MARCH 19, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE B9
Being a citizen
BEGINS WITH…
being
informed
INFORMATION IS WHAT WE DO
Local elections
F
or the first time in decades, Keizer had
contested races in multiple races for city
council.
We featured all the candidates in
the paper when they registered to
represent Keizer residents. As the
election neared, we hosted 90-min-
ute conversations with each pair of
candidates.
No other media outlet offered
such in-depth coverage of the races.
On election night, we were here
to let you know who was leading and
which races were too close to call.
There's no substitute for our paper
when it comes to knowing the right ques-
tions to ask about the issues that affect
everyday life in Keizer.
Compost facility
eyes Keizer site
Late
last
fall,
a
Minnesota-based compost-
ing company asked the city
to expand its development
code to include compost
facilities.
The recently-approved
change will permit the city
to continue the discussions
regarding the in-container
compost operation to con-
tinue. There is still a lot
that needs to happen before
setting up shop east of the
Gubser neighborhood.
Aside from conforming
to all state regulations for
such a facility and miti-
gating any concerns from
the city, there will need to
be a public meeting on the
potential
environmental
impacts. There will also be
numerous opportunities to
voice support and opposi-
tion to the project at future
planning commission and
city council meetings.
Keizertimes will keep
you posted on those oppor-
tunities and the newest
developments.
NATIONAL NEWS, KEIZER IMPACTS
A court decision 3,000 miles away
may appear insignificant at first, but
two U.S. Supreme Court decisions had
real impacts for Keizer residents last
year.
In June the court ordered resto-
ration of that a program benefiting
undocumented people who arrived in
America as children.
Keizer resident Itzel Hernandez, a
dental assistant now volunteering at
the same clinic she benefited from,
took advantage of the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals program and
spoke about what the decision meant
for her and her peers.
“We were pretty sure we were going
to lose everything. If we had lost, we
were focused on having people contact
their Congress members and forming
emotional support groups. We also
had lawyers working on new drafts of
DACA so that it could continue.”
Proving her worth in the United
States is a revolving two-year process
that could still come to an abrupt end,
the court decision provided only a
temporary reprieve.
A month later, members of the
court potentially reversed the trajec-
tory of Indian rights throughout the
country.
The court determined that tribes
had far broader rights related to crim-
inal jurisdiction. It's a decision that
could force Congress to reconsider
honoring tribal rights promised in
treaties.
Keizerite Dee Pigsley, chairman
of the Confederated Tribe of the
Siletz, spoke with us about what the
decision meant to her and may mean
for the regional tribes.
“What it might do is speed up some
of the other understandings of Indian
law, tribal governments and tribal sov-
ereignty," Pigsley said. "We have tribes
in Oregon that have won their lawsuits
and still don’t have access to water.
We want to decide what’s good for us,"
said Pigsley, a active member of the
tribal council going for almost three
decades and leader of a group that suc-
cessfully fought for recognition of the
Siltez people after experiencing termi-
nation by federal authorities.
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