Our Town – Silverton, Mt. Angel & Scotts Mills

Trial by ice: Neighbors, services unite in the face of shared adversity

March 2021 Posted in Community, News | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_9792" align="alignright" width="300"] An old oak near St. Edward's Church in Silverton by the February ice storm. Photo courtesy Steve Canning.[/caption] By Melissa Wagoner When residents of the mid-Willamette Valley awoke to a world covered in a beautiful blown glass tapestry ...

Banding together: Reflecting on community in wildfires’ wake

October 2020 Posted in Community, News | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_9733" align="alignright" width="300"] Mount Angel’s Magnolia Grill crew delivering food to frontline workers. Submitted Photo[/caption] By Melissa Wagoner “Helping is easy. Being on the receiving end is difficult.” Sheila Zervas Nielsen, a teacher at Silverton High School and resident of Gates, knows ...

Once in a century: Wind-whipped fires devastate some, threaten others

September 2020 Posted in News | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_9727" align="alignright" width="300"] Sept. 9 in Silverton during the height of the smoke from the Beachie Creek Fire. Photo by Jim Kinhorn[/caption] By Melissa Wagoner In the midst of a global pandemic, with civil unrest in the streets, a new catastrophe ...

Living history: Silvertonians give first-hand accounts of Portland protests

August 2020 Posted in News, People | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_9716" align="alignright" width="300"] A Black Lives Matter memorial on Tom McCall Waterfront Park near the protest blocks in Portland. Photo by Melissa Wagoner.[/caption] “You watch what’s going on for years and it leads to this underlying angst and agitation,”45-year-old Jay ...

Empty skies: Mount Angel July 4th fireworks canceled

July 2020 Posted in Community, News | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner This year Mount Angel’s Fourth of July celebration was going to be different. Sarah Bauman, president of the Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce, has known that since the pandemic began. “We pretty much wrote the parade off right ...

The decade ahead: Silverton officials discuss projects for city’s future

July 2020 Posted in Community, News | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner In February, Public Works Director Petra Schuetz, Community Development Director Jason Gottgetreu and Mayor Kyle Palmer were discussong the decade ahead for Silverton for an Our Town story. What none knew then, of course, was that in a ...

Peaceful protest: Silvertonians inspired to take action against racism

June 2020 Posted in Community, News | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner “I come to report — the kids are not alright,” Keith Amano gravely stated at the George Floyd Memorial Protest in Silverton on Friday, June 5. As the Activities Director for the Immanuel Lutheran Church, Amano has spent years ...

Adapting to closures: School superintendents discuss service strategies

April 2020 Posted in Community, News, School | Comments Off

By Brenna Wiegand Since Oregon closed its schools in mid-March due to the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus, local superintendents have been on a wild ride, chasing after ways to maintain their responsibility to the students. Buildings may be closed, ...

Policy change: Cities change access rules because of virus

April 2020 Posted in Community, News | Comments Off

By James Day Silverton and Mount Angel both have changed their policies on public access to municipal buildings in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and the governor’s social-distancing orders. City Hall offices in Silverton and Mount Angel were closed to the ...

Surge protection: Legacy, Santiam hospitals prepare

April 2020 Posted in Community, News, Your Health | Comments Off

By Steve Ritchie As the number of COVID-19 cases quickly grows in Oregon and throughout the country, government leaders and public health authorities have focused their attention on the readiness of hospitals to deal with an influx of coronavirus patients. With 43 ...

Shockwaves: Silverton’s community aid suppliers plan for hard weeks

April 2020 Posted in Community, News | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner This time may very well be the calm before the storm for many community aid organizations, including both Sheltering Silverton and Silverton Area Community Aid (SACA), as more and more people lose their jobs or are laid off ...

Saving Silverton’s murals: Society urgently needs members

March 2020 Posted in Arts, Culture & History, News | Comments Off

By Brenna Wiegand Silverton Mural Society is in desperate need of volunteers to help maintain its collection of historical, hand-painted murals that have become part of the charm of Silverton and a legitimate tourist attraction. Silverton Mural Society finds itself without a ...

Drift Creek dilemma: Farmers continue to debate dam project

March 2020 Posted in News | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner It’s not about a dam – though one has become the face of the problem. It’s not even about the fish – though they feature prominently in the discussion. What the controversy around the proposal to add a ...

Civic Center: Silverton seeking proposals

February 2020 Posted in News | Comments Off

By James Day The plan to build a new Civic Center complex in Silverton has moved another step forward. The city has issued a request for proposals from architectural design firms who want to participate in the project. Firms were required to ...

Uncensured: School board opts for training

February 2020 Posted in News, School | Comments Off

By Brenna Wiegand Move forward with training, not censure, was the direction from the Silver Falls School District Board Feb. 10. On a 6-1 vote, additional training was endorsed as the appropriate response to the Nov. 25 citizen complaint lodged against ...

Contracted: School district, teachers agree

February 2020 Posted in News, School | Comments Off

By Brenna Wiegand It took eight months, but Silver Falls School District and Silver Falls Education Association have shaken hands on a contract. The school board ratified a three-year contract Feb. 3. Silver Falls School District Assistant Superintendent Dan Busch said the ...

Starbucks proposed: Coffee outlet would be part of development

February 2020 Posted in News | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_9645" align="alignright" width="300"] The site at North First Street and D Street. Photo by James Day.[/caption] By James Day A Starbucks coffee outlet has been proposed for property adjacent to the Roth’s market on North First Street in Silverton. The property is ...

Contract accord: SFSD negotiations get wide-ranging attention

February 2020 Posted in News, School | Comments Off

By Paula Mabry After a final mediation session that lasted well into the evening Jan. 27, Silver Falls Education Association and the Silver Falls School District came to an accord on wages and contract language. Now the proposed settlement must go to ...

How much, too much?: SFSD investigation into board communications enters second phase

January 2020 Posted in News, School | Comments Off

By Brenna Wiegand Silver Falls School District is conducting further investigation into allegations brought against school board member in a Nov. 25 complaint from 112 petitioners. The complaint asserts that board members Shelly Nealon, Jennifer Traeger, Jonathan Edmonds, Janet Allanach and Lori ...

Counties win one: State loses billion-dollar timber lawsuit, plans appeal

December 2019 Posted in News | Comments Off

By Mary Owen After week-long deliberations, a jury sided with 14 counties – including Marion – in a $1.06 billion class action lawsuit against the state of Oregon. With financial backing from the timber industry, Linn County led the case against the ...

Resignation requested: Board authorizes investigation into complaint

December 2019 Posted in News, School | Comments Off

By Brenna Wiegand Silver Falls School District has hired a third-party investigator to review a formal complaint brought against five Silver Falls School Board members at the board’s Nov. 25 work session. Directors Shelly Nealon, Lori McLaughlin, Janet Allanach, Jennifer Traeger and ...

Avery takes helm at Legacy Silverton

November 2019 Posted in News, People, Your Health | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_9507" align="alignright" width="225"] Jonathan Avery, MHSA Submitted Photo[/caption] Jonathan Avery, MHSA, is now Legacy Health’s president for the Willamette Valley Region. His responsibilities include leadership of medical centers at Legacy Silverton and Legacy Meridian Park in Tualatin. Legacy’s announcement said the ...

November Briefs

November 2019 Posted in Community, News, Other, People | Comments Off

Jazzercise Thanksgiving benefit celebrates 30th year Silverton Jazzercise will hold its 30th Thanksgiving morning benefit class for Silverton Area Community Aid on Thursday, Nov. 28, at 9 a.m. at the Silverton Community Center, 421 S. Water St., Silverton. Admission is $5 ...

Horses as healers: Day of the Wise Woman – Wisdom of the Horse

September 2018 Posted in Community, News, Other, People | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_8641" align="alignleft" width="212"] Equus coach Chris Burnett with “Blue.” Val Lemings[/caption] By Nancy Jennings Chris Burnett wants you to find yourself in the heart of a horse. Her one-day event – “Day of the Wise Woman/Wisdom of the Horse” takes place ...

Citizen action: How-to class presented at library

March 2018 Posted in Community, News, Other | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner “The beginning of all knowledge is the ability to think critically,” Donna Cohen, creator and facilitator of adult civics workshops said. “Evaluating whether information is accurate and complete enough to make a decision is the basis for all ...

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