Ally and Mac Corthell love pizza. “Both of our favorite food is pizza,” Ally confirmed. “We even had pizza at our wedding.” Which is why, when the couple moved to Mount Angel three years ago and discovered there were no local pizza restaurants, they decided they would simply have to open their own – but where? Lucky for the Corthells, […]
By Melissa Wagoner In 2020, massage therapist Shamila Salem wanted to open a new studio and so she approached her dad – real estate developer, Mohsen (Mo) Salem, asking if he knew of an available space. He did, but it was a little more than she bargained for. “He just loves restoring old buildings,” Shamila said, recalling her dad’s suggestion that, rather […]
By Melissa Wagoner Matt Jones knows a lot about cleaning products. President of Griffin Chem Solutions in Albany – a developer of industrial cleaning solutions – Matt is well versed in the market and the many ways it can be misleading. “The problem is, there’s no standards on labels and marketing,” he said, describing the ways consumers are often led to believe […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Dre Goyer opened the Mt. Angel Public House with his friend Brandon Norbury in 2021 the future looked bright for both the business and the partnership. Then Feb. 3, 2022, Goyer got a call he never expected – Norbury, a retired Navy SEAL who swam nearly every day, had died of a heart attack while on […]
For the 33rd year, Silverton Jazzercise invites the public to the Thanksgiving morning benefit class for Silverton Area Community Aid on Thursday, Nov. 23, at 9 a.m. at the Silverton Community Center, 421 S. Water St. Admission is $5 or three food items, with all proceeds going to Silverton Area Community Aid’s food bank. There are donors that have pledged […]
By Melissa Wagoner When the owners of Wurdinger Manufacturing in Silverton added a parts store to their well-established fabrication business in 2019, the goal was to cut down on the number of trips their fabricators were making to Salem by stocking the pieces they needed most often. It wasn’t long before the company’s customers got wind of the new addition […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Alicia and Justin Roney learned their son Maverick’s daycare – the TLC Child Development Center located at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mt. Angel – was closing its doors, effective immediately, they panicked. “My husband called the daycare and said, ‘What the heck? We need daycare,’” Alicia said, recalling the position they and dozens of other families […]
By Melissa Wagoner When it comes to healthcare, double board certified, nurse practitioner Elizabeth Diaz believes knowledge is everything – it’s how she was raised. “My parents always instilled that education is the only thing that’s going to get you through life,” Diaz said. So, at the age of 11, Diaz began volunteering at Silverton Hospital in the hopes of […]
By Stephen Floyd A familiar venue will have a new feel this Oktoberfest in Mount Angel after Scott and Kristi Stokley moved Lou’s Kitchen beneath the glockenspiel in the Edelweiss Village Building. The iconic clocktower stands in the center of town on E. Charles Street, with wooden figures revolving four times daily. The venue beneath once housed The Glockenspiel Restaurant […]
By James Day Mt. Angel Drug, that venerable local institution at the corner of Main and Charles streets, is closing its doors at the end of the month. Jack Holt owns Mt. Angel Drug and 24 Hi-School Pharmacy locations.He said that the loss of the Mount Angel outlet’s contract with Providence Health and other structural changes have made the business […]
By James Day The City of Silverton has contributed more than $26,000 to assist the new owners of the Palace Theatre with their renovation work. The council, acting in its capacity as the city’s Urban Renewal Agency, voted at its Aug. 21 meeting to contribute $26,443 in urban renewal funds to bolster the Palace’s work on both internal remodeling and […]
By James Day The new Silverton Civic Center continues to take shape in the former Eugene Field School block. Less than half a mile away lies the Silverton Community Center, a multi-use, multi-tenanted facility owned by the Oregon Military Department with the city holding the lease. So what happens to the community center when the city moves north and its […]
By Melissa Wagoner Clothing doesn’t have to be new to be trendy. In fact, for Beth Lau – whose affection for thrifted and vintage clothing goes all the way back to her childhood as one of 10 siblings in love with classic TV – preworn is almost always better. “Ever since my early teens I was always drawn to vintage […]
By Melissa Wagoner When the last of Holly Kintz’s five kids – a set of twins – entered kindergarten last fall she and her husband, Andrew, decided it was time to relax and enjoy their newfound freedom. “I said, no life changes this year,” Kintz laughed, recalling a goal that lasted two short months before longtime friends, Dan and Annie […]
By James Day The new owners of the Palace Theatre say that they likely will not be able to reopen until this fall or winter because of the complicated nature of the remodeling they are doing. Thomas and Erika Baham, who also own the two-screen Rio complex in Sweet Home, took over the historic Silverton theater in May. “Remodeling is […]
By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District Board is expected review the recommendations of its Bond Advisory Committee and vote on the scope and timing for a potential capital improvement bond June 20. The committee discussed $138 million in district needs in order to improve all local schools plus rebuild Silverton Middle School. The middle school is currently housed […]
By Stephen Floyd A Woodburn developer has expressed interest in building shops and apartments at the former Wilco tower in Mount Angel, though no plans are official. Ivan Ivanov, owner of Double I Construction, submitted a site plan last month for a 28-unit apartment complex at 190 S. Main St. City Administrative Services Director Colby Kemp said Ivanov proposed constructing […]
By James Day The City of Silverton is getting into the affordable housing business. Officials have identified a seven-acre parcel of city-owned land west of the Silverton Senior Center for the project. The issue was discussed at the June 5 City Council session, although final decisions are months or perhaps years away. The city might start by developing just a […]
By Brenna Wiegand When Legacy Health affiliated with Silverton Hospital seven years ago, the health care company committed to making significant improvements toward optimizing the medical center’s ability to provide top-notch health care for Silverton and the surrounding area, including a $58 million investment into the medical center over the next several years. Until now those dollars have been spent […]
By James Day Ah, the Palace. You just can’t keep her down. Depression (remember, films were first shown at the site in 1909 and the theater was rebuilt in 1936 after being destroyed in 1935 by fire). Another fire in 2012. A pandemic. A closure in January. And now, it’s back. Property owner Marjorie Eng has announced the sale of […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Ibet Lopez opened the doors of her new restaurant, Mountain Burgers – located in the parking lot of Silverton’s Ace Hardware and Hi-School Pharmacy – she wasn’t sure what she should expect. But she needn’t have worried. “It was insane,” she recalled. “We sold out twice.” And it’s been busy ever since. Thankfully, Lopez is no stranger to […]
By Stephen Floyd Teachers won their class size targets and administrators kept their management flexibility in a tentative contract approved April 18 between The Silver Falls School District (SFSD) and Silver Falls Education Association (SFEA). The tentative contract was the result of a year of bargaining that saw the parties split on issues of class size, teacher pay, grievances and […]
By Stephen Floyd The Silver Falls School District (SFSD) has published a new Class Size Dashboard to increase transparency regarding teacher workloads. The dashboard went live April 11 and the district expects to update classroom figures weekly. Assistant Superintendent Dan Busch told the SFSD Board April 10 the dashboard was in direct response to recent union negotiations where class size […]
By James Day The City of Silverton began work on its 2023-24 budget amid a staff shakeup that has the City Council initiating a search for a new city manager. Ron Chandler, who took over the top administrative post in Silverton in May of 2021, is leaving effective May 12 and relocating to Utah. In an April 12 letter to […]
By James Day Silverton is facing a $42,130 fine from the state for illegal discharges of wastewater, and city officials have appealed the decision. Silverton was notified Feb. 7 by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that it had exceeded the permitted levels of ammonia 32 times and for total suspended solids 24 times between May 2021 and August […]
