Archives | Keizertimes

Lone Star training? Not quite

Posted by Admin | Feb 4, 2015 | General, Government, News, Top Stories |

By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Officers with the Keizer Police Department will continue going all the way to Dallas to use a firearms range. Before getting pictures of cops in 10-gallon cowboy hats, big badges and a Marc Adams-style drawl, however, relax: it’s the nearby Dallas here in Oregon, not in Texas. The KPD entered into an agreement to use the Dallas Police Department’s police firearms range in the fall of 2012, when Texas native Adams was Keizer’s police chief and John Teague was the police chief in Dallas. Teague took over as chief in Keizer the following fall after Adams retired. A revised agreement between the two cities was unanimously approved during the Jan. 20 Keizer City Council meeting during the consent calendar portion of the meeting. There was no discussion amongst councilors of the agreement or any other parts of the consent calendar. Keizer will pay Dallas $300 a year for use of the firearms range. Discharging of firearms at the range is allowed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. In other council business: • Agreements with several artists were also approved as part of the consent calendar, as a continuation of the Keizer Art Walk Project. The project began in the fall of 2008 when the Keizer Chamber of Commerce placed sculptures at visible places around the city. Chamber leaders selected the...

Celt boys win, warm up slowly in Grizzlies’ Furnace

Posted by Eric Howald | Feb 3, 2015 | McNary, Sports, Top Stories |

By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes From the outset of a varsity basketball game with McMinnville High School, it was clear that McNary High School’s 15-2 team was still getting used to drawing out the best game from every opponent. “We came out and just let their shooters shoot,” said Harry Cavell, a McNary junior. “We need to start listening to the scouting reports because there’s been multiple games where we know there’s a shooter or a slasher and they’ve just killed us with stuff we knew they were going to do.” Despite cramped quarters in the McMinnville gym, dubbed The Furnace, McNary put together a strong second half to win 55-38. It was the Grizzlies’ three-point specialist Joey Chapman who McNary had the most difficulty containing in the first half. Chapman kept McMinnville ahead of the Celtics for nearly five minutes at the start of the game. A three-pointer by Cole Thomas pulled the Celtics ahead 8-6 for the first time in at 2:45 in the first frame. Thomas would prove to be McNary’s most consistent shooter of the night. He went 3 for 3 from the field, 1 for 1 from three-point range and 2 for 2 from the foul line for a total of nine points. McNary trailed by a point at the end of the first quarter, but finished the half up 18-17. In...

KPIC moving forward with history

Posted by Admin | Feb 3, 2015 | General, News, Top Stories |

By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes The recently amended master plan for Keizer Rapids Park includes projects such as the Big Toy playground structure, fields for soccer, softball and volleyball, an indoor sports facility and an expanded trail system. Another possible project: information about historic floods in Keizer. Members of the Keizer Points of Interest Committee (KPIC) met Jan. 20 to discuss a flood history sign project. Information compiled by Brian Hanssen shows floods along the Willamette River in Keizer over the years. Hanssen recommended putting in a sign with markings for the various floods. According to Hanssen’s information, the flood stage is at 23 feet, 8 inches. That mark has been surpassed several times, with the highest level of 47 feet in 1861. Other high marks include 45 feet, 3 inches in 1890 and 44 feet, 5 inches in 1881. There were also floods of 39 feet (1923); 38 feet, 6 inches (1943); 37 feet (1901 and 1964); 36 feet, 5 inches (1903, 1907 and 1945); 35 feet, 1 inch (1996); 35 feet (1946) and 33 feet (1927, 1955 and 1961). “It shows historic flood levels in Keizer,” deputy city recorder Debbie Lockhart told KPIC members. “We don’t have a cost (for the sign), but it’s already been surveyed. I would suggest markings at the (KRP) boat ramp. You’ll be asking council to direct staff to mark the...

Montano turns up heat on Grizzlies

Posted by Eric Howald | Feb 2, 2015 | McNary, Sports, Top Stories |

By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes McNary High School sophomore Jaylene Montano ignited second-half scoring vs. McMinnville High School in a varsity basketball game Friday, Jan. 23. Montano replaced senior Jasmine Ernest who got into foul trouble in the first half, then drained a trio of three-pointers and 3 of 4 from the field to lead Celtic scoring with 16 points in a 47-29 win. “Once that first shot (a three pointer) went in, my confidence went up. From there it was a matter of trying to get out in the open and making sure we ran through our plays aggressively,” Montano said. It was the fourth consecutive win for McNary, and came as the team was about to begin the second round robin of the Greater Valley Conference. The Lady Celts had to wrest back the lead in the game against the Grizzlies in the latter half of the first period on a basket by Kailey Doutt. The bucket put McNary up 6-4. “We started the games getting good looks, but shots we’d been making just weren’t falling. We were trying some new things in our defense that weren’t quite working, but our man-to-man and half-court defense was just outstanding,” said Derick Handley, McNary head coach. “Luckily, it was one of those games where the defense kept us in it while the offense warmed up.” By the...

Chief Teague talks about POP, CRU, stats and more

Posted by Admin | Feb 2, 2015 | General, News, Top Stories |

By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes It’s no secret things are done differently these days at the Keizer Police Department. Chief John Teague feels the changes have been for the better – even if that isn’t always easy to show in numbers. Teague, who took over as Keizer’s police chief in September 2013 following the retirement of Marc Adams, explained his approach and the results thus far during the January West Keizer Neighborhood Association meeting. One of the main emphasis for Teague was talking about a change to problem-oriented policing (POP) and restarting the Community Response Unit (CRU). “Our industry is going to more problem-oriented policing, trying to figure out problems,” Teague said. “For decades we chased the numbers. Just because we make a bunch of arrests doesn’t mean we live in a safe place. When we made safety our goal, we recognized it may be we need to change what we’re doing.” As part of that, Teague has given Lt. Andrew Copeland the authority to go through reports, identify problems and use CRU and patrol resources to solve the problems. Teague said people such as a “crazy guy” on Larry Avenue are being talked to and babysat in an attempt to be ahead of issues, instead of simply responding repeatedly as happened in the past. “It helps the neighbors to feel better,” he said. “We’d rather be ahead...