Author: Matt Rawlings

Teacher turns passion into after school club

Jennedy Garcia Cortez practices kicks in an after school jiu-jitsu program at Weddle Elementary School. Eduardo Rodriguez developed a passion for Brazilian jiu-jitsu when he was a student at Western Oregon University in 2010. Nearly a decade later, he has gotten the chance to share that passion with a group of[Read More…]

Man dies in mobile home fire

A Keizer man perished in a fire that consumed a mobile home off Chemawa Loop Northeast on Sunday, March 3. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. A fire in a Keizer mobile home park claimed the life of a 62-year-old man Sunday, March 3. Keizer firefighters were[Read More…]

McNary falls flat in playoff opener

McNary guard Nate Meithof tries to fake out a South Eugene defender in the Celtics 54-48 first round playoff loss on Thursday night. (KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings) Once you enter the postseason, it’s crucial to bring your A-game, especially when playing on the road. It was clear that McNary didn’t do that[Read More…]

Fire board adds two new faces to budget committee

The Keizer Fire District Board of Directors held their monthly meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19 to discuss the addition of two new members of the budget committee, as well as other business. There were three applicants for the two open spots: Ali Rasouli, Patti Tischer and Elliot Groeneveld. All three[Read More…]

Pastor finds brotherhood in mentoring

Tim Davis has been the community pastor at Church on the Hill in Keizer for 12 years now. But back in 2015, Davis felt the need to expand his ministry. After meeting weekly with two of his friends, Davis came to the conclusion that there was a need in the[Read More…]

McNary falls just short against South Salem

McNary post Boston Smith (30) beats South Salem’s Trey Galbraith off the dribble and looks to score. (KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings) Back on Jan. 31, the McNary boys basketball pulled off the upset of the year in the Mountain Valley Conference, knocking off second-ranked South Salem 59-57 — giving the Saxons their[Read More…]

Celtics can’t overcome poor fourth quarter

McNary guard Kennedy Buss desperately tries to find a teammate after getting trapped in the corner in the Celtics 53-40 loss to South Salem. (KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings) For three quarters, the McNary girls basketball team practically played even with South Salem — who won the Mountain Valley Conference regular season title.[Read More…]

Parra and Burrows represent McNary at state

Gilbert Parra (blue singlet) fights for position in his opening match of the tourney. (KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings) After each placing third in their respective divisions at the Mountain Valley Conference District Tournament, both Grady Burrows and Gilbert Parra were thrilled to be representing McNary High School at the state wrestling meet[Read More…]

Fight for literacy

File Coming into the school year, administration at McNary High School knew that they were getting a high volume of incoming ninth graders that weren’t reading at grade level — roughly 45 percent of the freshman class.  During the first semester, McNary offered literacy tutorials for students that needed remedial[Read More…]

Celts wrestlers battle at district meet

McNary’s Ivan Vallejo (blue singlet) tries to bring his opponent to the mat in the first round of the 145-pound bracket. (KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings) The McNary wrestling team had 24 kids compete in the Mountain Valley Conference District Meet last weekend (Friday, Feb. 15 and Sat. Feb. 16) at Sprague High School.[Read More…]