The Silverton City Council voted May 7 to suspend closing Silverton Community Pool, giving community members a year to find ways to fund the pool beyond June 30, 2013.

The deterioration of the pool cover is one of the problems in keeping it open year-round. Installed in 2004, the cover is well past its lifespan and no reserves were set aside for repair. That cost alone is a formidable challenge for a city already operating on a shoestring.

“We had a suspicion that the discussion of closing the pool or of having a seasonal pool only might stimulate some interest from the community, and I would say, judging from the turnout tonight, we were probably correct,” Silverton Public Works Director Gerald Fisher said of the crowd filling the council chambers.

The purchase of a new pool cover was removed from the proposed budget for fiscal 2012-2013.

“There simply isn’t the money in the general fund to justify it,” said Silverton City Manager Bob Willoughby. “But reserves will be tapped in order to seek community input before a final decision is made.”

To that end, city council and city employees are requesting community members serve on a task force to find solutions to fund the pool.

“We are not going to have the money in the general fund for the operation of the pool after July 1, 2013,” Willoughby said. “If we replace the entire cover (top sections, ends, sides, and doors), the cost could be as much as $100,000 if we purchase a new cover from the manufacturer of the existing cover.  We are also looking at options that include only replacing the top sections, finding a local or different vendor, and repairing the existing cover if that is feasible.  For next winter, we will implement the least-cost option since we currently don’t have funds to operate the pool beyond June 30, 2013.”

Willoughby said keeping the pool operational this year will be accomplished, though doing so taps out the reserves set aside from the existing bond as well as dipping into general fund reserves. Keeping it open at all beyond that will require new sources of funding.

“Depending on what happens with the economy and the city’s revenue,” he said, “at this point it looks very, very doubtful that we will have any money to operate the pool. We need to spend the next 12 months figuring out what our options are for operating that pool.”

A feasibility study will be completed in June to assess estimated current and future repairs and options, which include returning the pool to a seasonal one or building a new swim center.

The pool, built in the 1930s, was upgraded in 2001 and the removable pool cover added in 2004, but the basic pool structure remains, Willoughby said. “From what I can see at this point, this is a problem that we cannot resolve on the expense side. It has to be solved on the revenue side, because the general fund is not going to have revenues unless the city’s going to lay off three or four police officers.”

Nearby communities that are managing to keep a swimming pool do so in different ways: Stayton through an operating levy; Molalla through a parks and recreation district; and Woodburn through its general fund.

“I think everybody understands the value of that pool and how it contributes to the community, but we can’t spend money that we don’t have,” Willoughby said. “We have until next year, and now we have to start looking for other options – and that’s where everybody that has an interest in this can help us figure this out over the next 12 months.”

Mount Angel Superintendent Troy Stoops and Silver Falls Superintendent Andy Bellando are already anticipating decisions  for 2013-14 district budgets.

This time next year, both men said in separate interviews, they are anticipating having to make some tough decisions if the economy does not rebound.

“The actual allocation to schools is the same as it was in 2007,” Bellando told his budget committee May 10. “It also represents 39 percent of the state budget compared to 44 percent of the state budget just five years ago.”

Bellando told the committee it would be “easy to be frustrated and even bitter about the continued economic condition in Oregon and its impact on our inability to budget in the best interest of students. We continue to be in the most challenging economic climate in recent history.”

Rather, he said, he presented the budget in the spirit of optimism, knowing school funding levels will improve at some point.

Both Bellando and Stoops told their budget committees every effort was made to maintain programs and staffing to enable the districts to continue offering a quality education.

Mount Angel School District

A combination of reduced state revenue, increases in goods and services and a slowly declining enrollment contributed to a shortfall of $785,218, Stoops said.

In 2011-12, the district’s general fund budget was $6.856 million compared to the 2012-13 budget of $6.378.

Kennedy High School principal Ben Merrill resigned to take a job in Baker City so next year Mount Angel Middle School Principal Debi Brazelton will become high school principal and the middle school position will become a half-time job. Total staff reductions represent the equivalent of five full-time employees.

Stoops said there are no funds allocated for major maintenance and the budget is based on all district salaries being frozen at 2011-12 levels, with no COLA or experience steps, and no increases in benefits.

In anticipation of next year’s shortfall, district staff has agreed to add one furlough day during the current 2011-12 school year. The proposal recommends seven furlough days next year for all district staff.

The school day reductions will have a significant impact on district staff and students, Stoops said.  “However, I remain confident with the continuing commitment from our dedicated staff and the support of our parents and community Mount Angel School District still has the potential to develop into the best small school district in the state.”

Silver Falls School District

A tentative agreement with the teachers’ union stipulates four furlough days for the 2012-13 school year, two non-student contact days and two contact days, Bellando said, adding the contract was pending board approval on May 14.

The general fund budget for the 2012-13 school year is $30.267 million compared to $30.522 million for the current year. Five classified positions were eliminated along with the equivalent of one full-time certified employee. The budget committee approved the budget May 10, which next needs to be adopted by the school board.

“The 2012-13 proposed budget reflects an additional reserve amount of $1.3 million which will result in an estimated $1.2 million ending fund balance; approximately 4 percent,” Bellando said. “This is the lowest level experienced by this district.” With aging facilities and the reslting unknowns,  he recommends future budgets are created with the intent of increasing the ending fund balance each year to less risky levels.

“It’s my hope that economic recovery in Oregon allows for this to occur without the future impact of additional layoffs or unpaid furlough days,” he said.

By Kristine Thomas

The idea of creating one middle school in the Silver Falls School District has some parents and teachers questioning the educational advantages and advocating to keep the current K-8 model.

Silver Crest Elementary School math and physical education specialist Shawn Pool encourages the district’s Long-Range Facilities Committee to “look at the research.”

“No one is suggesting moving to a middle school model,” Pool said.  “Instead, all studies have shown the middle school model has failed.  Districts across the nation are closing middle schools and opening K-8’s.  Why would we ever consider going against all research and our own experience with successful K-8’s?”

On May 1, Our Town ran an article about the facilities of Mark Twain Middle School and the Long Range Facilities Committee’s discussions about creating one middle school – with sixth, seventh and eighth grade students – in Silverton, possibly at the old high school location. Students from outlying schools would be bussed into town.

Currently the district has Mark Twain as the only middle school in Silverton, seven K - 8 schools outside of Silverton and one K - 8 charter school.

The committee, made up of representatives from throughout the district, is expected to present its final recommendations on a plan for district facilities to the school board on June 25.

Michelle Kuenzi attended Silver Crest Elementary School and now her five children do, with the oldest child in eighth grade and the youngest child in kindergarten.

“I am a huge advocate for the K-8 model,” Kuenzi said. “These schools are able to offer a very unique and special learning environment that large schools, with only a few grade levels, just aren’t able to offer.

She appreciates that her children can attend school together and learn from one another.

“The older kids are able to mentor the younger kids,” she said. “Those younger kids really look up to them. I appreciate the teachers and staff are able to focus on a smaller number of students. I truly hope our school district will realize the benefits of the current structure of our district and the supporters of the K-8 models will fight for what we have. I know I would be greatly saddened to see our current structure change.”

Pool spoke with former school board member Jim Sinn, who has asked how having one middle school would save the district money.

“No one could ever show having a large middle school would save money.  I would expect it to cost us,” Pool said.  “Again the research shows more absences and tardies, more discipline issues, and a higher dropout rate when students transfer from a middle school into a high school.”

Pool said all teachers are required to be highly qualified to meet requirements, adding “I am unaware of any teacher in K-8s that (is) not already highly qualified.  Many have masters degrees or are working on it, and I’m even aware of a doctoral candidate.”

Instead of creating one middle school, Pool said research indicates the only way to have a level playing field would be to close the town schools and create more K-8 schools.

“This is not just an idea or whim,” Pool said. “It is backed by decades of research. Across the nation the number of K-8s have doubled and a thousand or more middle schools have closed. If cities like Cleveland, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, etc. can transition from middle schools to K-8s surely all of Silver Falls could, because we are already familiar with the model.”

There are several questions parents and teachers interviewed would like answered about a one middle school plan. Would it save money? What problem is it solving? Do you dismantle excellent environments – schools that are achieving or exceeding state benchmarks – in order to level the playing field?

“At the end of the day, the age of the buildings will win out and we will likely all merge into one,” said a teacher who asked not to be identified. “Until then, I would proceed with caution, because there are so many unintended consequences. We need to be very clear about our reasons for change and that those reasons are accurate and necessary.”

Silver Crest teacher Abby Greene and retired teacher Mary Jane Grizzard would like to know if the committee has considered passing a bond to upgrade existing buildings rather than one to build or remodel a new middle school. They said they believe it will cost the same to house K-5 students at the outlying schools as it does now and believe there would be an increase in transportation costs.

Both women can give many examples of students who have thrived in the K-8 school after moving from a larger school elsewhere.

Grizzard suggested people make appointments to visit the district’s schools, talk to people who work there, and look at how and where students are being educated.

“I believe people who do this with an open mind will see there is room for improvement but Silver Falls is offering a good education for a variety of students in a variety of settings,” Grizzard said.

Jean Elliott has only worked at Pratum Elementary School this year and is impressed with what she sees.

“Having seen what school is like out there compared to at Eugene Field, Robert Frost, and Mark Twain, I would have considered sending our kids to a K-8 school,” she said, adding she has observed a more relaxed and family atmosphere.

Parents and guardians who live in town do have the option of sending their children to an outlying school if there is room. For example, a bus picks up students at three places in town to take them to Silver Crest Elementary School, said kindergarten teacher Christine Guenther.

Her children attend Evergreen Elementary School, although her family lives in town.

Several of the teachers and parents interviewed emphasized how they like how older students serve as role models for younger students at K-8 schools.

Elliott said at Pratum students are known by staff and families.

An advantage to a K-8 school, Elliott said, is students are well-known for nine years instead of starting over at a new school every three or four years.

Pool said he has found no pros to having one large middle school.

“In the mid 2000s there were a few researchers who weren’t sure moving back to K-8s would increase achievement,” Pool said. “But even they stated that K-8s were safer, had better attendance, more families involved, students were more involved in extra-curricular activities, had higher self-esteem and less anxiety moving to high school.”

Pool added his research indicates achievement is higher for students raised through a K-8 model.

Tammie Anderson, a parent and a media and educational assistant at Silver Crest, understands some students may thrive in a large school, but also knows many others ate more successful in a smaller school environment.

“I personally wanted my children to attend a smaller school,” she said. “Kids at our smaller school are able to learn with less of the social pressures that kids at larger schools seem to have to deal with. There is less emphasis on clothes and cliques and more practice getting along with everyone.”

“Choices are always a good thing,” Anderson said. “Silverton is a very diverse community. To offer many choices in schools is a positive.”

Henrietta Saalfeld, “Hank” as she was known in Mount Angel, might be pleased to see what is being done with the house she donated to the city. It is being dressed up for use as a city park. Saalfeld passed away July 30, 2010.

Most everyone in Mount Angel knows the house at the corner of Garfield and East College streets that was Saalfeld’s home for most of her life.  The two-story white home surrounded by shrubs, with a row of roses she tenderly cared over the years, a patio of paving stones on the west side and a wishing well was her pride and joy.

“The site will be completely new,” Mount Angel City Administrator Susan Muir said. “It will involve a lot of rebuilding but it will be easier to maintain and there will be something for everyone.”

Volunteers are completing most of the work, including members of the city council and park and tree board, an Oktoberfest team  and community volunteers. In addition, Oktoberfest is donating $1,500 cash and $4,000 in-kind services.

Linda Coady Richardson, a landscape architect of Portland, designed the park. The Saalfeld roses, which lined the sidewalk along East College Street, were given to community members who will replant them.

“We are really pleased that 11 people have shown interest in the roses and will keep them alive in their yards,” City Councilor Karl Bischoff said.

“It is a good way to keep a legacy alive,” Muir said.

The work began with the removal of the paving stones which will be stored and cleaned for use when the patio is rebuilt.  The new patio will be 33 by 48 feet and will be available for large events.

Some shrubs have been removed to make way for new plantings. Two large trees were removed by professionals, Bischoff said. In addition to new plantings, the design will include seating with eight benches and five round tables for picnicking and extra seating. New turf, irrigation, lighting and a welcome sign acknowledging Saalfeld’s contribution are also part of the plan.

“We also plan a bronze sculpture, but that might be more than a year away,” Bischoff said. “We will have to raise some funds for that.”

Randal Thomas of Silverton Kiwanis Club reports that the club’s “pet project” – Silverton’s annual Pet Parade – will be bigger and better than ever when it takes to the streets on May 19.

The most singular feature lies not in the fact that this is the first Grand Marshal the parade has had in recent memory, but in the identity of this esteemed forerunner.

Thanks to his recent act of heroism, Boomba the Dog joins Bobbie the Dog in Silverton’s (quirky but necessary) unofficial Canine Hall of Fame.

When fire broke out at the Silverton Palace Theatre the morning of April 11, Boomba was walking his owner, downtown resident Carla Mahler. The Chinese Crested Dog “that looks like it has a Mohawk” noticed the fire and Mahler immediately called 911, said Palace Theatre owner Stu Rasmussen, adding that were it not for the quick action, the theater would have been a total loss.

Further credit, he said, goes to the Silverton Fire District for the circumspect way in which they handled the blaze.

Therefore, it is only fitting that Boomba don the garb of a firefighter and head the well-attended parade.

Through partnerships with Valley Credit Union, Allied Waste and Silver Creek Animal Clinic, more judging categories have been added to this year’s event, including “Dogs in Costume,” “Big Dogs” and “Little Dogs,” not to mention the Boomba banner. Thomas estimates the total number of banners to be around 15.

In order for this furry, trotting, crawling, slithering, diverse menagerie to take to the streets in style Saturday morning, Kiwanis is seeking volunteers to carry these banners along the parade route.

On-the-job training provided; just show up at 9 a.m. and find the appropriate table.

For further parade information, call Randal Thomas, 503-873-1989.

St Joseph’s Shelter of Mount Angel has undertaken a complete renovation of one dormitory to house migrant and farm worker families in 10 new apartment units.

The project will cost an estimated $2.1 million which will be paid by federal and state grants and donations. The renovation will involve Bede Hall which will be altered from a dormitory into apartment units. Due to limited recourses Barnard Hall will be renovated at some time in the future.

“It is a wonderful project,” said Sister Marcella Parrish, director of the shelter. “We are truly blessed.”

The architect for the project is Scott Edwards Architecture. The project is expected to be ready for occupants in January 2013. Community and Shelter Assistance Corp. of Oregon (CASA) is providing development assistance.

The Benedictine Sisters of Mount Angel established St. Joseph’s Shelter in 1988 to serve migrants and farm workers. The campus earlier was Mount Angel College and later Colegio Cesar Chavez. The shelter has served the migrant and farm worker population for 23 years in the two dormitories, Bede and Barnard Halls. Currently, the dormitories house 76 single male farm workers each. After the renovation of Bede Hall, Barnard Hall will house 70 male farm workers in a dormitory setting.

Due to the design of the two facilities, the shelter has been forced to turn away families seeking assistance in the past. With the redesign of Bede Hall, St. Joseph’s will be able to serve families.

The interior of Bede Hall needs replacement of sheetrock and paint. Some utilities can be updated, others need complete replacement. The building needs accessibility work to meet the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Windows, doors and skylights will be replaced. Exterior repair work will include new trim and paint and exterior brick cleaning, repair and sealing.

The rehabilitation will include two studio apartments of 344 square feet each and eight two-bedroom units of 667 to 895 square feet. A new shared laundry facility is included in the redesign. One of the two-bedroom apartments will meet ADA requirements. A picnic area and a small playground are included and a 21-space parking area with a van-accessible ADA space is proposed.

Rent will be $340 for a studio apartment and $475 a month for two-bedroom apartments with utilities included.  The property is owned by St. Joseph’s Shelter and is tax exempt.

The sources of funding include: Oregon Farm Worker Housing Tax Credit Equity $602,093; Federal Home Loan Bank $99,990; Oregon’s Housing Trust Fund/GHAP and Weatherization program $7,500; Global Health Access Program $500,000; Housing and Urban Development Rural Innovation Fund $300,000 and Building Donations $592,960.

After turning 90 years old and receiving the Librarian Emeritus Award from Mount Angel Abbey Library this spring, Mount Angel resident Josef Sprug still doesn’t plan to retire.

“I’ll work until I can’t work anymore,” said Sprug, who has served as volunteer librarian at the abbey library for almost 25 years.

Sprug’s career at the abbey library came after he retired from a prodigious career as librarian, author, indexer, and lecturer in various educational and government institutions across the nation, including the Catholic University of America, U.S. Air Force Academy, and St. Edwards University.  He holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Meinrad College, a B.S.L.S from Catholic University of America, and a master’s degree in philosophy.

Sprug has compiled several books of indexes, including the Index to American Reference Books, a Bibliography of Time Perception (joint author), and an Index to Fairy Tales, Myths, and Legends. He has made indexes for more than 600 books and written hundreds of book reviews.

A few months before moving to Mount Angel in 1988, Sprug was diagnosed with prostate cancer and was bluntly told that he had five years to live. Another doctor told him that the first doctor should have said that, statistically, he had five years to live, but that he could die of old age before he died of cancer.

Almost 25 years later, Sprug, soft spoken and unassuming in manner, is in fairly good health and works 35 hours a week, not counting the time he spends with take-home work reading book reviews and suggesting titles to add to the collection.

To date, Sprug has catalogued more than 24,000 books at the abbey library, starting in 1988 with the 20,000-volume multi-lingual collection of the well-known philosopher Richard McKeon. After spending some years selecting books to add to the library collection, Sprug started cataloguing the pre-1800 rare books, about 4,000 volumes, which had not been catalogued since they were purchased in the 1930s. These books range from oversized illuminated manuscripts and miniature prayer books from the Middle Ages to classics in numerous fields of study.

“He has spent untold hours with countless people who come from all over the globe to see the rare books. Josef’s dedication to, and love of, the library has made the library experience richer for us all,” said Victoria Ertelt, Mount Angel Abbey Library administrator.

“Working with the old books here have been the best years of my life. Making rare books known and available to people is something I love to do,” Sprug said.

Father Hugh Feiss, former abbey library director, said sharing the rare books with the public is Sprug’s most valuable contribution to the library.

Sprug’s personal favorites in the rare books collection are the “emblem books,” a category of mainly inspirational illustrated books printed in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. These books typically contain a visual image, accompanied by one or more short texts intended to inspire readers to reflect on a general moral lesson derived from the reading of both picture and text together. In talking about his fondness for the whimsical and innocent qualities found in “emblem books,” Sprug echoed a verse from the Gospel of Matthew: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Sprug delights in showing books that are a quiet witness to historical truths. One such book is a German translation of the Bible from the 15th century, before the birth of Martin Luther. “It’s one of the 18 pre-Luther German translations of the Bible and is extremely rare,” he said.

Born and raised in Fort Smith, Ark., Sprug developed his love of books during the Depression, when poverty forced a lot of people to stay home. “I read a lot then. You didn’t drive anywhere or go on vacation,” Sprug recalled.

It wasn’t so much his love of books, however, that compelled him to become a librarian: “I wanted to be a journalist, but I realized that I’d starve to death if I relied on freelance journalism.” Sprug took to heart a librarian’s advice to get a library degree. He pursued a library career that enabled him and his wife Joan to raise a family of six children.

Some years ago, the Abbey Library had a newsletter for which individual faculty and staff members were asked to name and briefly annotate the five books that have made the strongest, longest-lasting impression on them. Sprug’s contribution began: “These titles come from first readings in my late teens and early twenties, the time after I stopped doubting my own existence, and during the time when I doubted everyone else’s existence.”

Sprug’s favorite books, listed in the order read, are: Works of Francis Thompson; The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton; The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; Pensées (Thoughts) by Blaise Pascal, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry.

Mount Angel’s Kurt Berning has an unquenchable thirst for learning new things, soaking up knowledge.

The former Kennedy High School valedictorian and student body president recently received his diploma from the University of Portland. His next educational adventure will be studying at University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, all made possible by receiving the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.

The “Fulbright” is given to those interested in studying, assist in teaching English or conducting research abroad. About 1,700 students receive a Fulbright U.S. Student grant to go overseas each year.

Berning applied to study in the United Kingdom. In 2010, 603 students applied and only 26 received the scholarship. Earning a Fulbright will help Berning in his career goals.

“I’m interested in improving education systems in developing countries, so pursing a master’s degree in development and education is the perfect route toward attaining that goal,” Berning said. “This type of degree would give me the skills, insight, and network needed to work on a global scale and empower communities to improve educational systems.”

Berning selected the University of East Anglia because it offers the top education and development program in the United Kingdom.

“It is hive of international development, and its universities welcome students from the entire world to study and achieve prestigious degrees,” he said. “UEA’s academic quality is ranked next to Oxford for its performance in development, studies, and its specific education and development program is exactly suited to my career goals.”

Berning earned a 3.90 grade point average at the University of Portland, majoring in finance and operations, plus technology management. He attributes much of his academic achievement to his motivational foundation at the high school level.

“Kennedy High is a small high school in a small town, meaning that the level of connectivity and community at the school is quite unique,” Berning said. “When you are in that type of community, surrounded by a group of skilled and dedicated educators, you become confident and driven to succeed.”

“Kennedy taught me the same academic skills as almost any other high school, but what I learned that set me apart was the value of community and relationships.”

Berning said he believes there are many weaknesses in the current educational approach in America.

“I think our basic education system is based off an old model that doesn’t address the needs of today’s students,” Berning said. “First of all, our education system doesn’t do enough to lessen the inequality gap between groups of class or ethnicity.”

He said he is an advocate of year-round schooling (spreading the summer break into three one-month breaks), and full funding for Head Start programs around the country, which have been shown to improve the results of both students and parents.

“I also believe teachers should be paid higher salaries, and middle and high schools should have a multitude of programs that involve students in business/community activities and meaningfully engage them outside of the classroom,” he said.

Berning said math and science are important to emphasize, but he thinks a quote by Albert Einstein summarizes his views on schools: “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Berning said he didn’t succeeded in college because of his intellectual ability.

“I’ve succeeded because I love connecting with people, and I value the relationships I build with friends, business mentors, and professors,” he said.

When Jacob Haskett found a loaded firearm on his family’s property last summer, he made the right decision.

Many children may have picked up the gun, but Haskett, 6 at the time, is part of a family of hunting and fishing enthusiasts who taught him how to be safe around firearms.

“We have raised our kids to be smart around weapons,” said Jacob’s mom Shannon Haskett.

When Jacob spotted the gun lying in the family’s orchard Aug. 10, he didn’t even think about picking it up. Instead, he pointed it out to his brother Riley Merrill, 13, and father Zane Haskett, who uncocked the gun and, having an idea of where it might be from, called the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.

Haskett, a second grader at Butte Creek School, was honored by Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers during a school assembly April 27 for his safe response to the weapon.

The firearm Jacob discovered was the same weapon used in an armed robbery July 3 at Monitor Inn. The Hasketts live near the establishment and had already aided in the arrest of suspect David Hiron Brown. Shannon saw a man run past her front yard during the heat of that day.

Suspicious, she alerted the authorities. Brown, now 51, was later convicted of three counts of robbery and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. He had entered the Monitor Inn with the weapon, demanded money and fled the scene on foot. After Brown’s arrest hours later, deputies found his disguise and the stolen money stashed under the porch of a nearby vacant home, said Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Don Thomson.

“They arrested him but couldn’t find the weapon,”  Shannon said.

Thomson said Brown was denying any involvement in the crime, but the firearm that Jacob discovered was key evidence linking Brown to the robbery. “It tied everything together,”  Thomson said. The weapon in the surveillance film at the Monitor Inn matched the weapon Jacob discovered, leading to Brown’s conviction.

Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers told the students at Butte Creek during the assembly that Jacob’s actions were heroic. “He didn’t touch the firearm; he realized that firearms are very dangerous,” he said. “He is a hero; he did the right thing.”

Thomson said Myers takes every opportunity to recognize kids for good decision making.

“This was an armed robbery and Jacob showed that guns are not toys; they are not something to fool around with ,” he said. “It’s a good life lesson. All kids benefit from Jacob’s decision.”

By Jim Kinghorn

Don’t miss The Silverton Wine & Jazz Festival’s main event, this Saturday, May 19. This year features a new format, new venue in Town Square Park and all the same great music and wines from throughout the region. You can also get your grape groove on at the final series event on June 9 at Howard Hinsdale Wine Cellars with piano man extraordinaire, Tom Grant.

Bids are still being accepted for the original Wine Festival poster art by Silverton’s own immensely talented, Barbara Bassett. Stop by Howard’s Wine Bar and you just might be able to have “Smokin’ Jazz” hanging in your own wine cellar….(right Denny?)

Just in time for summer, Natasha Roland is opening Spoonful frozen yogurt in Silverton.  She is aiming to have her Oak Street shop open by June 1 so you can get your “gurt” on….

Didya hear about the Pennsylvania girl who won a national penmanship award? This impressive accomplishment is even more amazing when you find out that 7 year old Annie Clark was born with no hands. It has been suggested that the average human uses about 20 percent of their potential brain power…. How much are you using?

The kegs are empty and the hop heads are gone but you’ll have to excuse the gang at The Oregon Garden if they are still a little drunk with success over this year’s Brewfest. This year‘s attendance was almost double that of previous years and left The Man channeling Roy Scheider in Jaws - “You‘re gonna need a bigger…tent”…. which coincidentally is already planned for next year. Good job, Garden Gals!

The Man’s quote of the month: “April showers bring May….pollen”  -The (sniff, sniff) Man

Looks like the Palace Theatre may be out of commission for a while. Contractor to the stars, Dennis Downey says although the fire damage was contained to the lobby area, mitigating the smoke damage will require a thorough cleaning  of the entire building.

Kudos to the Silverton City Council for committing the funds to keep the city pool open until 2013. The problem remains though, and when the funding is gone the future of the pool will be in jeopardy. Contact City Manager Bob Willoughby if you would like to be on a committee to secure long term funding.

The Silverton Pet Parade will roll through downtown for the 80th time on May 19…..It must be exciting for Ken Hector to know that our furry friends have been lining up in front of his house since he was a teenager…

The Man attended the recent Roth’s “Oregon is Home” luncheon and after the third or fourth $10,000 check of the afternoon was presented to Special Olympics, Family Building Blocks and other worthy organizations it occurred to me that it’s names like Roth, Withnell, Frank, Miller and many others’ philanthropic efforts that make this country great. The recent trend for some in our culture seems to be to demonize the “fat cats” who have worked their tails off to build a business and achieve a level of success. A few may deserve the “evil” label but let’s not lose sight of the thousands of individuals and businesses that quietly and voluntarily give back to make their communities better…..And the next time you see Mr. O, congratulate him on Roth’s 50 years as an independent  grocer – truly a remarkable feat…

See you on the street….