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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2019)
PAGE A6, KEIZERTIMES, NOVEMBER 8, 2019 Opinion Establish a civic hall of fame Two thousand nineteen has been a year of the passing of some of Keizer’s early leaders. We have lost Keizer’s fi rst doctor, Vern Casterline, its fi rst dentist, Jerry Bowery. A found- er of the Keizer Mer- chants Association (fore- runner of today’s Keizer Chamber of Commerce) Ray Boucher. Bouch- er’s wife Louise followed him within days. Former Mayor Dennis Koho and former city councilor and noted Keizer historian Jerry McGee. Ted Anag- nos, a volunteer football coach at McNary High School and com- munity leader. Each of those who have passed this year—and other leaders who have slipped from this mortal coil in recent years—have been remem- bered and memorialized by friends and family. Many had been recog- nized with honors such as the Keiz- er Chamber’s First Citizen award. But that honor doesn’t seem to be big enough for some of the civ- ic giants who have be instrumental in creat- ing the Keizer we live in today. We think the City of Keizer should establish a Hall of Fame to recognize and honor those men and women. A Keizer Hall of Fame committee should be a public-private organi- zation, soliciting community input for nominations for induction. The eligibility would be strict and ad- hered to: inductees must have been involved in more than one area of interest in the community for at least 20 years. Inductees could be living or dead. Inductees would be decided on once each year. The pro- cess would start in March of each year to time announcement with the annual KeizerFEST event in our opinion May. Announcement of inductees could be at either a KeizerFEST ceremony or at a work session of the city council in early May. Three names would be chosen in each of the fi rst three years of the project, after that there would be one inductee chosen each year. To be remembered for all time, images of the inductees and a short biography would be etched into a brass plaque and placed on a wall either inside or outside the Keizer Civic Center. The public-private Hall of Fame partnership would establish and so- licit donations for a perpetual fund that would pay for creation and in- stallation of the plaques. As the city nears its 50th anni- versary and a history that goes back decades earlier, Keizer has matured to the point of honoring and re- membering the people who got Keizer this far. —LAZ We need to rethink our traffi c priorities By MICHAEL DeBLASI On Tuesday, Oct. 29, a boy on his bike was hit by a car crossing River Road at Sam Orcutt Way. This past summer, my son came within feet of being hit by a car crossing River Road at McNary Estates Drive. While my incident had a better ending, I can understand the abso- lute fear and dread that his mother felt. But neither of these were accidents. River Road is designed to be dangerous because it was designed to priori- tize cars moving quick- ly. River Road—and many other streets—is too wide, too fast, has too few safe pedestrian crossings and few, to no, safe bike lanes. Traffi c engineers tell us how to design a street to move cars, but they don’t tell us how to make our streets safer (or how to make fi nancially productive cities). They begin with a design speed, estimate the project- ed traffi c volume, they draft a safe (for drivers) street design based on their manuals and determine how much it will cost. Unfortunately, these manuals typically use highway standards, which started out only as recommendations, ignoring that streets are not highways. To create safe streets, we must fl ip our prior- ities by fi rst designing them to be safer for all users of all ages and abil- ities, which includes slower speeds. You should be angry about a boy getting hit at a “safe” crossing. Now focus that into action—go to the city council, the Planning Commission and Traffi c Safety committee meetings and demand that our city prioritize safety. De- mand that they stop placing hur- dles when residents want to make streets safer, including school zones, but place no hurdles on themselves when they want to make it easier for vehicles to move fast and with minimal delay. Demand that they abide by existing reports and studies that instruct the city how to make our streets safer and our town more fi nancially productive. And when they tell you that they do prioritize safety, ask them how they found money to install new turn lanes, including one to a movie theater that never got built, but they can’t fi nd money to create safe pedestrian crossings along busy streets. Ask them why they can fi nd money to make the intersections bigger, such as Lockhaven Drive by McLeod Lane and Keizer Station, but can’t automatically incorporate traffi c calming techniques during street projects. There are also things that we can do to make our streets safer that don’t require the city to spend money. If you can, park a vehicle on the street in front of your house. Cars drive slower when the travel lane is narrower. Walk your child to school instead of driving. If you must drive, park your car a block or two away and walk the rest of the way instead of idling right in front of the building and creating a traffi c jam. Speaking of schools, demand the Salem-Keizer School District prioritize Safe Routes to Schools, provide safe, secure and suffi cient bike parking at all schools guest opinion and dissuade high school students from driving. Look at the Cherri- ots routes and see if you can take the bus to work because it reduces traffi c. Keizer must decide if it wants River Road to emphasize moving cars or focus on safely connecting people with places, regardless of their method of transportation. It cannot do both. The paradox is that by making our streets safer for pe- destrians and bicyclists we will their increase numbers, which will make streets safer for drivers and will both save money and make more mon- ey for the city. Keizer overall has a walkability score of 35 (out of 100). A recent study (the socioecological psychology of upward social mobil- ity) found that residents in walkable cities are less car dependent which signifi cantly reduced a barrier to upward mobility. It also found that people living in more walkable neighborhoods felt a greater sense of belonging to their communities. We will see our police spending less time patrolling for speeders, fewer collisions that cost us as drivers and taxpayers and a better “return on investment” for the city because we have lower infrastructure costs and higher property values. Keeping River Road (Lockhav- en Drive, Cherry Avenue and all our other streets) as it is, it will re- main unsafe, it will not be Keizer’s “Main Street” and will be a barrier dividing our city. And when Keiz- er declines fi nancially and socially, it will be partially because of this. How could we expect Keizer to be beautiful and prosper, when we choose ugly? (Michael DeBlasi lives in Keizer.) Sidewalks in every neighborhood? Via social media, the Keizertimes asked readers: should the City of Keizer assure every neighborhood has sidewalks? Here are selected responses: That’s a great goal to try and achieve. I would like to see busier roads with churches and schools on them (I’m thinking of Cummings Lane) be the fi rst to get sidewalks as it’s a risk to have our chil- dren walking to and from school without a designat- ed pedestrian walkway. —Lindsay McElroy In some areas where there is a lot of foot traffi c sure, but overall I think there is more important needs than sidewalks. —Karisa Patton (The) Thorman Avenue area needs sidewalks. There’s kids walk- ing around the area during day/ night and there is no sidewalk on either side. —Kelsey Coons I think priority should be giv- en to existing sidewalks that are in horrifi c state of repair. The neigh- borhoods built in the 1950s-1960s with old walks are a major tripping hazard. I know by experience. The problem is that the cost to repair for the homeowner is not affordable for most. We could just redo the drive- way; another $6,000 for the side- walk. So it’s still a mess. Be careful out there, walkers. —Kathy Mathena Baier Sidewalks and sidewalk ramps for wheelchairs and strollers. I’m more for the ramps on exist- ing sidewalks than for more sidewalks. —April Moine Depends on how much the homeown- ers are charged for them! —Terri Kridelbaugh La Masa While this is a good idea in prin- ciple, it’s not a practical solution. Due to some physical limitations doing so would mean removal of homeowner’s yards, especially if they put green space between the street and the sidewalk. Personally I think that green space between sidewalk and street is a waste of land. —Nigel Guisinger Cummings should be a high pri- what’s your view? Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com EDITOR & PUBLISHER Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com 2019-2020 President Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon SUBSCRIPTIONS One year: $35 in Marion County, $43 outside Marion County, $55 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Publication No: USPS 679-430 ority. —Lisa Quinlin Zacharias I think there should be some fo- cus on installing speed humps from the retirement home to the round- about on Chemawa Road. This road is treated like a highway. We have already had someone speed by and kill one of our dogs without stop- ping. What’s next, a kid? This should defi nitely be addressed. —Josh Styles Not if the homeowners have to pay for them. —Cheryl Houghton Young Do I need to give up part of my yard. Do I get compensation for it ? —Christopher Rhoads Sidewalks with no basketball hoops blocking them, would be nice. —LeAnne DeCarlo-Roberts When we fi rst started looking for houses I made sure we looked at houses in neighborhoods with sidewalks. That was a big deal to me as a homeowner and parent. I didn’t want to live somewhere that didn’t have sidewalks for my family to use. Walking in the street is so danger- ous. —Shannon Stein Sanchez We need a blinking lights at the crosswalk of Parkmeadow Loop and Wheatland Road! Nobody ever stops for the kids waiting to cross. And the cars are always going at least 45mph! There’s so many kiddos that cross there ev- eryday. —Rylee Ogden Claggett Street needs speed bumps or something to slow down traffi c. It’s used as a cutoff from River Road to Chemawa and people drive extremely fast. With the addition of 10 new homes, more traffi c is coming. I think the speed issue is more im- portant than sidewalks. —Naomi Rodriguez Capitol exhibit is memorial to Holocaust survivors, liberators Selected archives of the Ore- gon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, including testimonies from soldiers, liberators and survivors will be on display at the Oregon State Capitol Galleria through Thursday, Nov. 28. The exhibit is part of the Capi- tol History Gateway project spon- sored by the Oregon State Capitol Foundation. It is supplemented by a display from the Salem Veterans of Foreign Wars 661 Uniform Display Museum highlighting seven service uniforms worn by Jewish soldiers in World War II. The free exhibit is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Fri- day. For more information visit ore- goncapitol.com. cuffed in Keizer Austin Danial Martinez Christopher Llewellyn Gilpin Arrested Oct. 28 for: Assault Previous convictions: Assault, harassment, recklessly endangering another person, careless driving, criminal mischief Arrested Nov. 1 for: Encouraging child sex abuse Past convictions: None Kari Lynn Martin Arrested Oct. 29 for: Forgery Other pending charges: Forgery, drug possession, theft James Brian Tidwell Arrested Nov. 2 for: Felon in possession of a weapon Quincy Lee Smart Arrested Oct. 30 for: Theft Other pending charges: Theft (multiple counts), assault Past convictions: Drug delivery, burglary, drug possession Mario Hernandez- Gonzalez Arrested Oct. 31 for: Unlawful possession of a fi rearm Other pending charges: Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, theft, drug possession David Ramsdell Arrested Nov. 3 for: Interference with making a report Past convictions: Computer crime, drug possession, theft police scanner MONDAY, OCTOBER 28 11:38 a.m. - Arrest for probation viola- tion in the 3000 block of River Road N. 5 p.m. - Violation of release agreement in the 800 block of Foothill Court NE. 10:44 p.m. - Arrest for minor in posses- sion and driving under the infl uence at the intersection of Trail Avenue NE and Mandarin Street NE. 11:05 a.m. - Traffi c accident in the 500 block of Chemawa Road N. 11:25 a.m. - Arrest for unlawful posses- sion of methamphetamine, unlawful pos- session of fi rearm and warrant served at the intersection of Cherry Avenue NE. and Alder Drive NE. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29 11:06 a.m. - Traffi c accident at the inter- section of Keizer Station Boulevard NE and Ulali Drive NE. 12:50 p.m. - Arrest for warrant served in the 5000 block of River Road N. 4:34 p.m. - Traffi c accident in the 5000 block of River Road N. 4:51 p.m. - Identity theft in the 1000 block of Bent Grass Court NE. 4:53 p.m. - Traffi c accident at the inter- section of River Road N. and Sam Or- cutt Way NE. 5 p.m. - Vandalism in the 5000 block of 4th Place N. 5:20 p.m. - Shoplifting and criminal tres- passing in the 4000 block of River Road. 10:42 p.m. - Arrest for warrant served in the 4000 block of 19th Place NE. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30 9:35 a.m. - Warrant served in the 4000 block of Cherry Avenue NE. 11:31 a.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 5000 block of River Road N. 2:20 p.m. - Traffi c accident at the inter- section of River Road N. and Claggett Street NE. 4:09 p.m. - Drugs in the 6000 block of Birchwood Court N. 4:41 p.m. - Traffi c accident in the 7000 block of Camden Street NE. 5:03 p.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 200 block of Evans Avenue N. 5:15 p.m. - Identity theft and forgery in the 3000 block of River Road N. 6:07 p.m. - Physical harassment in the 4000 block of Tiffany Place NE. 8 p.m. - Theft in the 4000 block of River Road N. 9:40 p.m. - Failure to perform duties of driver to injured persons in the 3000 block of River Road N. 10:50 p.m. - Arrest for warrant served in the 700 block of Claggett Street NE. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31 1:23 a.m. - Arrest for warrant served and unlawful possession of heroin in the 700 block of Claggett Street NE. 9:24 a.m. - Arrest for underage marijuana possession in the 500 block of Chemawa Road N. Sam Goesch Ins Agcy Inc Sam Goesch CLU, Agent 3975 River Road North Keizer, OR 97303 Bus: 503-393-6252 State Farm , Bloomington, IL 1211999
