PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 04, 2022
PUBLIC SQUARE welcomes all points of view. Published submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Keizertimes
Moving KeizerFEST in time and place
The organizers of KeizerFEST (nee
Keizer Iris Festival) have formally
requested approval from the city of
Keizer to move the event to Keizer Rapids
Park, and make it the permanent home of
our largest community event.
At long last, the festival grounds will
have a home worthy of its history and
potential. There are many issues and
challenges that need to be addressed
before this year's festival, planned for the
second weekend of August.
When it was the Iris Festival, holding
the event in May was required to take
advantage of peak iris bloom season.
Keizer carries the moniker of the iris cap-
ital of the world; it proved to be a good
branding and marketing tool for the city
for more than 30 years.
The event was always more a celebra-
tion of Keizer rather than a celebration of
a flower. The community can celebrate
itself as easily in August as it can in May.
The weather is much more predictable at
the end of summer.
Keizer Rapids Park will offer some
elbow room for the all the elements of
the festival, that include the main tent,
vendor booths and activities. There are
many other events held at the park that
fit just fine..
For years Keizerites were reminded
the festival was coming when they saw
Editorial
a big white tent being erected in the
center of town. That won't be the case
with KeizerFEST being moved to Keizer
Rapids Park, but that can be overcome
with banners along River Road directing
residents and visitors alike down to the
end of Chemawa Road.
The most popular part of the festival
is the parade. The pandemic really did
a number on the parade in recent years;
it once was one of the largest parades
in Oregon. By August mask mandates
should be lifted completely. That should
return attendence at KeizerFEST and in
the parade to pre-pandemic levels.
It is expected that traditionalists will
grumble about moving KeizerFEST away
from the city's core. Time marches on.
Keizer has grown and offers fewer large
plots of land to stage our beloved event.
Kudos to the organizers of the 2022
KeizerFEST for pushing for this move.
Chamber of Commerce president
Bob Shackleford has been working for
months to assure the change will be good
for Keizer and its citizens.
—LAZ
The eloquence of Miranda Coleman
At the March 7 city council meeting,
youth councilor, Miranda Coleman was pre-
sented with a proclamation made by Mayor
Cathy Clark, proclaiming the city’s support
for the people of Ukraine in the face of the
invasion by Russia.
It was presented to Coleman due to her
Ukrainian heritage.
In an emotional and thoughtful response,
Coleman, a McNary High School student,
relayed that she is the great-great-grand-
daughter of Ukrainian immigrants. In the
early years of the 20th century, Coleman’s
ancestors settled in North Dakota. Forty
years later they, and other Ukrainian immi-
grants headed to Oregon in search of better
opportunities in agriculture and farming.
“It has been instilled in me to be proud
of my Ukrainian heritage,” Coleman told
the councilors and audience.
She went on to say that Russian leader
Vladimir Putin underestimated the people
of the country he invaded.”Ukrainians are
willing to fight for their homeland. They are
courageous, resilient and they have shown
the world they would die for their country,”
she continued.
Coleman said her heart breaks for the
men, women and children who died at the
hands of the invaders. “We must support
them and advocate for them. They are just
as important as we are.’
She thanked Mayor Clark for the proc-
lamation, saying, “It makes me proud to
live in Keizer.” She ended her remarks with
words in Ukrainian.
Miranda Coleman was eloquent and
her words were powerful, garnering her a
standing ovation from the entire room. This
is an example of how the youth of today can
teach us adults a thing or two.
—LAZ
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142 Chemawa Road N, Keizer, Oregon 97303
Phone: 503.390.1051 • www.keizertimes.com
Ready for the next step:
becoming a CCRLS library
By BILL LEACH
The volunteer spirit, which has
long set Keizer apart from other
Oregon communities, is alive and
well at the Keizer Community Library.
The COVID pandemic and mandated
closures created a great opportunity for
our community library to reinvent itself.
With donations and volunteer hours, the
library has been completely overhauled.
The collection of books, audiobooks, mov-
ies and other resources has been reorga-
nized and library cards are now free. You
really need to come and see for yourself.
The library, which is currently an
unfunded,
non-profit organization,
is only one step away from the state
of Oregon designating the Keizer
Commuanity Library as a public library.
Why is public library status important?
For decades, Keizer residents have been
paying taxes to support the Chemeketa
Cooperative Regional Library Service
(CCRLS) without receiving the full bene-
fits enjoyed by the patrons of its 17-member
public libraries. Public library status would
qualify Keizer Community Library to join
CCRLS as a full participating member.
It would also open access to the funding
opportunities that public libraries have
available from federal, state, and other
sources, which cannot currently be accessed.
Our community critically needs these
resources. They would enable the library to
have a positive impact on student achieve-
ment scores through expanded summer
reading projects and other educational pro-
grams. They can help us provide support
to our growing retirement communities
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
Lyndon Zaitz
publisher@keizertimes.com
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Robin Barneuy
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REPORTER
Charles Glenn
editor@keizertimes.com
PRODUCTION MANAGER
& GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Logan Turbes
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SPORTS REPORTER
Jeremy McDonald
jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
COMMUNITY REPORTER
Bee Flint
reporter@keizertimes.com
LEGAL NOTICES
legals@keizertimes.com
BUSINESS DESK
Christine Baker
billing@keizertimes.com
Guest
COLUMN
and full services for all residents. A pub-
lic library in Keizer would continue to
be a non-profit volunteer organization.
It is possible to become a public library
without creating any tax increase for the
citizens of Keizer. There is a proposal in
front of the Keizer Long Range Planning
Task Force asking the city to contract with
the Keizer Community Library to provide
public library services to the residents of
Keizer. This $125,000 annual contract can
be funded for three years from the $8.8 mil-
lion federal COVID relief funds awarded
to Keizer and will allow the library to hire
a full-time librarian to organize and man-
age operations at the library, recruit and
train the many volunteers who will con-
tinue to support our programs, and extend
the hours of operation of the library. This
funding fulfills the final remaining require-
ment set by the State of Oregon, allowing
Keizer Community Library to reach public
library status and membership in CCRLS.
We look forward to having the Long
Range Planning Task Force recom-
mend the Keizer Community Library
contract funding in its proposal.
(Submitted by Bill Leach, president of
the Keizer Communituy Library board,
on behalf of the board of directors.)
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Michelle Litsey
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