VOLUME 42, NO. 13
JANUARY 15, 2021
SECTION A
A
$1.00
Ore. leaders respond
to Capitol chaos
fter a mob
stormed the
U.S. Capitol on
Jan. 6, response
from Oregon’s
elected offi cials was swift and
sometimes controversial.
The events in Washington,
D.C., prompted evacuation of
the Capitol as lawmakers met
to certify the electoral college
votes making Joseph R. Biden
the 46th president of the
United States. Several mem-
bers of the Senate and more
than 100 representatives con-
tested the results of the elec-
tion based on unproven claims
of election fraud in numerous
states.
Because of the rapid way
the topics morphed from the
riot itself to who was respon-
sible and talk of impeaching
President Donald Trump, the
discussion, too, runs the gamut.
Locally, Rep. Bill Post
(R-Keizer) lit a fi re on Face-
book when he wrote, “I am
very aware that many of the
‘protestors’ in DC were in fact
ANTIFA infi ltrators. Let me
be clear whether you are a
Trump supporter or ANTIFA
infi ltrator, this behavior is un-
acceptable. Period.”
Responses to the comment
accused Post of spreading in-
formation he knew to be false.
There is no proof as yet anti-
fa, a loose network of people
willing to resist fascism and
meet violence with violence,
was present anywhere in the
attack on the Capitol.
Post later tried to walk back
the statement.
“No antifa was NOT in
this. It was Qanon people.
There are literally hundreds of
stories about this,” Post wrote
By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes
and provided a link.
On the nation-
al level, Rep. Kurt
Schrader (D-Canby)
ignited a different
type of fi restorm
when he likened a
new effort to im-
peach Trump to a
“lynching” on a cau-
cus conference call
Friday, Jan. 8. The
difference between
impeachment and
lynching is that im-
peachment is the act
File Photos
Clockwise, from upper left: Rep. Bill Post, Rep. Kurt
Schrader, Sen. Ron Wyden. Sen. Jeff Merkley,
of holding an elect-
ed offi cial account-
able and lynching
involves the killing
of someone, typi-
cally a black man,
without any sort of
legal proceeding.
Schrader
also
walked back the
comment later on
Twitter.
“I recognize the
horrible historical
context of these
words and have
‘BUCKLE
UP’
Homes in Keizer white hot, extremely limited
By ERIC A.
HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
As of Friday, Jan.
15, there will be a
total of eight homes
for sale in Keizer.
That number is up
by two from Mon-
day.
“For
decades
we've watched our
California neigh-
bors deal with these
kinds of housing
markets: expensive
prices, low invento-
ry, homes sold with
no inspection, no closing
costs, and sometimes not even
a physical walk-through. We,
in little Keizer and Salem, are
now them. Buckle up,” said
Amy McLeod, principal bro-
ker for The McLeod Group
Network.
Multiple offers in the
fi rst days on the market
and homes going for more
than the asking price are
“ I listed a home
in December and
had nine offers in
the fi rst two
days. It went for
$15,000 over
the asking price…”
Keizerites are hard-pressed
to fi nd "For Sale" signs in
their neighborhoods lately.
The one pictured to at left is
one of fewer than 10 in the
city.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
— Bob Shackelford,
HomeSmart Realty Group
not uncommon, said Bob
Shackelford, a realtor for
HomeSmart.
“I listed a home in De-
cember and had nine offers
in the fi rst two days. It went
for $15,000 over the asking
price and the buyer took it as
is,” Shackelford said.
A Keizer home is typically
being scooped up within 13
days, but there’s another 45
days factored into processing
loans and closing proceed-
ings.
Aside from residential real
estate, McLeod said there
was a dearth of inventory
across the board in Keizer:
four pieces of bare land, two
Please see HOT, Page A6
Caillier steps into Chamber’s top job
the position,” said Caillier. In Keizer
By ERIC A. HOWALD
parlance, this is known as being “vol-
Of the Keizertimes
Mark Caillier once joked that be- untold”
Danielle Bethell, the former direc-
coming Keizer’s First Citizen was a
gateway to additional service to the tor, resigned from the role to take on
a new full-time job
city and its resi-
as a Marion Coun-
dents.
ty commissioner.
The former city “ I came in to meet
Bethell was elect-
councilor, mem- with the board ...
ed to the offi ce in
ber of several city
November. Cailli-
committees, cur- then they were
rent Rotary Club congratulating me.” er’s commitment is
part-time.
of Keizer member,
Caillier is put-
past Rotary presi-
— Mark Caillier
ting a focus on the
dent and, of course,
“interim” in inter-
First Citizen is now
the interim executive director of the im director. He was already drafting
a schedule to search for a permanent
Keizer Chamber of Commerce.
“It was one of those things where replacement.
“I think it’s a job that will have lo-
I came in to meet with the board to
get more information and then they cal and regional interest, but I think
were congratulating me on accepting we might even have interest from
Mark Caillier, a former Keizer city
councilor and omnipresent Keizer
volunteer, will lead the Keizer
Chamber after the departure of
Danielle Bethell.
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
the multi-state area if we try,” Cailli-
er said. He’s hoping to have the next
director hired within six months, but
the COVID-19 pandemic may create
delays.
In the meantime, members of the
chamber and its board are still making
plans for some of the regular annual
events the Chamber sponsors, such
as the annual First Citizen Banquet,
which would normally take place this
month, and KeizerFEST in May.
Please see CHAMBER, Page A6
started to reach
out to my col-
leagues personal-
ly to express that
I understand the
harm caused. I will work hard
to rebuild trust and again, I
humbly apologize,” Schrader
wrote.
As the conversation turned
toward whether Trump was
personally responsible for
inciting the protestors that
stormed the seat of the U.S.
government, Schrader signaled
support for a second round of
impeachment proceedings.
“This President is a clear
and present danger to our
country. While I have pushed
other remedies for his criminal
conduct, impeachment is the
tool before us and warranted
for his seditious acts. I will be
voting yes on impeachment
when brought to the House
fl oor,” Schrader wrote.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Dem-
ocrat, was one of the quick-
est Oregon elected offi cials to
respond to the crisis. Within
two hours, Merkley held a
video call with journalists and
deemed the riot a “coup.”
The day after the assault,
Merkley was calling for Trump
to be removed from power
or face a second impeach-
ment trial. He also noted the
contrast in response by police
when a group of mostly white
people stormed the Capitol
and other protests in which
Black and Latinx fi gured more
prominently.
“When Portland took to
the streets to demand racial
justice for Black & Brown
communities, Trump sent
Joe Nathan
begins
Volcanoes
Top 3
PAGE A10
Please see CHAOS, Page A6
Groundwork
laid for
council’s
future eff orts
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Keizer City Council
convened to talk about its
goals for the long-term and
immediate future at a work
session Monday, Jan. 11.
Community engagement
on
issues
of
diversity,
equity and inclusion (DEI),
expanding the Urban Growth
Boundary (UGB), emergency
preparedness and housing
disparity were some of the
topics discussed.
DEI
Taking the next steps on
issues of diversity, equity and
inclusion – after the recent
adoption of a city values
statement – was one of the
fi rst issues discussed. Mayor
Cathy Clark requested that
councilors Roland Herrera,
Elizabeth Smith and Laura
Reid form a workgroup to
plan for additional youth
involvement, updating the
city mission statement and
planning for multicultural
events once the pandemic is
contained.
Herrera said he’s gotten
a handful of inquiries from
Please see FUTURE, Page A7
Vaccine
elibility
expands
PAGE A2
SKPS moves
toward Feb.
opening
PAGE A3
Celt
playwright
blooms
at WU
PAGE A4