EIZER times
$1.00/ ISSUE
Vol. 43 • No. 5
NOVEMBER 19, 2021
KLL under new management
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
At their meeting on Monday, Nov. 15,
the Keizer City Council unanimously
agreed to grant the management of Keizer
Little League to For the Love of the Game,
a nonprofi t run by Mavericks
League owners Jerry and
Lisa Walker, plus their son,
“I'm excited to bring
Mickey.
on professional
The contract is for 10
years, with For the Love of the
management of the
Game's performance being
facility that will allow
evaluated every two years by
the Keizer city manager.
parents to watch their
Councilors
Roland
kids play instead of
Herrera and Kyle Juran were
absent from the meeting.
serving nachos.”
“We have some really
big visions of what we
want to do with the com-
— CATHY CLARK
plex, improvements we
KEIZER MAYOR
want to make to not only
the fi elds but to the area
itself, and hopefully that
will directly benefi t base-
benefi t baseball and softball, we hope that
ball and softball in this community,” said we can develop it in a way to help other
Mavericks League CEO Mickey Walker.
sports, like soccer or lacrosse,”
Some of those big visions include
At the meeting two weeks ago, coun-
bringing turf to the facility and making cilors elected to hold off on signing the
the park accessible for other sports.
contract with For the Love of the Game
“Turf is obviously a big thing that we and requested that the nonprofi t work
want to have, that is something we would with City Attorney Shannon Johnson to
love to be able to accomplish. It's just a make certain amendments to the contract,
long-term plan, not a one-to-three-year which involved capital improvements.
process,” Walker said. “Not only could it
Unless agreed otherwise in writing,
the city is not responsible for the costs of
improvements. However, capital improve-
ments required as a result of state and fed-
eral disability laws shall be constructed by
the city of Keizer at their own expense.
Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark, who has
been a cheerleader of the nonprofi t for
months, expressed pleasure in For the
Love of the Game managing the complex,
and criticized the way the park has been
run in the past.
“Over the last 10 years we have seen
there have been some inconsistencies,
and that has not served the players
well,” Clark said. “I'm excited to bring on
professional management of the facility
that will allow parents to watch their kids
play instead of serving nachos.”
Before the vote, multiple people
criticized the contract, including former
Keizer Mayor Lore Christopher, who was
not in attendance but off ered written
public comment.
See COUNCIL, page A3
Suspensions decrease, fights increase in first months without SROs
NEWSTAND PRICE: $1.00/ ISSUE
SUBSCRIBER ADDRESS :
BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI
Of the Keizertimes
In the fi rst two months of full-time
in-person instruction without school
resource offi cers, suspensions and expul-
sions have been drastically reduced in
Salem-Keizer schools — while fi ghting
has increased.
The disciplinary data released during
Salem-Keizer school board’s Nov. 16
work session showed that expulsion vio-
lations through the fi rst two months of
this year have decreased by almost 90%
while suspensions have been reduced by
55%. Fights in the school district, how-
ever, have increased by 42%.
Salem-Keizer Superintendent Christy
Perry announced in March of this year
Students at Weddle Elementary on the first day of school.
Photo by JOEY CAPPELLETTI of Keizertimes
See SROs, page A4
GET HOLIDAY READY
Sales Event
3555 River Rd N, Keizer
(503) 463- 4853
skylineforddirect.com
0% APR for 60 mos.
Ford Credit Financing
Not all buyers will qualify for Ford Credit financing. 0% APR financing for 60 months at $16.67 per month per $1,000 financed regardless of down payment (PGM #21282).
Residency restrictions apply. Take new retail delivery from an authorized Ford Dealer’s stock by 1/3/22. See dealer for qualifications and complete details.