PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 23, 2021 Council invests in new hybrid vehicles for KPD BY MATT RAWLINGS positions — the school district would pay Of the Keizertimes $30,000 for each vehicle. However, Keizer The Keizer City Council approved Chief of Police, John Teague, shared that $20,000 to go towards a pair of 2022 Ford the department was interested is pur- Intercepter hybrid police vehicles for the chasing in hybrid vehicles after seeing Keizer Police Department at their meet- a presentation from Keizer resident Rich ing on Monday, July 19. Rodriguez on co2 emissions during the The City of Keizer is under contract public comment portion of the meeting. with the Salem-Keizer School District Rodriguez shared with the council a for a Safety and PowerPoint Support Response that he cre- Team Offi cer and ated about It is a good moment a Youth Safety and co2 emissions in time to put $20,000 Support Offi cer. from city vehi- Each position has cles in Keizer. towards setting us a contract provi- “I solicited sion obligating the informa- up for the future with the Salem-Keizer tion from the hybrid vehicles," School District city, did the to pay Keizer a analysis and one-time cost determined of $30,000 for a that police — JOHN TEAGUE properly up-fi t- vehicles are Keizer Police Chief ted unmarked the largest vehicle to be group that used by the offi cer. submits co2 The vehicles are to be purchased and into the city, and the city needs to be up-fi tted by the KPD. held responsible,” Rodriguez said. Police staff had originally determined Rodriguez also shared that the city's that a pair of Black Dodge Durango co2 emissions have grown in each of the vehicles would fi t the need of the two last two years and asked the council to FILE PHOTO defer the decision on new vehicles until a proper analysis had been done on the potential harm they would cause to the local environment. Teague, however, shared later on the in the meeting that KPD would like to purchase hybrid police cars for the school offi cers. “I am in favor in hybrid vehicles,” Teague said. “It is a good opportunity to put these vehicles to the test before going full-steam and buying hybrid vehicles from now on.” Teague also said that the additional cost would be $10,000 per vehicle and proposed that the council provide $20,000 for the two cars, on top of the $60,000 given by the school district — the two vehicles are expected to last between eight and 10 years. The proposed resolution was passed unanimously. “It is a good moment in time for us to put $20,000 towards setting us up for the future with hybrid vehicles,” Teague said. Schrader welcomes Indian Boarding School initiative Congressman Kurt Schrader is wel- coming the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative recently announced by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. The comprehensive investi- gation may include Chemawa Indian School in Salem. Native children were forcibly removed from their families by the U.S. government from the 1800s through the late 20th century and required to attend federal boarding schools. These students faced abusive tactics intended to strip them from their culture, and some lost their lives, while others were never reunited with their loved ones and placed in foster care. Secretary Haaland’s Initiative directs the Department to launch an investigation into its past oversight of all participating boarding schools including Chemawa Indian School, which is the country’s oldest contin- uously operated residential boarding school for Native American students. Investigators will be documenting locations of known and possible stu- dent burial sites located at or near school facilities and record Tribal affi li- ations and identities of children buried at these locations. The Department will be conducting consultations with Tribal Nations, Alaska Native corpora- tions and Native Hawaiian organiza- tions during the process as well. The fi ndings will be detailed in a report to guide future site work. “When speaking with members of the Chemawa community, I heard how the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative will help many Native Americans begin to heal from gen- erations of trauma, frustrations and betrayal that came from this pain- ful period in American history,” Rep. Worship DIRECTORY These Salem-Keizer houses of worship invite you to visit. Call to list your church in our Worship Directory: 503-390-1051 YOUR CHURCH'S LISTING HERE. www.KeizerChristian.org Call Bill at 503.390.1051