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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2019)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 40, NO. 37 SECTION A JUNE 14, 2019 $1.00 Former mayor dies at 67 Dennis Koho, who served as a city councilor and mayor of Keizer, passed away on Monday, June 10, at the age of 67. As an attorney, business man and local political fi gure, Koho maintained a public presence despite health struggles in recent years. He was elected to the Keizer City Council in 1990 and mayor in 1992. He the city’s third mayor and served three two- year terms until January1999. Koho’s wife, Lori, said Virgil T. Golden Funeral Home is handling arrangements and a memorial mass and burial in Bend, Ore., are planned. Koho returned to the city council for another term when voters elected him in 2012, he opted not to run again in 2016. News of Koho’s death MANUFACTURED MANUF NUFACT CTURE DENNIS KOHO 1951 – 2019 reached the Keizer city council chambers at the tail end of a work session on the day of his death and most were visibly shaken. Koho had even visited the Keizertimes offi ce earlier in the day. Current Mayor Cathy Clark cited Koho for seeking to advance the community in almost every capacity. “Dennis chose to give himself to the betterment of our city and community, both through his determined leadership and his profound friendships,” Clark said. “As we each remember and celebrate his life and accomplishments, may we take from his inspiration to give and care about people and Keizer as he did.” Councilor Roland Herrera, in noting Koho’s death on Facebook, said he will miss a dear friend. “I will miss our long political talks and crazy laughs … Rest in Power,” Herrera said. While Koho was involved in numerous local efforts, he was one of the driving forces behind an effort to bring the Volcanoes minor league baseball team to the city. In addition to his work in municipal inner workings, he was a longtime member of Spring football concludes with momentum PAGE A11 Please see KOHO, Page A6 ‘Never, ever underestimate yourself’ ‘You shouldn’t sign it’ Keizer students lead Blanchet class of 2019 PAGE A5 Attorney urges caution with long-term leases in mobile home parks By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes In the months since resi- dents of Wildwood Villa fi rst drew attention to rising space rentals in their manufactured home park, things have only gotten more disconcerting. In April, a manager at the park sent out a newsletter urging those having trouble paying rent to seek emergency food boxes. In May, the park owner began promoting long- term lease agreements with 15-, 20- or 25-year terms. The leases offer no break in rent for signing up for longer terms and contain a minefi eld of other potential hazards for homeowners. “You shouldn’t sign it,” Attorney Matthew G. Shepard KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings More than 400 graduate from McNary By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Madeline Hurst, the student speaker at McNary High School’s 54th com- mencement ceremony, left the stage with a rallying cry against complacency. “Never, ever underestimate yourself. The rest of the world will do that for you. It is your job to prove them wrong,” Hurst said. A grand total of 415 students, surrounded by family and friends, took part in the annual graduation event held at the Pavillion on the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem on June 7. Hurst spoke of the 2019 class’s 1,006 six days together at McNary and enlisted attendees in honoring students who went above and beyond on areas clubs, sports and academics. “Some of us, like me, have a diffi cult time fi nding x in an algebraic equation, but some of you went over and beyond fi nding x and now you are fi nding y and z,” Hurst said. Students enlisted a former teacher to deliver the commencement address. Derick Handley was a teacher, activities director and coach for the Celts for three years of the graduating class’s tenure before moving into an instructional coach position at McKay High School at the beginning of the academic year. Despite 12 years as a teacher, Handley said not one lived up to the designation “World Class” more than the 2019 McNary graduates. Clearing up city’s sidewalks PAGE A6 Please see GRAD, Page A3 Please see MESS, Page A9 o t s k o o l f Gra t r a p t s m u j the s e o n Volca BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes uring their inaugural season in 1997, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes drew 136,836 fans to the ballpark as people fl ocked to see future big-league stars. But as of late, the novelty of professional baseball in Keizer appears to have worn off. In 2018, attendance dipped to 72,094 for the 38-game home season, and for the fi rst time in franchise history, the average per game turnout went below 2,000. However, in January, Volcanoes owners Jerry and Lisa Walker brought on Mitche D KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings Mitche Graf, the new president of business operations Salem-Keizer Volca- noes, plans to bring big change to the ballpark this summer. DRIVE IT LIKE A FORD FOR UNDER 20 K Graf to be the new president of business operations, and Graf has very distinct plans to shake things up for the 2019 season. “Many things are going to be different. We're putting a little shine on the brand and we're giving everything a little twist,” Graf said. “We have re-invented from the ground up and people across the country will take notice.” Graf's main goal right now is to get butts back in the seats and to make people be excited about Volcanoes baseball once again. It won't be an easy task as the Volcanoes have ranked last in the Northwest League in attendance for the past four seasons. When asked about the attendance issues, Graf didn't shy away in the slightest. “It’s public information that the Volcanoes attendance has been decreasing for the past fi ve season, and we have taken some pretty innovative and out-of-the-box steps in order to put the excitement back into the franchise. You will see a huge difference in just Thai restaurant opens PAGE A8 Please see JUMPSTART, Page A6 2018 ECOSPORT 4WD SE MSRP ........................................................$25,965 SKYLINE DISCOUNT ............................ -$1,127 CUSTOMER CASH ................................ -$5,000 SALE PRICE $ 19,738 *Plus license, title & documentation fee $413 and applicable taxes. Vin#238234, Stk#183581. ON APPROVED CREDIT. Art is for illustration only. 3555 River Road N, Keizer (503) 463- 4853 www.skylineforddirect.com
