Our Town North: Sept. 15, 2023

$1,750,000

Single level home 3 bd. 3ba. + income producing daycare facility, $4K monthly lease income plus 3.12 acres buildable parcel zoned AR. 6868 Cascade Hwy NE, Silverton.

$1,350,000

Private Estate on 31.32 acres, 5 bd, 2ba. 2562 sq. ft. Timber framed home, Greenhouses, Timber. 5952 Peaks View RD NE Scotts Mills 97375. MLS#808546

$998,000

40.83 acres, 3 bedrooms, 1 ba. lodge style home, 24x48 shop with water & power. 20 yr. plus timber, borders BLM. Seller contract. 20739 Hazelnut Ridge Rd. NE, Scotts Mills. MLS#802816

$899,000

Creek front Estate on 1.040 acres. 3 bd, 2.5 ba. granite kitchen counters, hardwood floors, open floor plan, shop bldg. 17576 Abiqua Rd. NE, Silverton. MLS#808202

$645,000

3.85 acres. Prestige Estate property, path of progress potential. 835 Grouse St. NE, Silverton. Sellers will consider carrying a contract

MLS#770597

$595,000

120.50 Acres, Recreation or Timber land, Reprod Timber, road system, Ideal for RV/ Campsite. Maple Grove, Molalla. MLS#802319

$335,000

S. Abiqua Rd. Silverton, Beautiful, buildable creek front homesite on 1.310 acres. MLS#806097

$550,000

4.65 acres, 2 parcels. Ideal for agriculture development. EFU zoning. Seller will carry a contract. Monitor Road, Silverton. MLS#807519

$335,000

S. Abiqua Rd. Silverton, Beautiful, buildable creek front homesite on 1.420 acres. MLS#806096

$499,000

Dual living, log home, 3bd. 2 ba. & MFG home with 3bd. 1.5 ba., on 1.06 ac parcel, sm. wood shop/ garden shed. 215 Fourth St., Scotts Mills MLS#804645

$285,000

$799,000

Investors, 64.41 acres, 3 adjoining homesites, 2 @ 5 acres, 1 @ 54 acres. Kingston-Lyons Dr., Stayton. MLS#788228

$335,000

Under Contract S. Abiqua RD Silverton, Beautiful, buildable creek front homesite on 1.350 acres. MLS#806095

$325,000

2 acres buildable homesite, views! Approved for standard septic. Water well installed. 7685 Dovich Ln SE, Turner. MLS#778883

3.080 acres, private building site in city limits, maybe dividable. SW exposure. Standard Ave., Brownsville. MLS#777782

$127,500

Under Contract Buildable residential lot, 7650 sq. ft. Property has iconic water tower located on it. 617 Keene Ave. Silverton. MLS#802507

Silverton High School Alumni Association

25th Annual Alumni & Friends Reunion Party Gold Sponsor

Thank You to Our Sponsors and Our Supporters!

Silver Sponsors THE HOME PLACE RESTAURANT OUR TOWN / MT. ANGEL PUBLISHING, INC.

Bronze Sponsors

CITIZENS BANK • HARTLEY INSURANCE PACIFIC SANITATION, INC.

Door Prizes donated by Allen Chiropractic Wellness Center • Judy Nunn

Silverton Eyecare • Thai Dish • Patti Tischer • Wilco

A special Thank You to an Alumnus from the Class of 1961 who donated a three-night stay at a Sunriver condo for the prize drawing

Congratulations to the Class of 1967 for winning first place in the 2023 Class Challenge by collecting the most money from their classmates. A scholarship in the amount of $1,000 will be awarded next year to a graduate of the class of 2024 in the name of the Class of 1967. Second place was won by the Class of 1960 for a scholarship in the amount of $750 and third place was won by the Class of 1961 for a $500 scholarship. Thank you to all alumni who donated to the Class Challenge!

SHSAA would like to thank the Wooden Nickel Catering for serving a delicious buffet dinner, the Mt. Angel Festhalle for the use of their facilities and the staff at Silverton Realty for their assistance with ticket sales.

Additional thanks go out to the Silverton High School FBLA for setting up the tables and chairs before the event and returning following the event to help cleanup and put away the tables and chairs.

Mark your calendars to join us next year on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 for our 26th annual event.

OAKtober Silverton set to celebrate, save, oaks

By James Day

Silverton is celebrating the venerable oak tree during September and October, or OAKtober, as Sustainable Silverton organizers are calling it.

“OAKtober is a month-long celebration of oak trees in Silverton, of their history and what they do for us, and how we can help them, so we have them to enjoy now and in the future,” noted organizers in a press release.

Attaching new urgency to the effort for organizers was the loss of oak trees during the 2021 ice storm. Almost all of the Willamette Valley natural oak habitat has been lost since European settlement and “understanding this history is valuable for Silverton,” organizers said.

Between now and the end of October residents are encouraged to be on the lookout for Silverton’s largest oak, with girth and biomass the key metrics. Rewards are being offered for the biggest finds. See oaktober.org for competition rules and an entry form.

Two work parties also have been set to help preserve oaks and oak habitat. Both events are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Volunteers are needed to remove invasive ivy, blackberry and holly from oaks at the south end of Old Mill Park near Salamander Island and Cowing Street. This is the second work party for this region. The goal is to free the oaks and native perennials persisting under the ivy and blackberries.

Participants are encouraged to wear long pants, and long sleeves and bring gloves, pickaxes, shovels and clippers. The second work party will target ivy at the oak grove near the skate park and the Silverton Senior Center. Participants will remove a segment of ivy vines from the base of each oak tree in the grove. This will kill the aerial, fruiting ivy. A later event will kill the ivy roots and

Public invited to meet city manager finalists

By James Day

Silverton residents have an opportunity to meet the three finalists for city manager with a Monday, Sept. 18 meet-andgreet session 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Silverton Senior Center, 115 Westfield St.

Silverton is seeking to replace chief administrative officer Ron Chandler, who left the city in May to retire to Utah.  Members of the public will be able to ask the candidates questions and submit feedback to the council via comment cards.

The three finalists were winnowed by the City Council from 27 original applicants at executive sessions on Aug. 21 and Aug. 28. Councilors hired Scott Dadson of the MidWillamette Valley Council of Governments to conduct the search.

The finalists are:

Ben Burgener: For the past four years Burgener has been the city administrator of Stanfield, a 2,000-population town in Umatilla County in Eastern Oregon. Previously he served as city manager in Ada, Minnesota. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University, including a Master of Public Administration. Burgener also worked as a finance and administrative services manager for the Utah Department of Transportation.

other invasives. Volunteers should wear long pants and long sleeves and bring gloves, pruning saws, large, long screwdrivers and clippers. Still to be scheduled is a later October event in which participants can learn how to grow their own oak tree at a session in the grove north of Mark Twain School.

Go to oaktober.org for more information or email OAKeeper.org@gmail.com.

Mount Angel Chief Mark Daniel appointed to state board

Mount Angel Police Chief Mark Daniel has been chosen for the Oregon Board on Public Safety Standards & Training, which helps set policy on law enforcement instruction and certification.

Gov. Tina Kotek announced Daniel’s appointment Aug. 31 among a slate of appointees to state boards. The Senate Committee on Rules is expected to vote on confirmation in late September.

Mount Angel Mayor Pete Wall said he was very pleased to hear of Daniel’s appointment and said it reflected well on the city and its chief.

“It is a testament to [Daniel’s] credibility as a member of the law enforcement community in Oregon,” said

Wall. “Beyond that, I think it’s essential that there is representation on the board from smaller Oregon communities.”

Wall added he is confident Daniel will help fulfill the board’s mission to hold Oregon police officers to high standards.

Daniel became police chief in 2017 after a 31-year career in law enforcement at agencies including City of Sherwood, Port of Portland and City of Salem. He is also city manager for Mount Angel, a fire captain for the St. Paul Fire District, and a vice president for the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police.

– Stephen Floyd

Will Ibershof: Ibershof is currently chief operating officer of KSR Healthcare. From 2018 until earlier this summer he was city administrator for Sultan, Washington, a town of 4,650 about 25 miles east of Everett. His municipal government service began in 2001 when he became a council member for Duvall, Washington, a city of about 8,000 just east of Seattle. He served as mayor of Duvall from 2005-2017, while working professionally for Cherry Valley Associates as a consultant and as a public sector manager for Waste Management. Ibershof has a bachelor’s in communications from the University of Puget Sound and a master’s in public administration from the University of Washington.

Cory Misley: Misley is a project manager for Oregon solutions with the National Policy Consensus Center at Portland State University. He previously served for three years plus as city manager in Sisters and as city manager for La Pine. He also served one year in Washington, D.C., as an apprentice with the Center for Sustainable Communities. Misley earned a bachelor’s in political science and psychology from Portland State and master’s in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Sept. 18 will be a busy day for the candidates. In addition to the public session, they will receive a tour of the city and meet with two interview panels, one consisting of the city councilors and the other the city’s department heads.

The City Council plans to meet in an executive season on Thursday, Sept. 21, for its final deliberations.

It’s almost impossible to see the oak trees for the ivy in the grove near the Silverton Skatepark. Volunteers will be removing ivy from the trees on Oct. 7 as part of OAKtober celebrations in town. JAMES DAY

Challenges

By James Day

Silverton Senior Center seeking help from city, community

Like many nonprofits, the Silverton Senior Center still is trying to recover from COVID-19.

Use of the center dropped during the pandemic, and memberships declined as well. The center also was forced to close its Revamp Store, which had been bringing in a needed $2,000 per month by selling used items.

Now, the center board reports it is losing $5,000 per month and it is appealing to the community and the city for assistance.

The good news is that an anonymous donor has promised to match any community donations up to $50,000 through the end of the year. To make the matching funds a reality, the Center has issued an appeal for help to the community via its website and Facebook page.

“We are writing to let you know that the Silverton Senior Center is in jeopardy and we need your help,” reads the first paragraph of the note from Jenny Ohren, board president.

“While the Board of Directors continues to pursue alternative income sources, the reality is that most of these are medium to long term and will not develop to provide the immediate relief necessary. The only available course is a direct appeal to the community.”

The Senior Center receives revenue from three main sources:

How to help match those funds

To assist the Silverton Senior Center earn its $50,000 matching fund challenge go to https://silvertonseniors.org/index.html and hit the blue donate button or call 503-873-3093.

memberships, donations and sponsorships. Memberships currently are $48 per year ($24 for veterans). Board member Terry Brandon told Our Town that “even if we raised that fee $10 it just wouldn’t raise enough. And I don’t want to see us do that to our members.”

“And $48 is a lot for some people,” said Ohren, who met with Our Town along with Brandon and Dodie Brockamp, the center’s executive director since February 2012. The center currently has reserves that will allow it to absorb the monthly losses – for now.

“Two years from now at this rate and we would reach a critical stage,” Brandon said. “Four years would exhaust us. We’ve got a good, solid community out there. We just need to let them know about what we need.”

“This town is great at support,” Brockamp said. The center currently has 580 members, with Brockamp noting that memberships have picked up now that the

COVID challenge has been reduced. Also, the center has lowered the membership age to 50.

Complicating matters is that the building, which is owned by the city, is in need of heating and ventilation (HVAC) and solar panel repairs. The center and the city disagree on who is responsible for repairs to the building, which the center rents for $1 per year.

“It is hard for us to fund repairs,” Brandon said. “The city needs to step up and fix the building.”

Senior Center officials have appeared twice in front of the Silverton Council in recent months, requesting assistance, but Mayor Jason Freilinger told Our Town “the details of the assistance they were needing for building maintenance were not clearly articulated.

“This type of expenditure needs to go before the budget committee. The existing agreement between the Senior Center and the city is that the city, urban renewal funding, and grants provided the building and that the Senior Center would be self-sustaining. This included the Senior Center maintaining the building.

“I believe the council and budget committee as a whole need to discuss the implications of this significant increase in financial obligations the city would be taking on by agreeing to this [request].”

Coming soon Nutcracker auditions Sept. 23

By Melissa Wagoner

Growing up, Marta Hazekamp performed nearly every role in the Unger Academy of Ballet’s annual production of The Nutcracker – and she loved it.

“Then as a teenager, the Salem Ballet Association [now disbanded] partnered with Eugene Ballet Co. and hosted the children’s roles so that kids from all over the valley could dance with professionals on stage,” Hazekamp recalled. “This was an invaluable experience for me and others, and in fact, later became my first professional ballet dancing contract.”

But it was far from her last. Instead, Hazekamp went on to dance professionally in both Portland and New York before returning to her hometown of Silverton where she opened her own dance studio – first under the name American Academy of Performing Arts for 13 years, then as Revolutionary Dance and Performance Co., now in its fourth year. But she never forgot the impact The Nutcracker had on her as a child.

Everyone welcome to join in

Open auditions Saturday, Sept. 23

Revolutionary Dance & Movement Co.

118 Brown St. Studio B, Silverton

All ages, genders, sizes and abilities welcome. Preregistration encouraged: Facebook.com/ RevolutionaryDance

“The Nutcracker is a holiday performance that many families see annually as a tradition,” she said.

“It’s often a child’s first exposure to ballet, and because it has fun, diverse music, cultures, and characters throughout the storyline, it appeals to all ages. I saw this as an opportunity to bring important exposure to dance of all ages for our community.”

And so, she set out to bring The Nutcracker back to Silverton, initially including 25 community members of all ages and abilities in 2021, then, in 2022, more than doubling that number to include 55.

“[I]nstead of just opening it up to local dancers, I wanted to welcome anyone and everyone,” Hazekamp said. “One of the most important things that the performing arts can do is bring people together. I felt we needed to create a new opportunity to grow healthy relationships and connections

in our community.”

And it’s happening again! On Sept. 23 Revolutionary Dance will once again hold open auditions to anyone interested in being a part of this year’s show, which will likely take place in mid-December on the stage at Silverton High School.   Hazekamp encourages anyone interested to pre-register via a link, which can be accessed via any of the studio’s social media pages. “We are too big to do paper registrations anymore so it’s now electronic,” Hazekamp said. But it will still be just as welcoming.

“This isn’t a stuffy experience,” she said. “The auditions aren’t to weed people out – everyone who auditions gets a role! – it’s for me to see the abilities and how many cast members I have to work with, how many costumes we have, etc... I choreograph to the needs and abilities of those I have to work with. You would not be made to do something that you couldn’t do. It’s a time commitment, but it’s so fun and totally worth it. [P]erformers to tell me afterward how sad they are that it’s over. They make new friends and look forward to rehearsals each week. It brings light to their souls at the darkest part of the year.”

Actors, carolers needed for Ebenezer

The Brush Creek Playhouse is holding auditions for its holiday production, Ebenezer, A Ghost Story of Christmas, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ ”A Christmas Carol.”

The show, adapted by Michael Wood, runs Dec. 1 – 17 at Brush Creek, 11535 Silverton Road NE.

Brush Creek auditions for the show are on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m., although director Norman Gouveia said that the playhouse probably still will need actors and actresses after that date.

Gouveia also said the playhouse will be seeking carolers as well as actors and that both adult and child actors are being sought.

Rehearsals are scheduled to begin Oct. 11. Contact Gouveia at normanjr1@msn.com or 503-871-6788 for more information.

Grange holds hoedown, concert

Silverton Grange is hosting the Inaugural Grange Hoedown and Concert Series on Sunday, Oct. 1, to help pay for needed heating, ventilation and air conditioning work.

The event had been scheduled for earlier this summer but was postponed because of the heat wave.

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. for the open mike signups, with the music set to start at 6:30 p.m. The Silverton band The Crying Omas, which is donating its performance, goes on at 7:45 p.m.

The event also features dancing, popcorn and non-alcoholic drinks. Organizers are asking for sliding-scale donations of between $5 and $20. Those under 18 will be admitted free.

The Grange is at 201 Division St. For more information go to its Facebook page at https:// www.facebook.com/events/3102451273232545/ or email sustainablesilverton@gmail.com.

– James Day

The Nutcracker staged by Revolutionary Dance & Movement Co. in 2022. SUBMITTED

Neighbors in support of SFSD school bond

Dear Editor:

We are three moms in the Silver Falls School District. As we are getting our kids – 10 between us – ready for school this fall, chief on our “School Supplies List” is a big YES for the Silver Falls School District Bond on the November 2023 ballot!

Like many families in our district, we send our beloved kiddos off every day to the care of wonderful teachers and administrators, knowing full well that the buildings they are teaching in need HUGE repairs or, in the case of Silverton Middle School, total replacement.

There are too many unsecured entrances, too many roofs that leak, too many windows that don’t work, and too many areas that regularly flood. All of our school staff work so hard to provide the safest, most welcoming spaces they can, given the challenges they have, and we appreciate it. So how do we show it?

By voting YES on the Bond.

Along with making sure our kids are fed, healthy, clothed, and prepared

for school, we have formed a political action committee to encourage all of our neighbors to vote YES on this bond, so that our community can come together in support of maintaining our excellent schools through the bond process. Together, we can bring $138 million worth of improvements to our community, strengthening our schools for the next generation and beyond. And if we pass the bond, the State of Oregon will provide another $4 million in grants to our district.

We encourage every voter to check out the district’s Bond Website (https:// bond.silverfallsschools.org/) for detailed information about the history of this bond, and the exciting projects that can happen if we all come together to support our schools. Watch for more information from Silver Falls Neighbors for Schools in the coming weeks.

Have a great school year, everyone!

Sincerely, Celeste Richardson, Leah Rue, and Hilary Dumitrescu Silver Falls Neighbors for Schools PAC Committee

Lions Club thanks breakfast supporters

The Silverton Lions Club 75th annual Harvest Breakfast was a great success. Our thanks to Boy Scout Troup 7485 for their help during the two-day event. The Scouts traditionally volunteer to help us, a true recognition of the spirit of Scouts and their leadership.

We would also like to thank the following businesses that joined us to celebrate, providing gift cards for our free drawing: Oso Spanish Mediterranean Restaurant, Water Mountain Restaurant, Heavenly Yogurt, Beloved Cheesecake, Fin & Fowl,

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$1,499,900 Custom Built 3bd/3.5ba~3558 SF~ 2 AC~ Living room opens up to elegant outdoor bonus room & decks~ Sunrise & sunset views from the decks~Oversized 3 car garage~ Silverton~ Robin Kuhn 503-930-1896 MLS#801214

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If you are interested in joining Lions or in volunteering, contact Tomina Wolff, 503873-2033.

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3bd/1ba~2040 SF~ 74.94 Acres~ Stunning South-facing views of Abiqua Valley~Metal roof~ 2 small ponds~ 22 AC of Nekia soils~ 52+ acres of forestland replanted in 2020~ Shop built in 2020 permitted for future living~ Scotts Mills~ Jackson Sherwood 971-343-2475 MLS#807702

$650,000 Amazing open floor plan! 3bd/2ba~ 2508 SF~ Bonus room could be 4th bedroom if closet is added~Views from living room~Two separate living areas~ Silverton~ Robin Kuhn 503-930-1896 MLS#806675

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$462,000 Charming home ~4bd/2ba~ 1672 SF ~ Single story w/ finished attic bedroom~ Near Silver Creek, library & downtown~ Large patio~ Nice sideyard & landscape~ Home has a lot of storage~ Silverton~ Robin Kuhn 503-930-1896 MLS#808600

$425,000 New Listing! Single level home located in one of Mt. Angel’s most desirable neighborhoods~3bd/2ba~ 1159 SF~ Well maintained~ Home is move in ready! Mt. Angel~ Cynthia Johnson 503-551-0145 MLS#808387

$269,900 New Listing! .51 ac buildable lot in desirable West Salem neighborhood~ Buyer will need to provide their own septic service required by city/county~ Salem~ Valerie Boen 503-871-1667 MLS#809200

Order up Lou’s Kitchen reinvigorates revered space

By Stephen Floyd

A familiar venue will have a new feel this Oktoberfest in Mount Angel after Scott and Kristi Stokley moved Lou’s Kitchen beneath the glockenspiel in the Edelweiss Village Building.

The iconic clocktower stands in the center of town on E. Charles Street, with wooden figures revolving four times daily.

The venue beneath once housed The Glockenspiel Restaurant & Pub, which served traditional German-style food until it closed earlier this year.

Lou’s Kitchen may serve a more American-style menu, but it still reflects a Mount Angel tradition, say the Stokleys.

The restaurant is named after Kristi Stokley’s father Lou Beneke, who ran Angel’s Tabel in Mount Angel with wife Elna Beneke from 1976 to 1989. In addition to bearing Lou’s name, the menu features old favorites from Angel’s Table such as the farmer’s breakfast, the Angel Burger and homemade clam chowder every Friday. This throwback to family reinforces the Stokley’s goal for Lou’s Kitchen of creating a space that feels warm and welcoming.

“We want it to be homey,” said Kristi. “Even though the interior looks fancy, we just want it to be casual and family and homey.”

Lou’s Kitchen first opened in 2022 down the street from its new location. It quickly outgrew the space. The kitchen was only large enough for simple meals and they were only open for breakfast and lunch, and now they can offer a larger variety of dishes and a full dinner menu.

The new location also features the talents of the Stokleys’ son, Derek Stokley, who has spent 20 years as a trained chef and is now the lead cook. Scott said this will improve both the menu and the cohesive family feel of the restaurant.

“Being able to bring him into the family business is great,” said Scott. “He offers some of that culinary expertise back in the kitchen.”

And the Stokleys are no strangers to the glockenspiel, as for years Scott has been in charge of its maintenance through the Mt. Angel Community Foundation.

He said Lou’s Kitchen will not impact this iconic exterior to the building, while he will continue overseeing the care of the glockenspiel with plans to soon refurbish the statues.

Lou’s Kitchen joins other thriving ventures the Stokleys have undertaken, including specialty clothing store Touch of Bavaria and holiday retailer Angel Mountain Christmas. On top of that they own a realty business, and helped found Discover Mount Angel earlier this year. Scott said they are comfortable with this many irons in the fire but do not have plans for new undertakings in the near future. He said community support has been a significant reason the Stokleys have been able to take on so much, and one of the easons they keep investing in Mount Angel.

“We probably could take our retail business to a bigger city and get more business, but this is our home and we’ll bring them our way, bring them to Mount Angel,” he said.

Scott and Kristi Stokley, proprietors of Lou’s Kitchen in Mount Angel. STEPHEN FLOYD

End of an era Mt. Angel Drug to close at end of September

By James Day

Mt. Angel Drug, that venerable local institution at the corner of Main and Charles streets, is closing its doors at the end of the month.

Jack Holt owns Mt. Angel Drug and 24 Hi-School Pharmacy locations.He said that the loss of the Mount Angel outlet’s contract with Providence Health and other structural changes have made the business ”just not viable.”

“I do not feel good about it,” Holt told Our Town. “I was a pharmacist there for years and my daughter worked there as well. These are our customers and that means so much more in a tight-knit town like Mount Angel.”

Holt bought the Mount Angel operation in 1998 from Fred Parkinson, who had owned and operated the store since 1968. Financial challenges for the outlet began about 10 years ago when Providence Health terminated its contract with Mt. Angel Drug.

Mt. Angel Drug hosts customer ‘Thank You’

Friday, Sept. 29

Cake and refreshments will be served throughout the day. The pharmacy is open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m.

Benedictine Nursing Home. When Providence Health decided to terminate its contract… the store lost about 50 percent of its business.”

Managers (PBMs) as well as the push by them for patients to use mail order.”

“For most of its time operating as a pharmacy,” Holt said in a press release, “[Mt. Angel Drug] served both retail customers as well as long-term care patients in its capacity of being the pharmacy provider for the Providence

Also lost was the speed and efficiency with which Mt. Angel Drug could serve nursing home customers. Providence began using its own pharmacy in Portland, “but we could take care of it in five minutes,” Holt said in the Our Town interview.

Another key factor, Holt said, was the “continuing erosion of reimbursements to pharmacies by Pharmacy Benefit

Holt is working with Oregon’s congressional delegation on federal legislation to address the PBM issue, and he plans to visit with them in Washington in the coming weeks. Over the years Holt has reduced staff in Mount Angel, with the employee roster down from five to two. Both employees will be transferred to other Hi-School Pharmacy locations, Holt said. Prescription accounts will be moved to Hi-School Pharmacy’s Silverton location. Holt is hosting a thank you event for customers on Friday, Sept. 29, the store’s last day. See the information box for details.

“While it was an extremely difficult decision to come to, we want to thank the people of Mount Angel for their support and friendship over the past several decades,” Holt said in the press release. “We look forward to continuing to serve their needs in Silverton.”

Mt. Angel Drug on Main Street. JAMES DAY

Share your ‘Aloha’ spirit at Senior Center Maui benefit

On Saturday, Sept. 23 the Silverton Senior Center will host a fundraising benefit for those who lost everything in the Maui disaster.

There will be a silent auction, including professional art donated for the event and many other unique items. Tropical refreshments will be served, plus hula dancing and lessons.

Doors open at 12:30 p.m., with live music from 1- 4 p.m. by Ukulele Jo-Jo’s, Keith & Amy Amano and others to be announced.

Suggested admission donation is from $10 – and upward!

All proceeds go directly to families, in collaboration with People’s Fund of Maui, a tax deductible relief fund.

Those who cannot attend but would like to donate art items or money, contact the Silverton Senior Center at 503-873-3093. Mahalo.

Solid ground Robert Frost Elementary regroups

By Melissa Wagoner

After nine administrators in only three years, the staff and students at Robert Frost Elementary School are looking forward to some much-needed stability.

“I’ve never seen a situation like that,” Jamie McCarty –the school’s new principal – said of the unprecedented turnover rate. “The staff is really looking for consistency and normalcy.”

But first new policies and procedures must be established because, not only has Robert Frost endured years of administrative change, but three years ago the school was reconfigured to serve grades K-5 with new boundary lines.

“It’s a new school,” McCarty said. He spent the past nine years as the principal of both Victor Point and Evergreen. “So now the question is, what are our new traditions, new culture and new climate?”

To begin finding the answers to those questions, McCarty began getting acquainted with the staff and students before the previous school year ended, in April 2023.

“I’m really glad the transition happened last year because I saw how the school operates,” McCarty said. “It gave me clarity for what to do here and we left for summer feeling really good.”

But the summer was by no means a vacation. Kicking things off by hiring 18 new staff members – including a bilingual kindergarten instructor – McCarty also implemented new reading and math curricula, new arrival and departure procedures and a new master schedule.

“Our master scheduling committee did a phenomenal job,” he said. “They came in during the summer and hashed it out, having really tough conversations.”

In the end, the school’s staff were able to make numerous changes that they hope will benefit all students, including

larger, 90-minute literacy blocks and 60-minute math blocks along with library, PE and music class every day.

“We also increased lunch from 20 to 30 minutes,” McCarty said, describing the way staggering the lunch schedule should enable students to enjoy a longer, quieter lunch with fewer behavior issues.

And speaking of behavior issues, that was another topic Robert Frost’s staff sought to address during the summer’s work sessions.

“Since COVID the district has taken a real hit and I think Robert Frost has felt it more than anywhere,” McCarty said of the subsequent drop in academic achievement that has corresponded with an increase in behavior issues during the past three years.

“Kids are coming in trauma-induced and struggling. We want to get back to proper behavior.”

To do so, the administration has taken several steps including the addition of 15 cameras located in and around the building and the creation of a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports team (PBIS) that they hope will help to both unite and enforce school-wide expectations.

“They’re the ones that develop lessons about behavior and school unity,” McCarty said of the cohort, which will be aided by both a Leadership team and a Culture and Climate team.

It’s a lot of change in a short period of time, but McCarty sees it as necessary for the school to achieve lasting stability.

“I want to give the staff the year they deserve… where they can look back and say, it was the best school year,” he said.

“I want it to be a school filled with positivity and excitement. I want them to be excited about coming to school. I want everyone to feel like they can’t wait to come to work.

“The mission has never been this big… And I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited.”

Countryside of Maui. © ADMAARTINEZ / 123RF.COM

JFK, St. Mary’s get new principals

By Stephen Floyd

Students in the Mt. Angel School District were greeted by new faces at John F. Kennedy High School and St. Mary’s Public School after both received new principals over the summer.

Jessica Brenden, formerly with the Oregon Association of Education Service Districts, joins as JFK principal, while former Molalla River School District administrator Kathleen French is now principal at St. Mary’s.

MASD Superintendent Rachel Stucky said she is confident in the skills of Brenden and French and their willingness to connect with the community.

“We are so fortunate to have principals coming in that show their passion, show their joy and are highly committed to their vocation and serving others,” Stucky told Our Town

The positions became open after former JFK Principal Dale Pedersen retired over the summer and former St. Mary’s Principal Jasmine Winslow became a regional director for college prep firm AVID.

Pedersen had been with MASD since 2018 after former JFK Principal Sean Aker resigned. Winslow had been with MASD for 22 years, including 15 years teaching first grade at St. Mary’s.

Brenden was hired in July from her position as program administrator for the Oregon Association of Education Service Districts. She has 10 years of experience as a principal in the Salem-Keizer School

District, most recently at Hallman Elementary School, in Salem. French was hired in August from the Molalla River School District, where she served as director of teaching and learning for the last five years. Before this she served as principal at Clarkes Elementary School, in Mulino.

With these two hires, all head administrators in MASD have joined since the COVID-19 pandemic, including Stucky in 2021 and Mt. Angel Middle School Principal Jeff Taylor in 2022. Stucky said these turbulent years helped reaffirm that a community and its students should be the focus of education.

“Respect the community that you serve and listen to them, and respond to what they tell you,” she said.

“In Mt. Angel that’s particularly true. This is a community with a lot of pride and they have a lot to be proud about.”

All-abilities playground project delayed

The all-abilities playground project in Silverton’s Old Mill Park has been delayed because of concrete work that still needs to be scheduled.

Mayor Jason Freilinger noted that city officials and the Silverton Rotary Club, which are teaming up on the project, had hoped to complete the facility so it could be used during the Homer Davenport Community Festival and the Silverton Arts Festival.

“Our original plan was to be done by Aug. 1 for Homer Days, but we just could not hit that target date,” Freilinger told Our Town. “The project has been a little delayed waiting on pouring the concrete. After that cures,

we can pour the special rubber-like surface.”

No information was available as to when the facility would be open to the public.

The $380,000 project is being paid for by city parks system development charges, community and Rotary fundraising and urban renewal funds.  The playground features multiple wheelchair-accessible amenities, strength-building components and musical elements and aims to foster use by as broad a group of users as possible.

Jessica Brenden. STEPHEN FLOYD

Kathleen French

– James Day

A look at the under-construction all-abilities playground in Old Mill Park in Silverton. Some of the important concrete work has since been done. JAMES DAY

George David Hofmann

March 16, 1968 – Aug. 25, 2023

George Hofmann left this world on Aug. 25, 2023. He was a light in this world that made all those that met him, love him. He never met a stranger, he made everyone laugh and he is probably entertaining all of our loved ones in heaven.

George was born on March 16, 1968 in New Liskeard, Ontario, Canada. He spent a lot of his young life moving around with his family at new power plant start ups. He lived in so many states, from New York, Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska and Montana just to name a few. The family created so many memories moving and living all over. He moved to Southern California and graduated from Tustin High School where he was on the swim team and earned an academic decathlon. He loved sailing his dad’s sailboat to Catalina. George worked many jobs from welding in Las Vegas when he was 21 to telemarketing, but he loved being a waiter where his personality for entertaining shined.

George met Linda on her 26th birthday and got down on one knee and sang her ‘Happy Birthday.’ Six months later they started dating. George and Linda were inseparable and soon moved to Arizona to go to college. They took all their classes together and served on the student government with George taking a fitting role of public relations. They moved to Oregon to complete their degree and graduated with honors from Portland State.

George found work at Bonneville Power Administration as a contracting officer. Following in the family footsteps of energy – it was a perfect fit and he was honored to be a civil servant. George and Linda married in 2003 at the First Christian Church in Silverton and built house in Ridgefield, Washington. He retired in 2005. George and Linda moved back to Silverton in 2022.

George loved music of all kinds. He loved to attend concerts, go to movies and travel. He has left an impression on everyone in his life and a place in our hearts forever.

George is survived by his wife, Linda Hofmann (Heide) of Silverton, his father Ray Hofmann of San Juan Capistrano, California; his mother, Janet Queen of Scotts Bluff, Nebraska; sister and brother-in-law, Leslie and John Huff of Mission Viejo, California; sister and brother-in-law, Deena and Hugh Bartlett of Sterling, Colorado; aunt, Carrye Meints and David of Filley, Nebraska; his nephew, Nick Walgren and family Peggy, Justin, George and Ricky of Gulfport, Mississippi; nieces, Rachel Rendon, Matt, Royal and John of Huntington Beach, California; niece, Julia McGaughey of Austin, Texas; niece, Kathrine Huff and nephew Alex Huff of Mission Viejo; and many great nephews. The rest of his family includes mother-in-law, Darlene Huddleston; nephew, Chris Ward and family Shelby, Taylor and Zander; brother-in-law, Ray Huddleston and Carla; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Sharon and Michael Ward. His nieces also include Alyse Camarda, Carole Allred, Kathryn Huber, Renee Jenson and Jacqueline Maltman, and all his great nephews, great nieces and his many friends.

George is preceded in death by his grandparents, Walt and Pat Queen, and his Uncle Ace Queen of Lisco, Nebraska and nephew, Justin Walgren of Gulfport, Mississippi.

The family would like to thank family and friends for all the support and love. Your hugs, flowers, help and everything has meant more than you know.

Hank Hohn Feb. 12, 1939 – Aug. 22, 2023

Hank Hohn passed away Aug. 22, 2023 at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, after sustaining a head injury from a fall two weeks prior to his death.

Hank was born Feb. 12, 1939, in San Diego, California to Margaret and Henry Hohn Sr. He grew up in San Diego with three brothers and five sisters, graduated from high school and attended two years of junior college. Hank spent two years on active duty, during the Vietnam War, stationed at Fort Erwin, California and Wildflecken, Germany.

Hank married his beloved, Marilyn, three months after returning to the U.S. from Germany and they lived in Burbank, California where he worked for Oro Wheat Bakery baking bread.

Hank and Marilyn moved to Silverton, Oregon, where he continued working for Oro Wheat. Hank became a journeyman carpenter, his craftsmanship can be found in many local landmarks including the

Marion Street Bridge and Candelaria Mall in Salem.

Hank also owned his own general contracting firm for 10 years. He built the home he and Marilyn lived in for more than four decades.

He was very active in his faith community at St. Paul Catholic Church, where he was a parishioner for 57 years. Hank was a member of the fraternal order of the Knights of Columbus and built the Knights’ Oktoberfest booth.

Hank is survived by his wife, Marilyn; son, Henry Hohn III (wife Jennifer, and grandchildren Margaret, Henry IV, Samuel, and Andrew); and daughter, Jeanine Hohn (partner Michael); brothers, Bill Hohn and Carl Hohn; and sisters, Connie Martes, Marguerite Long, Michelle Nelson and Catherine Apodaca.

Hank was preceded in death by his sister, Monica Manzer, and his brother, Mark Hohn. Arrangements made by Unger Funeral Chapel – Silverton.

Shirley Mullikin Dec. 20, 1935 – June 15, 2023

Shirley Mullikin was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She and her husband, Thomas, moved to Oregon in 1970 with their three children, Janet Foster, Karen Cuthbert, and Michael Mullikin.

Music was very important to her. She sang in her high school and church choirs as well as high school productions, in fact that’s how she met her husband in Junior High, through their mutual love of music. They were later married and remained together until Thomas passed away in June of 2022.

She was a branch manager of both Key Bank and Bank of Oregon in Silverton and Salem for many years.

She was an avid quilter for many years and took the time to personalize each one she made. She was also a cross stitch enthusiast framing each one and gifting them to family and friends. She was active in her church and volunteered and served on various committees throughout her life.

She is survived by her daughter, Karen Cuthbert, two grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and one great-great grandson and will be greatly missed. Her Celebration of Life is being planned.

Arrangements entrusted to Weddle Funeral Service.

Carol Diane (Butsch) Hoyt, 85, of Mount Angel passed away on Aug. 26, 2023.  She was born on Sept. 15, 1937 to Norbert and Dorothy Butsch in Mt. Angel, Oregon, where she was the eldest of five children. She attended school at Mt. Angel Academy, graduating in 1955.

She married Jim Hoyt and lived in Portland until his death in 1977.

Carol moved back to Mt. Angel after that and spent many years working at Mount Angel Abbey’s post office and Mt. Angel Towers, gaining many friends along the way.

She loved visiting the coast with her

Maudie-Jane Huff

family and especially loved lighthouses, visiting quite a few along the Oregon Coast and gathered a collection of many small lighthouses that she displayed on her wall.

Carol was preceded in death by her father and mother, Norbert and Dorothy Butsch; her brothers, Paul Butsch and Tim Butsch; and her sister, Mary Butsch.

She is survived by her brother, Mark Butsch of San Diego, numerous cousins and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Mt. Angel Historical Society. Arrangements by Unger Funeral Chapel – Mount Angel

Kara Elaine Bachand

Jan. 21, 1970 – Aug. 25, 2023

Kara Elaine Bachand, 53, passed away on Aug. 25, 2023 in Silverton, Oregon.

She was born in Portland, Oregon to Bernard and Donita Kay Bachand. She was an only child.

Kara grew up in Prineville, Oregon and Silverton. She attended school in Prineville and Silverton.

She worked in the banking industry.

Kara enjoyed traveling and spending time with family and friends. She loved

Submissions welcomed:

graphic design. She enjoyed exchanging ideas and had a wonderful sense of humor and a beautiful smile. She enjoyed listening to music.

She was preceded in death by her father. She is survived by, her mother, Donita Kay Bachand, and uncle, Randy Egan (Laura Fish).

A Memorial Mass was held at St. Paul Catholic Church in Silverton, on Sept. 9, followed by a reception at the church basement.

Our Town appreciates the opportuity to share life’s Passages with our readers. If there is a birth, engagement, wedding, anniversary, college graduation or obituary of a local resident you’d like to share, please send it to ourtown.life@ mtangelpub.com or mail it to Editor, Our Town, P.O. Box 927, Mount Angel, OR 97362, or drop it by our office at 401 Oak St., Silverton any weekday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A New Beginning

Charlie Ann Meadows

Silverton residents

Brittney Kuebler and Mitch Meadows welcomed Charlie Ann Meadows on Aug. 24, 2023 at Legacy Silverton Birth Center.

Feb. 11, 1925 – Aug. 28, 2023

Maudie-Jane (Reischke) Huff was born in North Dakota on Feb. 11, 1925 to Louis and Elizabeth Reischke, the youngest of six children.

The family lived on a farm. In 1937 the family moved to Salem, Oregon where they had relatives.

Maudie-Jane went to high school in Salem and graduated in 1941. She went to seminary in Portland, Oregon part time for three years and worked at Meier & Frank part time. She went to Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington for one year and then transferred to Oregon College of Education in Monmouth, Oregon where she graduated with a BS degree in Education. She taught school in Drain, Oregon four years and then moved to Walnut Creek, California to teach in a Christian school.

There she met Charles Donald Huff and married on March 28, 1953. She had three children and three stepchildren.

The family moved back to Oregon where she taught school in Scio, Oregon and Monitor, Oregon for 30 years in all.

After retiring in 1982 she went overseas three times to teach in schools for missionary children. She and her husband Don served in Ivory Coast, Indonesia, and Hungary.

They moved to Silverton, Oregon in 1989. She was an active member of Silverton First Baptist Church for more than 60 years.

Don passed away in 1990. She is survived by two sons and a daughter, two stepchildren, eight grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

In 2016 she moved to a retirement home in Mount Angel, Oregon and then in Salem, Oregon. She passed away peacefully on Aug. 28, 2023 at age 98.

Arrangements by Unger Funeral Chapel – Silverton.

Henry

Jimmy Benner Oct. 3, 1936 — Aug. 22, 2023

George Hofmann March 16, 1968 — Aug. 25, 2023

Kara Bachand Jan. 21, 1970 — Aug. 25, 2023

Carol Hoyt Sept. 15, 1937 — Aug. 26, 2023

Maudie Huff Feb. 11, 1925 — Aug. 28, 2023

Clement Unrein July 11, 1941 — Sept. 3, 2023

James Thomas, Sr. May 27, 1936 — Sept. 5, 2023 See

Needs assessment Prioritizing space, safety for Butte Creek, Scotts Mills

Editor’s note: Our Town has been providing a school-by-school review of the facility challenges at each building covered by the Silver Falls School District bond proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot. Missed one? Stories are available at ourtownlive.com.

By Stephen Floyd

Butte Creek and Scotts Mills schools are in a unique place in the Silver Falls School District’s plan for upgrades through the proposed facilities bond on the ballot Nov. 7.

The buildings themselves are not necessarily failing, as some of the most pressing infrastructure needs were already addressed in 2016 through a state-funded seismic retrofit. Instead the buildings are failing to meet student needs related to safety and quality of education due primarily to limited space and outdated design that leaves students exposed.

The district says proposed upgrades would not only help students feel more comfortable in their learning space, but would improve their physical safety and emotional wellbeing. Over the last several months the SFSD Bond Advisory Committee and district officials – following a series of school-by-school community listening sessions – constructed a plan to address critical facility challenges.

After reviewing the proposal, the SFSD board decided to put the $138 million bond measure necessary to carry out those plans before the voters on the Nov. 7 ballot. If passed, a state grant of $4 million will also be awarded.

The bond addresses repairs and renovations at ten districtowned schools, and replaces Silverton Middle School.

For property owners within the district, the estimated cost per thousand tax increase over the current rate is $1.60 per $1,000 in assessed value.

The plan calls for $6.35 million for Butte Creek and $6.4 million for Scotts Mills to address facility issues.

Butte Creek

When Butte Creek was constructed in 1949, it was among the largest schools in Marion County as it had just consolidated from three prior districts. The new building featured four classrooms, as well as a gym, auditorium and fully-equipped cafeteria. A new gym and middle school wing were added in 1979.

Butte Creek currently has the largest population among K-8 schools in SFSD at 283 students. Principal Kevin Palmer said these numbers strain the available classroom space. Every room that is not used fulltime is used multi-purpose, he added.

Though the building does have needs for new utilities and security improvements common to a 74-year-old school, Palmer said space is the most pressing priority.

“We utilize every inch of this building every minute of the day,” he said.

Space became a critical challenge during the previous decade, starting with the closure of Monitor School in 2010. Students from Monitor were reassigned to Butte Creek and Scotts Mills. At the time the SFSD Board discussed

PROPOSED SILVER FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND EXPENDITURES

* Plan assumes $138M bond passes, earning a $4M State grant, creating the $142M total fund

possibly adding modular buildings at Butte Creek for student overflow, but the plan was abandoned amid concerns over prohibitive costs.

Palmer said, if the bond passes, two modules will be added to the school from four modules currently being used at Silverton Middle School. The bond includes funds for a new middle school.

The crush of students at Butte Creek was partially alleviated in after the Monitor property was purchased by members of the Apostilic Church and reopened as a private school.

Then Butte Creek became home to a district-wide intensive special needs program for kids in third to eighth grades.

The third-fifth grade class is held in a former computer lab that is windowless and stuffy. Teacher Rebecca Pratt said this is a challenge both in meeting students’ regulat needs or during a breakdown or sensory crisis.

“If we had more space in here, we would be able to do more with the kids,” she said.

If Butte Creek inherits the modules from the middle school, Pratt’s class could meet in one of those spaces and the current class could become a sensory room. Palmer and Pratt said this would be ideal for helping neurodivergent students who need to recenter their focus before engaging in instruction.

Scotts Mills

When Scotts Mills Principal Kirstin Jorgenson talks about the needs of her school building, two priorities keep coming up: the risks posed by open-air walkways and the need for more restrooms.

The school, built in 1968, includes breezeways between classes instead of enclosed hallways. This may have been modern at the time, but Jorgenson said it’s now a safety risk.

She said an intruder who scales the relatively-low fence around campus would have unobstructed access to classroom

doors, or to students walking the open halls. She said fully enclosing the hallways is necessary to reduce potential access. “The safety of enclosing hallways is important,” she said.

The building also has just one set of bathrooms, serving 160-plus students and 15 teachers and staff. The bond would allow the addition of bathrooms in the middle school wing.

Jorgenson said it is not uncommon for eighth graders to express unease about using the restroom next to kindergarteners who are still learning bathroom etiquette. And currently if there is a need to close the restrooms due to a mess or an emergency, they may become inaccessible for the entire campus until the problem is resolved.

On top of daily inconveniences, the same bathrooms serve residents who attend events after school, further taxing the limited facilities.

Community events would also benefit from additional parking on campus, which is currently limited to a small gravel lot outside the entrance. Jorgenson said additional parking would help with student drop-off and pick-up so parents would have clearly-marked, safe places to park. It would also help for community gatherings.

Another significant need is for a covered play area to free up the gym on rainy days.

Jorgenson said PE classes can’t be held the same time as recess because of the possibility the gym will be needed for indoor play. When used for recess, she said the crowded gym space doesn’t really allow kids to get their energy out.

When asked about the connection between a school facility and student success, Jorgenson said it feels good to have pride in your school and kids deserve a chance to experience that pride.

“They deserve to be able to play outside all the time, and they deserve to have bathrooms,” she said. “... our kids deserve it, our community deserves it.”

Oversight SFSD board to announce bond committee prior to vote

By Stephen Floyd

The Silver Falls School District Board will appoint a Bond Oversight Committee ahead of the Nov. 7 bond measure vote so participants will be known before votes are cast.

The $138 million bond would impact all 11 schools in the district, and the committee would include at least one representative from within each school’s boundaries. There would also be at-large members as well as representatives from the construction industry.

Applications to serve on the committee are due Sept. 29. The board is expected to make appointments during its regular meeting Oct. 9.

Superintendent Scott Drue told the board during its Aug. 28 meeting the goal is to promote transparency and to emphasize the committee’s role in fiscal accountability.

“That’s the reason why we’re not waiting until after Election Day… to give a message to our public that we are very

serious about the accountability, the transparency and the trust,” he said.

The board voted June 20 to place a bond measure on the Nov. 7 ballot to address failing infrastructure at each school. Needs range from roofs, HVAC systems and ADA upgrades to a new building for Silverton Middle School where closed portions of the current facility are condemned.

If the bond passes, the district would receive a matching grant from the state of $4 million, bringing the total available to fund bond projects to $142 million.

Early polling showed voters were concerned about transparency and accountability, and making sure bond funds were not spent on unnecessary materials and upgrades.

Drue said the Bond Oversight Committee would fulfill this role by:

• Meeting quarterly and producing quarterly reports, as well as an annual progress report.

• Attending design presentations and

construction tours.

• Reviewing the district’s policy for selecting contractors, vendors and consultants.

• Reviewing financial statements, project scopes and project schedules.

• Making policy recommendations with the goal to strengthen accountability.

• Playing an active role in community outreach regarding the bond.

• Serving until all major bond projects are brought to a substantial point of completion and at least 95% of bond funds are expended (estimated two to three years).

Drue said this long term of service should not become a barrier for those wishing to serve on the committee. He acknowledged a multiyear commitment can be a lot for a volunteer and the district would try to work around the needs of committee members.

“Maybe a better way of saying it is that members would have the opportunity to

Superintendent talks about bond at forum

Silver Falls School District Superintendent Scott Drue will explain and take questions about the bond proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The presentation, sponsored by the Silverton Lions Club, will be Thursday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The public is encouraged to attend.

stay on the committee for multiple years,” he said.

The board hopes to find between 12 and 18 volunteers for the committee. While the board wants to see representation from the contractor community, it would not allow an oversight committee member to submit a bid for any bond projects.

We love supporting our community at Oktoberfest. We hope to see you there enjoying ‘A Touch of Bavaria.’

• www.SilvertonRealty.com • cell: 503-705-6118

Return to glory Silverton High revives its Hall of Fame

Silverton High will be holding its first athletics Hall of Fame class induction in more than a decade when this year’s gala takes place Saturday, Oct. 7, at The Oregon Garden.

“It’s been on hiatus for way too long, since 2011,”said Silverton teacher and volleyball coach Kirsten Barnes. “We had a lot of changes about that time and things were lost in the shuffle... (We) decided that we couldn’t put it off any longer.

“We need to share the stories of our past students and their accomplishments and celebrate them. It’s good for our students to learn about the people who went ahead of them. We are on a short timeline this year and will be the week prior to homecoming but we are hoping to have the Hall of Fame Gala each year during Homecoming weekend in the future.”

I briefly noted this year’s inductees in my last column. Here is some more info:

1968-69 boys basketball team: The squad was coached by Roy Schmidt and featured players Dennis Bacon, Dixon Bledsoe,

Mike Bothum, Mel Bushman, Ron Gooding, Mark Henjum, Steve Herr, Dave Meyer, Dean Oster, Gene Oster, Henry Tautfest and Don Von Weller

Organizers noted that “the 1968-1969 boys basketball team is one of our first modern teams to compete at a state tournament and many of the members of that team have given a significant part of their life to this community. Many of them also went on to coach their kids’ teams and now watch their grandkids play competitively at SHS.”

The ’68-’69 Foxes squad took a 19-1 record into the state tournament, which was then a 16-team tournament at Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Silverton went 0-2, falling to Klamath Union and North Eugene.

SEPT. 2023

SILVER FALLS FAMILY YMCA

New Program Offerings at the Y

TODDLER TIME

Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-11AM at the community Center. Enjoy a large, enclosed space with bikes, slides, toys for your infants and Pre-schoolers. Operates on school days. Questions: contact JJ Mascolo, jmascolo@theYonline.org

EARLY RELEASE WEDNESDAYS

Operates on Early Release Wednesdays EXCEPT the second Wednesday of the Month at the community center. 2:00- 5:00PM. Gym space, games and homework help on Early Release Wednesdays, ages kinders – 9th Grade. Space is limited. Questions, contact: JJ Mascolo, jmascolo@theYonline.org

YEAR-ROUND SWIM TEAM

Green Team: Tuesday and Thursday practices

Blue Team: Monday, Wednesday and Friday Practices

White Team: Monday – Thursday practices

Questions, contact Megan Colgan, mcolgan@theYonline.org

ANNUAL POOL CLOSURE

Coming up in October. Contact Annika Rogers, arogers@ theYonline.org with questions.

503.873.6456

FALL BASKETBALL REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Season starts in November.

Hall of Fame Gala

Saturday, Oct. 7, 6 p.m.; VIP reception 5:15 p.m.

Schmidt Pavilion, Oregon Garden

Cost: $50 per person, $400 for a table of 8 (includes 8 drink tickets)

Tickets:  www.silvertonfoxes.com (click on the Hall of Fame Gala tab)

Mary Purdy (Class of 1989): a leader on and off the court, she played multiple sports, but her leadership and determination was essential to the 1989 girls Class 2A state basketball championship coached by Tom Steers.

Scott Gragg (Class of 1990): Gragg, an offensive tackle, played 11 years in the NFL with the Giants, 49ers and Jets and also coached the Foxes from 2006 through 2009. Please note that his last name is NOT spelled “Bragg,” as perpetrated by your humble columnist in our last issue. Gragg is the principal at McNary High in Keizer.

Linda Riedman (Class of 1993): Was a three-sport all-state athlete in volleyball, basketball and track and field. She played college basketball at Santa Clara. Riedman serves as an assistant coach for the Foxes.

Tom Steers (coach award): Put Silverton on the girls sports map, coaching teams that won two state championships (1989, 1994), finished second in 1990 and 1991, third in 1992 and won the consolation title in 1993.

Chuck White (Bob Mallorie special contributor): White has been a teacher, coach and district administrator, while also being involved with the Silver Fox Foundation and the YMCA.  “When it comes to kids playing athletics in Silverton,” organizers wrote, “we are pretty sure that Chuck has helped them get there, whether they know it or not. Chuck has kept us moving forward from organizing shifts to work at the Oktoberfest to attending every board meeting that helps kids sports in Silverton advance.”

This will be just the fourth Silverton Hall of Fame event. The first three were in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“We want this to be a very local event, where people can come home and celebrate the past and at the same time we can introduce our newcomers to Silverton to our past history,” Barnes said.

Goals for this year are to raise money for a field house that would be used by Foxes baseball and softball as well as youth teams. Also in the mix are plans to add turf fields at the Pine Street campus.

Kennedy equestrian: The JFK equestrian program is holding an organizational meeting at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at the high school cafeteria. The Oregon High Schools Equestrian Teams program is for athletes in 8th through 12th grades and includes a wide range of events and disciplines. For more information contact coach Jaime Hudson at KHSETeam@ gmail.com.

Running every First Friday and every Saturday and Sunday all summer.

Something to Celebrate

Up and running Kennedy opens community-funded welding room

By James Day

Kennedy High’s new welding room, an innovative public-private partnership, is open for business and ready to serve.

Officials from Mt. Angel Community Foundation, area building trades and the high school were on hand Aug. 31 for an opening ceremony and the production of the first job by the state-of-the-art equipment.

Kennedy teacher Korrie Shull fired up a plasma cutter, paid for, along with a 3D-printer via a $20,000 grant from the Marion County Board of Supervisors, and moments later a metal sign noting THANK YOU EVERYONE was etched, cut and ready to be passed around, photographed and held up for posterity by club-jacketed Kennedy FFA members.

Mt. Angel Community Foundation board member and Withers Lumber VP

John Gooley introduced the new Gem Equipment Welding Room room to a gathering of approximately 30 people. He noted the $90,000 in donations and in-kind commitments from 40 individuals and

companies that made the project possible.

“Every time there was another ask for help, people said yes,” project organizer Gooley said, noting that an additional $10,000 from the Michael Roth Foundation was necessary at the last minute for fire sprinklers.

“This room came together at no cost to the school and it shows you what 40 people working together can accomplish,” Gooley said. “I thank everyone who helped build this welding room. It will be here for generations. And all for a public school.”

Gooley passed the keys to Mt. Angel School District Superintendent Rachel Stucky, who noted the value of the student community working with the Mt. Angel community.

“The school district is dedicated to increasing opportunity,” said Stucky, who expressed “gratitude to the many, many groups who brought this dream to a reality.”

Stull will be joined in the welding room by Chemeketa Community College teacher Alex Snegirev, a Kennedy High graduate.

One of the goals of the welding program is

to raise more money for scholarships that would allow students to move on to further training with the Chemeketa welding program. Gooley also noted that Kennedy

students plan to design and build craft items to be sold at Oktoberfests next September. Proceeds will be used to continue to support the welding program.

Korrie Shull, the Kennedy High welding teacher, works with the new welding room’s plasma cutter, which was paid for with a grant from the Marion County Board of Supervisors. Right: The state-of-theart plasma cutter etches out a sign. JAMES DAY

The gift of wander

As a kid, growing up in a small country town, I walked everywhere – to my friends’ houses, to the playground, to my mom’s hair shop, to my grandma’s house, to the paddock where I kept my sheep and always to school.

While I had a bike, and I loved to ride, walking was always easier. I didn’t need a helmet, or to worry about pumping up my tires or to wonder where I would park once I arrived. I just went.

And I went everywhere. I’ve walked in every city I’ve ever lived, thoroughly exploring not only my own neighborhood but adjacent neighborhoods, the downtown, the uptown and the backstreets.

I’ve walked in every kind of weather. I’ve been soaked by monsoon-like rains. I’ve had my hair and eyebrows freeze into icicles. I’ve gotten sunburns, blisters and soggy toes. I’ve busted flip-flops and had to walk home barefoot on hot pavement. But I’ve also witnessed the first spring flowers pushing up from beneath the

snow. I’ve seen flocks of birds take over the sky. I’ve seen the moon change shape, the tides rise and fall and houses being flattened only to rise again in a new form. I’ve witnessed life happen at the speed of… life.

Which is why, when my kids were born, I knew I had to bring them along for the journey – not only because it’s how I get around but because there’s so much to share.

So, as soon as they were born I strapped them to my chest and took off. We circled the neighborhood and visited downtown. Sometimes they slept, sometimes they cried, but together we breathed the fresh air and watched the

shadows from the trees fall across us in stripes.

As they got older I transitioned them to a stroller. Now, sitting up, they could really see the world. We began naming the trees and the flowers, we caught rain in our upturned hands and faces and we wore out more tires than I can count.

Eventually they learned to walk and things changed again. Our pace slowed, they began to show the world to me. We noticed earthworms and acorns. We stomped in puddles and climbed rocks and trees. We spent our days playing in the park.

Now they’re in school and our walks have more purpose. But our minds don’t. Bodies swiftly moving, I can see their heads are in the clouds, stories unspooling. Sometimes we walk together, but more often we do not. Craving independence, they don’t need my hand to hold or my permission to cross a street. They know the way.

And while sometimes they complain, “Why can’t we drive?” I suspect that, in their hearts, they are more like me than they would currently like to admit –they’re wanderers.

I see it in the way my middle daughter takes off for the library, a bag of books strapped to her back, never once asking for a ride. Or the way the two oldest, on a recent vacation, egged each other on, walking further and further down the coastline until, finally tired, they realized they had covered nearly eight miles of beach.

They have discovered that walking gives them control. They don’t need to wait for a ride. And that it brings them joy. Pockets filled with rocks and shells they notice budding flowers, catch snowflakes on their tongues and watch the moon emerge from the clouds. After all, it’s how they were raised, and they know, there’s joy in the journey.

GENERAL

LOOKING FOR SILVERTON HIGH

1971 CLASSMATE I’m looking for John Withers from the Scotts Mills area, going to SUHS from 1968 to 1970. I am Catherine Wyatt from Silverton. I was a grade behind John. We dated my freshman year. I go by ‘Raven Wyatt’ on Facebook. If anyone knows his whereabouts, please contact me on Facebook.

RING FOUND IN MILL CITY Call to identify 503-949-2379

FOR SALE 2800 gallon water tank. $1000 cash. Scotts Mills area. You haul. 541-913-6329.

SERVICES

HANDYMAN & HOME REPAIR SERVICE

Installation and repair of fencing, decks,doors, gutter cleaning, moss removal, power washing, yard debris removal. CCB# 206637 Call Ryan 503-881-3802

GOT STUFF U WANT GONE? From yard debris to scrap metal-From garage sale leftovers to rental clear outs. We repurpose, recycle, reuse or donate what we can.

Call and find out what we can do for you. $20 minimum. Keith 503-502-3462

JESSE’S LAWN SERVICE & HANDYMAN Pruning, edging, trimming, blackberry cleaning, gutter cleaning, arborvitae, moss treatment, yard cleanup, stump grinding, powerwashing, haulaway. 503-871-7869

HOUSE CLEANING JOBS WANTED Experience, with many references. 503-873-6401

To advertise call 503-845-9499

Stacy M. Brueckner, DO Monica Henderson, FNP Joel S. Roberts, FNP

WWW.SILVERTONREALTY.COM

#T2791 DUAL LIVING $948,700

Great location, close to town, Dual living, 2 homes on one property. 4.58 acres that can be divided per the county to have 2 separate properties. Room for everyone! Main home is 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, original hardwood floors, many nice updates, geothermal HVAC system. Second home is a 1 bedroom, 1 bath 740 sqft with attached garage and covered patio area, lots of original character. Room for pasture area, lots of fruit trees with creek adjoining the edge of the property. Separate barn and well house. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 (WVMLS#807708)

#T2761 GREAT OPPORTUNITY 1.66 Acres. Salem. Call Whitney at ext. 320 or Mike at ext. 312 $199,000

(WVMLS#800102)

#T2775 SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY 3 BR, 2 BA 2190 sqft 3.36 Acres. Dallas. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322

$533,000 (WVMLS#803517)

#T2781 RURAL SETTING 3 BR, 2 BA 2044 sqft Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $725,000

(WVMLS#805144)

#T2781 RURAL SETTING $725,000 Wonderful parklike setting off Woodland Dr, this rural setting is impeccably maintained, 30 X 40 feet shop, 2 bays with a storage loft, plus 8 x 12 garden shed, firepit, paved driveway, metal roof, leaf guard gutters, newer windows, flooring and paint inside and out. This home is move in ready in a highly desired area. Hooked up to city water, with a previous well still on the property. Ready for the new owner to move right in! Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 (WVMLS#805144)

#T2786 ACREAGE PROPERTY 4 BR, 2.5 BA 3304 sqft 7.56 Acres. Sublimity. Call Michael at ext. 314

$419,900 (WVMLS#806853)

#T2791 DUAL LIVING 4 BR, 3.5 BA 2693 sqft 4.58 Acres. Salem. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322

$948,700 (WVMLS#807708)

#T2794 HIGHLY DESIRABLE COUNTRY PROPERTY 2 BR, 1.5 BA 1548 sqft 2.2 Acres. Salem. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $596,700 (WVMLS#808219)

Call Micha or Sarah at 503-873-1425 Or Visit silvertonrealty.com

SILVERTON

#T2784 WONDERFUL 1920 CHARACTER 3 BR, 2 BA 1484 sqft Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $624,800 (WVMLS#805924)

#T2794 HIGHLY DESIRABLE COUNTRY PROPERTY $596,700

Great opportunity to own in a highly desired area. Close to city amenities, set up for a shop or additions to the home. Sits above the valley, treed property in a quiet area. Private lane off of 70th Ave with a few neighbors. 2 Bedroom, 1.5 bath, with an upper room that can be used as a 3rd bedroom. Come tour this home today, so many possibilities. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. (WVMLS#808219)

#T2788 HEART OF ABIQUA HEIGHTS 3 BR, 2.5 BA 2926 sqft Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $835,000 (WVMLS#806991)

#T2789 SILVERTON MOBILE ESTATES 2 BR, 2 BA 1248 sqft Call Becky at ext. 313 $195,000 (WVMLS#807664)

#T2790 GREAT LOCATION 2 BR, 2 BA 1386 sqft Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $448,500 (WVMLS#807686)

#T2792 FAIRY TALE COTTAGE 3 BR, 2 BA 2997 sqft Call Michael at ext. 314 $770,000 (WVMLS#808110)

SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

#T2775 SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY 3 BR, 2 BA 2190 sqft

3.36 Acres. Dallas. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $538,000 (WVMLS#803517)

#T2786 ACREAGE PROPERTY 4 BR, 2.5 BA 3304 sqft 7.56 Acres. Sublimity. Call Michael at ext. 314 $419,900 (WVMLS#806853)

#T2791 DUAL LIVING 4 BR, 3.5 BA 2693 sqft 4.58 Acres. Salem. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $948,700

#T2794 HIGHLY DESIRABLE COUNTRY PROPERTY 2 BR, 1.5 BA 1548 sqft 2.2 Acres. Salem. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $596,700 (WVMLS#808219)

BARELAND/LOTS

#T2761 GREAT OPPORTUNITY 1.66 Acres. Salem. Call Whitney at ext. 320 or Mike at ext. 312 $199,000 (WVMLS#800102)

NEW! – #T2795 2 BUILABLE LOTS .45 Acres. Silverton. Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $147,800 (WMLS#808971) SOLD – #T2787 GREAT PRIVATE LOCATION 3 BR, 2 BA 1260 sqft Call Meredith at ext. 324, Ryan at ext. 322 $424,800

MOUNT

BROKERS ARE LICENSED IN OREGON

Chuck White Broker 873-3545 ext. 325

Mason Branstetter Principal Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 303

Kirsten Barnes Broker 873-3545 ext. 326

Whitney Ulven Broker, GRI 503-873-3545 ext. 320

Mike Ulven Broker 503-873-3545 ext. 312

Meredith Wertz Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 324

Ryan Wertz Principal Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 322

Sarah Sanders Property Manager 873-3545 ext. 311

Micha Christman Office Manager 873-1425

Becky Craig Principal Broker, GRI 873-3545 ext. 313

Michael Schmidt Principal Broker GRI 873-3545 ext. 314

Tayler Whitaker Secretary 873-3545 ext. 300

Jason Marshall Broker 873-3545 ext 302