By Melissa Wagoner At this point, most people have contracted COVID at least once during the past four years. For the majority, the experience was akin to getting the flu. They were sick for a few days, or even a week, but then the symptoms faded and they resumed their normal lives. That’s the story for most, but not all. […]
By Melissa Wagoner If the odds of giving birth on Leap Day are one in 1,461, the odds of two cousins sharing the same Leap Day birthday are, well, extremely low. “We did the math,” Laura Pemble said, recalling the day she discovered that not only was her daughter-in-law, Ivy Pemble, pregnant with her first child, but her daughter, Megan Peetz, was pregnant with […]
By Melissa Wagoner What would a celebration of the famous political cartoonist, Homer Davenport, be without a celebration of cartoons? “To that end, the International Cartoon Contest has returned,” organizer, Gus Frederick, wrote in a recent press release. “As in past years, the competition is for ‘political’ or ‘editorial’ cartoons on any topic as long as they are not libelous, […]
By Melissa Wagoner When first grader Miriam Case attended the opening night of the Children’s Art Show hosted by the Silverton Art Association on April 5, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Her drawing of a mermaid had been awarded third place for her age division. “I just thought it would be in the gallery,” Case said. “But I won a […]
By Melissa Wagoner Right about the time Lexi Tucker was learning to talk, she was also learning to sing. Raised on a farm near Stayton, it didn’t take long before Tucker’s mom noticed her daughter’s talent and enrolled her in voice lessons. “I always took the chance to sing in talent shows,” Tucker said, recalling that, even when the family […]
By Melissa Wagoner Robby Morrissey’s AP Computer Science class at John F. Kennedy High School recently got the attention of an organization known as the College Board, which oversees advanced placement classes across the nation. The class enrollment is unusual in an industry composed mostly of white males. “Last year the majority of the class (we had about 20) were […]
By Melissa Wagoner During the spring conferences held on March 22, each family in the Mt. Angel School District was given a gift – a brand new copy of R.J. Palacio’s award-winning book, Wonder. “We saw a need, especially as we come out of COVID,” Middle School Principal Jeff Taylor said of the project, which he hopes will encourage a […]
By Melissa Wagoner It’s Best Fox Ever season at Silverton High School, a time when six members of the senior class go head-to-head in a competition to discover, not only who is the best fox but who can raise the most money for two important nonprofits, Silverton Area Community Aid and Medical Teams International – a nonprofit providing life-saving medical […]
By Melissa Wagoner Learning to read is one of the most important skills a child can master, according to Mark Twain Elementary School principal Katie Beckett. “It’s the gateway to equity,” she said. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy, especially for those students who spent their kindergarten year learning online during the COVID pandemic. For those students, lower than […]
I grew up in a family, and community, which revered our small-town newspaper. We read it, we discussed it and we argued about it when we thought the viewpoint was flawed. We knew the writers. We saw them at gatherings, they were the friends of my parents and the parents of my classmates. In other words, they were people just […]
By Melissa Wagoner Every year the Perennial Plant Association (PPA) – a non-profit organization of growers, retailers, landscape designers and educators – singles out a Perennial Plant of the Year. This year’s plant – Garden phlox. “Garden phlox is a staple in any cottage garden, with a vibrant firework of pinks, white, purples and reds,” Heather Desmarteau-Fast – a horticulturist […]
By Melissa Wagoner The Silverton Country Historical Society is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024 with banners, exhibits, promotional materials and events throughout the year including a Homer Davenport Community Festival parade float and a celebration in the fall. “We especially want to honor and thank our members, donors, supporters, and volunteers who have helped along the way,” Director Jeff […]
By Melissa Wagoner Every time a member of the Asphalt Pavement Association (APA) of Oregon is killed in a work zone related accident, executive director John Hickey hand-delivers a check for $5,000 to the deceased person’s family. “The idea is that most of the time the worker is the primary breadwinner,” Hickey explained. “Very often these people are just getting […]
By Melissa Wagoner Kelly Farrah is a self-taught historian who never does anything halfway. As a child growing up in Southern California, he developed an interest in both the American Civil War and the Revolutionary War. But it was the materials used during those time periods – the flags, guns, clothing and everything that was a part of daily life […]
Perhaps I should have known, when the baby shower for my oldest daughter was derailed by a significant snowstorm, that having a child with a January birthday would be tricky. I blame my initial confidence on her first birthday party, which came off without a hitch. Celebrated with friends and family in a house decorated with balloons, the birthday girl […]
By Melissa Wagoner On average, Mt. Angel School District enrolls three multilingual learners, whose first language is neither English nor Spanish, each year. But during the 2022-2023 school year, the district welcomed 25. “A lot of students in this group are somehow related to each other,” William Holman – the district’s English Language Development Program Teacher on special assignment – […]
By Melissa Wagoner In 2011, when Elise Trask decided to get married on the farm where she grew up, she not only gained a husband, she gained a career as well. “That got our wheels turning,” Trask’s sister and business partner, Clarissa Rapacz, said, recalling how that wedding – held amongst a field of flowers – became the first of many, thanks […]
By Melissa Wagoner Growing up, Michael Turner knew that his Hungarian grandmother, Lici, was a Holocaust survivor and that both her parents and sister were killed in Auschwitz. But it wasn’t something Lici talked about – at least not with her grandson. “When I was in high school, some video producers came and interviewed my grandma about her experiences in […]
By Melissa Wagoner It’s been 40 years, nearly to the day, since Laura Wanker became a part of the Silverton community, initially working as an educator and volunteer tutor, mentor and educational advocate for students at Silverton High School before joining the Silverton Area Community Aid’s (SACA) board. “Laura Wanker’s impact on the Silverton community is broad and substantial,” former superintendent […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Alan Mickelson joined forces with Lawrence Stone, Greg Hart, Gregg Sheesley and Ron Nelson to put on the very first Silverton Sidewalk Shindig in 2012, he never could have predicted that 12 years later the event would still be going strong or that the organization would be the recipient of the Silverton Chamber of Commerce’s Service […]
By Melissa Wagoner Kim Merklin has taken her students on a lot of field trips during the 14 years she has taught at Bethany Charter School, but few have been as impactful as those she and her class of 30 seventh and eighth grade students have taken to the Marion Polk Food Share. “I was astonished the first time I […]
By Melissa Wagoner “If you could have any superpower, what superpower would you choose?” That was the question students in Doug Ousterhout’s theater program asked a group of fourth graders in 2010. “One kid said, ‘to find the remote control,’” Ousterhout said, recalling how that answer went on to influence that year’s Children’s Theater Show titled, Captain Remote, which toured […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Jenna Keeton received a phone call from her mother alerting her that her father had died, she wasn’t surprised. “I had been preparing myself for his death for years,” Jenna admitted. “But I was expecting a heart attack or an overdose.” Instead, Jenna learned that her father, Joe Keeton – a man who had struggled with […]
In the days leading up to my 17th birthday, my grandfather unexpectedly passed away. The days that followed were – unsurprisingly – a blur. But there were moments, mostly having to do with the way the community stepped forward to support us, the grieving family, that have stuck with me through all these years. First, I recall the food – […]
By Melissa Wagoner Growing up, Craig Bazzi’s grandparents – immigrants from Northern Italy – spoke mostly Italian, as did their neighbors. “But it wasn’t spoken in our home,” Bazzi recalled. And so, the language wasn’t something he ever learned. Then, as an adult, he took a trip to Italy with his wife, to reconnect with distant relatives and to see […]
