JANUARY 28, 2022, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7
Be understanding of small
businesses that are facing
ever-changing COVID rules
PUBLIC SQUARE welcomes all points of view. Published submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Keizertimes
Keizer's 2021 honorees
The Keizer Chamber of Commere
announced winners at its annual First
Citizen Awards at a banquet Saturday, Jan.
22.
While the awards may be presented by
the business organization, the honorees
should be feted by the whole community for
the impact they have had on Keizer.
The First Citizen of Keizer is a lifetime
achievement award, bestowed on those
whose lives have been dedicated to the city.
This year's winner, Jim Taylor, whose fam-
ily has made Keizer its home for almost 100
years, has been a champion of kids, local
sports and common sense governance.
Taylor was deeply involved with Keizer
Little League, coaching countless boys and
girls. He is best known for serving for 12
years as a Keizer city councilor (2003-15),
where his common sense approach to pol-
icy always looked for the fair and legal solu-
tion. To Taylor, the law is the law. Period.
As a long-time Rotarian, he was involved
with every project the club undertook
during his membership. If a project needed
muscle, he was there.
Taylor is the embodiment of a First
Citizen: for him, the community, its peo-
ple—especially the children—come first. We
congratulate Jim on his honor.
Dennis Blackman, one of Keizer's most
generous and genial businesspeople, who
flies under the radar of recognition, was
the deserving recepient of the Merchant of
the Year award. Blackman, owner of Copper
Creek Mercantile on River Road, always
answers the call when help is needed.
Blackman and his business were instru-
mental in aiding the Santiam Canyon fire
rescue and relief for hundreds of animals
and pets that were safely relocated to the
state fairgrounds. Blackman is the person
who exemplifies 'He will give you the shirt
off his back.' In ways both big and small,
Blackman has given more in goods and
financial help than people will ever know
because he does not seek fame nor recogni-
tion. He just wants to be a good citizen and
merchant in his community.
The Service to Education Award winner,
Danielle Bethell, is a Grizzly bear mother
when it comes to kids. She is passionate
about how they are taught, how they play
sports and how they live. That passion led
to her successful campaign for a seat on the
Salem-Keizer school board, where she has
Editorial
been an unapologetic advocate for what's
best for kids in our classrooms.
Anytime children are involved, it gets
Bethell's attention. The Big Toy project at
Keizer Rapids Park and the turf projects at
both McNary and McKay high schools had
her full involvement. Volunteering time at
her own children's schools is second nature.
Our kids are lucky to have a Grizzly bear
mother like Bethell in their corner.
Each year the leader of the Chamber of
Commerce, on their sole discretion award
the President's Award. This year Darrell
Fuller, a renaissance man of involvement
and volunteering was honored with the
award by Bob Shackleford, who had four
pages filled with reasons why he chose
Fuller.
Fuller's day job is a successful lobbyist,
but his volunteer endeavors have found him
in all corners of Keizer, from schools to com-
munity projects. A man with four pages of
accomplishments is a good choice for the
President's Award.
We know that none of this year's honor-
ees are involved with projects because they
seek the limelight, it is just the opposite.
We expect to continue to see their impact
throughout the community for a long time.
The Chamber of Commerce added a new
honor at this year's banquet: the Dennis
Koho Future First Citizen Award. Named
for Keizer's former mayor, the honor comes
with a $1,000 scholarship. A McNary High
School senior has to be exceptional in many
areas to be nominated for (and to win) this
award.
The first recipient of the award was
Logan Ready, an athlete and a member of
the National Honor Society.
There were three final nominees for
this award. They were all so deserving
that the Chamber decided to give the two
other nominees a scholarship as well. Good
going, Chamber. Congratulations to three
students. This is how First Citizens start
out. Will we see you accepting an award at a
banquet in 2067?
—LAZ
It’s time to call a timeout. Walk to our
sidelines and have a chat. As we approach
the second anniversary of the COVID-19
pandemic we need to talk. For two years
we have thanked and supported healthcare
workers and they unquestionably deserve
it. They are heroes who have worked long
hours and saved lives.
There is another group of workers
who have worked hard as well. They have
showed up, they have served their custom-
ers and worked to feed their families. This
group, who run and work in small busi-
nesses are now in the middle of a grow-
ing fight. Masks mandates and vaccine
requirements are all things we should con-
tinue to discuss but no matter which side
of the question you fall on, putting small
business in the middle is unfair and it is
wrong. These Keizerites did not write the
rules and have little training or support to
enforce them.
Here at the Keizer Chamber we take
calls often from owners frustrated because
a customer on one side or the other of
these debates verbally attacked one of
their employees over masks or vaccines.
It needs to stop. These businesses employ
City can make a
public library a
reality
To the Editor:
Jim Scheppke’s recent opinion piece
in Salem's daily paper, Salem needs more
branch libraries, is right on the mark.
Those who understand the power that
libraries bring to people have tried for
decades to gain city support for branch
libraries in the north and south areas
of Salem. An even needier area of the
extended community is Keizer. Reading
scores in many of the Keizer schools are
among the lowest in the Salem-Keizer
district and the state.
Since 1988, concerned citizen volun-
teers have run a small non-profit library,
loaning a limited collection of donated
books, DVDs and CDs to Keizer residents
who could afford to pay $10 for library
cards. Through much hard work, Keizer
Community Library cards are now free
so anyone can access these materials and
services.
What Keizer’s library doesn’t have is
public library status. Why? Only because
half of Keizer Community Library’s bud-
get needs to come from public funds to
complete the State Library of Oregon’s
requirements to be a public library.
A really small annual investment from
the Keizer city budget would enable the
library to apply for public library status
and also for membership in Chemeketa
Cooperative Regional Library Service,
giving people access to the vast resources
of the regional library system. Convenient
access to public library services in Keizer
Guest
COLUMN
our neighbors and provide the goods and
services on which we all depend. They did
not pick this fight and should not be put
in the middle. In short, we need to show
them the grace they have earned by taking
care of us over the last two years.
If you have strong opinions one way
or the other on masks or vaccines by all
means, reach out to your elected leaders
and make your voice heard. But no mat-
ter how much you yell and scream, or even
worse, vent in the small business’ reviews,
the clerk at the corner store cannot fix
these issues and the owner is doing the
best they can with guidance and rules
changing daily. Understand that small
businesses are doing they best they can in
an impossible situation.
(Submitted by the Keizer Chamber of
Commerce.)
Letters
could make a difference for everyone, but
especially for our children. With the help
of Keizer city officials, this can be easily
and quickly accomplished.
B.J. Toewe
Keizer
Response to 2022.2?
To the Editor:
Outside of coining a new catchphrase:
“pull up out boots,” I don’t think read-
ers learned anything from your Public
Square piece, 2022.2? (Jan. 21)
I do see some hints that you might be
wondering if we have stayed too long with
a misguided approach to controlling this
virus..... in Oregon anyway.
The convoluted approach our leaders
(the ones that currently have the clout)
have steered us into has driven the wedge
deeper into our nation and our state. How
they couldn’t see that coming is beyond
me, and now we have an economic mess
looming.
What really got us out of the Great
Depression was World War II, and there
doesn’t seem to be anything like that on
the horizon now. We certainly need some-
thing bigger than the virus to reunite the
country and no one wants war. Guess we
can pull up our bootstraps, huh?
Bruce Priem
Salem
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