. It is a drastic procedure and it’s Brown and the Senate Republicans would pay for the massive spending
only used when absolutely necessary and Democrats negotiated together to plan, because that never was going
and has been utilized in the recent bring the Senate Republicans back to to happen. Even if Trump agreed to
past by both parties. The goal is to the building with the Senate Repub- raise the gasoline tax, that wouldn’t
get the majority party to come to the licans agreeing to stop using all the pay for the package. And the fact that
table and negotiate. In regard to this tools I just described for the remain-
year, the minority leaders in both the der of the session. In return, Senate
House and Senate chambers felt that Democrats promised they would not
they were left out of multiple negoti- bring SB 978 (gun legislation) and
Hi kids! How about an opinion
ations which included Cap and Trade, HB 3063 (vaccine legislation) to the
piece
for people your age? Since you
Student Success/Gross Receipts Tax, Senate fl oor for a vote, which means
gun control, the Paid Family Leave these two bills will not pass this ses- will inherit our planet and hopefully
Act and other issues important to Or- sion. They also promised Sen. Cliff help to preserve it for the generations
Bentz (R-Ontario) will have a larger to come, it’s important to keep you
egon.
Another tool the minority party role negotiating HB 2020 (Cap and informed and thinking about some
vitals, such as the oxygen we breathe.
has is to “read the bills.” The Oregon Trade legislation).
Needless to say, it has been a dra- I want to share with you a subject
Constitution requires that every bill
be read in full before the members of matic few weeks in the Capitol. It’s we take for granted but that we must
that chamber vote on it. Traditionally, unclear what legislation will pass be- think about saving to save life on
for many years the minority party has fore the mandated Sine Die (adjourn- earth.
All of you probably
suspended those rules to allow the bill ment) of June 30th. At this point, any-
know
that when people
summary only to be read instead of thing could happen. As always, please
take
a
breathe
of air they
the entire bill. So, when the rules are feel free to contact my offi ce with
should thank the trees, as
not suspended by the minority party, questions or concerns.
(Bill Post represents House Dis- trees take in carbon diox-
it’s within the Constitution, and also
trict
25. He can be reached at 503- ide and produce oxygen.
allows for slowing down of the pro-
986- 1425 or via email at rep.bill- But the other source may
cess so that there is more consider-
post@ oregonlegislature.gov.)
come as a surprise to you
as about half of the oxygen
we breathe comes from phytoplank-
ton. Phytoplankton are very small
creatures that live on the surface of
our world’s oceans and lakes. Just
one alone is invisible to your eye and
Wheatland Publishing Corp.
can’t be seen without a microscope.
Some look like a bowl with two tails,
142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303
some have an oval shape and some
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even look like a tiny fork. And some
have spines while others have crowns.
MANAGING EDITOR
Eric A. Howald
SUBSCRIPTIONS
When they’re healthy they give us at
editor@keizertimes.com
One year:
least half of all the oxygen we breathe.
$35 in Marion County,
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Phytoplankton love sunshine and
Matt Rawlings
$43 outside Marion County,
news@keizertimes.com
$55 outside Oregon
can turn it into energy and they do so
COMMUNITY REPORTER
by a means known as photosynthe-
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sis. The great benefi t to us is that this
reporter@keizertimes.com
photosynthesis process makes oxygen
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Paula Moseley
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Keizertimes Circulation
There are billions upon billions of
PRODUCTION MANAGER
142 Chemawa Road N.
phytoplankton that, all day long, ev-
& GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Keizer, OR 97303
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Andrew Jackson
ery day, release tiny puffs of oxygen.
Lyndon Zaitz
graphics@keizertimes.com
Periodical postage paid at
Of course, as you may know already,
publisher@keizertimes.com
Salem, Oregon
LEGAL NOTICES
many animals eat them as their food,
legals@keizertimes.com
including whales, jelly fi sh, shrimp
BUSINESS MANAGER
Leah Stevens
and small fi sh. As a result, phyto-
billing@keizertimes.com
plankton, you might say, are at the
RECEPTION
beginning or bottom of the food
Lori Beyeler
facebook.com/keizertimes twitter.com/keizertimes
chain. Of further interest to you may
INTERN
Lauren Murphy
be that some of them can glow and
The politics of the legislature
from
the
capitol
the Democrats pushed for Trump to
agree to take back parts of his signa-
ture 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—
which would never happen—shows
they weren’t remotely serious.
With absolutely no plan to bank-
roll this big boondoggle,
Trump sent Pelosi and
Schumer a letter telling
them he wouldn’t talk
infrastructure until Con-
gress passed the United
States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement.
After meeting with
impeachment-focused
members of her caucus Wednesday
morning, Pelosi told reporters, “We
believe the president of the United
States is engaged in a cover-up.”
Pelosi has said she believes Trump
is trying to “goad” Democrats to-
ward impeachment. Former Trump
surrogate Jeffrey Lord agrees. “He
thinks he wins because the public
will hate impeachers,” Lord told the
Review-Journal.
But just before heading across
town to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave-
nue to meet Trump, Pelosi charged
Trump with engaging in a “cov-
er-up.” It’s as if she was goading
Trump to goad her caucus to im-
peach him.
Pelosi’s provocative accusation
gave Trump an excuse to wave a
transparently false rationale for call-
ing off the infrastructure talk. As
Schumer later noted, Trump didn’t
see the House probes as deal-kill-
ers in April. And the night before,
Trump gave a different reason for
not talking bridges and water.
Some readers tell me they are fi ne
with Trump saying one thing one
day and another the next, because
messing with Democrats’ heads
debra j.
saunders
shows he’s a fi ghter. OK. But in this
case, the head fake got him nothing
—or nothing but a lousy “No Col-
lusion” T-shirt from his trip to the
Rose Garden.
Trump may have wanted to sig-
nal that Democrats can’t handle the
Mueller report’s failure to establish
his campaign’s collusion with Russia.
But he also broadcast that he won’t
work with Democrats on an issue he
supposedly champions.
To show his displeasure, Trump
switched from calling the Califor-
nia Democrat his usual “Nancy”
to “Speaker Pelosi” and demoted
Schumer to “Sen. Schumer”—with
no reference to the New Yorker’s
leadership role.
On escalation, Trump was back to
a fi rst-name basis, as the nickname
pugilist called the speaker “crazy
Nancy.”
Pelosi engages in the same game
with a different demeanor. Like Don
Corleone’s long-suffering wife, she
offered that she prays for Trump’s
soul “ardently.”
My theory: Pelosi accepts im-
peachment as inevitable, but she
wants to make everyone think she
tried to stop her House’s nuclear op-
tion. Like a lot of folks in my profes-
sion, I once bought that act. But it’s
hard to believe Pelosi wants to cool
down the temperature as she calmly
and effi ciently needles Trump.
On escalation Thursday, Pelosi
told reporters, “I wish that his family
or his staff would have an interven-
tion for the good of the country.”
Crazy Nancy. Intervention-wor-
thy Donald. What’s the difference?
Syllables.
(Creators Syndicate)
The very air that we breathe
when millions of them glow at night
they can light up the water they are
in like small scale fi reworks.
Now, phytoplankton can also do
harm to the environment. For ex-
ample, when too much fertilizer gets
washed into bodies of water, the tiny
creatures multiply quickly, becoming
algal bloom that occur in both fresh-
water and the oceans. Algal blooms
then can cause what’s
known as a chain re-
action when there are
so many of them that
they themselves use up
the oxygen to cause
a “dead zone” where
no creature can live.
By the way, when we
throw garbage into our
streams, lakes, rivers and oceans the
tiny creatures that make the oxygen
in our atmosphere, and keep us hu-
mans alive, die and stop making ox-
gene h.
mcintyre
Keizertimes
ygen.
As a writer who wants each and
every young person to enjoy a long
life, I want you to know that it is go-
ing to be up to you and your friends
to know about the importance of
phytoplankton, how they make ox-
ygen and what stops and even de-
stroys them. Without every person
on our planet doing his and her part
to save phytoplankton there could
come a day when there is no oxy-
gen. If that happens, all people will
perish. There’s still time but you must
look after phytoplankton as your re-
sponsibility as it is your part in saving
the health of our planet for humans
and all things great and small. And
please don’t forget our important ox-
ygen-producing trees as you can do
your part to save them too.
(Gene H. McIntyre shares his opin-
ion regularly in the Keizertimes.)