What you’ve been missing without
SECTION D
$
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
35/YE AR
Home-based hoops
Getting
closer
to face new scrutiny
There are
new
regu-
lations
on
where Keizer
residents can
place there
basketball
hoops.
In
early
September, the
Keizer City Council
passed
ordinances
prohibiting the placement of
basketball
hoops, and
other
obstructions, on sidewalks. The new
rules also state that hoop standards
can only be placed in the streets
where on-street parking is allowed
when in “active use.”
The changes require refl ectors
or refl ective tape on both
sides of basketball standards
regardless of where it ends
up.
Councilors were re-
sponding to regular com-
plaints about obstructions
along sidewalks in general,
but basketball hoops are a frequent source
of ire among residents.
Two weeks later, the Keizer Traffi c
Safety, Bikeways and Pedestrian Committee
approved a slate of alternative options:
standards can be place on private property
or planter strips and hang over sidewalks
and streets or be installed in the concrete of
a sidewalk so long as fi ve feet of clearance
is maintained. City-issued permits will be
needed to install hoops in the sidewalk or
planter strips.
Neither the city council nor the
traffi c safety committee offered a specifi c
defi nition of what will constitute “active
use.” Both bodies, at the request of city
staff, declined to couple it with a precise
window of time.
“If we assign an exact time frame that
will require more documentation and
more work on the part of city staff,” said
Community Development Director Nate
Brown.
The city has only one code enforcement
offi cer who splits time between the planning
department and the police department.
Enforcement of the new ordinances and
all they entail will be complaint-driven.
Settlement: Shotguns
only at cross-river quarry
A Polk County man
recently agreed to something
like a ceasefi re at his quarry
across the Willamette River.
On two separate occasions
in 2017 and 2018, bullets fi red
from high-powered weapons
fl ew across the river caused
chilling moments for visitors
to Sunset Park and one Keizer
family. In June 2018, a bullet
from the range penetrated
the outside wall of a home
owned by a Keizer couple and
stopped when it hit a granite
backsplash a few feet from one
of the owners.
The incident sparked a
lawsuit and prompted the City
of Keizer to get involved. In
August, the city, the couple
and the quarry owner agreed
to a settlement that prohibits
any fi rearms from being
fi red at the property other
than shotguns. Shotguns are
constructed differently from
other long-barreled weapons
which prevents ammunition
from fl ying longer distances.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
In case you haven’t heard, or haven’t driven through Keizer Station lately, Keizer is getting
the fi rst In-N-Out Burger location north of Medford. Construction began in June and the
opening is expected sometime in November or December. A spokesperson for the com-
pany declined to provide a more specifi c timeframe on when you’ll get to order that fi rst
double-double.
City may ask voters to revise charter
In February, the Keizer
City Council began a pro-
cess that could result in voters
being asked to remove lan-
guage from the city charter
that alienates members of the
community who identify as
something other than hetero-
sexual.
Councilors set a short-term
goal of establishing a charter
review committee to eliminate
pieces of Section 44, which in-
cludes anti-LGBTQ language
in the city charter, and make
other adjustments as recom-
mended by the committee.
Voters approved Section 44
of the Keizer city charter in
1993 and it would still be in
effect had the state legislature
not rendered it moot.
City staff will return to
council with a resolution to
form a charter review com-
mittee and the goal is to place
revised language on the ballot
in 2020. Waiting until next
year will keep the cost to a
minimum.
Section 44 prohibited
the city from: extending
minority status to individuals
based on sexual orientation
and expending funds that
“promote
homosexuality
or express approval of
homosexual behavior” and
forbids recognizing members
of the LGBTQ+ community
McNary grad,
double amputee
releases memoir
As a double-amputee, Kacey
McCallister has endured chal-
lenges of all kinds over the
course of his life, and he has
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Alexa Cepeda receives adoration from teammates after lift-
ing the Lady Celts to victory in the fi rst round of the OSAA
softball playoffs in May.
McNary rallies for
first round victory
After trailing for the en-
tirety of the game, Alexa
Cepeda had a chance to be
a hero for the Celtics softball
team in the bottom of the
sixth. And the McNary cen-
ter fi elder took full advan-
tage of the opportunity.
Cepeda came to the plate
in the bottom of the sixth
with the bases loaded and
two outs with the Celtics
trailing 4-2. After working
the count to full and foul-
ing off four pitches, Cepeda
lined a three-run double to
the wall in left fi eld, bring-
ing in the go-ahead score
and allowing McNary to
come away with a 5-4 win
over North Medford in their
fi rst round playoff game on
Monday, May 21.
“It felt awesome. I love
being there for my team and
I love that I was the one to
be in that position to help us
pull it off,” Cepeda said.
tackled them all with a fi ghting
and resilient spirit that is rare to
fi nd.
Now, he can add the chal-
lenge of writing a book to his
list of incredible accomplish-
ments.
The book is called When Life
Gets You Down, RISE UP, and on
April 1, McCallister’s fi nished
product hit the shelves at Barnes
& Noble.
“I wanted to share my life
and my experiences, but more
than anything, I wanted to in-
fl uence people’s lives through
this book,” McCallister said.
“But the book really isn’t about
me. It’s about what other people
can do regardless of their cir-
cumstances and rising up when
stuff gets hard.”
Walling headed to OSU
McNary linebacker Junior
Walling, who will be a senior
this fall, has received nearly a
dozen offers from Division I
schools over the last 14 months.
And on Thursday, June 13,
Walling made the decision on
where he wants to continue his
career as a student-athlete.
Walling has been an Oregon
State fan for his entire life — in
large-part due to the fact that
his father, Jason, was a tight
end and defensive end for the
Beavers from 1990-92. So being
able to play in Corvallis is a
dream come true for him.
“It feels amazing to know
that I will be a Beaver. I grew
up dreaming that one day I
would be able to play at Reser
Stadium,” Walling said.
as a minority with special
protections.
Councilor Dan Kohler de-
livered one of the strongest re-
bukes of Section 44 calling it a
“blemish on the quality of the
city. [Section 44] is inconsis-
tent with the Keizer way.”
Earlier this month, after
some stumbles, the council
approved the seven resident
members of the Charter Re-
view Committee, they are:
Zaira Flores-Marin, Shannon
Flowers, Broderick Pack, Gar-
ry Whalen, Pat Fisher, Kathy
Lincoln, and Rick Kuehn.
Councilors Kim Freeman and
Elizabeth Smith will also serve
on the committee.
Knowing is
essential
Local journalism
keeps you in the know.
SUBSCRIBE
TODAY
FOR ONLY
$
35/YEAR
CALL
503.390.1051
CLICK
KEIZERTIMES.COM/STORE
COME BY
142 CHEMAWA RD N