By Brenna Wiegand Legacy Health recently launched a new surgical robotics program at Legacy Silverton Medical Center with the installation of an Intuitive da Vinci Xi Surgical System robot, a versatile robotic system used by surgeons around the world. This advanced instrumentation allows surgeons to perform delicate and complex operations through a few tiny incisions with increased vision, precision, dexterity […]
By Brenna Wiegand Recent approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children was welcome news to many families and communities across Oregon, especially those who have been hit hard by COVID-19. It also gave Legacy Health staff in the Silverton region the green light to create ways of getting them out to kids from five to 11 years old quickly and efficiently. […]
By Brenna Wiegand Turns out Dr. Davies never had to set a retirement date, something he was not looking forward to. When Our Town sat down with Dr. Olwyn K. Davies in July, the 92-year-old physician was still seeing patients at his office in Silverton, where he was surrounded by massive stacks of files, each belonging to a beloved patient […]
By Brenna Wiegand Last month the Oregon Cultural Trust awarded the Gordon House Conservancy a grant of $13,325 toward ongoing preservation of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed home. The money goes a long way toward funding the stabilization of a sagging 20-foot beam spanning its living room, thereby preserving the home’s structural integrity and protecting the Conservancy’s mission of educating […]
By Brenna Wiegand Only two weeks of school had elapsed when Our Town touched base with Silverton High School Principal Sione Thompson, in his first year with the Silver Falls School District. “It’s been quite a trial by fire but what makes it all worthwhile is that these are just terrific people,” he said. “They are kind and compassionate with […]
By Brenna Wiegand Silverton Arts Association is featuring the work of local artist Jim Bornzin, whose show, “Amazing Scissorcuts,” runs Sept. 10-26 at the Borland Gallery. Bornzin became fascinated with the German art form of scissor cutting in high school after observing his cousin’s grandfather, Hans Bittner of Chicago, cutting an intricate design on paper using a small pair of […]
By Brenna Wiegand Emily Dazey, Executive Director of Providence Benedictine Nursing Center in Mount Angel, will be moving into a broader role as Providence Director of the Skilled Nursing Facility Collaborative for Oregon. Dazey, who has served at the Mount Angel campus for 26 years, will now serve in a regional capacity on behalf of the Providence hospitals with the […]
By Brenna Wiegand The feeling of serenity on the campus of Providence Mt. Angel Skilled Nursing Center is – was – owed largely to the stands of mature oaks and other trees that seem to stretch out their arms to shelter and to heal. The ice storm changed all that, devastating the trees and damaging roofs around the nursing center […]
By Brenna Wiegand Though Hawaii born and raised, the pandemic spurred Sione Thompson to move to the mainland and become Silverton High School’s new principal. “I have a lot of family on the West Coast,” Thompson said. “I also have four children: two in grade school, one in high school and another in college. Dawn and I agreed that we […]
By Brenna Wiegand Rachel Stucky takes the helm as Mt. Angel School District’s new superintendent, taking over for Troy Stoops who stepped down at the end of the last school year after filling the role for ten years. Stucky spent the last five years in the Sweet Home School District as chief academic officer and is eager to bring her skills […]
By Brenna Wiegand Chuck White received the Judy Schmidt Lifetime Achievement Award at Silverton’s 50th annual First Citizens Banquet July 31. Born and raised in northern California, White came to Silverton shortly after his 1972 graduation from Willamette University in Salem. Looking back, Chuck has always been active in the community both as an educator and as a community volunteer. […]
By Brenna Wiegand The Satern Agency – Country Financial was recently named Business of the Year by the Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce. Owner Brent Satern grew up with a love and respect for Silverton. As he got older, he wanted to find a career in Silverton in which he could serve people and be his own boss with the […]
By Brenna Wiegand Whether playing jazz, concert music or marching in the band; on the soccer field or running cross country, Charlie Petrik always gravitates toward positions of leadership. For this and other reasons, Petrik was recently named this year’s Silverton Future First Citizen. “Every year, selecting a candidate for this recognition seems to get harder and harder, and this […]
By Brenna Wiegand Mt. Angel School District Superintendent Troy Stoops is moving on after 10 years to take the helm at Junction City School District. “Junction City is about the size of Mount Angel – about 1,800 kids,” Stoops said. “Like Mount Angel, it’s a rural farming community in close proximity to the city.” Stoops officially retired from PERS (Public […]
By Brenna Wiegand When the COVID-19 vaccine first became available in late December, Legacy Silverton Medical Center opened a clinic and started providing vaccines, first to primary care providers, then teachers. By January’s end about 5,000 people had been vaccinated at the Silverton campus. Not long after the vaccine became available to the general public, it became clear that some […]
By Brenna Wiegand It is no picnic for an RC airplane to find its place in the sun these days. “Our situation is so special,” Bob Bevens, founding member of Keizer Radio Control Association, said. “We need a certain amount of land for flying; we’ve got to park and at times accommodate the public.” When the club needed a new […]
By Brenna Wiegand Help often comes from unexpected places, and there is plenty of evidence that this pandemic has brought the community together in novel ways. Last week, Silver Falls School District Superintendent Paul Peterson was part of a virtual meeting with several other community leaders. “I told the story of how we wanted to collect the students’ supplies from […]
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, but teaching and learning needs to continue. Mount Angel School District Superintendent Troy Stoops says it’s new territory for […]
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 president, vice president or treasurer and ten-year volunteer Norm English is the acting secretary. “We cannot continue to […]
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 five board members. The complaint charges challenged the way board members followed – or did not follow – district […]
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 administration made a special effort to get teachers their retroactive pay, providing educators the reimbursement along with their […]
By Brenna Wiegand Bill and Sylvia Long will be honored as recipients of the 2019 Judy Schmidt Lifetime Achievement Award at the First Citizen Banquet Feb. 8 at the Mt. Angel Festhalle. “It’s very humbling to be given this award, especially that was established in Judy Schmidt’s name,” Sylvia Long said. “We’ve never gotten this kind of award, and to […]
By Brenna Wiegand Silverton Pill Box Pharmacy will be celebrated as Silverton’s 2019 Business of the Year Feb. 8 at the First Citizens Banquet. “I cried,” Pill Box owner Amber Grant said. “We are thrilled beyond words. “When you’ve been here as long as we have, these people have become my family. We grew up together; our families interacted over […]
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 McLaughlin violated board policies, the Board/Superintendent Working Agreement, prior Superintendent Andy Bellando’s employment contract, the Hiring Confidentiality Covenant […]
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 Jonathan Edmonds are cited in the document, signed by 112 community members. Ken Hector and Lesli Kaufman read […]
