VOLUME 42, NO. 9
DECEMBER 18, 2020
SECTION A
Future
plans
expected
by end
of year
$1.00
VOLCANOES
By MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
F
or just over a year, the
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
organization found them-
selves in limbo, wondering if
they would lose their Major
League Baseball (MLB) affi l-
iation with the San Francisco
Giants.
On Wednesday, Dec. 9, the
Volcanoes discovered that
they had been offi cially axed
from the Northwest League
(NWL), ending their 26-year
“ It was
unfortunate
news to say
the least. It was
heartbreaking.”
MLB AFFILIATION
Rios
heading to
Ivy League
PAGE A12
TEAM
ACHIEVEMENTS
NO.
PLAYER
ACHIEVEMENTS
NO.
“ Our ability
to bring
up or even
entertain an
alternative
point of
view was
completely
stifled”
— Mickey Walker,
CEO, Volcanoes
AWARDS
relationship with the Giants
and Minor League Baseball
(MiLB). The Boise Hawks
were the other team that was
eliminated from the NWL.
The Volcanoes have been
affi liated with the Giants
since their inception in 1997
— the organization began in
Bellingham in 1994, but was
moved to Salem-Keizer in
1997.
Volcanoes CEO Mickey
Walker
said
that
the
Giants never contacted the
Volcanoes about the change.
The organization found out
via Twitter that the Eugene
Emeralds will be the Giants
new Single-A affi liate.
“It
was
unfortunate
news to say the least. It
was heartbreaking,” Walker
said. “We are extremely
disappointed that it’s ending.”
Despite the loss of MLB
affi liation, Walker promises
that there will be baseball
at Volcanoes Stadium next
season.
“No matter what, we’re
going to be playing baseball
in 2021,” Walker said. “We are
excited for what the future
may hold.”
After nearly a week of
silence, MLB contacted the
Volcanoes
organization
on Monday to discuss the
possibility of a partnership
moving forward. Earlier this
month, MLB announced
Please see FUTURE, Page A7
938-
PAGE A2
KEIZERTIMES/Andrew Jackson
The Volcanoes contract with Keizer
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Eight hours and 22 minutes.
That’s how long the members of the
Keizer City Council took
to approve its fi rst contract
with
the
Bellingham
Giants, the team that would
become the Salem-Keizer
Volcanoes and affi liate of
the San Francisco.
The council spent the
fi rst hour of the meeting
scrutinizing the fi rst two
paragraphs of the 38-page contract.
Shortly after 3 a.m. on Oct. 15, 1996,
the council voted 6-1 to approve a 29-
year contract with owner Jerry Walker.
The only holdout at the time was
Councilor Jerry McGee, who disagreed
with the $2.995 million investment it
would take on the part of the city.
Then-mayor
Dennis
Koho, a lifelong baseball
fan, had courted both city
councilors and residents to
support the deal. McGee
remained unconvinced.
One of the more
contentious aspects of
the contract was naming
rights. Members of the
council in addition to Koho wanted
the entire property named “Keizer
Stadium.” Walker wanted to be able to
sell naming rights that would appear
THEN
&NOW
Schrader
checks
in with
Chamber
KEIZERTIMES/File
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Three days before the U.S.
Congress headed home for
the holidays, U. S. Rep. Kurt
Schrader was hopeful he and
his colleagues would approve a
new wave of pandemic relief.
“We got another couple of
days and a lot can happen in a
couple of days in Washington,
D.C.,” Schrader said.
Schrader was the guest of
honor at a Zoom meeting
held by the Keizer Chamber
of Congress Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Schrader voted against a
roughly $3 trillion stimu-
lus package and defended
that vote to Keizer Chamber
members.
Please see REP, Page A9
on top of the sign near Interstate 5.
The council was the one to soften its
position, but a deal for naming rights
never materialized.
Despite the lack of unanimity and
hurt feelings over the stadium name,
the city sold bonds to pay for extending
water and sewer lines to the 30-acre
property alongside constructing a
parking lot. In return, Keizer got 50
cents for every car parked and 5% of
every ticket sold for all events.
Walker footed the bill to construct
the $2.6 million stadium on six acres
of the property. The amount translates
to roughly $4.1 million in 2020 dollars.
Please see CONTRACT, Page A7
Pandemic expected to
boost parks plan redux
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The coronavirus pan-
demic will keep people
from meeting in-person to
provide input on future im-
provements to Keizer parks,
but renewed interest in open
spaces might work to the
city’s advantage.
Cindy Mendoza, direc-
tor of parks and recreation
at MIG, a Portland-based
fi rm consulting a revision of
Keizer’s parks master plan,
said public participation in
the fi rm’s recent parks proj-
ects has skyrocketed because
more people have been us-
ing public spaces for safe rec-
reation.
“Our responses during
the past year have gone
above and beyond any we
have seen before,” Mendoza
said.
The City of Keizer kicked
off a revision of the parks
master plan with a presen-
tation at the meeting of the
Keizer Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board Dec. 8. The
effort will update a parks
master plan created in 2008.
Please see PARKS, Page A9
Putting
a bow on
community’s
kindness
PAGE A3
Looking
back on
Volcanoes
Sergio Romo
PAGE A12