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.