By GENE H. McINTYRE Even a casual observation soon discloses that we humans find it challenging to appreciate the differences between us.  These are sometimes referred to as our biases or our prejudices and seem to abound wherever in this world we wander. The intolerance for differences, it’s argued, can be found in most religions, [...]

Before the Keizer City Council goes too far in setting up a process for policing and punishing its own members regarding public behavior, it needs to slow down—or stop all altogether. Mayor Lore Christopher acknowledges there is no process in place to address wayward behavior or infractions of sitting city councilors. The council passed a [...]

To the Editor: Willful ignorance of racial tension in Oregon’s communities (exhibited perfectly by Gene H. McIntyre’s letter to the editor, Keizertimes, March 15) is a primary reason these tensions do not easily subside. Rather, read the article, titled A Matter of Hate, and consider whether the reported racial concerns exist in ways he had [...]

To the Editor: Keizer Heritage Center would like to shout out a big thank you to a group of Keizer Young Life volunteers who came to the building on Saturday, March 9. They worked in teams and cleaned up the massive amount of tree, shrub and other landscape debris after the two day trimming project [...]

By LAWRENCE KUDLOW  You might not know it from the acrimonious political debate on cable and broadcast TV, or on talk radio, or on websites and blogs. But here’s a counterintuitive observation: Amidst all the negativism out there, I believe optimism is in the air. That’s right. Optimism. Sometimes you have to search for it, [...]

By GENE H. McINTYRE It would seem to require a very long stretch to accept at face value what The Oregonian expected its readers to find persuasive on the basis of objectivity when it printed in its March 13 editorial about a former “prominent” retired Oregon Supreme Court justice’s opinion, who now finds it constitutional [...]

Positioning for business recovery

To the Editor: Keizer resident Steve Prothero was recently elected to the Willamette University Athletic Hall of Fame for his activities as long time coach of the women’s and men’s golf teams. He taught mathematics at Willamette University for 46 years, retiring in 2009. As one of many activities after retirement, he offered his services [...]

To the Editor: To the parents of the McNary High School graduating classes of 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and our community: We need your help. The parents on the McNary Grad Party Committee would like to wrap up our fund raising efforts to provide a drug and alcohol-free graduation party for our seniors. We have [...]

To the Editor: I cannot recall being more surprised at a newspaper’s headline than I was in reaction to the Statesman Journal’s March 9 edition.  There, covering an entire half-page, was a photo of an African-American woman who works for Salem Hospital as its human resources manager, along with a caption in capital letters, “A MATTER OF HATE.” Among my surprises [...]