PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 12, 2021
of the Week
presented by
TED PLUMB
Ted Plumb is currently volunteering in the Property and Evidence
area which is in the Support Services section at the Keizer Police
Department
“There are many facets to this work area and, as such, I perform
a host of tasks. As an example, the Police lobby has a secure bin
where individuals can drop off unneeded medical prescriptions.
Before the current restrictions were put in place due to the
pandemic, the bin would have to be emptied at least once per
week. The medications are then packaged securely in boxes.
When we accumulate a certain quantity of boxes, we then
transport them to the Covanta facility in Brooks. The boxes are
loaded onto a conveyor system by police staff and myself. We
monitor the delivery of the boxes via a video monitor system all
the way to the drop area of the furnace. This is an example of the
many tasks I’ve been able to perform over my years volunteering.”
Why Ted volunteers?
The opportunity to volunteer in the law enforcement fi eld came
in 1997. The tasks were simple at fi rst but as I was able to take on
more duties, I was able to grow as a volunteer. My goal each day is
to make everyone else’s day a little brighter. If I can make someone
smile, then my goal at the time is accomplished. Plus, I get to work
with a really great bunch of folks.
How would you get others to volunteer in their community?
Ted recommends that a person should fi rst look at themselves
and ask, what can I do and, second, what would I like to do. Know
what your strengths are and what you enjoy. Not every volunteer
opportunity is for everyone. Then, seek out the organization,
company or business and ask where they might be able to use
a volunteer.
SKPS board member makes
pitch for zone voting
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Technical diffi culties sidelined a planned
conversation about changing the election
of school district directors Tuesday, March
9.
Connection errors interrupted the
meeting and, once the virtual meeting
was re-established, members of the Sa-
lem-Keizer Public School Board of Direc-
tors tabled the issue until a special session
could be held Wednesday after press time.
On Tuesday, March 8, Director Jesse
Lippold Peone, the current representa-
tive for Zone 5, told attendees of a virtual
NAACP forum that he intends to propose
an amendment that would elect school
board directors by zone rather than the
current at-large system. At-large voting in
the Salem-Keizer School District means
that candidates must live in the zones they
represent, but are voted on by all eligible
voters in the district. Lippold was repre-
senting only himself during the meeting,
not the entire school board at the forum.
Lippold Peone told attendees that at-
large voting leaves the district at risk for
structural racism.
“Right now, a person can live in east
Salem and never campaign there,” Lippold
Peone said. At-large voting is also creat-
ing outsized campaign costs for an unpaid,
nonpartisan position. “Campaign costs
have grown to $63,000 for one candidate.
It creates huge barriers when one candi-
date might have more name recognition or
more money.”
If the board approves a change to zone-
based voting at its next meeting, it could
change how school board directors are se-
lected as soon as the May 2021 cycle.
County Clerk Bill Burgess, who over-
sees Marion County Elections and offered
insight into how soon changes could be
made, saw no problem with the timeline if
the election method is changed.
“If it happened next week, we would
have time to adjust ballots for military
members before they are printed and
mailed in early April,” Burgess said. If the
change were made in a later meeting, it
likely would not take effect for two years.
About 145,000 registered Marion
County are eligible to take part in school
board elections. Zone-based voting would
lead about 20,000 voters in each area of
the school district deciding who represents
them on the school board.
“When we have BIPOC (Black, Indig-
enous and people of color) communities
live in specifi c areas it leads to less effective
representation of those areas,” Lippold Pe-
one said.
Levi Herrera-Lopez, who ran against
Lippold Peone for the school board seat
in 2017, also spoke about his experiences
during the forum.
Voting by zone would “lead to less in-
fl uence from special interest groups,” Her-
rera-Lopez said. “To reach a signifi cant
amount of the registered voters, you need
at least $10,000 to pay for mailers. That’s
where special interests come in (when they
pay for expenses like mailers).”
Zone voting is expected to reduce the
fi nancial barriers that keep some members
of the community from running for elect-
ed offi ce.
Voters in smaller zones would also stand
a better chance of holding their school
board directors accountable for the deci-
sions they make and the votes they cast,
Herrera-Lopez added.
In past school board meetings, challeng-
es to zone voting were raised based on the
need to redistrict once 2020 Census results
are available.
Lippold Peone called the argument “a
red herring” and said he couldn’t think
of any reasonable argument against the
change.
The Salem-Keizer NAACP is support-
ing the change to zone voting.
April 13 return for HS, MS students
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
On Friday, March 5, Ore-
gon Governor Kate Brown an-
nounced an executive order for
public school students to return
to the classroom.
“The science is very, very
clear: with proper safety mea-
sures in place, there is a low risk
of COVID-19 transmission in
school. Oregon parents can be
confi dent about sending their
children back to a classroom
learning environment,” Brown
said.
Brown directed all Oregon
public schools to offer univer-
sal access to in-person instruc-
tion on or before the weeks of
March 29 for K-5 students and
April 19 for students in grades
6-12. SKPS assistant superin-
tendent Kraig Sproles notifi ed
the school board on Tuesday,
March 9 that the district is
ahead of schedule in meeting
those dates.
“We have a point of cele-
bration about getting our kids
back in school,” Sproles said.
“We were a little bit ahead of
that trajectory.”
Last week, SKPS welcomed
back K-1 students into their
school building for hybrid,
in-person learning.
“We had lots of kids in our
buildings this last week, which
was really, really exciting,”
SKPS superintendent Christy
Perry said.
Earlier this week, second and
third students made their return
to schools — fourth and fi fth
grade students will come back
next week.
“I don’t think we can un-
derplay how much work that
has been done for our teachers
and our principals,” Sproles said.
“We have been preparing for
this moment for many, many
months and it has paid off.”
SKPS was the fi rst large dis-
trict in the state to have their
elementary students return to
school.
“It was really encouraging
for our secondary leaders and
teachers to see the amount of
success we had with bringing
back our elementary students.
It gave us a little bit of a leg up
when it comes to planning,”
assistant superintendent Iton
Udosenata said.
After having some uncer-
tainty a couple of weeks ago,
Udosenata told the board that
secondary schools (middle
schools and high schools) do
indeed have the capacity to
serve students in a hybrid mod-
el — meaning that students
would attend school two days
per week and then do online
learning for the remainder of
the week.
Secondary school staff mem-
bers are scheduled to return to
their classrooms by Monday,
April 5 and students will come
back for in-person instruction
beginning on Tuesday, April 13.
“We are really looking for-
ward to bringing our secondary
students back,” Udosenata said.
Spring forward
Daylight Savings Time
begins at 2 a.m., Sunday,
March 14.
You need to advance
your clocks by one hour, in
essence, losing 60 minutes in
the process.
You should also plan to
change the batteries in all
your smoke alarms and car-
bon monoxide monitors at
the same time.
While there is a move to
eliminate daylight standard
and savings times, that has
not changed yet.
Body, Mind & Soul
Our residents enjoy an active, engaging lifestyle that promotes
wellness and independence. It is our goal to keep our residents
linked to resources and opportunities that will fulfi ll their needs and
interests in the Keizer area. Residents have many opportunities
to participate in a variety of life enriching activities and events
designed to stimulate the mind, body and soul.
From cocktail-hour gatherings where you can learn about the
nuances of a good Pinot Noir, to a discussion of the latest best
seller in our Life-Long Learning series, to exploring new ways to
stay healthy in a fi tness class.
Come See the Finest in Senior Living
CALL (503) 390 -1300
Sam Goesch
Ins Agcy Inc
Sam Goesch CLU, Agent
3975 River Road North
Keizer, OR 97303
Bus: 503-393-6252
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1211999
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