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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2020)
NOVEMBER 20, 2020, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3 KeizerCommunity KEIZERTIMES.COM Diehl named volunteer of quarter A longtime Keizer volun- teer, and former employee of both the city and Keizer Po- lice Department, was hon- ored as Keizer’s Volunteer of the Quarter Monday, Nov. 16. Dorothy Diehl started as a liaison to the Claggett Creek Watershed Committee until she resigned her position at the city. However, she joined the committee as a volunteer afterward. During her time on the committee, Diehl has helped organize Earth Day events, Soggy Days in the Park and photo contests. She was nominated by another long- time city volunteer, Matt Lawyer. “We’ve planted doz- ens and dozens of trees to- gether and removed untold amounts of invasive species and trash from Ben Miller Park,” Lawyer told the mem- bers of the council. In a nomination letter, Lawyer cited her family ap- proach as making her stand out from the average volun- teer. “By including her family, SKPS makes changes due to two-week freeze order On Friday, Nov. 13, Ore- gon Governor Kate Brown an- nounced a statewide two-week freeze on activities, which took effect on Wednesday, Nov. 18. After receiving addition- al guidance from the Oregon Department of Education, the district has made the decision to reduce limited in-person instruction and suspend all ath- letic activities across the district. Grab-n-go meals will con- tinue to be available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. An up-to-date list of distribution sites is always avail- able on the district website (https://salkeiz.k12.or.us/). School offi ces will be closed to the public. Schools can still be reached Monday through Friday by phone. Keizer Elementary to be featured on KPTV series Diehl she helped set a new stan- dard for family engagement in volunteer projects,” Law- yer wrote. When approached with the nomination by Lawyer, Diehl thought it was absurd given the time Lawyer him- self puts in. “That’s when he ex- plained that bringing my kids out to volunteer with me inspired him to bring his kids out with him. After that, I tried to stop thinking it was absurd and treat it as an incredible honor,” Diehl said. “You can’t tell I’m smil- ing behind this mask, but I’m beaming.” FOLLOW THE KEIZERTIMES ON: This year, amid a pandem- ic, FOX 12 will regularly go inside Keizer Elementary to share the stories of teachers, staff and students fi rsthand, in a new series called "Keiz- er Strong." Lizi Aguilar-Nelson, who is in her fi rst year as the prin- cipal of Keizer Elementary, shared about the love she al- ready has for the school. “The fi rst time I came to Keizer and I opened my car door and I looked at the school, it’s a beautiful school from outside but the truth is, this is a building right,” said Aguilar-Nelson. “A school is really when kids are here, when parents are here, when community members are here, when instruction is happening, that’s really what makes a building a school.” Being at a new school in the middle of a pandemic provides a unique challenge, but she said it didn’t take Keizer Elementary long to learn the current empty building is in no way a representation of Keizer or the people who aren’t here to fi ll it. “Nowadays, it is a little bit different or a lot a bit dif- ferent, but instruction is still happening, teachers are still collaborating, working to- gether,” said Aguilar-Nelson. “That relationship among community, parents, stu- dents, teachers is there and it’s stronger.” “I think the saying it takes a community, take a village to raise a kid, right now during this pandemic, it’s re- ally when we see it and I’ve seen it and I’ve experienced it almost every day,.” FOX 12 will share the sto- ries that come out of Keizer Elementary throughout the school year, on air and on- line.
