Kennedy High has returned to the top of the leaderboard in Oregon’s Class 2A. And the accomplishment involves elements way beyond just athletic competition. The Trojans have captured the 2022-23 OSAA Cup, the all-sports trophy that also includes academic and sportsmanship components. It’s an honor that’s dear to the heart of Kevin Moffatt, who coached the baseball team to its […]
The Silverton High equestrian team finished seventh in the large division of the Oregon High School Equestrian Teams state championships May 11-14 at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond. Silverton scored 141 points. Oregon City (588) and Mountain View of Bend (411) dominated the team race. Silverton scored well in numerous events, with Adeline Kuenzi taking third in hunt seat […]
By James Day The Oregon School Activities Association moved Kennedy into an unfamiliar district for track and field this season. The Trojans wound up in Special District 1, which featured numerous teams from the northwest corner of the state, including Knappa, Vernonia, Clatskanie and Nestucca. “Our athletes made the most of it,” said veteran JFK coach Steve Ritchie after […]
The Silverton and Kennedy track and field programs have battled through weather adversity this spring and seem primed to make strong runs in the second half of the season. “We are pleased with our very young team,” said Erik Cross, who is in his 26th year leading the Foxes, including a state Class 5A boys team title a year ago. […]
By James Day The Silverton Runners Club is turning 40, and organizers are planning some new events to boost participation in the club, which works to support running programs in Silverton and Mount Angel. The club, which was organized in 1982 by Silverton resident Amy Castle, is taking over management of the 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer runs associated with the Mount […]
It’s spring. It’s raining. And if you drive anywhere near the tracks at Silverton and Kennedy you will see dozens of athletes running and jumping and throwing things. Last week I saw a half dozen Foxes runners trying to cross Oak Street on Second Street at rush hour. Brave lads. And you also know that those activities, as well as […]
By Steve Ritchie The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 110,000 American lives, ravaged the US economy and plunged budgets of governmental entities into the deep red, all in just over three months. It turns out that nonprofit organizations are not immune to the virus either. Among the local organizations suffering from COVID-19’s impact is the Silverton Arts Association, which has […]
By Steve Ritchie As the number of COVID-19 cases quickly grows in Oregon and throughout the country, government leaders and public health authorities have focused their attention on the readiness of hospitals to deal with an influx of coronavirus patients. With 43 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Marion County (as of March 25), Our Town contacted our two regional hospitals, […]
By Steve Ritchie When I arrived in Ushaia, Argentina last month, I found many Ushaia souvenirs printed with the slogan fin del mundo which can be roughly translated as “end of the world.” A city of about 80,000 people at the southern tip of South America, Ushaia is definitely remote. It is the southernmost city in the world, in fact. […]
By Steve Ritchie Former JFK principal Sean Aker has a simple message to convey in his new job: Every Day Matters. It sounds like it could be a catchy slogan to sell Gatorade or Nike workout gear, but it’s a far more important message directed to students from kindergarten through high school and their parents. Aker now works at the […]
By Steve Ritchie Every town could use a dedicated civic leader and tireless volunteer like the late Judy Schmidt. Or like Elmer Valkenaar. Known as “Elmo” or “St. Elmo” to the community, Valkenaar will receive the Judy Schmidt Lifetime Achievement Award for 2018 at the Silverton Chamber of Commerce First Citizen Banquet Feb. 16. St. Elmo, who turned 89 on […]
By Steve Ritchie The Kennedy High School Cross Country Team has been known for incorporating opportunities for learning and new experiences when traveling to compete in meets. The past two seasons, for example, the team has traveled to Ashland to compete in a race and take in plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Summer running camps at places like Mt. […]
By Steve Ritchie Visual artist Mimi Cernyar Fox has spent countless hours wandering the beaches and mudflats near her home in Raymond, Washington, investigating her natural surroundings and seeking inspiration. On one of her explorations she began to look closely at the sand dollars she was collecting on the beach, nearly all of them cracked open or broken by the […]
By Steve Ritchie and James Day Senior leadership. Veteran coaches. Rising stars. The Kennedy High girls basketball team had it all this season. The Trojans finished a storybook 29-1 season on March 3 with a 53-40 win against defending champion Monroe in the Class 2A tournament championship game in Pendleton. It was the second state title in three years for […]
By Steve Ritchie In a time when some industries are having challenges recruiting workers, Kennedy High School is taking steps to help its students gain practical skills and get an introduction to a variety of career areas. One of the first visible fruits of the school’s efforts is a garden shed, constructed by students in the first year Occupational Survey […]
By Steve Ritchie Five years ago, with the future of the City of Silverton’s swimming pool in doubt, voters narrowly passed a five-year operating and maintenance levy for the pool. The tax funds supplied by the levy’s passage not only kept the pool open in the peak summer months, but also enabled it to remain open year-round. With the current […]
By Steve Ritchie Challengers in the May 16, 2017 Silver Falls School Board election successfully unseated at least one and possibly two incumbent board members. While results are still unofficial and votes from some unsigned ballots will be added to the totals on May 31, Zone 4 challenger Jennifer Traeger has an insurmountable 513 vote lead over Wally Lierman. Lierman, […]
By Steve Ritchie The Silverton Opportunity Political Action Committee was officially formed in early March, but its genesis was the November election day rally at Silverton High School that left some students feeling harassed and brought Silverton unwanted national attention. Naseem Rakha, who is the mother of a high school student, was concerned about the uproar at school on election […]
By Steve Ritchie It was 9 a.m. on a Monday morning in early February. We were God knows where, bouncing around the pot-holed back roads of Cuba in the second rear seat of a 1948 Plymouth sedan packed with nine people and all our bags. Needless to say, this was no tour group. The older, long-haired Frenchman in front of […]
By Steve Ritchie After years of serious health issues, Randy Traeger knew in early June that he was just about out of time. He had already been on the liver transplant list for 30 months, and he could sense that his body was giving out. His will to keep going was faltering, too. “I knew I was bad,” Traeger said. […]
By Steve Ritchie A moment of history was made at the 2017 Mount Angel Oktoberfest. It took place at a few minutes past 7 p.m. on Saturday, in a very lively Weingarten that was packed to the rafters. Oktoberfest President Chris Bischoff introduced Abbot Christian Meyer, OSB, from Kloster Engelberg, a Benedictine monastery in Switzerland, to an appreciative audience. It […]
By Steve Ritchie With a host of significant financial, facility and educational challenges looming for Silver Falls School District, the May school board election has become something of a referendum on the district’s leadership and direction. The election pits three incumbent school board members against four challengers in three zones. School board elections in Silverton are organized around geographical zones. […]
By Steve Ritchie The town of Mount Angel is legendary for its strong volunteer ethic. From Oktoberfest to youth sports to city government to the fire department to a host of non-profit and religious organizations, Mount Angel runs on the energy and commitment of its many dedicated volunteers. Even in Mount Angel, though, someone like Ryan Kleinschmidt stands out. Kleinschmidt, […]
By Steve Ritchie The absence of a long-time parish employee, fears of losing Spanish-language religious education classes, and a change in venue for Spanish-language Sunday mass have rocked Silverton’s St. Paul Catholic Church community. Recent tensions escalated into accusations of racism, discrimination and unfair treatment and led to a Feb. 28 meeting that filled the parish hall basement with concerned […]
By Steve Ritchie The uncertainty about U.S. immigration and deportation policies has Fernando and Susannah Ghio working overtime to provide legal assistance to their clients at Somos Hispanas Unidas, 512 N. First St., Silverton. The Ghios work with local residents and families who need help with their immigration status. When asked how many people receive help at Somos Hispanas Unidas, […]
