PAGE A16, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 15, 2022
Teen theater group offers classes, shows
Cost is $200 per attendee if paid by
June 15.
Registration forms for all camps
are available at skittheatre.com. All
camps will be held at Salem First Free
Methodist Church at 4455 Silverton Rd.
NE in Salem.
There is also one two-week camp for
teens. It’s July 11-23, from 1-5pm.
They perform Welcome to My World
- a study of songs, dances and sketches
about life as a teen.
Cost is $200 if pay by 6-15-22.
Just sign up on skit website.
SKIT will stage the musical Hello
Dolly! in April and May at Salem First
Salem Keizer Inspirational Teen
Theatre (SKIT) has opened registration
for its 2022 summer camps.
Kids who have completed 1st-5th
grade will have one of two camps from
which to choose: July 11-16 or July 18-23.
At the end of each week, campers will
perform Disney’s Aladdin. Each camp
Free Methodist Church. Performances
are scheduled for April 29, May 5-6 at 7
p.m. each evening with a 2 p.m. matinee
on Sunday, May 7. There will be a pub-
lic dress rehearsal at 7 p.m. on April 28.
Cost for the rehearsal is $6, available at
the door only.
Tickets range from $6 to $10, available
at the door. Advance tickets can be pur-
chased now at skittheatre.com. There is a
fee of $1 for on line ticket purchases.
Salem First Free Methodist Church is
located 4455 Silverton Rd. NE.
The production is sponsored by
Domino’s Pizza.
will be held from 8 a.m. to noon. Cost is
$125 per attendee if paid by June 15.
There will be a two-week camp for
teens (grades 6 through 12) from July
11 to July 23, from 1 to 5 p.m. each day.
Campers will perform Welcome to My
World, a study of songs, dances and
sketches about life as a teen.
New PAC formed to help Oregon women run for office
BY LYNNE TERRY
Of the Oregon Capital Chronicle
Two legislators retiring from state
service are focused on influencing vot-
ers to put more working women in the
Legislature.
State Reps. Rachel Prusak of Tualatin
and Anna Williams of Hood River,
Democrats and each chairing a House
committee, announced on Tuesday that
they’ve formed a political action commit-
tee to support reform-minded working
women who are running for state office.
They formed 9to5 three weeks ago to
help candidates raise money and cam-
paign. The PAC would help those elected
craft bills and be an effective legislator
while working a full-time job.
“The intention is to be a little differ-
ent,” Williams told the Capital Chronicle.
She said that Democratic candidates
are taught how to be a successful candi-
date but then once they’re elected, they’re
on their own. Williams said they plan to
“fill that gap.”
Williams and Prusak announced in
early March, as the legislative session was
winding down, that they would not seek
re-election because they could not con-
tinue juggling two full-time jobs. Prusak
is a nurse practitioner, and Williams is a
social worker and adjunct professor.
Their decision came after a proposal
failed that would have increased legis-
lator pay from about $33,000 a year to
around $63,000. Representatives and sen-
ators are paid to work part time but the
job is much more demanding.
“There is always something more that
you can do,” Williams said.
Williams chairs the House Human
Services Committee and also has
children, 11 and 14. Prusak chairs the
House Health Care Committee.
Their PAC will support women who
want to reform the Legislature.
“A fair wage is the only way people
with varied backgrounds and life expe-
riences can afford to serve our state,”
Prusak said in a statement. “I don’t
believe that the people of Oregon want
to only be represented by wealthy people
with trust funds and hedge funds. In fact,
I know they don’t – they elected me twice
because of, not in spite of, my working
background.”
Williams added: “Oregonians should
have confidence their legislators know
their struggles and can represent them,
not just the wealthiest among us. We’re
not going anywhere until working peo-
ple can serve in legislatures across the
country without driving themselves to
over-exhaustion, debt, or both.”
The PAC has not reported any contri-
butions yet.
The representatives said that
Democrats support candidates from
diverse backgrounds but have failed to
help them stay in office, including rais-
ing their pay so they don’t have to work
outside the Legislature to support them-
selves and their families.
Some advocacy groups, including
the Coalition of Communities of Color,
the Asian Pacific American Network of
Oregon or APANO, and Basic Rights
Oregon, which advocates for the LGBTQ
community, have concerns that women
and people of color will be impeded from
serving in the Legislator for economic
reasons. Most of the legislators have at
least part-time jobs or careers that allow
them to set their own hours. And some
are retired or have family funds that give
them economic flexibility.
Prusak and Williams said they named
their PAC 9to5 after a Dolly Parton song.
“The song is an anthem that still rings
true today,” they said in a statement.
“You’re in the same boat with a lot of
your friends,” Parton sings. “Launching
ideas you all believe in. The tide’s gonna
turn.”
“We decided to pour ourselves a cup
of ambition and support and mentor the
diverse candidates who will advocate to
modernize the Legislature,” Prusak and
Williams said in their statement.
As a first step, they are supporting five
candidates:
-Jackie Leung, a Salem city councilor
and executive director of the nonprofit
advocacy group Micronesian Islander
Community, is running for House District
19 in Salem.
-Neelan Gupta, vice chair of the Lake
Oswego School Board, is running for
House District 38 covering Lake Oswego.
-Annessa Hartman, a Gladstone city
councilor, is running for House District
40, covering Gladstone.
-Chelsea King, who chairs the West
Linn-Wilsonville School Board, is run-
ning for Senate District 13.
-Wlnsvey Campos, who currently rep-
resents Aloha in the House, is a candidate
for the Senate District 18 in Portland.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of
States Newsroom, a network of news
bureaus supported by grants and a
coalition of donors as a 501c(3) pub-
lic charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle
maintains
editorial
independence.
Contact Editor Les Zaitz for questions:
info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com.
You’re
Invited
Join us on
Facebook
for Breaking
News and
Mid-Week
News Updates
Keizertimes
on