PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 13, 2020
Today in History
The Quartermaster Corps (QMC) of the United States Army
begins training dogs for the newly established War Dog
Program, or “K-9 Corps.” Over a million dogs served on
both sides during World War I, carrying messages along the
complex network of trenches and providing some measure
of psychological comfort to the soldiers.
— March 13, 1942
Food 4 Thought
“As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if
no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would
last forever.”
— Clarence Darrow, famed attorney
(Scopes Monkey trial) died March 13, 1938
The Weeks Ahead
Through Sunday, March 15
Enlightened Theatrics present First Date, the Musical, about
the uncomfortable and embarrassing nature of blind dating.
For show times and tickets visit enlightenedtheatrics.org or
call 503-585-3427, extension 1.
Through Wednesday, April 1
Keizer Art Association’s Enid Joy Mount Gallery presents its
March show: Art Found in Wood. Exhibit comprised of wood
carving and burned wood art. Artists’ reception is 2-4 p.m. on
Saturday, Feb. 29. keizerarts.com.
Saturday, March 14
Keizer Community Center clean-up, 9 a.m.-noon. Sponsored
by the City of Keizer and Lakepoint Community Church.
Public is encouraged to volunteer to help. Dress for March
weather. Contact Mark Caillier at 503-930-7481.
Willamette Valley Genealogical Society meets 12 noon
to 1 p.m. at VFW Building, 630 Hood St NE, Salem. Carol
Zolkoske will speak about the Saint Boniface Community
Archives and Museum in Sublimity.
Night dance and potluck featuring music by Buckskin Jones
from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Keizer/Salem Area Seniors
Center. Admission is $5
Tuesday, March 17
St. Patrick’s Day Tea at Deepwood Estate, 2-4 p.m. Tickets
are $28 per person, gluten free options are an additional $8.
For tickets visit deepwoodmuseum.org or call 503-363-1825.
Free admission all day at Hallie Ford Museum of Art, 700
State Street. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, March 18
Bingo at the Keizer/Salem Area Seniors Center from 12:30
p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $5.50. There will be prizes,
free game cards and Daubers.
Friday, March 20 – Saturday, March 21
Plant sale at Deeepwood Estate from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. There
will be over four plant vendors with free admission to the sale.
Friday, March 20 – Sunday, March 22
Mid-Valley Yard, Garden and Home Show, Jackman-Long
and Columbia Hall buildings at Oregon State Fairgrounds.
Hours are Friday, 11 a.m-6 p.m; Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and
Sunday, 10 a.m.- 5p.m. Free admission and parking.
Friday, March 20 – Sunday, April 5
Keizer Homegrown Theatre presents Robert Harling’s Steel
Magnolias, Keizer Cultural Center, 980 Chemawa Rd. NE.
Performances are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. on
Sundays. Visit keizerhomegrowntheatre.org for tickets.
Saturday, March 21
Night dance and potluck featuring music by Jeff erson parks
from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Keizer/Salem Area Seniors
Center. Admission is $5.
Wednesday, March 25
G.I. Wilson will be reading from his book, Bear Crushes Dad,
at the Keizer Community Library, 980 Chemawa Rd N.E., at
6:30 p.m. Admission is free but donations are appreciated.
Keizer Community Dinner, 4-5:30 p.m., St. Edward Catholic
Church, 5303 River Rd. N. Free.
Bingo at the Keizer/Salem Area Seniors Center from 12:30
p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $5.50. There will be prizes,
free game cards and Daubers.
Saturday, March 28
Night dance and potluck featuring music by Charles and
The Angels from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Keizer/Salem Area
Seniors Center. Admission is $5.
Thursday, April 2 – Tuesday, April 28
Keizer Art Association presents its annual Color Show.
This year the color is orange. Artists’ reception is 2-4 p.m.
Saturday, April 4.
Friday, April 10 – Good Friday
Saturday, April 11
Deepwood Estate annual Easter Eggstravaganza, ages toddler
through 10. Pre-registration is required, $5 per child, $1
per adult. Purchase tickets deepwoodmuseum.org/event-
calendar/event/550/2020-04-11/ or (503)-363-1825.
Sunday, April 12 – Easter Sunday
Saturday, May 9
Dinner at the Captain’s Table 15th Annual Benefi t Auction
at St. Edwards Catholic Church, 5303 River Rd. N. For more
information visit www.sainteds.com or contact Lyn Walsh at
(760)-728-9687.
ESCALATE,
continued from Page A1
approaches its work.
“We could do without
the other fi ve cops, but our
policing wouldn’t be the
same,” Teague said. “Our
policing style would have to
be more reactive. It might
be more fun for the guys on
patrol, but it would be less
rewarding and not a good
thing for the community.”
Teague added that it took
about three years to move to
a proactive policing stance
and he would hate to see it
go backward.
To help make the case for
the fee increases, Teague said
police department employees
are beginning a conversation
about what services the
department could add. One
example is the Citizen’s
Academy already underway,
but Teague said another
option under consideration
is offering fi ngerprinting
services at the Keizer police
station rather than sending
individuals to the Oregon
State Police.
“I don’t think people
should just acquiesce to the
higher fees,” Teague said.
“We should prove that we are
deserving.”
The parks fee is projected
to remain at $4 per for the
foreseeable future, but it is
up for review each year. That
fee has paid for widened
pathways
throughout
Keizer’s 19 parks, a new
playground at Meadows Park,
a portion of the bathrooms
at Keizer Rapids Park, the
rehabilitation of Carlson
Skate Park, a new sports
court at Willamette Manor
Park, two new employees
and new equipment among
thousands of other dollars in
improvements.
Councilor Kim Freeman
neighborhood organizations
with presentations.
By going out and asking
residents now, the charter
review group is hoping to
narrow down the number
of questions it has during
the public forum during the
intervening month.
One of the largest-
looming questions is whether
councilors should continue
to be elected “at large” or
selected by specifi c wards or
districts.
Some of considerations
for the at-large option found
in a report by the National
League of Cities, include:
• An at-large system can
be more impartial, rise above
the limited perspective of a
single district and concern
themselves with the problems
of the whole community.
• Vote trading between
council members may be
minimized in at-large bodies.
• There tend to be more
candidates
in
at-large
elections.
For district- or ward-
based voting:
•
District
elections
give all legitimate groups,
especially those with a
geographic base, a better
chance of being represented
on
the
city
council,
especially communities of
color.
• District council members
are more attuned to the
unique problems of their
constituents, such as crime
levels, small lot development,
trash pick-up, potholes and
recreation programs.
• District elections may
improve citizen participation
overall.
If the city continues to use
at-large voting, the question
becomes
whether
to
implement a different voting
method. For example, instead
of selecting single candidates,
ranked-choice voting might
be an alternative. In the
latter system, voters would
rank candidates in order
of preference with the top
picks fi lling the vacancies.
Proponents of ranked-choice
voting say it more accurately
refl ects the full spectrum of
voters.
A third question is whether
to change city councilor
terms to two years rather
than four years. Members
of the charter review
committee didn’t pick sides,
but the possibility sparked
enough of a conversation for
them to seek out additional
input. Keizer’s mayor already
serves two-year terms.
The last question is
whether to change the
process for replacing a
vacancy on the city council.
The
current
process
involves the sitting councilors
interviewing candidates and
appointing a replacement
with a vote of the council.
Alternately, the council
could send the matter
back to voters in a special
election. Salem’s city council
requires a special election if
the remaining term of the
vacating councilor is more
than a year.
The public forum, and
chance for residents to chime
in on any of those questions,
will be April 21 at 6 p.m. at
the Keizer Civic Center.
Fiscal
Year
Increase
Police fee from prior
revenue ($)
year ($)
Clark then turned to work
being done in the city’s parks,
a result of a parks services
fee attached to utility bills in
late 2017. Aside from the fi rst
fl ushing toilets in a city park,
Clark highlighted how im-
provements increased usage at
Carlson Skate Park.
“The kids stormed the
fences the day it was ready and
it’s been busy ever since,” she
said.
Clark is also anticipating a
rework of the master plan for
Keizer parks. The current plan
is nearing a decade old.
“Part of that revision will
be making sure the parks are
meeting our current needs and
wants,” Clark said.
Clark thanked residents of
CRIMP,
continued from Page A1
increases, Keizer will still
have some of the lowest wa-
ter rates in the region be-
tween Albany and Portland.
“The biggest driver of our
rates is not having to treat
it,” said Bill Lawyer, Keizer
Public Works director. “We
pump out of the aquifer, add
a bit of fl uoride and send it
to the homes.”
Keizer Finance Director
Tom Wood said property
tax revenues are expected
to drop by about $60,000 in
the coming year. The city is
out of large spaces to devel-
op and small, infi ll develop-
ments will not make up for
the losses.
The city had to absorb
more than $123,000 in ac-
crued time off payments for
retiring employees during
the past year and expect to
pay out another $91,000 in
accrued time off payment
next year.
“One of the reasons we are
Monthly
fee ($)
Monthly
increase ($)
Annual
fee ($)
2019-20
680,000
--
4.00
--
48.00
2020-21
906,000
+226,000
5.33
+1.33
63.95
2021-22
1,256,000
+350,000
7.39
+2.06
88.66
2022-23
1,464,000
+208,000
8.61
+1.22
103.34
2023-24
1,791,000
+327,000
10.54
+1.92
126.42
2024-25
2,028,400
+237,000
11.93
+1.40
143.18
Source: City of Keizer
asked that both police and
parks offi cials prepare a one-
sheet report showing what
the fees have accomplished
so far.
CITY: ‘The kids stormed
the fences’
(Continued from Page A1)
FORUM,
continued from Page A1
Police Fee Increase Proposal
west Keizer for rising up to
keep Keizer a safer place by
standing up to the owner of a
quarry across the Willamette
River where unsafe shooting
had taken place.
“I have to thank everybody
involved in that who made
sure the safety of our com-
munity was paramount,” Clark
said.
She lauded several business-
es that chose to invest in Keiz-
er during the past year and
applauded the arrival of “ham-
burger travel and tourism,”
and took the time to laud the
efforts of city staff to make it
easier to redevelop properties
of River Road North.
“What we are saying to
those property owners is come
and make those spaces more
“I would also like to see a
report on what would happen
if the parks fee was decreased
to make up for the increase in
the police fee,” Freeman said.
productive for you and the
community,” Clark said.
Up next, Clark said, is con-
vincing Major League Baseball
that they are wrong in trying
to shrink the number of minor
league teams.
“Major League Baseball
doesn’t seem to get the impor-
tance of Minor League Base-
ball to our communities,” she
said.
Even with additional chal-
lenges on the horizon in terms
of meeting needs for the city’s
homeless residents and con-
tinuing to pay for the climbing
cost of police services, Clark
said the city would continue
to rise up.
“We are up to the challenge
of providing the resources for
Keizer to continue to be a pre-
mier place to live and work.
There is no doubt that what-
ever comes our way, we are up
for the challenge,” she said.
seeing this happen is that we ute to the Public Employees
have a lot of employees who Retirement System.
“It could be a $250,000
were hired around the same
hit,” Wood
time
and
said.
who
have
In
bet-
spent
the
ter
news,
majority of
Wood said
their careers
the project-
with
us,”
ed
budget
said
Chris
for the Keiz-
E p p l e y.
er’s 2020-21
Such pay-
year will be
ments have
the fi rst since
ranged from
the 1990s to
$14,273
a
have it ex-
year (2014-
p e n d i t u re s
15)
when
and revenues
two employ-
in alignment.
ees retired to
Ty p i c a l l y,
$123,000 last
the city has
year when
budgeted for
11 employ-
more than it
ees retired.
With the
— Chris Eppley takes in and
stock mar-
City manager makes cuts
throughout
ket on a
the year. This
rollercoaster,
is the fi rst
Wood said
there is also reason to be year, city employees won’t be
wary of how much the city asked to make those cuts on
will be expected to contrib- the fl y.
“We have a lot
of employees
who were hired
around the
same time and
who have spent
the majority of
their careers
with us.”
maze
looking
back
5 YEARS AGO
Keizer PD uses old
Roth’s for training
Last week KPD offi cers went
through some training scenarios
in the vacant building.
10 YEARS AGO
Funds for River Road
upgrades used to buy
land at Keizer Station
About $637,000 set aside for
River Road improvements and
other urban renewal projects
will instead be used to buy land
at Keizer Station.
Maze by Jonathan Graf of Keizer
15 YEARS AGO
sudoku
Chemawa bridge gets
green light
The Keizer City Council has
authorized city staff to enter into
an agreement with the Oregon
Department of Transportation
to complete the preliminary
engineering of the new
Chemawa Road bridge across
Claggett Creek.
20 YEARS AGO
Public gets shot at
school names
The Salem-Keizer School
District is trying to settle on a
name for the new elementary
and middle schools soon to be
built in south Keizer.
Enter digits
from 1-9 into
the blank
spaces. Every
row must
contain one
of each digit.
So must every
column, as
must every
3x3 square.