By Jim Kinghorn
Well, it looks like the fine folks at ‘ol Toy-yoter sure are taking their lumps. Being a car guy, I just don’t get it… they say Prius owners may experience “unintended acceleration”…what does a Prius have, like 6 horsepower? With that kind of earthshaking power any acceleration might certainly be “unexpected” but hardly cause for alarm. Besides, it’s not like the brakes don’t work……
Those wacky students at Mark Twain Middle School are doing a fundraiser for this year’s Washington DC trip. You can donate to have SACA Director Dixon Bledsoe, Silverton High Principal Mark Hannon, Mark Twain Principal Les Keele or Mark Twain teacher Donna Bahr “plant one on a pig” at the SHS varsity girls’ basketball game Feb. 23. Now The Man doesn’t know about the educators, but one thing is for sure, if Dixon wins the “prize” the poor pig will definitely be getting the short end of the stick.
A little bird told The Man (yes, birds sometimes talk to me, don’t they talk to you?) that Roth’s manager Darin Rybloom donated the costume sewing room equipment and supplies for the drama department at Silverton High. Isn’t it great that there are local companies willing to quietly help out where needed. On the other hand, The Man just hopes that this isn’t just a front for some bow tie-making sweatshop…
The Mt. Angel Developmental Program and ex-Goose Hollower Heidi Prince are opening a vintage art and thrift items store in the former Clothes Garden location on First and Main streets in Silverton. They are shooting for a March 1 opening. Call Heidi at 503-851-7267 if you have items to donate to the store.
Those kaptains of kegery at Seven Brides Brewing started bottling their bodacious brews and are close to a deal on a new location… Stay tuned . . .
A trillion is a 1 followed by 12 zeroes…a trillion dollars is a stack of $1,000 bills 67 miles high…have some time on your hands and want to count to a trillion? If you count one second per number, you will finish in 31,688 years…now take all of those times 12 and you have an idea of the size of our national debt — so far.
It’s time to dig out the old Erector Set from the basement and enter the first ever Silverton Contraption Competition. Local gadfly Gregg Sheesley says the idea is “to design and build a deliberately over-engineered device which performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion” (sounds like a great job for the government to me). The handmade contraptions must be submitted to the Silver Creek Coffee House in Silverton by May 1.
Now that the new state tax measures have passed (and yes, they will affect all of us regardless of what they told you) The Man has a question. If the three “heartstring” issues of education, public safety and senior care are the top priorities, why not make them the top of the list for funding and make cuts in less important areas? Let’s do that instead of hearing that if we don’t pass this or that tax our kids will grow up stupid criminals and poor granny will be out on the street. Just once The Man would like to see an ad that says “Vote yes on Measure 99 or we will have to drive last year’s cars in the motor pool for another year” or maybe “If we don’t pass Measure 86 then we will have to make do with less office supplies and middle managers.” Heck, even The Man might get behind measures like that….
Here’s seeing you on the street.
