Our Town North: Dec. 1, 2022

$3,500,000

r Falls Vineyard &

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Renovated & updated Craftsman Home, 4 bed, 2 ba. 2784 sq. ft. 30x40 shop, Custom fence & gates. 295 Cleveland St, Mount Angel. MLS#793598

$649,000

Beautiful renovated Crafts man Home, 4 bd, 2 ba.1900 sq ft. on 1.30 acres. Outstanding Valley Views! 14448 Evans Valley Rd. NE, Silverton. MLS#792811

$625,000

3bd, 2 ba. home on 2.230 acres. 2 shops, barn, 3 sep arate pastures, fenced. sm. orchard. 35267 S. Acer Ln. Molalla. MLS#796779

$595,000

4bd, 2ba. 1650 sq ft manf. home on 6.360 acres, updated kitchen, 3 fenced pastures. 9200 Smith Rd. SE Aumsville. MLS#796433

$535,000

3 bed, 2 ba. vintage home, on 4.41 acres. farm bldg. / 2 stalls, valley views on the edge of Silverton. 15056 Quall Rd., Silverton. MLS#799863

$298,000

Excellent value! Ideal starter home, 2bed, 1 ba. 764 sq ft. Nice shop, near Silverton pool & park. 50x145 lot dimension. 108 Cowing St., Silverton. MLS#799081

the Cover

Above

SILVERTON AREA SENIORS,

Masks

INC.

DECEMBER 2022 PROGRAMS

Holiday Bazaar

Saturday

Lunch: 11:30am - 1pm – both days, only $5.

Saturday: Chili Cook-off & Sunday: Baked Potato Bar

Christmas Tree Lighting in Downtown Silverton Friday, Dec. 2, 7pm.

Christmas Concert by The Silvertones Thursday, Dec. 8 at 3pm. Free hot cocoa too!

Wine Tasting & Pairing (Fundraiser) Saturday, Dec. 10 from 4 - 6 pm. $15 ticket (limited available). Open to everyone 21+. Sponsored by One Hope Winery.

Silverton-Mt. Angel Women’s Connection Luncheon

Thursday, Dec. 15 at 1pm.

Herbal Basics 101 Tuesday, Dec. 13, 1pm.

Bingo with Mainstay Group Thursday, Dec. 22 at Methodist Church

Exercise, Dance, Movement

Free Weekly Drop In Activities

Bridge: Mondays 10am

Poker: Mondays 12:30pm

Pinochle: Tuesdays / Fridays 11:30am

Veterans

Knit Wits: Wednesdays 10am Open Art Studio: Wednesdays 1pm Bingo: Thursdays 2pm 1 per card or 3/$2

Once a Month

Monthly Member Birthday Party: Friday, Dec. 2 at 10am

Garden Club: Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 6pm

Ancestry Detective Meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 13

Services & Advice

Silver

United

Steve Beckner

Tavis Bettoli-Lotten

James Day

Janet Patterson

Melissa Wagoner

way

By Melissa Wagoner

When Sheltering Silverton created the Children’s Lantern Parade in 2018, they wanted the event to be more than just another parade.

“It’s about people lighting up the dark for their neighbors,” Sheltering Silverton founder Sarah White explained. Both those with homes and those without.

“This is a way to remind [the unhoused], you’re not alone and you’re welcome here,” she continued.

And to the community at large, “We wanted to be empowering and focus on how this is a solvable problem,” she said.

Held on First Friday in December, leading up to the Christmas Tree Lighting in Town Square Park, the event kicks off in the covered pavilion at Coolidge McClaine Park at 4 p.m., where lanterns are available for purchase and decoration along with cookies and hot

chocolate. “Michele Finicle – who’s really involved – she’s going to be changing the [space] into a gingerbread hut,” White described,

Children’s Lantern Parade

Decorate a lantern, enjoy hot chocolate and cookies and a visit with Santa Claus and the Grinch.

Coolidge McClaine Park Pavilion First Friday, Dec. 2 Lantern Decorating 4 to 6 p.m.

$5 per lantern, supports Sheltering Silverton. For information or to donate visit

Parade starts at 6:15 p.m., proceeding down Fiske Street to the Christmas Tree Lighting in Town Square Park

Silverton Chamber of Commerce organizes entertainment and the 7 p.m. tree lighting with Santa

community together around the topic of houselessness, it is also one of the group’s most important fundraisers.

“We’d like to raise $10,000,” White said, listing the addition of T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, coffee cups, tumblers and ornaments as some of this year’s newest additions.

“People can also sign up to be a monthly sustainer,” Sheltering Silverton Director Kayla Burdine-Rea added. She added that a PayPal-based program will enable donors to support the organization’s Warming Shelter.

“Typically, that’s $30 per person per night,” Burdine said of the estimated cost of just one night’s stay.

listing a visit from Santa, and even the Grinch, as other ways the group plans to liven up the space.

While the event is a way to bring the

Sheltering Silverton also runs a resource center, where clients can get information regarding transitional shelter options, food services and meeting basic needs.

“Every winter we shelter families with

Santa interacting with a Children’s Lantern Parade participant. COURTESY HALLIE ZIEBART

children who go to our schools,” White emphasized. “We shelter people with pets, veterans and people with ties to the Silverton community.”

Which is why, along with its fundraising potential, the sheer visibility of the Children’s Lantern Parade is of such importance.

“This is a great opportunity to introduce homelessness in a way that’s not scary and that introduces empathy,” Sheltering Silverton Case Manager Hallie Ziebart said. “And it’s a really great time to encourage these conversations with children because they’re seeing some really confusing things.”

Ziebart has hope that the Lantern Parade will help shed some light on the topic for both young and old alike.

“I think the lighting will be especially beautiful this year,” she said.

Two free holiday events set for community

By Melissa Wagoner

When the community-building nonprofit known as Silverton Together dissolved earlier this year, the Elizabeth Hoke Trust – a foundation honoring the legacy of SHS alumnus, Elizabeth Hoke – decided to take over many of its programs, including the annual Silverton Community Christmas Fest.

“This is a celebration of the Silverton Community and the amazing people that make it up,” founder Kristan Hoke said. “It has been around for 27 years and we believed that it deserves to be around another 27 or more.”

Taking place on Saturday, Dec. 10, 1 to 4 p.m. at the Silverton Community Center, the event will include children’s crafts, photos with Santa and refreshments as well as special performances by the Silverton High band and the Silverton Ballet and Performing Arts Co.

And then there are the trees.

“Ten clubs and organizations from Silverton High School will be decorating trees for judging by those in attendance. The winning club will receive a $500 prize for their group,” Hoke said. “In addition, this year, we will be auctioning off these beautiful decorated  trees in a silent auction and those funds raised will be used for purchasing gifts for families in need that we have adopted in the community.”

Also offering assistance for those in need during the holiday season will be Santa Cares, another no-cost community event held in the adjoining City Council Chambers.

Silverton Community Christmas Fest

Children’s crafts, refreshments, photos with Santa, music and dance performances and a tree decorating contest.

Silverton Community Center, 421 S. Water St. Saturday, Dec. 10, 1 to 4 p.m. Free to all.

Santa Cares – Free Community Gift Swap

Silverton City Council Chambers, 421 S. Water St.

Donations of gently used items (jewelry, toys, books, knickknacks and sporting equipment) accepted Dec. 1 to 4 p.m. and Dec. 10, 10 a.m. to noon. Gifts available Dec. 10 12:30 to 4 p.m.

Kicking off with the acceptance of gently used gift donations such as jewelry, knick-knacks, toys, children’s books, sports equipment, between 10 a.m. and noon, organizers will begin letting shoppers in the door, 10 at a time, starting at 12:30 p.m.

“Come and enjoy making contributions, volunteering, and selecting gifts for your family,” organizer Karen Garst said.

Because, as with the Silverton Community Christmas Fest, Santa Cares is available to all.

“It’s open to the entire community,” Hoke said, “and is designed to have something for everyone.”

Winter Festival

There’s a celebration of the winter season at Silver Falls State Park Dec. 10 and 11.

Everyone is invited to join park staff and volunteers in the Silver Falls Winter Festival for activities that highlight the seasonal changes at the park.

In the South Falls day-use area you can:

• Make a wreath at the Evergreen Picnic Shelter

• Build a bird nest box or make a pinecone bird feeder in the Stone Kitchen Shelter

• Attend a short educational talk or guided walk at the South Falls Theater

• Visit a Discovery Table near South Falls to learn about the waterfalls in winter or learn about winter animal tracks.

Over at the Smith Creek Village, 1.5 miles from the South Falls day-use area, you can:

• Decorate a gingerbread cookie and take part in a scavenger hunt

Silver Falls hosts wealth of activities

• Join in a holiday-themed dinner (reservations required, prices vary).

Muddy Souls will entertain on Dec. 10, and Dec. 11 it will be movie night with A Christmas Story screened at the Smith Creek Meeting Hall. For menu options and more information visit www.smithcreekvillage.com/guestexperiences.

Those taking part in four of the free

activities

All the activities at South Falls and the Smith Creek Village cookie decorating are free. A day-use parking permit is required. Permits cost $5 per day; annual permits, normally $30, are on sale for $25 in the month of December.

More info available at www. friendsofsilverfalls.net.

can earn a commemorative Silver Falls ornament.

South Falls Lodge during Winter Festival. FILE PHOTO

Sticking points Teachers firm on class size as SFSD negotiations persist

By Stephen Floyd

Labor negotiations in the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) are entering their eighth month as union members stand firm on class size limits.

A new bargaining session is scheduled for Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. at the Silverton High School Library, as educators continue to work under last year’s expired contract. Though such proceedings are typically closed, the prolonged nature of current negotiations means they are open to the public.

The Silver Falls Education Association (SFEA) continues to push for specific limits on class sizes, including 15-20 students in kindergarten, 20-23 students in 1st and 2nd grades, 20-24 students for 3rd thru 5th grades, and 180 students per term for 6th thru 12th grades. Though initial proposals offered hard caps on class size, a Nov. 1 SFEA proposal included a process by which administrators could attempt to address classes that exceed limitations.

The proposal said, to reduce class sizes and teacher workloads, administrators should reassign or transfer students, allow additional paraeducator time for teachers, allow for split classrooms, or hire additional teaching staff. If these solutions are not possible, the union asked that teachers with large classrooms receive a 1.5 percent pay increase, while teaching specialists would receive a 2.5 percent increase.

SFSD had yet to publish a counterproposal as of Our Town’s press time. An Oct. 4 proposal included no hard caps on class sizes, but put forward a system whereby school administrators and union representatives would work together to identify and mitigate potential class size problems on a case-by-case basis.

Neither SFSD nor SFEA spokespeople replied to requests for comment for this article prior to deadline.

Also at issue are teacher salaries, with SFEA requesting a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of 8.5 percent in a Sept. 28 proposal, matching the rate

of U.S. inflation. On Nov. 1, SFSD countered with a proposed 3 percent COLA, up from its prior proposal of 2.25 percent, as well as a $1,000 retention bonus to be paid in halves in December and May.

Tales from the classroom

With labor negotiations prolonged, the SFSD Board received a presentation during its regular meeting Nov. 14 by teacher and union representative Eryn Willow, who teaches English and Sign Language at Silverton Middle School.

Willow shared that she has 29 students in a class that is supposed to focus on bridging learning gaps, but she is so over-worked and over-committed she doesn’t get to spend more than a couple of minutes with students who are in particular need of personalized instruction.

“There are many examples more extreme than this, and our students pay the costs for these issues,” said Willow, who learned the day after the board meeting

that an additional student had been assigned to her class.

“The weight of the stress has almost reached a tipping point,” Willow said.

She said teachers who already work unpaid hours just to keep up are now being pushed further because of a lack of substitute teachers within the district, causing teachers to miss prep time or have no opportunities for breaks because they are filling in for colleagues. She said there have been PE periods where students have just hung out in the gym because their PE teacher was obligated to substitute in a classroom.

Teachers are also feeling the pinch of unpaid hours and the use of their personal funds for classroom supplies, she said. Though these practices have long been an unfortunate norm in the teaching profession, Willow said fewer catch-up hours at work have become more catchup hours at home away from family, while the rising cost of living has made

Silverton’s Christmas Tree Lighting

Silverton Community Christmas Fest

classroom supplies more expensive. “The hours required to be a successful teacher here, especially those hours that are unpaid, have increased exponentially, but without any added compensation,” said Willow. “I can tell you that it has

hurt many a teacher’s heart in this district to see other districts rewarding their teachers with bonuses, paid working days, or even just a genuine show of gratitude that shares, with both our community and

LAND & LOTS

Eryn Willow, a teacher and union representative at Silverton Middle School, explained the stressful conditions teachers are working under amid protracted labor negotiations during a Nov. 14 meeting of the Silver Falls School District Board. IMAGE: SFSD

the school board, that teachers are working hard each and every day for our students. We are tired, we are burnt out, and we are poorer this year than we were last year.”

Willow added she has put serious thought into leaving the district, though she has spent her 16-year teaching career at SFSD. She said she has dreamed of the day when a student would enter her classroom and say their parent was once Willow’s student as well, but she can’t remain under current conditions at the district.

“I will miss teaching whole families of babies that are on my horizon,” said Willow. “I do not consider this decision lightly.”

Board Chair Jennifer Traeger said, as a preface to Willow’s presentation, it is not the board’s role to comment on or intervene in specific concerns brought forward during a board meeting. She said levels of administration, such as school principals, are in a position to handle the “nitty-gritty,” and it is the board’s role to focus on broader issues such as management of district resources and policy direction.

“We’re not providing solutions, but what we can provide is a place of understanding of what things are like because of that teacher-student perspective,” she said. “Because that’s where education happens, and we’re... three layers removed from that.”

Jennifer Traeger, chair of the Silver Falls School District Board, leads a regular board meeting Nov. 14 during a presentation by a representative of the Silver Falls Education Association.

IMAGE:

Fire recovery Marion County commission plans vote on $24 million park plan

By James Day

The Marion County Parks Commission plans a January vote on a proposal to restore and update county parks damaged by the 2020 wildfires.

County officials have been working with consultants Walker Macy and EcoNorthwest on the plan to address fire damage and upgrade Packsaddle, Minto and Niagara along Highway 22 and North Fork, Bear Creek and Salmon Falls in the Little North Fork area of the North Santiam River. The county also is working on upgrades at a seventh Santiam Canyon facility, North Santiam, after taking over its operations from the state, but that project has its own funding sources and timelines.

Packsaddle and North Santiam are open, but the other five parks remain closed.  The staff report for the commission’s Nov. 17 meeting included a 129-page final report from the consultants.

Commission Chair Wayne Rawlins suggested commissioners not use the

meeting to go through it page by page but instead directed the nine-member group to review it before the next meeting on Jan. 19 and to be prepared to vote on a recommendation.

Any recommendation made by the commission must be approved by the Marion County Board of Commissioners. That likely will occur sometime in the spring, said Tom Kissinger, the chief parks planner for the county. The county also hopes to do public outreach on the plan in the spring as well, with at least one meeting likely for the Santiam Canyon.

The county plans to begin using its $1.2 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for road and other infrastructure work on the parks upgrades beginning in the summer of 2023.

The county hopes to use grants, revenues from camping and day-use activities, $560,000 in one-time only funds from salvage timber sales as well as the state’s

annual allocation $300,000-plus in annual RV fee allocation from the state to pay for the restoration and upgrades.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The plan as it currently exists might cost as much as $24 million over a three to ten-year period.

North Fork Park salvage timber will provide some of the resources for the recovery plan. JAMES DAY

New councilors Hammond, Newton, Traeger cite communication challenges

By James Day

Silverton will have four new councilors beginning in January. Eric Hammond, April Newton and Marie Traeger were elected to four-year terms in a seven-candidate field on Nov. 8 to replace retiring councilors Jim Sears, Dana Smith and Crystal Neideigh. In addition, current council president Jason Freilinger was elected to a two-year term as mayor, and one of the first orders of business in January will be to fill Freilinger’s council seat.

Our Town conducted email interviews with the councilorselect, and communication rose to the top of issues the trio felt that the city, its residents and its councilors will need to address. Communication about what the city is doing and why. Communication about how residents can get involved.

“I think we have a communication problem in Silverton,” said Hammond, a horticulturist and member of Sustainable Silverton. “It might be society wide, but we can only work locally. Communication toward the council and outward from the city are both only catching a very few, very engaged people. That isn’t good for our civic order, or governance, our social life, families, or I guess now my own personal time. How do we fix that?”

Traeger, a corrections counselor with the state and former longtime Silver Falls School District teacher, said “we need to branch out with how we disseminate information.

Using platforms such as Facebook only reaches a small demographic. We need to use other means such as Instagram and Twitter, for example, to reach the younger population.”

Newton, a retired rural mail carrier who volunteers with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and the school district, comes to the council with experience on the city’s budget committee.

“I think the biggest challenge is communicating effectively, why the city makes some of the decisions they do. Getting the public to understand the nuanced reasons behind decisions and not just sound bites is challenging,” Newton said. “People don’t have a lot of time to follow why city staff and city government makes each decision. A good council

will put the time into helping the public understand the reasons behind decision making.”

The current “hybrid” meeting structure in which some councilors, visitors and staff participate via Zoom while others are present either at the council chambers on South Water Street or in the Silverton High library also was viewed as part of the communications issue.

“I believe a couple of challenges facing the current council is lack of community attendance at meetings and the hybrid meeting format,” Traeger said.

“I believe if more community members attended the council meetings, there would be a broader understanding of the City Council’s role and better opportunity for vital community feedback. The second challenge deals with hybrid meetings.  I believe having all members in the same room is important for collaboration and communication.”

Communication also plays a role with other city issues, Newton said.

“Growth and misperceptions about what control the council

Matthew B. Chase, D.M.D. Nathan C. Braxmeyer, D.M.D. Mark A. Haskell, D.D.S. 303 N. First • Silverton 503-873-8614

Marie Traeger. SUBMITTED

April Newton. SUBMITTED

Eric Hammond. SUBMITTED

has in order to deal with it is one of the biggest challenges,” she said. “Everyone is rightly concerned about fast growth and the consequences of not being prepared with our infrastructure and our schools in particular.  But the public perception that city council can just stop growth is wrong and pits council against the public.

“It would benefit everyone if we had a comprehensive understanding of what power the city council actually has in dealing with zoning issues and new developments.  I think people are gaining a better understanding and this is where clear communication really comes into play.”

Hammond said that “the city, city government and the councilors need better communication tool(s), and very rapidly deployed in 2023. Maybe the new (larger) water bill could serve on the reverse side as a message board from the city? Maybe the city needs to budget for a communications position, someone tasked with getting information out to the citizens in a timely fashion. Maybe the city website needs an upgrade with better updates. Maybe some citizen in town is a communications expert and wants to be super helpful? Our town is built on volunteerism.

“NOBODY comes to the meetings and nobody in town has any idea what the council does. The councilors don’t get much engagement. That’s a potential problem, or at least an opportunity (to build) a better town.”

Astorga’s lead widens in Mount Angel City Council race

By Stephen Floyd

Incumbent Councilor Tony Astorga appears likely to win re-election to the Mount Angel City Council, according to election results published Nov. 18 by the Marion County Clerk’s Office.

Kelly congratulates fellow Scotts Mills candidates

In the Oct. 15 issue of Our Town, the article entitled “Incumbents re-elected to Scotts Mills” should have included the following statement from candidate Shawna Kelly, which was received after the article was submitted for publication.

Fellow incumbents Matt Donohue and Ray Eder secured re-election Nov. 8, with initial results placing them far ahead in a field of six candidates vying for three seats. The Nov. 18 update showed Donohue with 770 votes and Eder with 750 votes.

Tony Astorga

The race for third-place remained too close to call on election night, with Astorga ahead by a small margin over challengers Joseph Pfau and Justin Roney.

On Nov. 18, the Marion County Clerk’s Office published updated results with 542 votes for Astorga, 509 for Pfau and 412 for Roney. Mary Franklin remained in sixth place with 366 votes.

The last eligible ballots were received Nov. 15, including those allowed under Oregon’s new policy of accepting

“First, I would like to thank everyone that voted,” said Kelly. “Regardless of if I was the recipient of their vote or not. To my fellow running mates, I congratulate them and know that they will all continue to do a great job for Scotts Mills! I will continue to be an active member of the community and look forward to meeting more of my neighbors and participating in town events.”

The article also misspelled Kelly’s last name. Our Town regrets the error.

ballots postmarked by election day, so unless totals change due to signature discrepancies or other potential irregularities, Astorga stands to join fellow incumbents in sweeping the election.

Updated vote totals were scheduled to be released Nov. 23 and 30, with final certification expected Dec. 6. Current election results can be found at co.marion.or.us/ CO/election.

Frequent Addresses

Mt. Angel Public Library, 290 E Charles St. Silverton High, 1456 Pine St., Silverton. Silverton Senior Center, 115 Westfield 50 & older. 503-873-3093

Silver Creek Fellowship, 822 NE Industrial Way, Silverton. Silver Falls Library, 410 S Water St..

Weekly Events

Monday

SACA Food Pantry, 9 a.m. - noon, SACA, 421 S Water St., Silverton. Repeats Thursdays. 503-873-3446, silvertonareacommunityaid.org

Mt. Angel Community & Senior Center Store, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., 195 E Charles St. Repeats Tuesday - Saturday. Volunteers needed. 503-845-6998

Silverton Meals on Wheels, 11:30 a.m., Silverton Senior Center. Dine in or delivery available. $3 donation suggested. Monday - Friday. RSVP to Carol, 503-873-6906.

Mt. Angel Senior Meals, 11:30 a.m. Delivery only. $3 donation suggested. Repeats Thursdays. Ginger, 503-845-9464. Poker, noon, Silverton Senior Center. Silverton Recovery AA, noon - 1 p.m., 302 N Water St. Seven days a week.

Peaceful Heart Kitan Meditation, 4 p.m., Silverton Senior Center.

Free Dinner, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Oak Street Church, 502 Oak St., Silverton. Pickup only. Open to all. 503-873-5446

Boy Scouts Troop 485, St. Edward’s Catholic Church, 211 W Center St., Silverton. Scoutmaster Dave Tacker, 760-644-3147, dave.tacker@gmail.com

Tuesday

Silver Angels Foot Care, 8:30 - 2 p.m., Silverton Senior Center. Appointments required. Repeats Wed. 503-201-6461 Scotts Mills Food Boxes, 9 - 11 a.m., Scotts Mills Community Center, 298 Fourth St. Residents in Scotts Mills/Butte Creek/Monitor rural areas are welcome. Food donations welcome. Niki Barber, 503-873-5059

Simple Qigong, 8:45 a.m., Silverton Senior Center. $8/session after first free class. Repeats Thursday.

Community Helpers Family Storytime, 10:30 a.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Age 2 - 5. Participate in songs, activities, stories with a special guest reader. 503-845-6401

Indoor Playtime, 11 a.m.noon, Mt. Angel Public Library. Age 2 - 5. 503-845-6401

Tune Tours, 2 - 5 p.m., Mt. Angel Theater & Stu.dio, 220 E Charles St. Live music, entertainment designed for music lovers and seniors; all are welcome. $10. In association with Abiqua Studios & Tune Tours. Repeats Thurs. Jon, 323-449-1183

Stories & STEAM, Mt. Angel Public Library. 12/6: Christmas ornament. 12/13: Snowman sock. 12/20: Bath bombs. 12/27: New Year’s glasses. Free. Ages 6 - 12. 503-845-6401

SACA Food Pantry, 4 - 7 p.m., SACA, 421 S Water St., Silverton. 503-873-3446, silvertonareacommunityaid.org

Serenity Al-Anon Meeting, 5:30 p.m. Zoom. Repeats 10 a.m. Saturdays. For Zoom link, call Barbara K, 503-269-0952.

Cub Scout Pack 485, 6:30 p.m., St. Edward’s Catholic Church, 211 W Center St., Silverton. Boys and girls in kindergarten - fifth grade. Deb Hilterbrand, 971-337-5925, silvertonpack485@gmail.com

Mediation & Shared Dialog, 7 - 8:30 p.m.

All spiritual traditions welcome. For invite to virtual gathering: compassionatepresence@ yahoo.com. 971-218-6641

Wednesday

Silverton Business Group, 8 a.m., Silver Falls Brewery, 207 Jersey St., Silverton. Networking meeting of the Silverton business community hosted by Silverton Chamber of Commerce. Everyone welcome. silvertonchamber.org

Quilters Group, 9 a.m. - noon, Trinity Lutheran Church, 500 N Second Ave., Silverton. trinitysilverton@gmail.com

Knit Wits, 10 a.m. - noon, Silverton Senior Center. Open to knitters, crocheters, embroiderers, quilters.

APPY Hour, noon - 1 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Technical assistance for electronic devices. All ages. Free. 503-845-6401

Mission Benedict Food Pantry, 1 - 4 p.m., St. Joseph Shelter, 925 S Main St., Mt. Angel. Repeats Friday. 503-845-2468

Line Dancing, 1 - 2 p.m., Silver Creek Fellowship. No registration required. Free; donations accepted for instructor. Open to all. Sheila, 503-409-4498

Silver Chips Woodcarving Sessions, 1 - 4 p.m., Silverton Arts Association, 303 Coolidge St. $2 a week. All levels. 503-873-4512.

Mission of Hope Food Pantry, 2 - 4 p.m., Silver Creek Fellowship. 503-873-7353 Bingo, 2 p.m., Silverton Senior Center.

Thursday

Community Coffee, 7 - 9 a.m., Scotts Mills Community Center, 298 Fourth St. Free. Yoga, 9 a.m., Silver Creek Fellowship. Open to all. Sheila, 503-409-4498

Friday

Toastmaster Club, 7:30 a.m., Zoom. Increase your listening skills, speaking, thinking and evaluating. Contact tmcommunicators@gmail. com for Zoom link.

Silvertones Community Singers, 10:30 a.m., Silverton United Methodist Church, 203 Main St., Silverton. Anyone who loves to sing is welcome. Tomi, 503-873-2033

“Sew What” Quilting Group, 11 a.m.3 p.m., Silverton Senior Center. Tune Tours, 7 - 9 p.m., Mt. Angel Theater & Stu.dio, 220 E Charles St. Live music and entertainment specifically designed for music lovers and seniors, but all are welcome. $10. In association with Abiqua Studios & Tune Tours. Jon, 323-449-1183

Saturday

After-Season Indoor Market, 10 a.m. - noon, Silverton Friends Church, 229 Eureka Ave. Local produce, eggs, meats, artisan crafts. Free admission.

Saturday Free Lunch, noon - 1:30 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 500 N Second St., Silverton. Open to all. 503-939-3459

Notices

Boy Scout Christmas Trees

Boy Scout Troop 485 is selling Christmas trees through Dec. 18. The lot is at N First Street next to Roth’s car wash. Trees are available 24/7 for purchase through the honor system or Boy Scouts will man the lot 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. on the weekends. Prices vary. Scoutmaster Dave Tacker, 760-644-3147, dave.tacker@gmail.com

Thursday, Dec. 1

Silverton Kiwanis Club 7 a.m., Main St. Bistro, 201 E Main St., Silverton. Bi-monthly meeting of Silverton Kiwanis Club. New members welcome. Repeats Dec. 15.

Cybersecurity Basics

1 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Learn how to be safe online with accounts/ passwords, overview of frauds/scams. Free. All ages. Registration required by calling 503-845-6401.

Teen Crafts

5 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Make a hot chocolate bomb. Snacks provided. Free. Grade 6 and up. 503-845-6401

Silverton Christmas Market

5 - 9 p.m., Oregon Garden Resort, 895 W Main St., Silverton. Explore the authentic German Christmas Market for gifts from artisan vendors and imported German nutcrackers, smokers and ornaments. Visit Santa, enjoy live music, cozy up to a wood-burning fire pit. Take a ride down the snowless tubing hill. Biergarten presented by Western Beverage. No tickets available at the door. All admission and snowless tubing tickets must be purchased online in advance. Ticket sales end at 3 p.m. daily. Vendors are cashless; bring a debit or credit card for purchases. Tickets available at silvertonchristmasmarket.com. Runs through Jan. 1. Closed Dec. 24-25.

Friday, Dec. 2

LEGO

Lab

3 - 4:30 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Build an original creations out of LEGOs to display in the library. Free. All ages. Repeats Dec. 16. 503-845-6401

Children’s Lantern Parade

4 - 6 p.m., Coolidge McClaine Park, Silverton. Children decorate a lantern and parade down Fiske Street at 6:15 p.m. to the annual tree lighting. 503-508-2898

Silverton Tree Lighting

6 - 7:30 p.m., Town Square Park. Santa lights Silverton’s community Christmas tree. Music, hot chocolate. Santa visits follow at Silverton United Methodist Church.

A Holiday Tradition

6 - 8 p.m., Silverton United Methodist Church, 203 W Main St. Meet Santa. Make ornaments. View the Nativity display. Church Lady Fudge sale benefitting Snack Sacks for Silverton Area Community Aid.

First Friday in Silverton

7 – 9 p.m. Explore historic downtown, have dinner, shop, browse galleries, boutiques. 503-873-5615, silvertonchamber.org

Saturday, Dec. 3

Santa Mouse Bazaar

9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Silverton Hight. Handmade crafts, holiday gifts, silent auction, baked goods. Supports Basic Skills Classroom. Free admission. 503-873--6331

Holiday Bazaar

10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Silverton Senior Center, 115 Westfield. Shop for holiday gifts. Chili lunch served 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., $5. Benefits Silverton Senior Center. 502-873-3093

Santa and Corn dogs

11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Oak Street Church, 502 Oak St., Silverton. Free family event. Pictures with Santa. Children’s Christmas crafts, cake walk. Corn dogs, cookies, hot chocolate. 503-873-5446, oakstchurch@gmail.com

Brush Creek Open Auditions

11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Brush Creek Playhouse, 11535 NE Silverton Road, Silverton. Audition for a role in the 2023 children & production of The Further MISAdventures of the Seven Dwarfs. Open to actors 18 and younger. Repeats 2 p.m. Dec. 4. 503-508-3682

Monday, Dec. 5

Daughters of American Revolution

10 a.m., Stayton United Methodist Church, 1450 SE Fern Ridge Road. To celebrate the holiday DAR-style, Abby’s Girls will “Make Good Cheer and Be Right Merry” with festive treats, beverages, stories of the season. Open to anyone interested in learning about DAR. Linda, 503-689-6991

Silverton City Council

7 p.m., Silverton High. Open to public. 503-873-5321, silverton.or.us

Tuesday, Dec. 6

Mt. Angel American Legion

6:30 p.m., Mt. Angel American Legion Post #89, 740 E College St. All veterans welcome. 503-845-6119

Wednesday, Dec. 7

Craft for Adults

1 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Create a Moravian star made out of holiday cards. All supplies provided. Adults. 503-845-6401

STEM Girls

3:30 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Explore feathers, flights and features that make birds unique. Every session includes handson activities and active research. Snacks provided. Free. 503-845-6401

Scotts Mills City Council

7 p.m., Scotts Mills City Hall, 265 Fourth St. Open to public. 503-873-5435

Thursday, Dec. 8

Red Cross Blood Drive

1 - 6:30 p.m., Immanuel Lutheran Church, 303 N Church St., Silverton. Appointments needed by visiting redcrossblood.org.

Virtual Reality

3 - 6 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Book time slot to experience a virtual reality program. A signed release must be on record. Teens & adults. Free. RSVP: 503-845-6401

Zenith Women’s Club

7 p.m., Silverton Elks Lodge, 300 High St. Local women discuss ways to fund, implement projects benefiting Silverton community. Open to all. Social begins at 6:30 p.m. Barbara, 801-414-3875

Saturday, Dec. 10

Silverton Leaf Drop Off

9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Silverton City Shops, 830 McClaine St. Bring bagged leaves. Leaves must be dumped into bins and bags disposed of. Leaves only; no commercial leaf debris accepted. Free for Silverton residents. 502-874-2206, silverton.or.us/leafcollection

Holiday Festival at Silver Falls

10 a.m. – 4 p.m., South Falls Lodge, Silver Falls State Park, 2004 Silver Falls Hwy., Sublimity. Make a wreath, gingerbread house, cards and ornaments. Storytelling, live music. $5 per vehicle day use fee.

Repeats Dec. 11. Friendsofsilverfalls.net

Snow Cakes with Santa

10 a.m. - noon, Palace Theater, 200 N Water St., Silverton. Santa, crafts, breakfast with pancakes, sausage, fruit, juice, coffee. $15/ person or $45/family of 4. Kids scholarships available. Text: 503-729-1211. Call: 503-874-4406.

Silverton Community Christmas Fest

1 - 4 p.m., Silverton Community Center, 421 S Water St. Crafts, goodies. Music by Silverton High’s band. Special performances by Silverton Ballet. Pictures with Santa. Christmas tree contest. Silent auction. Open to all. Sponsored by Elizabeth Hoke Memorial Trust. Jan, 503-873-0405

Holiday Concert

3 p.m., Silverton High, 1456 Pine St. Holiday concert presented by Silverton Friends of Music. Free. All welcome.

Monday,

Silver Falls Writers’ Group

6:30 p.m., Silver Falls Library. Writers share what they have been working on and listen to see what others are writing. Ron Drake, 503-873-8796.

Mt. Angel Planning Commission

7 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Open to public. Agenda available. 503-845-9291 Saturday, Dec. 17

Holiday Bazaar

Dec. 12

Mt. Angel School District

6:30 p.m., District Office, 730 E Marquam St., Mt. Angel. Agenda available. Open to public. 503-845-2345, masd91.org

Silver Falls School District

7 p.m., Silverton High. Agenda available. Open to public. 503-873-5303, silverfallsschools.org

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Ukulele Play and Sing-Alongs

6 - 7:30 p.m., Silver Falls Library.. Gather to play and sing with ukuleles. Free. All ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Music is provided. 503-873-8796

Silverton Planning Commission

7 p.m., Silverton Community Center. Open to public. Agenda available. 503874-2207, silverton.us.or

Wednesday, Dec. 14

STEM Guys

3:30 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Explore feathers, flights and features that make birds unique. Every session includes hands-on activities and active research. Snacks provided. Free. 503-845-6401

Thursday, Dec. 15

Book Club for Adults

1 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Gather to discuss Run by Ann Patchett. Copies available at the library. Adults. Free. 503-845-6401

Christmas Wrap Party

1 - 4 p.m., Hoffer’s Hospitality House, Mt. Angel. Bring your own gifts to wrap. Children are welcome, but children ages 5-9 need to be accompanied by a parent or sibling 14 years of age or older. Supplies and space provided. Space is limited. Signups required by emailing hoffershospitalityhouse@gmail.com.

Repeats 5 - 8 p.m. Free.

Santa at the Library

6 - 7 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Get a photo with Santa in front of the library’s fireplace, decorate cookies, enjoy hot cocoa, make an ornament, play reindeer games. Free. All ages. 503-845-6401

10 a.m. - 8 p.m., The Oregon Garden, 879 W Main St., Silverton. Holiday market featuring local artisans, seasonal refreshments, holiday crafts, festive live entertainment and visits with Santa. Tickets are $8 adults, $6 seniors, $5 age 13-17, $2 age 5-12. Children 4 and under are free. Repeats Dec. 18. Visit oregongarden.org for tickets and more information.

Family Gingerbread House Decorating

1 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Bring the family to listen to a gingerbread story and create a gingerbread house. All supplies provided. Registration required by calling 503-845-6401

Scotts Mills Holiday

6 - 9 p.m., Scotts Mills City Park, 330 First St. Chili dinner, refreshments by donation. Santa & Mrs. Claus meet & greet. Drawings. Games, music, entertainment. Children 0 - 17 receives a gift. Unwrapped gifts, donations can be dropped off at City Hall.

Sunday, Dec. 18

Hanukkah Starts

Silverton Grange Holiday Party

1 - 3 p.m., Silverton Grange, 201 NE Division St. Come see the new renovations and celebrate the partnership with Community Roots School. Refreshments provided. silvertongrange@gmail.com

Taizé Prayer

7 p.m., Benedictine Sisters’ Queen of Angels Chapel, 840 S Main St., Mt. Angel. Open to public. 503-845-6773

Monday, Dec. 19

Scotts Mill Tree Lighting

6 p.m., Scotts Mill City Park, 330 First St. Dinner available for a donation. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on hand to help ring in the holiday season.

Silverton City Council Work Session

7 p.m., Silverton High. Open to public. Agenda available. 503-873-5321, silverton.or.us

Thursday, Dec. 22

Paint Night

5 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Follow along step-by-step and learn how to paint a winter scene. Teens and adults. Registration required by calling 503-845-6401.

Friday, Dec. 23

Red Cross Blood Drive

Noon - 5 p.m., Safeway, 301 Westfield, Silverton. Appointments needed by visiting redcrossblood.org.

Saturday, Dec. 24

Christmas Eve

Candlelight Carol Sing A Long

4:30 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 500 N Second Ave., Silverton. All welcome.

trinitysilverton@gmail.com

Sunday, Dec. 25 Christmas Day

Monday, Dec. 26

Kwanzaa Starts

Vigil

for Peace

2:30 - 3:30 p.m., Towne Square Park, Silverton. Silverton People for Peace gather to advocate for peace, social justice issues on all levels of society including a focus on issues of current concern. Open to all. 503-873-5307

Wednesday, Dec. 28

Drop-in Crafts

1 - 4 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Create masterpieces with all the odds and ends left over throughout the year. All ages. Free. 503-845-6401

Retiring Joyfully Workshop

5:30 p.m., 301 E Main St., Silverton. Get more clarity and purpose to retirement. Free. Contact AnnetteJensen@ RetireJoyfully.com.

Scotts Mills Historical Society

7 p.m., Scotts Mills Museum, 210 Grandview Ave. Open to public. Joe, 503-871-9803

Thursday, Dec. 29

Movie Marathon

11:15 a.m. - 7 p.m., Mt. Angel Public Library. Watch all four Home Alone movies and enjoy hot popcorn. Stay all day or just drop in. 11:15 a.m.: Home Alone. 1:15 p.m.: Home Alone 2. 3:15 p.m.: Home Alone 3. 5:15 p.m.: Home Alone 4. 503-845-6401

Saturday, Dec. 31

New Year’s Eve

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Submission Information

To get your events and fundraisers published in Our Town, send your releases – including date, time, location, activity, cost, contact information – to datebook@mtangelpub. com. Or drop them off at 401 Oak St., Silverton.

Legal Matters

Kidnapping plea deal includes treatment

By Stephen Floyd

A Silverton man has been admitted to substance abuse treatment after pleading guilty to kidnapping and assault, with the potential for nearly six years in prison if the program is not completed.

Zachary Todd Lander, 40, pleaded guilty Nov. 14 to second-degree kidnapping and fourth-degree assault for a domestic violence incident Oct. 1 when he unlawfully transported and attacked a female victim.

The kidnapping charge is a Measure 11 offense and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 70 months in prison. As part of the agreement, He was transferred to a residential treatment facility. His performance will determine the sentencing recommendation at a future hearing.

Lander was previously sentenced to 18 months of probation after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine in March of 2020. As part of this pela agreement, prosecutors dropped charges related to an incident Oct. 5, 2018, when Lander allegedly threatened a man with a bat at the man’s home in rural Clackamas County. He was also sentenced in 2017 to three years of probation and 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to fourth-degree assault and DUII after allegedly strangling a woman that August, then operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He was ordered to undergo treatment related to substance abuse, mental health and domestic violence, but violated the terms of his probation multiple times and served an additional 85 days in jail.

Catch up with more local news and sports

Facebook.com/OurTown.SMASM

Open auditions for Brush Creek’s

‘Seven Dwarfs’

children’s

play

Brush Creek Playhouse, just outside of Silverton, will be holding auditions for  The Further MISAdventures of the Seven Dwarfs on Saturday, Dec. 3, 11 a.m. and on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2 p.m.

This romp through the tales of the Brothers Grimm (written by Emily Wood and Michael Wood and performed by arrangement with Evander Dramatic Press) is great fun and has a wide variety of parts for young actors of all experience levels.

Did you know that a dwarf helped out Rapunzel and her prince? Or that two of them met Little Red Riding Hood in the woods? Or that another tried to make peace between the Three Little Pigs? No?

As always, Brush Creek’s 2023 Children & Youth Production will be directed by Linda Zellner and is open to young actors through the age of 18. Rehearsals will begin in early January and run until the play opens its three-weekend run in late February.

For information, call 503-508-3682. Brush Creek Playhouse is located at 11535 Silverton Road NE, Silverton.

Silverton’s Tree of Giving in Full Swing

For the 24th year, the GFWC Silverton Zenith Women’s Club (a charitable 501(c)(3) organization) is sponsoring the “Tree of Giving,” a project dedicated to assuring that underprivileged children living in our community enjoy gifts during the holiday season.

These trees can be found at the following Silverton locations: Hi-School Pharmacy, Wilco, Immanuel Lutheran Church, St. Paul Catholic Church, and Silver Creek Fellowship.

Each tree has tags with clothing sizes for a qualified child within the Silver Falls School District. Willing helpers are asked to pick a tag and shop for new clothing items (sizes and suggestions are listed on tags). The items should be wrapped and returned to one of the drop off locations listed on the tags, by Friday, Dec. 9. Wilco is not a drop off site.

Please attach the tags securely to the gifts. No toys are needed as the community and fire department provide those. From a survey conducted a few years ago, parents indicated that they wanted to see what toys were being given to children. Therefore, the organizers decided not to have the community help wrap toys, as in past years.

Monetary donations may be mailed to Silverton Zenith Women’s Club, P. O. Box 1273, Silverton, OR 97381.

Please consider helping the Silverton Zenith Women’s Club with this community project.

SnoBall teen dance set for Dec. 3

The 69th Annual SnoBall Mid-Valley all high school teen dance is on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 at the Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion. Tickets are available online for $30, and will be sold at the dance for $35.

SnoBall started as a Sadie Hawkins dance and now is a dance for high school students from all over the Willamette Valley with students now attending as singles, couples, and groups. All high school- aged students are welcome and SnoBall is the only dance where all six Salem-Keizer high school students socialize together along with other valley high school and home-schooled students.

This year’s committee is made up of students from Dallas High School and all six Salem-Keizer high schools. The committee has been meeting regularly and chose disco as this year’s dance theme.

Oregon-owned Dutch Bros has been the SnoBall Presenting Sponsor for five years. Students will have the chance to win Dutch Bros gift cards the night of the event in addition to gift cards from other businesses.

SnoBall details can be found at snoballsalem. com, Facebook and Instagram. You can also email events@classact.net or call the Class Act Events office at 503-371-8904.

A Tree of Giving at Hi-School Pharmacy in Silverton. SILVERTON ZENITH WOMEN’S CLUB

know about Mount Angel and Silverton?

By Melissa Wagoner

A stroll through Mount Angel or Silverton can feel like a walk through the past – if you know where to look.

Kennedy High, the Mount Angel Abbey, Coolidge McClaine Park, even Silver Creek – all of these landmarks are rooted in the past, their stories are sometimes obscured but not forgotten by the men and women whose job it is to preserve them. Those, like Bill Predeek, President of the Mt. Angel Historical Society and Chris Schwab, Secretary of the Silverton Country Historical Society, supplied the following facts about these two beloved communities.

Mount Angel

• Mount Angel Abbey was destroyed by fire twice – once in 1892, when it was located at the base of the abbey hill, and again in 1926, after relocating to its current location.

• In 1893 the town’s population was only 250 and yet four trains came into the station each day carrying both freight and passengers.

• The first order of business for the city council in 1893 was the all-important issuing saloon licenses because, outside of a few dollars from city hall rent, this was the only source of income for the city. Each quarter the saloon owners paid a whopping $100 for the license – quite a sum in those days.

• At one time, a tax of one day’s work was levied against property values for road and street improvements. Or, in lieu of actual labor, property owners could pay the Street Commissioner $1.50.

• In 1894 a motion was passed that all requests brought before the City Council must be discussed in German.

• In 1902 a speed limit of six miles per hour was set for all bicycles.

• In 1905 all persons with free-ranging cows running were ordered to keep them off the streets for the Fourth of July. Then, in 1910, cows were voted off the streets and alleys altogether.

• Between the late 1930s through the early 1950s, the Mount Angel Flax Festival was almost as popular as Oktoberfest, drawing visitors from neighboring towns.

• In 1931 a man named Marshall Bigler asked the town council how he could call for late-night help if an emergency arose. He was told to fire three shots from his pistol and help would respond. Curious, he apparently tried it out, but no one came. The next day he went out and bought a shotgun.

• In the early 1930s a group of businessmen dreamed up a Businessmen’s Club that would meet during the lunch hour each Monday. The day and time were chosen based on the town’s washday – which was Monday – with the idea that their wives would not be distracted from the washing by the need to fix their lunch. Incidentally, this club later became the Chamber of Commerce.

• Only boys were allowed to attend high school at Mount Angel Prep, located on the abbey hill, while girls attended school at the Mount Angel Academy. Then, in 1958, when discussions began about building a new

Mount Angel Abbey as it was in 1889. MT. ANGEL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

a nun is quoted as saying, “We are not anxious to have the boys any closer.” The nun’s sentiments aside, the construction of Kennedy High began and the school was opened solely to boys until 1964.

Silverton

• Established in 1845 by James Smith and his wife, Sarah Jennings, the town of Silverton was originally called Milford and was located about two miles upstream, on the banks of Silver Creek, near present-day Quall Road. In the mid-1850s the site was abandoned and the town moved to its current location.

• Legend has it that Silver Creek got its name because James “Silver” Smith, founder of Milford, brought a bushel basket of silver dollars along to his new homestead. Or else, a traveler on horseback tried to ford the creek when his horse’s struggles caused his saddlebags filled with silver to come loose. The truth of these tales is yet to be determined.

• Relations were routinely uneasy between the Native Americans living in the area and the first white settlers who homesteaded here. That unrest erupted into what would become the first and only major battle – the Battle of the Abiqua – in March 1848. Thirteen died in all and the Klamath Tribe – who traditionally traveled to the

area in order to escape harsh winters and to participate in trade with the local Molalla Tribe – were permanently evicted from the area.

• Polly Crandal Coon Price coined the name Silverton in 1854 after inheriting the land from her husband, Thomas.

• Silverton’s Timothy Woodridge Davenport, a teacher, doctor, farmer, surveyor, Indian agent, store owner, and legislator was the father of Country Boy author and famed Hearst cartoonist, Homer Davenport.

• In 1880, prominent businessmen and friends, Ai Coolidge and Jake McClaine founded the Coolidge and McClaine Bank. Then, in 1909, shortly before his death, Coolidge donated a five-acre tract of land designated as a park, which is now Coolidge McClaine Park.

• Jim Buff may have been one of the first openly crossdressing residents of Silverton. Born in 1843 in Missouri, Buff settled in Silverton in 1852 where he worked as a teacher for 45 years, often walking eight to 12 miles from his home to school. He is remembered for his wardrobe of capes and women’s corsets. He died in 1910 following a serious stroke.

• The original train depot, built in 1906, was moved in 1982 from its original site on Brown Street – where Goodwill stands today – to its current location on South Water Street due to lack of use and disrepair. It now

houses part of Silverton Country Museum, as well as the Silverton Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

• The area between First Street and Park Street in Silverton once housed two schools – Emerson School, which was built in 1890 and used until 1924 when it was destroyed by fire, and Washington Irving, which was built in 1907 and used as a high school until 1925.

• The siren, which sounds from its post beside the Silverton Police Station at noon each day, is a 1920sera Sterling Model M that was originally used to call volunteer firefighters. Now, other than its daily call, the siren – which can be heard for miles on a clear day – is only sounded for the occasional multiple-alarm fire.

• In 1922 just after Thanksgiving, a man known as William C. “Billy” Gable took a room at the Cottage Hotel in Silverton. Working as a “lumber loader” for the Silver Falls Timber Company – according to a check stub for $5.13 currently archived at the Silverton Country Museum – and dating Silvertonian Franz Doerfler, Gable also moonlighted as a budding actor in Portland. Later, the one-time lumberjack, now widely known as Clark Gable, became “The King of Hollywood,” acting in more than 60 motion pictures.

• In 1928, a daredevil from Monroe, Washington named Al Faussett rode a canoe over the 177-foot “Silver

Creek Falls” located in what is now Silver Falls State Park. The event attracted around 2,000 people and,

although Faussett survived, his safety cable broke and he was hospitalized with broken ribs, sprained ankles and extensive bruising.

• June Drake, born in Marquam in 1880, was an exceptional photographer who took pictures of almost every building and citizen in Silverton. In 1931 Drake’s untiring efforts led to the establishment of Silver Falls State Park. The area, presently known as Drakes Crossing, is partly named after June and the farm he once owned in that vicinity.

• The Silverton Opera House, which was built in 1905 at the site of the current Palace Theater, was destroyed in a fire in April 1935. That fire, which ignited more than 13,000 feet of film housed in the projection booth, caused explosions that spread the flames to several adjoining businesses, causing damage amounting to over $100,000. The fiery reflections in the sky were reported to have been seen as far as Portland.

• Silverton’s most notable baseball team – largely composed of men working for the Silver Falls Timber Company – was known as the Silverton Red Sox and kicked off their first season in 1937 with mill owner Bill McGinnis managing the team. A farm team division of the iconic Boston Red Sox, each player earned $25 per game. Most notably, major league player Johnny Pesky

played one summer in Silverton and the team rated third nationally in 1939. Although the Red Sox broke for the war between 1943 and 1950, the team did not officially disband until 1954. A Willamette Valley Men’s Baseball League team based in Silverton still carries on the name.

• Zetta Schlador was Silverton’s first – and to this day, only – female mayor. She owned a women’s dress shop located on East Main Street, and took office in January of 1938. In 1939 the street in front of the current Silverton Middle School was named after her. Schlador died in 1978 at the age of 90.

• Located beside the Silverton Museum is a preserved World War II Observation Post, which was originally located two miles up Victor Point Road. Its purpose was to shelter those tracking air traffic in the area both during the war, and later, during the Cold War period. During its use, volunteers from town worked in shifts 24 hours a day. Sightings were reported to an air base in Portland.

• Silverton native Don Pettit graduated from Silverton High School in 1973. He went on to become a chemical engineer and NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of two long-duration stays aboard the International Space Station, one space shuttle mission and a six-week expedition to find meteorites in Antarctica. As of 2017, having logged over 370 days in space, and at age 62, he was NASA’s oldest active astronaut.

Double Falls as photographed by Silverton photographer June Drake, in 1907. SILVERTON COUNTRY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Passages

Jill Louise Lamb

Jill Louise Lamb of Silverton Oregon passed away on Nov. 6, 2022.

Jill was born to Bill and Diane Bevins on April 20, 1953 in Seattle, Washington. Jill had two siblings, Michael J. Bevins and Candy Thomas.

Jill is survived by her husband, Elden Lamb, and was mother to John T. Conner, Mindy M. Conner and Laura D. Otero. She was a grandmother to eight.

Her fondest memories as a child were playing with her siblings and cousins on the beach of Vashon Island in the state

Rhonda Lynn Hall

Rhonda Lynn Hall passed away on Nov. 6, 2022 in Mount Angel, Oregon. She was born in San Bernardino, California on Dec. 18, 1959 to Clarence Houts Jr. and Charlotte Swing.

Rhonda is survived by her sons, Brian,

April 20, 1953 – Nov. 6, 2022

of Washington.

Jill spent her career as a caregiver to the elderly along with directing workshops for people with special needs.

She moved to Silverton in 2019 to be closer to her daughter and six grandchildren. She spent the last three years doing crafts with her grandchildren, celebrating holidays, watching cooking shows, baking sweet treats and going to the farmer’s market in Silverton every week.

She will be dearly missed by her family. Assisting the family is Unger Funeral Chapel – Silverton, Oregon.

Dec. 18, 1959 – Nov. 6, 2022

Christopher and Shawn and one grandchild.

A graveside service was held on Nov. 13, 2022 at Miller Cemetery. Arrangements made by Unger Funeral Chapel –Silverton.

In Memory Of

Jill Lamb

April 20, 1953 — Nov. 6, 2022

Eleanor Kintz Jan. 9, 1937 — Nov. 6, 2022

Rhonda Hall Dec. 18-1959 — Nov. 6, 2022

Vincent Steinkamp Oct. 2, 1932 — Nov. 9, 2022

Mary Castle

June 24, 1928 — Nov. 13, 2022

Mark Robert Findley passed away on Nov. 2, 2022 in Silverton, Oregon. He was born on Aug. 26, 1955 to Larry and Jackie Findley in San Leandro, California.

Mark was a loving husband and father. He enjoyed gardening, golfing and fishing with his wife, Sundi. Mark’s pride and joy were his grandchildren. He will be missed by many. Mark is preceded in death by his wife, Sundi Findley.

Mark is survived by his beloved pets: his dogs, Brandy and Sugar; cat, Sweetie; step-daughters, Melody Bradford and Heather Stutchman; step-grandchildren, Gabriel and Jovan; his brother, Gary Findley; sister, Vicki Amos. Arrangements by Unger Funeral Chapel – Silverton.

Submissions welcomed: 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,

silverfallseyecare.com Terri Vasché, O.D., F.C.O.V.D. Matthew Lampa, O.D., F.A.A.O. Shon Reed, O.D.

By James Day

Longtime Silverton High FFA adviser Scott Towery received the group’s highest honor at the 95th national convention in October.

Towery, who has taught agricultural science at Silverton since 2006, was awarded the Honorary American FFA Degree at the Indianapolis event.

The degree is awarded to individuals who have created high-quality agricultural education programs which inspire and motivate their students to strive for success.

Counting his years at Cascade High in Turner, Towery has sent 22 teams to the national competition, including 20 from Silverton.

More than 80 of Towery’s students have earned the Oregon State FFA degree, 15 have won the American Farmer FFA degree and three have served as state officers.

Towery, who is assisted by Monica Baker with the FFA program, teaches agricultural leadership, basic welding, metal art welding, advanced welding and fabrication 1 and 2 at the high school.

Silverton most recently sent 14 students to the national event and two groups finished in the top 20 in their respective disciplines.

The ag mechanic team of Kaleb Schurter, Gabe Voll, Jenna Schurter and Henry Bielenberg  took 11th, while Kendra Kuenzi, Lena Tribbett, David Tribbett and Erin Towery combined to take 18th in agronomy.

In addition to the national success the team of David Tribbett, Jenna Schurter, Rebecca Noordam and Joanne Noordam took first in the state ag sales competition held in Corvallis. The victory earned the foursome a slot at nationals next October.

Skater takes third in international event

By James Day

Silverton skateboarder Lari-Ann Rupp captured the bronze medal in the giant slalom at last month’s World Skate Games in Argentina.

Rupp, an economic development specialist for Marion County, completed the course in 33.712 and helped propel the American team to a 1-2-3 finish.

Teammates Lynn Kramer and Isa Ruiz won the gold and silver, respectively. Here is how Rupp described her bronze-medal run in an email to Our Town:

“I engaged my core as hard as I could and made a huge pull off the start ramp with all my strength. On the top of the course, where we are trying to pick up speed, I did single pumps with a huge arm swing that gave me the momentum balance I needed to push as hard as I could to maximize my wheel pressure to just barely below the breaking point where they begin to slide. “As I was coming into the big turn for the far offset, I began to tuck as low as I could without missing the cones and applying as much forward pressure past my front truck as I could without high siding, which is a term we use for

when we fly over the ‘handlebars’ of our skateboards. I raged through the finish line feeling like I had made a perfect run for myself and done the best I possibly could have.

“I hiked back up to the top of the hill and was thrilled to hear that I was going to bring a medal home to Silverton!”

Rupp competed in three other events at the competition, which included 13 athletes from five countries.

Rupp did not make the finals in hybrid slalom, took tenth in tight straight slalom and was disqualified for missing a cone in tight special slalom.

Rupp is a long time skateboarder and is proficient in snowskating moguls as well. She only recently took up slalom skateboarding. She qualified for the international competition at her first try at the discipline at an event in Salem

Looking ahead, Rupp plans to train all winter in snow skating at Mount Hood and hopes to qualify for the ISSA world championship in Paris in May of 2023 as well as the next World Skate Games in October in Italy.

Silverton-based skateboarder Lari-Ann Rupp is shown with her board at World Skate Games in San Juan, Argentina.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Scott Towery. Submitted Photo

Building year? Fox football 7-4 with new coach, new roster

Last summer Dan Lever took over a Silverton High football program that won the Class 5A title in 2021. Lever, who coached Tualatin to a Class 6A runner-up finish the same season, faced some huge challenges. He essentially had to replace his entire defense. He had some offensive weapons returning – running backs Alejandro Briseno and Jackson Pfeifer and standout linemen Sam Clements and Sam Schaffers.

The 7-4 season Lever and the Foxes turned in this fall has to be viewed as a success worth celebrating. Silverton tied with Central and South Albany for the Mid-Willamette Conference title and advanced to the 5A quarterfinals before falling 39-26 at Wilsonville.

“It was a building year,” Lever said. “We were a couple of plays away from being 5-6 and a couple of plays away from being 8-3.”

This year’s starter, sophomore Sawyer Teeney, looks to be built in the same mold as some of his illustrious Silverton predecessors. He hit 11 of 15 passes for two TDs and also ran for 42 yards. It was a pattern he repeated the rest of the season on the way to being named second-team all-MWC.

“A quarterback like that is a nice thing to have coming back next season,” Lever said. “I’ve never had a sophomore start for me. He could wind up being the best.”

Pfeifer was a revelation after two years in which he had battled foot injuries. He had six TD and five TD games, finding

the end zone every which way – rushing, receiving, interceptions and kick returns. He was named offensive player of the year by the league’s coaches.

Other key returnees for Lever are WR-DBs Cohen Mulick and Elijah Howard, linemen Brash Henderson, Xavier Orozco and Eli Willis, linebackers Brody Sullivan and Diego Flores and place-kicker Sawyer Enderle

From 2012 until this season the Foxes have advanced to the quarterfinals in all but two years, and one of those years was the COVID-19 year.

“The best part of our program is in front of us,” Lever said. “Our players need to do the work in the weight room and get out and play a second or third sport. The games are the test, but the real meat and potatoes is what you do in the weight room and in the offseason.

“Having a good attitude is essential,” he said. “I’m also very grateful that the school and players accepted me and the new coaches with open hearts. This is a great community that really supports its teams.” Kennedy, meanwhile, is battling its way

through the Class 3A playoffs, which concluded after Our Town’s presstime. We’ll have a full report on the conclusion of the Trojans’ season in my Dec. 15 column.

Cross Country: A pair of former regional runners, Haile Stutzman of the Foxes and Kennedy’s Alejandra Lopez, made big splashes at the NAIA national meet in Tallahassee, Florida.

Stutzman, a 2017 Silverton graduate, finished third in his final college race as a senior at Huntington (Indiana), helping lead the Foresters to a tenth-place finish in the team race. Stutzman ran the 8K course at Apalachee Regional Park in 24:05.0, 13.1 seconds off the pace set

by champion Abraham Chelangam of Oklahoma City.

Lopez, who won the 2018 state Class 3A-2A-1A title for Kennedy, took 83rd in the 5K women’s race in 18:43.2. Lopez moved up 93 places during the final 3K and helped her Southern Oregon team take ninth in the team competition.

Former Foxes runner Jori Paradis had a strong senior season with Concordia of Irvine. Paradis took seventh in the PacWest Conference championships in 21:39.2, helping the Golden Eagles to a third-place team finish. Concordia took 12th in the NCAA Division II West Regional with Paradis taking 24th in 21:47.47.

Sports Datebook All home games

Thursday, Dec. 6

Girls Basketball

6 p.m. Kennedy vs Portland Adventist Academy 7 p.m. Silverton vs West Salem

Boys Basketball 7:30 p.m. Kennedy vs Portland Adventist Academy

Saturday, Dec. 10 Boys Basketball 5 p.m. Silverton vs Springfield

Tuesday, Dec. 13 Boys Basketball TBD Silverton vs Woodburn

Wednesday, Dec. 14 Boys Basketball 7:30 p.m. Kennedy vs Knappa

Thursday, Dec. 15 Girls Basketball 5:30 p.m. Kennedy vs Mapleton

Girls Basketball TBD Silverton vs Woodburn Wednesday, Dec. 28 Boys Basketball TBD Silverton vs Ida B Wells

Suddenly, we were 18 again. It was as though H.G. Wells had swooped us up in a time machine and transported us to a town just outside of Philadelphia in 1971.

Though the mustaches and bald spots were plentiful and the gaits a bit slower, the room filled with members of the Conestoga High School Class of 1971 was vibrating that night. All of the old lines between the rah-rahs, the athletes, the nerds and the others were erased by smiles of recognition.

“Are you Carl?” a stranger asked before I had picked up my name tag. It was Jeff, whose family had lived three doors from my family. I wouldn’t have recognized him on the street, but in that moment I saw 18-year-old Jeff, with his blond hair and ready smile. The few hours we all spent together were transformative. Going into the suburban Philadelphia hotel where the reunion was, you could see the marks in

the sidewalk I left as I dug in my heels trying to avoid the inevitable. Maybe I’ll just go to back to the room and sit this out, I thought. I’m not sure I’m up to this.

But, as is often the case, I was wrong. As I scanned the room I started to recognize smiles and mannerisms –even the way some people stood looked familiar.

About two hundred people showed up, give or take, out of five or six hundred in the class. I never counted.

There they were: Jim, Curt, Annette, Sarah, Anne, Candy, Peter, Bob.... I was surprised every time I turned around. It would have taken days just

to catch up with all of them. Better yet was meeting some folks for the first time. In a big class, there was no way to know everyone. But I wanted to find out what my fellow time travelers had been up to. I’ll bet they had been through some great adventures. Some were doctors, some lawyers, engineers, nurses – even a cartoonist. Several, including me, were still working as journalists. How cool is that?

Then there were the stories, which were only slightly embellished with time.

My favorite was the “Chemistry Class Caper.” A classmate – who shall remain nameless – had tucked several chemicals into his coat, which he put on the floor next to his seat. In the middle of class – BAM! – the coat exploded. Our classmate picked it up, ran to a sink and soaked what was left of the coat with water.

I’m not privy to the conversation the teacher had with the student, but I can

still see that smoking coat and the looks on everyone’s faces.

You can’t make up stories like that!

There was a whole batch of folks I wanted to see but who couldn’t make it. Many weren’t the student council members, or the star athletes. Rather, they were “the rest of us,” who did our thing, graduated and moved on to whoknows-what. It would have been great to see them, find out how they were doing – and swap a story or two.

Walking out the front door of the hotel, I lingered a bit, chatting and exchanging email addresses with a few folks. When our ride arrived my wife and I got in the car. The smiles slowly faded, and some of the aches and pains had already returned.

And we drove off into the present.

Carl Sampson is a freelance editor and writer. He lives in Stayton, Oregon.

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