Silverton is full of amazing volunteers. If you know someone that always goes the extra mile and deserves recognition, the Silverton Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations until Dec. 23 for First Citizen, Distinguished Service, Lifetime Achievement and Business of the Year awards. For information, award criteria and an application form, go to silvertonchamber.org
If your Christmas gift giving includes someone with a sweet tooth (which is pretty much everyone…), saunter on over to the Silverton Lions Club See’s Candy booth on McClaine Street. All the proceeds go to fund the Lions’ scholarship and community activities, so it’s kinda like giving a gift to yourself….
Harry and Karrie Douglas of Silverton don’t think anyone should spend Christmas Day alone, so they encourage you to attend the Community Christmas Day Dinner at the Oak Street Church. The second annual dinner will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the corner of Oak and Third streets. Food donations are welcome. Call 503-509-4466 for information
As 2016 draws another crazy year to a close, with a nasty election which left half of us happy, half of us angry and all of us surprised, The Man would like to leave you with a few thoughts….(“Oh good gawd Martha, that The Man feller is climbin’ up his soapbox again….that can’t be any good…”). Whether you think our new prez is the devil incarnate or will be the second coming of Mother Teresa with a bad hairdo, he, barring some unlikely political shenanigans, is the president and we should all hope he does good things for our country. I’ve heard it said that it’s not the situation, but how you react to it that matters, and although I’m sure that means different things to different people, I do know this…what happens in your house will always be more important than what goes on in the White House, I know we will still let that guy cut in front of us on the highway even though he’s been riding our rear for the last 5 miles or let that person with three items go ahead of us in the grocery checkout even we’re in a hurry too… I know the lullaby will still quietly play throughout the hospital whenever a baby is born, that we will still hug our kids tightly every night and continue to sacrifice so that their lives will be better than ours. I know little Elle Fischer will be raising money for Doernbecher Childrens Hospital and that we will show our seniors that touch of kindness that means so much to them. I know the Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs will continue to have a friendly rivalry about who does more good things for the community…and they will all be right… that free meals will still be served at the local churches and that come September another wonderful Oktoberfest will held for the enjoyment of all. I know that the vast majority of the kids at the high school will continue to impress us all with their personal, academic and athletic prowess and that their teachers will continue to fulfill the trust we place in them. I know that Jane Jones will still be Jane Jones, that Vic Gilliam will still be fighting the good fight and that, by God, our little slice of heaven would be soooo much better if Judy Schmidt were still here giving us an example to follow.
So, The Man’s Christmas wish for you is to not lose sight of all the good that surrounds us every day and as for the negativity, no matter how you react to it or advocate for your beliefs, do it nicely and respectfully because one thing I am sure of, politicians don’t define us – WE define us and no election will ever change that unless WE allow it to….
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year… See you on the street…
