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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2020)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 10, 2020 Opinion Oh, the humanity Is our current homeless crisis a po- litical problem? A spiritual issue? No, it is a humanity issue. There are many different reasons someone becomes homeless. There is homeless and there is shelterless. Homeless may mean that someone does not live in their own abode. Instead, they rely on the kindess of family, friends or group shelters for a roof over their head. Those who are shel- terless are the people we see camping on sidewalks, in parks or tucked in out of the way places. They carry their possessions with them as they make a bed in a tent, a box or a vehicle. Why don’t they stay in a shel- ter? Oftentimes the shelters are full. Many times a person who is home- less chooses not to stay in a space with rules to follow, or can’t stay with their signifi cant others, or animals are not allowed. Hopelessness can lead to drug use and addiction. When the future is gloomy and uncertain it is easy to see how some people give up any hope of living a regular existence. Drug use is rampant among the homeless population. Poor mental health affects others. The most dire cas- es need to be addressed and it must be made easier to hospitalize those who suffer from severe issues such as schizo- phrenia—levels that are unsafe for the sufferer and the public at large. It is inhumane for so- ciety to stand by and let people suffering from poor mental health to languish in the streets. But law en- forcement’s hands are tied. The law and the courts say you cannot arrest someone for their behavior. Maybe that needs to be adjusted, at least during this time of crisis across the country. Self-esteem must be maintained, especially for those who are homeless despite their best efforts to fi nd a place to live. There should be less leeway for those who are not doing everything they can to fi nd a home for themselves. The billions of dollars spent across the United States on services and housing for the homeless have not moved the needle one whit on the issue. The homeless problem will con- tinue as long as wages lag behind ex- penses, as long as the cost of housing continues to rise, as long as health care is out of reach for those without the benefi t of employer-based health in- surance. These are all causes for many our opinion who are homeless. Local attorney and former city of- fi cial Richard Walsh’s testimony before the city council this week pleaded for the city to consider purchasing and dis- tributing Conestoga Micro-Shelters as an answer for the homeless. Priced at up to $2,500 a piece, they would al- low a person to keep their belongings locked and safe. Micro-shelters are a good idea but it comes face-to-face with the reality of how to pay for them and where to place them. Providing services and housing is important but those being helped need to take responsibility, too. The public is horrifi ed by the trash and fi lth that grows around homeless camps. Any housing created to help the home- less must have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drug use, harassment and especially uncleanliness. Those being provided housing need to understand it is for the short-term. Tax payer supported solutions should not be looked upon as the fi nal answer. It is a way point on the way to a more permanent home. It is humane to help those in our society who are suffering. This should never be one-way, however. Those be- ing helped should be expected to take an active part in the solution. —LAZ Public spaces camping ban Via social media, readers respond- ed to the Keizertimes article about the proposed public spaces camping ban based in part on the City of Salem’s ban. The Keizer City Council unan- imously approved the ordinance at the January 6 session. Here some selected re- sponses: Allowing camping in public places is not help- ing the transitional hous- ing population. We are turning a blind eye to their needs and endangering the public and children who use these public places. We need to partner with Salem to develop transitional housing zon- ing in the city to allow Conestoga Hut Micro-Shelters adjacent to any service agencies out of a commer- cial/business zone. The Conestoga Huts will allow locking so that their worldly belongings are secured while they are seeking social services help. Keeping camping in public areas is not helping anyone and endanger- ing the public. Let’s stop ignoring the problem and actually help. — Lore Christopher Where are they supposed to go? They literally are being banned ev- ery where. They exist and they aren’t just gonna disappear no matter how many times we ban them from places. We have to deal with this head on and put our effort into fi nding a permanent solution instead of a 10 minute solution. — Rikky Galvin Set an example. Don’t be like Salem. Every- one needs help at some point. If you can’t help at least dont hurt. what’s your view? — Shauna Weis What it will come down to is where the money will come from for the shelters and who wants it near their backyard. — Scott Bailon Law of the land is you can’t ban camping in public places unless you provide alternatives. Are we going to provide an alternative? — John Robinson I don’t think we need to follow Salem on this issue. We already have the curfew and I think a camping prohibition would only turn our al- ready burdened police offi cers into an eviction squad (as you can see some are already doing). Salem’s going about it the wrong way. First they kicked the homeless out of the park. Then they kicked them out from camping next to the only place that would help them. Now businesses are using the police department like a clean up crew be- cause the problem is unsightly. Only adding to the response times of ac- tual emergencies with no resolution in sight. It’s just creating more problems for the people, the police and the city. That should be an example of what not to do. Keizer better step up and enforce the laws that already exists or they’re going to get all the crackhead, dope fi end criminal addicts from every- where including Salem when every- body else puts a end to this stupidity. — Devin Newstrand cuffed in Keizer Jenny Hill Kyle E. Lavoie Arrested Jan. 5 for: Sexual abuse Previous convictions: None Though Sunnis and Kurds ab- stained, the Iraqi parliament has vot- ed to expel all our troops. The State Department has urged U.S. civilians to fl ee Iraq. 82nd Airborne units have moved into the region to protect the U.S. embassy. U.S. troops fi ghting ISIS alongside Iraqi troops have separated them- selves and stood down. In Iraq, the war on ter- rorism is on hold. Across the Middle East, U.S. diplomats, soldiers and civilians are on alert. The acting prime minister of Iraq, in an echo of Tehran and radical Shiites, is demanding that all 5,200 U.S. soldiers in Iraq depart. Two months ago, crowds were in the streets of Iraq protesting Iran’s dominance of their politics. Crowds were in the streets of Iran cursing that regime for squandering the nation’s resources on imperial adventures in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen. Things were going America’s way. Now it is the Americans who are the targets of protests. Over three days, crowds num- bering in the hundreds of thousands and even millions have packed Iraqi and Iranian streets and squares to pay tribute to Soleimani and to curse the Americans who killed him. As emotions are running high and America’s friends in the region are mute, the twin goals of Iran and its militia allies appear clear: Tehran wants to avoid a war with other opinions 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 the United States, but to direct the passions of the moment toward forc- ing an expulsion of the Americans from the Middle East, beginning with their ouster from Iraq. Thus, Tehran has signaled that its retaliation, its revenge for the death of Soleimani, a military man, will be proportionate. Tehran is telegraphing an attack on the U.S. military. Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah in Lebanon, has called on his followers not to attack innocent Americans in the region but to zero in on U.S. mil- itary targets. Perhaps, rather than sending troops into Iraq and Kuwait to defend U.S. troops already there, we should accede to the local nationalist demands, start bringing our troops home, and let Ira- nians, Iraqis, Libyans, Syrians, Yemenis and Afghans settle their quarrels. Despite the rage in Iran over the killing of Soleimani, the political im- peratives that existed before last Fri- day’s drone strike remain. Iran does not want war with the United States. And Trump wants no war with Iran. Assuming that because Trump did not want war, he would recoil from a fi ght, Soleimani believed he could kill Americans with impunity, as long as his fi ngerprints were not on the mur- der weapon. Killing Soleimani was just. But what is just is not always wise. Yet, his killing restores Trump’s credibility as a Jacksonian who avoids wars but who, wounded, will stab the enemy who cut him. Trump has a red line. It is not shooting at American drones but shooting at American soldiers, the drawing of American blood. The message the rulers of Iran should have received? If they retaliate for Soleimani by killing American soldiers, diplomats or civilians, using either Iranian troops or proxy militias, Trump will retaliate against Iran itself. Otherwise, “Come Home, America,” George McGovern’s slogan from the 1972 presidential campaign, has rarely seemed more relevant. (Creators Syndicate) Previous convictions: Drug possession, endangering the welfare of a minor Ricky Alan McColly Arrested Jan. 5 for: Public indecency and parole violation Previous convictions: Public indecency, assault Patrick James Gilbert Thomas Lee Lowell Arrested Jan. 4 for: Parole violation Previous convictions: Drug possession, burglary Arrested Dec. 30 for: Failure to register as a sex offender Previous convictions: Rape, burglary McKenna Avery Waldner Arrested Jan. 4 for: Parole violation Previous convictions: Theft Luis Everardo Lara Arrested Dec. 30 for: Possession of methamphetamine Victoria Ashley Moine Arrested Jan. 2 for: Possession of methamphetamine Previous convictions: Delivery of methamphetamine, felon in possession of a fi rearm Previous convictions: None David Irwin Martin, Jr. Arrested Jan. 1 for: Possession of methamphetamine Previous convictions: Assault Jesus Sanchez Arrested Dec. 30 for: Criminal mischief, trespassing, burglary If Baghdad wants U.S. out, let’s go By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Fifteen years after the U.S. invaded Iraq to turn Saddam Hussein’s dic- tatorship into a beacon of democra- cy, Iraq’s Parliament, amid shouts of “Death to America!” voted to expel all U.S. troops from the country. Though nonbinding, the expulsion vote came after mobs trashed the U.S. embassy in an assault that recalled Tehran 1979. What provoked Iraq’s Parliament into demand- ing the ouster of all U.S. troops? First, the fi ve December U.S. strikes on Iraq’s Popular Mobiliza- tion Forces in retaliation for a dozen Kataib Hezbollah rocket attacks on U.S. bases, which killed a contractor and wounded four U.S. soldiers. Then came President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a drone- strike and kill Iranian General Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport. Killed in the same strike was the Shiite Iraqi leader of Kataib Hez- bollah. During his return fl ight to Wash- ington Sunday, Trump warned Iraq: Follow through on your demand that all U.S. troops get out, and we will in- sist that Baghdad repay the money we just spent on a major air base. Moreover, said Trump, if Iraqis ex- pel U.S. troops, then we will impose upon them “sanctions like they’ve never seen before, ever. It’ll make Ira- nian sanctions look somewhat tame.” Where do we stand now in Iraq? Arrested Dec. 31 for: Hit-and-run Brianna Marie Alvarez Arrested Dec. 31 for: Trespassing Previous convictions: Theft Previous convictions: Delivery and possession of methamphetamine, assault police scanner MONDAY, DECEMBER 30 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31 7:20 a.m. - Arrested for criminal mischief and criminal trespassing in the 1000 block of Clearview Ave- nue NE. 8:09 a.m. - Failure to perform du- ties of driver when property was damaged in the 200 block of Lake- point Place N. 3:29 p.m. - Criminal trespassing, harassment and violation of release agreement in the 1000 block of Clearview Avenue NE. 4:28 p.m. - Theft in the 4000 block of Cherry Avenue NE. 5:50 p.m. - Theft in the 3000 block of River Road N. 10 p.m. - Failure to report as a sex offender in the 800 block of Bever Drive NE. 2:53 a.m. - Driving while sus- pended at the intersection of River Road N. and Wheatland Road N. 9:07 a.m. - Criminal mischief, theft from motor vehicle and unlawful entry to vehicle in the 6000 block of Keizer Station Boulevard 11:34 a.m. - Vandalism in the 6000 block of Keizer Station Boulevard 12:58 p.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 100 block of Delta Court N. 1:40 p.m. - Unlawful entry to vehi- cle in the 7000 block of 8th Court NE. 3:32 p.m. - Arrested for failure to perform duties of driver when property was damaged 6:55 p.m. - Theft in the 4000 in the River Road N. Cherriots adds free wifi to all bus routes Cherriots recently added free wifi service to all its buses capable of providing connection for simple online tasks. The network on each bus is called “Cherriots Public Bus WiFi.” The network speed is not meant for streaming video and music and it’s limited to the areas where mobile phones receive a good signal. Re- gional riders should prepare for the signal to drop in certain rural areas of the Santiam Canyon, for example. Cherriots encourages riders to wait to connect until after leaving transit centers so they do not pick up signals from a different bus. USB ports for charging small electronics were also installed Cherriots Route 1X buses. Cherriots Local buses have seen an average year-over-year increase in weekday ridership of 6.4 percent each month since September, and the fi gures do not include ridership on the recently-reinstated Saturday service.
