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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2020)
AUGUST 28, 2020, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 Public Square Public Square weclomes all points of view. Published submissions do not necessarily refl ect the views of the Keizertimes. Submit a guest opinion, column or letter to the editor to publisher@keizertimes.com. Is Claggett Creek in trouble? Sound lowlands. By JIM PARR The purpose of the study was to With the continued dry weather and back-to-back very dry years, you determine the impact of urban areas may be wondering “what keeps Clag- and agriculture upon the water quality gett Creek fl owing this time of year”? of these streams. Included in the study was Claggett Creek which If you take a look at the creek was sampled numerous now you will notice that times at Lockhaven Drive there is presently very little and River Road. Stream fl ow. You will also notice ex- guest water, bottom sediments, tensive growth of stream side and bank vegetation and mats column and vegetation were sam- pled and monitored for of fl oating aquatic vegetation contaminants that are in- covering most of the surface. dicators of stream health. According to the Oregon Water Resources Department, the When the sampling data was ana- base fl ow of most of our urban area lyzed, Claggett Creek was found to streams is maintained by ground water have scored poorly in comparison to discharge. Water stored in the upper most of the other streams included in soil profi le is replenished by annual the regional study. Here in general is rainfall plus some transfer of ground some of what they found. • High levels of salts and plant nutri- water from deep aquifers to the sur- face for domestic use and large and ents were found which is indicative of small scale irrigation. Ground water is fertilizer runoff from yards and farms released and drains into streams where that reaches the creek. The high lev- the stream bed intersects the shallow els of plant nutrients in the water has water table. This typically occurs in led to excessive growth of stream bank gullies, at the base of bluffs, and where and in-stream plant growth. The thick depressions occur that form wetlands. grass and vegetation along the creek Claggett Creek encounters all of these may look attractive but it eventually decomposes and the decomposition geologic formations along its course. The creek, which originates in Sa- process consumes oxygen. Measure- lem just east of Interstate 5, winds its ments confi rmed low levels of avail- way through north Salem and into able or dissolved oxygen in the water and through Keizer to its terminus and sediments which, along with high at Clear Lake. From there the water water temperatures during the warm slowly makes its way to the Willamette season, make it diffi cult for aquatic life River via a maze of sloughs, back- to thrive in the creek. The high water waters, and bayous. During summer temperatures are mostly caused by the weather, it may actually never reach lack of shade and low warm season the river. During the wet season, the fl ow along most of the steam course. • Several organic pesticides (in- creek, directly and indirectly, meets the river just upstream of the Wheat- secticides and herbicides) including 2,4-D and glyphosate at levels or con- land Ferry landing. During the spring months of 2015, centrations of concern were found in the United States Geological Survey, the creek. Other toxins found in the Water Quality Division, conducted stream bed sediments include heavy comprehensive sampling and mon- metals such as elemental mercury and itoring of urban streams and water low level radioactive nuclides which ways at numerous sites throughout are found naturally in the valley sed- the Willamette Valley and the Puget iments but could also be from runoff from industrial sites and operations. Runoff from roads and highways is another possible source. Why should anyone care about the status of Claggett Creek since hardly anyone expects to see trout and salm- on living in the creek? As a drainage, the creek receives what runs off of the land that comprises the Claggett Creek watershed. Thus it is a useful indicator of the health of the environ- ment through which the stream fl ows. And what reaches the creek eventually makes it to the river. Where the fl ow slows and ponds, the water evaporates and also percolates downward to the water table with potentially negative impacts to the shallow aquifer. Thanks to the work of the Clag- get Creek Watershed Enhancement Council and the City of Keizer, water quality has improved in recent times. We can continue to improve the health of Claggett Creek by using less pesticide and fertilizer on our lawns, gardens, farms and roadsides. Our en- vironmental agencies can further assist businesses and industries to minimize industrial runoff. More native stream side trees and shrubs can be planted to provide shade to lower water tempera- tures. Constructing artifi cial rapids or enhancing existing rapids where the gradient is suffi cient can agitate the water which will increase dissolved oxygen levels. Working together, people in south- east Portland and Salem brought salm- on and trout back to once neglected and polluted Johnson and Mill Creeks and to sections of Pringle Creek. With all of the limitations that exist, Claggett Creek will probably never be a fi shing stream but we should work to ensure that it becomes and remains safe for kids and pets to play in and for wildlife to safely utilize. (Jim Parr lives in Keizer.) 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 Keizer Elks Lodge #2472 recently announced that the Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Contest is available to high school se- niors who are United States citizens. Applicants do not need to be related to a member of the Elks. Applicants are judged on academics, leadership, service and fi nancial need. The application is completed online and must be submitted by the Nov. 15 deadline. The 500 national winners will be announced in April, after the top 20 fi nalists participate in the leadership weekend and inter- view for the top awards. The Elks National Foundation will award 20 top scholarships from $20,000 to $50,000. The remaining 480 runners-up will receive $4,000 scholarships. Keizer Lodge #2472 will judge locally and the top applicants will be submitted to the district contest. The top applicants from the district contest will be submitted to the state contest and the top applicants from there will be submitted to the national contest. Applications for the 2021 contest are available on the Elks Nation- al Foundation website. For complete Most Valuable Student scholarship contest details including the application, visit elks.org/scholars. police scanner SUNDAY, AUGUST 16 12:01 a.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 4000 block of Bailey Road NE. 12:48 a.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 4000 block of River Road N. 11:46 a.m. - Arrest for violation of re- lease agreement in the 4000 block of 5th Place NE. 5:45 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 6000 block of Keizer Station Blvd. 6:26 p.m. - Criminal mischief in the 5000 block of Trail Avenue NE. 6:36 p.m. - Arrest for aggravated assault at the intersection of 18th Avenue NE and Verda Lane NE. MONDAY, AUGUST 17 2:18 a.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 5000 block of River Road N. 3:42 a.m. - Fleeing a police offi cer in the 3000 block of River Road N. 1:52 p.m. - Identity theft in the 1000 block of Northern Heights Loop NE. 3:37 p.m. - Physical harassment in the 600 block of Lockhaven Drive NE. 6:28 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 3000 block of River Road N. 10:30 p.m. - Fleeing a police offi cer at the intersection of Sam Orcutt Way NE and Cherry Avenue NE. TUESDAY, AUGUST 18 A most consequential presidency in return for Bibi Netanyahu’s post- By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Now that Donald Trump has ac- ponement of the annexation of the cepted the nomination for a second 30% of the West Bank envisioned in term, how his presidency has already Trump’s own “Deal of the Century.” While Trump has not extracted this altered the orientation of his party is country from the forever wars of the on display. Under Trump, the GOP ceased to Middle East -- Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria -- he routed ISIS and kept be a party of small gov- us out of Libya’s civil war. ernment whose yardstick Unlike his predecessors, of success was how close it Trump has tabled the issue came to a balanced budget. other of immigration, especial- Trump signed on this voices ly mass illegal migration spring to $3 trillion in across the Southern border, defi cit spending to rescue and made progress on the the economy from a de- border wall he made a fea- pression into which the government had shoved it to control ture of his 2016 campaign. A discredited NAFTA has been re- the spread of the coronavirus. He is prepared to spend a trillion dollars placed by a new trade deal, and a leftist government in Mexico City is help- more. By opening new lands and seas to ing prevent migrants from entering exploration, building pipelines, per- southern Mexico on their way to the mitting fracking and slashing regula- United States. Trump has done as much as Rea- tions, Trump has brought the U.S. to an energy independence which other gan to deregulate the U.S. economy and reduce taxes on workers, produc- presidents only promised. The Trump GOP has abandoned ers, and investors. Before COVID-19 an ideological commitment to free hit in force in March, stock markets trade that dates back to the Kenne- were hitting all-time highs and unem- dy administration and reembraced ployment rates all-time lows. He has nominated and elevated the economic nationalism of the 19th-century Republicans who built two Supreme Court justices and hun- the world’s greatest industrial and dreds of federal judges. The horizon, however, does not manufacturing power. Globalism has been relegated to appear to be without perils. Bellicosity toward Beijing is being the ash heap of history as our popu- list president trashed the Trans-Pacifi c reciprocated, and China appears ready Partnership, the Iran nuclear deal and for confrontation to validate its claims the Paris climate accords, and began to in the South and East China seas and impose tariffs on countries that have Taiwan Strait. What Beijing is doing to Ameri- looted America’s manufacturing base. While Trump has been prevented ca—espionage, intellectual property by the Russophobia of our Beltway theft, forced technology transfers, run- elites from seeking a detente with ning up $600 billion trade surpluses at Vladimir Putin, he has managed to our expense—is Trump’s concern, not what Beijing is doing to restrict de- avoid a military collision. Trump has also ended the de- mocracy in Hong Kong. While his outreach to North Ko- cades-long freeriding of NATO allies on the U.S. defense budget, convinc- rean dictator Kim Jong Un failed to ing many of them to contribute more. persuade Kim to surrender his nuclear He has made the Republican Party arsenal in return for recognition, trade the pro-Israel Party, recognizing Isra- and aid, even some of Trump’s ene- el’s annexation of the occupied Golan mies applauded his effort. If Trump loses in November, how- Heights and East Jerusalem by moving the U.S. embassy there. He effected ever, much of what he has done will the recognition of Israel by the UAE be undone. Students: Check out Elks scholarships The U.S. will agree anew to abide by the Paris climate accords and the Iran nuclear deal of John Kerry and Barack Obama will be revived. Joe Biden says that only those mak- ing above $400,000 will pay higher taxes. Yet, the Democrats’ economic plan envisions higher payroll and per- sonal income tax rates, higher capital gains and corporate tax rates, and even higher death taxes on estates. Trump has also changed the char- acter and composition of the GOP, making it more of a working- and middle-class party. Where George H.W. Bush sought to build a “New World Order” with America as global hegemon and George W. Bush peached a global crusade for democracy “to end tyran- ny in our world,” Trump is all-in on “America fi rst.” Bush transnationalism belongs to yesterday. Even in confronting Xi Jinping’s China, Trump’s primary concern is not on how Beijing treats its people but on how it treats us. America has a history of such cold realism. FDR recognized Stalin’s regime in the USSR in 1933, when Hitler rose to power in Germany. Ike in- vited Nikita Khrushchev to tour the U.S. after the “Butcher of Budapest” had drowned the Hungarian Revolu- tion in blood. During the Cold War, we partnered with Somoza, the Shah, Gen. Pinochet and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Trump, too, sees himself not as a moral crusader for human rights but as a defender of American interests in the world. (Creators Syndicate) letters Inclusivity To the Editor: Question: When white folks are no longer the majority—soon, I’m told—would they/we not hope to be included in the civic discussion? The inclusivity resolution pro- posed for adoption by city council— with no force of law—has recieved some surprising (disappointing) push back from a few council members and pretenders. They argue that the resolution is a step towards “sanctu- ary city” status. Not true. They also cast resolution sponsor RJ Navarro as a leftist radical, so politics would seem to be at the heart of their ar- gument. As a 50-year Keizer resident, I urge council to adopt the resolution and take one more very small step towards welcoming the future reality. Martin Doerfl er Keizer 12:05 a.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 1000 block of Shady Lane NE. 2:25 a.m. - Unlawful possession of methamphetamine in the 4000 block of Cherry Avenue NE. 7:14 a.m. - Burglary in the 700 block of Lockhaven Drive NE. 12 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 4000 block of River Road N. 1 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 3000 block of River Road N. 5 p.m. - Burglary in the 800 block of Lockhaven Drive NE. 7:37 p.m. - Failure to perform duties of driver when property was damaged in the 5000 block of River Road N. 7:50 p.m. - Theft in the 4000 block of Restmore Court N. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 10:56 a.m. - Unlawful possession of methamphetamine at the intersection of Cade Street NE and River Road N. 3 p.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 600 block of Manbrin Drive NE. 6 p.m. - Sudden death in the 6000 block of Amy Lane NE. 9:30 p.m. - Theft from motor vehicle in the 1000 block of Juniper Street N. 9:41 p.m. - Arrest for unlawful posses- sion of methamphetamine and heroin in the 100 block of Apple Blossom Av- enue NE. 10 p.m. - Theft from motor vehicle in the 4000 block of 15th Avenue N. THURSDAY, AUGUST 20 5:37 a.m. - Burglary in the 4000 block of Crater Avenue N. 10 a.m. - Theft in the 6000 block of Keizer Station Blvd. 8 p.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 1000 block of Northern Heights Loop NE. 8:32 p.m. - Disorderly conduct in the 6000 block of Keizer Station Blvd. FRIDAY, AUGUST 21 6:56 a.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 1000 block of Galina Court NE. 5 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 5000 block of River Road N. 5:18 p.m. - Shoplifting in the 6000 block of Keizer Station Blvd. 6:52 p.m. - Criminal trespassing in the 700 block of Plymouth Drive NE. SATURDAY, AUGUST 22 2:24 a.m. - Motor vehicle theft in the 1000 block of Claxter Road NE. 11:06 a.m. - Sudden death in the 4000 block of Adam Court NE. 4:52 p.m. - Burglary in the 3000 block of River Road N. 8:45 p.m. - Driving while suspended in the 3000 block of Sandra Avenue N. SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 12:07 a.m. - Assault in the 700 block of Dietz Avenue NE. 10:30 p.m. - Probation violation in the 3000 block of Cherry Avenue NE. MONDAY, AUGUST 24 2:14 a.m. - Driving under the infl uence of intoxicants at the intersection of Ver- da Lane NE. and Lockhaven Drive NE. sudoku Enter digits from 1-9 into the blank spac- es. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square.
