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People Out Loud: Paying it forward

People Out LoudBy Dixon Bledsoe

What 7-year-old girl tells her parents she has enough toys?  Kayden Eberle, a first-grader in Jan Bothum’s class at Eugene Field, is such a kid. Her coed birthday party was fun, for sure, as nine friends enjoyed bowling at Silver Creek Lanes. But the gifts were rather unique – a whopping 63 lbs. of food for Silverton Area Community Aid, the local food bank. “I thought it would be nice to do food and I just wanted to help,” said the benevolent birthday girl, daughter of Troy and Heidi Eberle of Silverton. No surprise to Ms. Bothum – “She is a kind and warm young lady.”

When Georgia Ireland moved to Silverton recently from California, she knew it was a special place. Mark Holland, owner of Holland Collision and Towing Service, confirmed she made the right choice. She had a problem with her car and Mark, being the equivalent of a “rocket scientist” in all things auto, quickly fixed the fuse problem, twice. He said two of my favorite words – “No charge.” Not to be deterred but a generous woman herself, she asked about his favorite charity. He suggested a donation to SACA, and she did just that. Kudos to kindness and in Ireland’s words, “Paying it Forward.”

If “America’s Got Talent” decides to have a “Silverton” edition, they might want to start rolling the cameras at 729 S. Water St., the new old home of Nancy Korda and Jim Bressi. She was a professional violinist with the Pasadena Symphony who has played with Natalie Cole, Peabo Bryson, Roberta Flack, Ray Charles, and Smokey Robinson, and played movie scores like “Dick Tracey,” “Speed,” and “Batman.” He has been an acting coach, general contractor, commercial actor and in the film industry for 30 years. He also is a painter with an education from the San Francisco Art Institute. Together, the California transplants saw the Edward Adams House, circa 1890 on-line and knew in a heartbeat it was the ideal setting for the bed and breakfast they longed to own. Look for an open house soon. Talented, warm, and fun, they are neighbors you will want to know. Shakespeare lessons and Vivaldi in the gazebo, anyone?

Jesse Bledsoe thought about being a farmer while attending Silverton High School in the late 1990s. He’s got other things on his mind today, like interviews with Harvard, UCLA, Johns Hopkins and closer to home, OHSU. Seems the 28-year-old Silverton native better decide pretty quickly so he can start his doctoral internship in Pediatric Neuro-Psychology. Soon to be credentialed with a PhD specializing in Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, the highly published young man will visit his parents, Kathy and Bill Bledsoe of Silverton for the holidays. No relation, of course, just a coincidence his last name is the same as mine. OK, fine. He’s my nephew. Deal with it.

I have been visiting Silverton City Hall a lot lately on a variety of business and civic related topics. Didn’t see a Doberman, Dementor, or rubberstamp in the place. Just a lot of good professionals working hard to make sure we have water and sewer service, safety, responsible building, planning, and the best return on our tax dollars. Feel free to look them up. The door is almost always open, and it swings both ways.

Jordan Dooley of Silverton High School took another first place for the speech and debate team. Her parents said she was “sandbagging” in her latest debate competition, telling them she didn’t finish well. But when she came home with another top award out of 45 schools, they didn’t mind her trickery. For a young woman who had great difficulty with speech in general early on, she has come a long way, thanks to the Scottish Rite/Mason program for helping kids with such challenges.  James Dooley and Julie Steacy sent a thank-you letter to the therapists whose work helped daughter “Jordie” become a speech and debate champion.

Way to go, Daniel and Jennifer Cote for speaking up when they realized their teenage daughter had received condoms while trick-or-treating. Condoms in kids’ candy bags on Halloween? Let’s keep Halloween fun, not a misguided attempt to parent the community and its children without an invitation.

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