By GENE H. McINTYRE There is much in this country over which we divide ourselves.  Think guns, abortion, global warming, warring overseas, the environment, conservation, and a whole host of other matters that end-up “heating” people to the boiling point while acts of violence more and more often occur over who’s right. One issue that [...]

By GENE H. MCINTYRE Many older folks will remember the playground ditty of our youth, the one that read, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Names may or may not hurt but the words we use in our daily discourse most certainly can and do. I thought of [...]

By EAMON BISHOP The Keizertimes is a strong proponent of our city, much as Mayor Lore Christopher has a reputation for being a promoter of Keizer as well. The publisher must surely know of the perception held by many citizens that the Keizertimes is, in general, prejudiced in favor of our mayor and her political [...]

By SUSAN ESTRICH It is hard to remember how much better things are in America today than they were four years ago when Barack Obama took the oath of office for the first time. Then, we were in the middle of two raging wars, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Now, one of those [...]

By NICK THOMAS Yet another government conspiracy has apparently surfaced. Recent reports of the current python hunt in the Florida Everglades are being questioned by Python Truthers. The hunt, supposedly organized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove invasive Burmese pythons from the Everglades, has reportedly drawn over a thousand hunters equipped [...]

By SUSAN GAHLSDORF Occasionally we have customers express concerns about the city’s utility billing process and customer service delivery. We take customer concerns seriously, addressing them individually and collectively. The following is a summary of our standard process and of an occurrence recently that was an exception to our normal practices. The city provides its [...]

By LAWRENCE KUDLOW  The worst part of the Jack Lew nomination for treasury secretary is not simply that he has no qualifications, standing or experience in the financial world or international sphere (think G20 and European debt crisis). Nor is it simply that he doesn’t have any seasoned currency opinions (under Obama, the greenback has [...]

By DON VOWELL Our rule around here is, if you read it on the Internet it is true.  The Internet says that if you tell someone your New Year’s resolutions, the resultant sense of accountability helps you feel obliged to keep them.  In that spirit I suggest that we share a national New Year’s resolution.  [...]

By DAVID FIFER On behalf of the Volunteer Coordinating Committee (VCC) I would like to formally apologize to the citizens of Keizer, specifically those who were attendance of the December 13 VCC meeting.  Although absent that meeting (I was out of the country), I feel it is my responsibility as Chairman to do so, after [...]

By DAVID McKANE As we put another year behind us I find myself reflecting on my eight years as a member of the Keizer City Council.  I moved to Keizer in 1990 and consider myself very fortunate to live here.  Although my wife and I both work in Salem, our family enjoys the amenities of [...]