Our Town – Silverton, Mt. Angel & Scotts Mills Business Archives - Our Town

School district denies liability in injury suit

January 2023 Posted in Business, News | Comments Off

By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District (SFSD) has denied liability in a $369,501 personal injury lawsuit by a former Silverton Middle School student who broke a leg at school in 2017 after allegedly slipping on a wet floor. On Dec. ...

New role, new faces – Mayor Freilinger, four new Silverton councilors

January 2023 Posted in Business | Comments Off

By James Day Silverton installed a new mayor and four new councilors on Monday, Jan. 9, signaling the beginning of a new political era in town. [caption id="attachment_12337" align="aligncenter" width="534"] Jason Freilinger, the new mayor of Silverton, receives the oath of office ...

Closing time – Silverton’s Palace Theatre shuts down (again)

January 2023 Posted in Business | Comments Off

By James Day The iconic Palace Theatre (spelled “Theater” in recent years) in Silverton has shut down and its future is up in the air. Erik and Rachelle Gonterman, who have operated the theater since 2020, are engaged in an acrimonious dispute ...

Nine lives – County suffers cat shelter shortage

January 2023 Posted in Business, Pets | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_12327" align="alignright" width="259"] There are many ways to helpwww.silvertoncatrescue.comPhoto Courtesy of Vivian Palm[/caption] By Melissa Wagoner When Kristen Storer received a message from the Oregon Humane Society (OHS) informing her that the organization would no longer be accepting stray cats from ...

WiseMind – Educators team up to offer resilience education to kids, parents

December 2022 Posted in Business, Community, People | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner Jenifer Trivelli has always been interested in what makes people tick, especially kids. “That led me to neuroscience,” Trivelli said. “And then, pairing that together with childhood development led me to counseling.” Initially working as an elementary school counselor, Trivelli ...

Saving steelhead – Project places log jams in Abiqua Creek

December 2022 Posted in Business, Outdoor Life | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_12270" align="alignright" width="390"] Kurt Berning of the Pudding River Watershed Council is shown at one of the engineered log jams on Abiqua Creek that has been placed to improve steelhead fish passage.[/caption] By James Day The Pudding River Watershed Council and ...

Councilor Pfau – Council fills vacant position

December 2022 Posted in Business | Comments Off

By Stephen Floyd Mount Angel City Council candidate Joseph Pfau may have been first runner up during the Nov. 8 election, but he will join the council nonetheless after being appointed to the position left vacant by Mayor Pete Wall. Pfau was ...

Mount Angel moving forward with RFID water meters

December 2022 Posted in Business | Comments Off

By Stephen Floyd The City of Mount Angel has begun the installation of radio-read water meters that could cut the work hours needed to take meter readings by a one full-time position. The city has allocated $300,000 from federal COVID-19 relief funds ...

Costs rising – Silverton council agrees on new spending for civic center

December 2022 Posted in Business | Comments Off

By James Day The City of Silverton has agreed to spend an additional $350,000 on “contract administration” costs for the civic center project. [caption id="attachment_12261" align="aligncenter" width="557"] Construction work on the new Silverton civic center.[/caption] The Dec. 19 City Council session included a ...

Upkeep issues – Code enforcement complaints go back to 2015

December 2022 Posted in Business, Community | Comments Off

By James Day Property owner Wes Holman used the public comment period of the Dec. 5 Silverton City Council meeting to raise concerns about trash and debris at a home near the Holman house on South Third Avenue. The complaint record apparently ...

Mediation: Silver Falls district, educator association agree to need for help

December 2022 Posted in Business, School | Comments Off

By Stephen Floyd Labor negotiations between the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) and Silver Falls Education Association (SFEA) have entered mediation. Critical issues related to class size, teacher pay and grievance procedures remain unresolved after nearly eight months of bargaining. During a ...

Dam dilemma – Barrier in Scotts Mills Park remains

December 2022 Posted in Business | Comments Off

By James Day The dam on Butte Creek in Scotts Mills Park just won’t go away. Literally. While the presence of the dam on the creek has made the park popular with water enthusiasts, there is a gigantic breach in the barrier, ...

Sticking points – Teachers firm on class size as SFSD negotiations persist

December 2022 Posted in Business, School | Comments Off

By Stephen Floyd Labor negotiations in the Silver Falls School District (SFSD) are entering their eighth month as union members stand firm on class size limits. A new bargaining session is scheduled for Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. at the Silverton High ...

Fire recovery – Marion County commission plans vote on $24 million park plan

December 2022 Posted in Business, News, Outdoor Life | Comments Off

By James Day The Marion County Parks Commission plans a January vote on a proposal to restore and update county parks damaged by the 2020 wildfires. County officials have been working with consultants Walker Macy and EcoNorthwest on the plan to address ...

Election 2022: New councilors – Hammond, Newton, Traeger cite communication challenges

December 2022 Posted in Business, Community | Comments Off

By James Day Silverton will have four new councilors beginning in January. Eric Hammond, April Newton and Marie Traeger were elected to four-year terms in a seven-candidate field on Nov. 8 to replace retiring councilors Jim Sears, Dana Smith and Crystal ...

Election 2022: Astorga’s lead widens in Mount Angel City Council race

December 2022 Posted in Business, Community | Comments Off

By Stephen Floyd Incumbent Councilor Tony Astorga appears likely to win re-election to the Mount Angel City Council, according to election results published Nov. 18 by the Marion County Clerk’s Office. [caption id="attachment_12147" align="alignright" width="190"] Tony Astorga[/caption] Fellow incumbents Matt Donohue and Ray ...

Election 2022: Kelly congratulates fellow Scotts Mills candidates

December 2022 Posted in Business, People | Comments Off

In the Oct. 15 issue of Our Town, the article entitled “Incumbents re-elected to Scotts Mills” should have included the following statement from candidate Shawna Kelly, which was received after the article was submitted for publication. “First, I would like to ...

Next? Senior center asks for input

November 2022 Posted in Business, Community | Comments Off

[caption id="attachment_12074" align="aligncenter" width="494"] Silverton Senior Center’s ReVamp Thrift Boutique has closed. Now the senior center board has a survey out asking the community to help set a new direction for the site.[/caption] By Melissa Wagoner The doors of the Silverton Senior Center’s ReVamp Thrift Boutique, ...

Small Business Saturday – Holiday shopping can build community

November 2022 Posted in Business, Community, Events & Holidays | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner Most people are familiar with the term, “Black Friday,” in reference to the day after Thanksgiving – traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year. But in 2010 a new phrase was coined, “Small Business Saturday,” as a ...

Election 2022: Silverton candidates participate in two-hour forum

November 2022 Posted in Business, Community, People | Comments Off

By James Day Silverton’s two mayoral candidates and six of the seven City Council hopefuls took part in a two-hour public forum on Oct. 18 at the Palace Theater. The event was hosted by the Silverton Discourse Project, with Our Town reporter ...

Shelter plan: Council directs $250,000 to new Sheltering Silverton facility

November 2022 Posted in Business, Community | Comments Off

By James Day The Silverton City Council has signed off on a plan that will put four pallet shelters and a warming facility at the city’s Public Works compound. [caption id="attachment_12026" align="aligncenter" width="489"] A look at the unfinished modular building that Sheltering ...

Silverton candidate forum set for Oct. 18

October 2022 Posted in Business, Community, Events & Holidays | Comments Off

A second election forum for Silverton candidates will be held Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Palace Theatre. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with the audience-question driven forum organized by the Silverton Discourse Project getting underway at 6 p.m. Concessions will be ...

Slew of candidates – Seven contend for City Council seats in Silverton

October 2022 Posted in Business, Community, People | Comments Off

By James Day There will be a distinct changing of the guard for the Silverton City Council come next term. That’s because there will be three and perhaps four new councilors when the session begins in January. Incumbent councilors Jim Sears, Dana ...

Tourism grants – $44,000 given to nine Silverton groups

October 2022 Posted in Business, Community | Comments Off

By Melissa Wagoner Nine grants totaling almost $44,000 were approved Oct. 3 when the Silverton City Council accepted the recommendations of the Silverton Tourism Promotion Committee. Awards ranged from familiar community events such as First Friday, the Sidewalk Shindig and Silverton Arts ...

Parking issues – Silverton businesses look to new civic center area for relief

October 2022 Posted in Business, Community | Comments Off

By James Day Silverton has held four public outreach meetings on downtown parking issues. The problem is simple: new development in the downtown area has led to parking challenges, for both business customers and their employees. A possible fix lies just north ...

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