JANUARY 24, 2020, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5
Opinion
An evening of cheers and tears
It was an evening of cheers. It
was an evening of tears. It was last
Saturday evening as the Keizer
Chamber Chamber of Commerce
bestowed its annual First Citizen
Award and other honors at a ban-
quet at the Keizer Civic
Center.
Though many in the
public may not know
what the Chamber of
Commerce does on a daily
basis, most people in Keiz-
er are aware of the people
it paid tribute to this year.
Keizer’s 2019 First Citizen is
Hersch Sangster. Described as
“the guy you want to know and
be around,” Sangster’s long list of
community achievement and in-
volvement ran multiple pages.
Many may know him by his advo-
cacy of cycling, but his resume goes
much deeper than that.
He was one of the founders of
the Monster Cookie Century Bike
Ride in 1977, the 100 meter ride
from the Capitol into the valley
and back each spring has become
one of the premier biking events in
the northwest.
Besides riding he has been in-
strumental in establishing the bike
repair stations found about the
city. The stations allow cyclists to
mend their bikes as needed. In a
city becoming increasingly bi-ped-
al, those stations are a gift. Hersch
has been involved with bike safety
training and distribution of safety
helmets for years. A former Keiz-
er Rotarian, Hersch has served as
boards as diverse as the Southeast
Keizer Neighborhood Association,
Salem-Keizer Transit District, Mc-
Nary High School Band and Ath-
letic Boosters Clubs.
With a friendly demeanor and a
ready smile, Hersch is a true Keizer
doer who never says no. The very
defi nition of a fi rst
citizen.
Dave Walery, a
long-time
resident
and volunteer was
named Merchant of
the Year. He becomes
the fi rst former First
Citizen to be so hon-
ored; he has also been a previous
President’s Award recepient. Twice.
Known as Mr. Christmas for his
volunteer work with holiday street
lights as well as the annual Christ-
mas tree at—where else?—Walery
Plaza. Aside from Christmas, Dave
could also be called Mr. Festival for
his many years of volunteering to
make KeizerFest (nee Keizer Iris
Festival) operate smoothly (along
with festival co-chair Scott White).
That includes overseeing the place-
ment and erection of the Keizer-
FEST tent, festival operations and
the parade.
Walery’s Premium Pizza is a
supporter and sponsor of many
groups and activities in Keizer. In
many ways, Dave Walery is the oil
that keeps the Keizer community
humming along.
The winners of the awards are
not revealed until the night of the
banquet. The previous year’s hon-
oree builds up to naming the win-
ner. This year’s winner of the Ser-
vice to Education Award, Tammy
Ready, was caught unawares as her
our
opinion
name was called. Evidenced by the
cheers of the audience, Ready was
a popular winner.
A tireless advocate of kids and a
community volunteer, Ready has
been a integral part of McNary
Athletic Boosters, McNary Youth
Football, Keizer Network of Wom-
en’s Giving Basket program as well
as with Liberty House and Family
Building Blocks.
Kids, especially in Keizer, are
better because Tammy Ready is al-
ways working on their behalf.
Each year the leader of the
Chamber chooses a recepient of
the President’s Award. This year
Jeremy Turner was tabbed by Jon-
athan Thompson, the president of
the Keizer Chamber of Commerce.
Turner is a member of Men of
Action in Keizer (MAK) a Cham-
ber-based group of men who jump
into action when they see a need
in the community. Plants need to
be pruned to improved driver sight
lines? MAK is there. The Cham-
ber needs to move to a new offi ce?
MAK is there. Help is needed at
KeizerFEST? MAK is there. Jere-
my Turner was there every step of
the way.
There were cheers of celebra-
tion and recognition. There were
tears of humility and sentimental-
ity. Overall it was a evening when
the community gathers and cel-
ebrates those who make Keizer a
better place for everyone.
Thank you Hersch, Dave, Tam-
my and Jeremy for your invovle-
ment and being a model for others.
— LAZ
Impeachment is now sacred?
By L. BRENT BOZELL III
AND TIM GRAHAM
Just 10 months ago, House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi proclaimed
that an impeachment of President
Donald Trump would not hap-
pen unless there was “something
so compelling and over-
whelming and biparti-
san.” The House vote to
impeach Trump was the
dictionary defi nition of
partisan—not a single
Republican voted yes.
There is nothing com-
pelling and overwhelm-
ing here.
But our pro-impeachment me-
dia are investing as much moral
authority in Pelosi’s putsch as they
can muster. During live coverage
of the vote on Dec. 18, MSNBC’s
Andrea Mitchell gushed over Pe-
losi’s black outfi t. “She’s certainly
always well-appointed, beautifully
arrayed, if you will,” she said. “She’s
wearing black today. And that is a
symbolic expression of how som-
berly they are taking this.” Chris
Matthews added: “It’s sacramental.
... It’s sacramental.”
Sacramental? Matthews re-
turned to this ridiculous concept
on Jan. 15 when the House Dem-
ocrats made a dramatic show for
the cameras by marching their ar-
ticles of impeachment to the Sen-
ate. Matthews told Chuck Todd:
“There’s a sacramental quality to
this. There’s a ritual.”
MSNBC
reporter
Garrett
Haake affi rmed this, adding: “I’m
so glad Chris used the word ‘rit-
ual’ because that’s the word that
has been stuck in my
head about this all
day today. It’s beyond
formality. ... There is
something almost re-
ligious to it.”
A few minutes
later, Matthews sug-
gested, “there’s an
excommunication
aspect to this thing.” Todd replied:
“you are really taking this Catho-
lic metaphor and going at it! Run,
Chris, run!” Matthews then added,
“the Lincoln Memorial is basically
a church.”
As Speaker Pelosi was shown on
screen about to sign the impeach-
ment articles, Matthews returned
to churchy metaphors, and things
were getting truly wacky. He said:
“Well, there’s a sacramental state-
ment for life—like a priest for life.
It’s a perfect statement of what she
is. I think she is very reverential. I
mean, she’s one tough politician,
but she’s got another part of her,
which is very respectful of hierar-
chy, in terms of who—true moral
authority. The Democratic elected
offi cials have true moral authority
to run the country.”
All of these mangled meta-
phors ignore Pelosi’s crusades for
abortion on demand and punitive
LGBT “anti-discrimination” mea-
sures to crush religious liberty, all
of which are in direct confl ict with
Catholic teaching. Her political
career has been a war with her al-
leged religious affi liation.
This praise is goofball stuff,
and at least one celebrated liberal
Catholic was having fun with all
the Pelosi parades. On CBS’ Late
Show, Stephen Colbert put on dra-
matic lighting and joked: “First,
each member of Congress steps
forward to seal the text with a sin-
gle drop of blood. Then, the sacred
runes are drawn from beneath Jer-
rold Nadler’s jowls, and lo, a snow-
white ram is brought forth to pluc
the maidenhead of Adam Schiff.”
(Then, as expected, he mocked
Sen. Mitch McConnell as a hid-
eous demon to keep it acceptable
to his fans.)
Impeachment is in no way a
sacred act, and it carries no moral
authority. But our pro-impeach-
ment media are employing every
sappy metaphor to achieve their
fervent desire: dragging President
Trump out of the White House
and throwing him into the pyre.
Vote like
your future
depends on it
and lobbyists. Schrader
has been the U.S. Rep-
resentative for Oregon’s
5th Congressional Dis-
trict since 2009 and has
voted against his own
party more than 63 per-
cent of the time. Schrader is a proud
moderate who belongs to the Blue
Dog Coalition (a group of Dem-
ocrats that are so conservative, they
had to make their own club instead
of switching parties).
Schrader takes money from big
Pharma, the NRA, the oil and gas
industry, the corporate forestry in-
dustry, and voted against the $15 per
hour minimum because he’d rather
make money for big corporations
than the average worker. In fact, ac-
cording to OpenSecrets.org, in 2018,
Schrader brought in $1,463,906 from
PAC contributions, but only $59,700
from small individual donors.
Schrader’s own website quotes
him as saying, “everyone agrees that
there are needed fi xes to the ACA.”
Let us also remember, Obamacare
was originally Romneycare. Schrad-
er also voted in favor of Trump’s mil-
itary budget.
Mark Gamba is running a grass-
roots campaign, by the people, for
the people. He is currently the may-
or of Milwaukie and has transformed
that city. Milwaukie is now one of
the most climate-friendly cities in
the state. During his time as mayor,
Gamba has spent time focusing on
housing affordability and the climate
crisis. Thanks to Gamba, Milwaukie
will run on 100 percent renewable
electricity by 2035. Gamba is also
very aware of the problem of money
in politics, “We know there are solu-
tions to these problems and we need
people in the U.S. Congress with
the political will to get these issues
fi xed without being beholden to the
corporations that fund our current
elected offi cials. That’s why I’m
running for Congress.”
The time for change is now. We
must hold the rich and powerful
accountable. Vote like your future
depends on it, because it does.
Niki Falardeau
Salem
other
opinions
letters
To the Editor:
How do we get cor-
ruption out of Washington, D.C.?
Start locally.
Money in politics is what got us
where we are—unsure of our futures.
Both parties take money from their
donors and vote in favor of corpo-
rate greed. This is unacceptable. Let
us remember, these elected offi cials
(on both sides) get their paychecks
from our hard-earned money. We are
their bosses. They have to answer to
us and the people are going to have
the chance to be heard on Oregon’s
primary day, May 19, 2020. Demo-
cratic incumbent, Kurt Schrader, is
being challenged by a real progres-
sive, Mark Gamba. Kurt Schrader
takes money from corporate PACs
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
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PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
Publication No: USPS 679-430
Arrested Jan. 12 for:
Trespassing
Previous convictions:
Assault, strangulation
Ramiro Emilio Lopez
Leilani Nobel
Arrested Jan. 14 for:
Reckless endangering
Pending charges:
Assault, menacing
Arrested Jan. 15 for:
Strangulation, assault
Previous convictions:
Stalking, theft, robbery
Michael Kenneth
Stineford
Arrested Jan. 15 for:
Felon in possession of a
weapon
Previous convictions:
Assault, fl eeing police,
delivery and possession
of controlled substances.
Stacey L. Thoming
Arrested Jan. 19 for:
Assault
Other pending charges:
Failure to provide
duties of a driver when
persons and property
are damaged
police scanner
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14
1:33 a.m. - Criminal trespassing in the
6000 block of Keizer Station Blvd. NE.
12:15 p.m. - Theft by extortion in the
100 block of Homewood Court N.
3:33 p.m. - Traffi c accident in the 6000
block of Keizer Station Blvd. NE.
4:39 p.m. - Forgery and identity theft in
the 5000 block of Inland Shores Way N.
8:16 p.m. - Assault, menacing use of
weapons and reckless endangering in the
6000 block of Hogan Drive N.
10:30 p.m. - Sudden death in the 3000
block of Partridge Lane NE.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15
2:45 a.m. - Arrested for criminal trespass-
ing, felon in possession of weapon, parole
violation and unlawful use of weapon in
the 2000 block of Kinglet Way NE.
9 a.m. - Disorderly conduct in the 1000
block of Alder Drive NE.
9:15 a.m. - Forgery and theft in the 6000
block of River Road N.
10 a.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 1000
block of Candlewood Drive NE.
11:03 p.m. - Arrest for strangulation in
the 1000 block of Clearview Avenue NE.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16
6:45 a.m. - Traffi c accident at the inter-
section of River Road N. and Manzanita
Street NE.
7:28 a.m. - Traffi c accident in the 600
block of Chemawa Road NE.
6:04 a.m. - Theft of motor vehicle parts
in the 200 block of Dorcas Drive N.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17
12:41 p.m. - Business robbery and shop-
lifting in the 100 block of Chemawa
Road N.
5 p.m. - Motor vehicle theft at the inter-
section of 15th Avenue N. and Chemawa
Road N.
8:13 p.m. - Failure to perform duties of
driver when property was damaged at the
intersection of River Road N. and Man-
zanita Street NE.
9:20 p.m. - Robbery in the 3000 block
of Jack Street N.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18
6:50 a.m. - Theft from motor vehicle and
unlawful entry to vehicle in the 6000
block of Keizer Station Blvd. NE.
10:31 a.m. - Criminal trespassing and
shoplifting in the 5000 block of River
Road N.
3:30 p.m. - Theft by deception in the
1000 block of Barnick Road NE.
7:38 p.m. - Traffi c accident in the 6000
block of Keizer Station Blvd. NE.
9:23 p.m. - Disorderly conduct in the
1000 block of Susan Court NE.
11:30 p.m. - Traffi c accident in the 5000
block of McLeod Lane NE.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19
1:15 a.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the
700 block of Apple Blossom Avenue NE.
2:31 a.m. - Driving under the infl uence
of intoxicants at the intersection of River
Road N. and Menlo Drive N.
5:46 a.m. - Burglary in the 4000 block of
Cherry Avenue NE.
9:30 a.m. - Theft in the 6000 block of
Keizer Station Boulevard.
10 a.m. - Assault in the 1000 block of
Willow Lake Road N.
2:30 p.m. - Criminal mischief in the
1000 block of Candlewood Drive NE.
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Donna M. Strobel, 67, of Bethle- with her husband on the front porch
hem, Penn., passed away peacefully on “whittling,” playing her favorite (and
Sunday, January 12, 2020, surround- only) card game Rummy, spending
ed by her loving family, while in the quality time with her daughters and
care of St. Luke’s Hospice House. She cherishing every moment with her
was the loving wife of Greg Strobel grandkids. She will forever be adored,
with whom she shared over 45 years loved, admired, and missed.
Survivors in addition to her lov-
of wonderful marriage. Born in Port-
land, Ore., she was the daughter of the ing husband, Greg, include daughters
late Leo and Barbara (Graham) Chan- Jennifer Baldwin and her husband
dler. Donna was a graduate of Mar- Robert of West Chester and Christine
shall High School in Portland, OR, Napoli and her husband Joe of Drexel
class of 1970. She went on to attend Hill, Penn.; sister Linda Hirneise and
her husband Dave of Scott-
Oregon State University.
sdale, Ariz; brother Donald
She attended Grace Church
Chandler and his wife Sherry
in Bethlehem.
of Keizer, Ore.; loving grand-
Donna was the owner
children Mason, Isabel, Evelyn
of the Calico Cupboard in
and Hayden and her loving
Roseburg, OR, featuring
nephews and niece, Donnie
handsewn fabric and spe-
Chandler, Grant Hirneise and
cialty gift shop items where
Heather Chandler.
she also offered sewing
D. Strobel
Services: A Celebration of
classes. She later worked for
Donna’s life will be held at 1
the USA Wrestling Offi cials
Association where she was the “life p.m. at Packer Memorial Chapel on
and success” of the USWOA. She the campus of Lehigh University, 18
was a trusted advisor, always cheer- University Drive, Bethlehem, Penn.,
ful, and passionately sincere to all that on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The family
she interacted with during her tenure. will receive relatives and friends from
She had a very good sense of reading 11 a.m. until time of the service. Don-
people and her smile could be seen na’s arrangements have been entrusted
to the Cantelmi Long Funeral Home,
through the phone.
Donna was the consummate en- Bethlehem. A memory tribute may be
tertainer and enjoyed every detail of placed at www.cantelmifuneralhome.
planning family gatherings, celebra- com.
Contributions: In lieu of fl ow-
tions and wrestling team dinners. She
traveled the globe with Greg, includ- ers, contributions may be made in
ing as a volunteer for the 1984 Olym- Donna’s loving memory to The San-
pic Games in Los Angeles. She was an dye Caruso Memorial Endowment
avid scrapbooker, compiling countless Nursing Scholarship Fund. Address:
memories of her travels to one of her St. Luke’s Hospital c/o Development
favorite places on Earth, Cape Cod, Offi ce, 801 Ostrum Street, Bethle-
and beyond. She loved spending time hem, PA 18015.