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.