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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2019)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 40, NO. 47 SECTION A AUGUST 30, 2019 $1.00 Alleged wife-killer’s re-trial begins By DEE MOORE For the Keizrtimes Former Keizer resident Peter Zielinski returned to the Marion County Courthouse Monday, Aug. 19, to once again be tried for allegedly murdering his wife, Lisa, on Jan. 12, 2011. Zielinski was previously tried for murder in 2013 during which the presiding Judge Dale Penn, siding with the state’s attorneys, excluded psychological testimony relating to the defendant’s mental health. Due to this exclusion, Zielinski, who originally pled not guilty, changed his plea to guilty with the condition that he could appeal the judge’s decision. Following Measure KEIZERTIMES/Dee More Peter Zielinski takes the stand in his re-trial for the alleged murder of his wife. 11 guidelines, the defendant received a sentence of 25 years to life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Prior to Zielinski’s fi rst trial he was examined by state’s psychologist Alexander Duncan, who specializes in forensic psychology. Duncan diagnosed Zielinski with an anxiety disorder, not otherwise specifi ed, alcohol abuse along with obsessive-compulsive personality traits. Duncan stated that “based on the totality of the data, it was his professional opinion that, at the time of the alleged murder of his wife Lisa on January 11, 2011, defendant was experiencing heightened stress, increased despair and hopeless, catastrophic and rigid thinking.” Zielinski was also examined by defense psychologist Richard Hulteng. Both Duncan and Hulteng “endorsed anxiety symptoms associated with initial combat related trauma, including recurring nightmares, potential avoidance symptoms and a heightened startle response. Although he does not appear to have full blown PTSD, the defendant's ongoing anxiety symptoms during the days leading up to the alleged murder of his wife likely placed him at heightened risk for developing extreme distress.” Based on this information, Appellate Court Judge P.J. Armstrong determined that “the trial court erred in excluding expert testimony that defendant had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.” Zielinski’s case was reversed and sent back to Marion County Circuit Court. What’s at stake now is not Please see RE-TRIAL, Page A6 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION Blue Day draws large crowd PAGE A11 It turns out, you can get there from here — especially if you take Cherriots Colleen Busch, Keizer’s representative on the board of the Salem Area Mass Transit District board, is excited to see longer hours and additional service days return to Cherriots. KEIZERTIMES/Lyndon Zaitz By LYNDON ZAITZ Of the Keizrtimes Colleen Busch is excited about the re-instatement of Saturday Cherriots bus service after 10 years. Busch, a member of the board of directors of the Salem Area Mass Transit District (SAMTD), has represented Keizer since 2015. She, along with the rest of the Board and community dignitaries, will be front and center at a party to celebrate the additional service at the Downtown Transit Center on Saturday, Sept. 7. Three of the fi ve routes in Keizer will add Saturday service on Sept. 7. “They travel the same path (as weekday service) and go to the same locations,” said senior planner Chris French. Routes on Saturday will not run as frequently as they do during the week. The expansion of service is due to the 2017 Keep Oregon Moving legislation which earmarked more than $5 billion for roads and transit throughout the state. Voters in the transit district had voted down ballot measures to pay for weekend bus service several times since 2008. Lack of funds, due to economic recession, forced the district to discontinue weekend bus service in 2009. Keep Oregon Moving will be fi nanced with a combination of gas tax, vehicle registration and title fees as well as a public transportation payroll tax. Keizer bus routes with added Saturday service will include No. 9 (The Meadows, Cherry Avenue, Downtown Transit Center), No. 11 (Keizer Transit Center, Verda Lane, Chemeketa Community College south Lancaster Dr.) and No. 19 (Keizer Transit Center, Lockhaven Dr. River Road, Broadway, Downtown Transit Center). Saturday service will not be added to Keizer routes Please see CHERRIOTS, Page A8 ServeFEST PAGE A4 Cross country team plans Liberty House fund raiser PAGE A8 AIR MAIL IT! KPD sergeant is a cornhole dead eye By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes By day, Sgt. Trevor Wenning carries a badge and gun for the Keizer Police Department, but every Friday night he turns his attention to becoming a sharpshooter with a beanbag. His work has paid off, too. Wenning is among the top- ranked cornhole players in all of Oregon. “Last summer was the fi rst year that we came out here and did this every Friday night instead of throwing darts religiously. That's when I got it, that's when the muscle memory started kicking in,” Wenning said. Wenning was looking for a new pastime a few years back Please see CORN, Page A6 CORNHOLE LINGO Air Mail – When a player tosses a bag and it goes into the hole without touching the cornhole board. Corn Patty – A bag that is not thrown with enough force and lands short of the cornhole board. Dirty Bag – Occasionally a bag hits the ground fi rst before bouncing or rolling up onto the cornhole board, resulting in a dirty bag. No points are given for the toss. Honors – A team is given honors for the next inning and gets to toss fi rst when they were the last to score in a previous game/inning. Police scanner Lipper – A bag that is on the board, halfway hanging into the hole, but not all the way through to gain the 3 points. Bowler or Slider – A beanbag that is tossed, hits the board further down from the hole, and slides up the cornhole board and into the hole. PAGE A9 KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Trevor Wenning and Tom Hammerschmith practice cornhole in the backyard of Hammerschmith’s Keizer home.