The Silverton Food Co-op is holding an Earth Day event at GeerCrest Farm, with family-friendly educational activities and live entertainment. Scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 at the farm, 12390 Sunnyview Road NE, Salem, this free event is offered in partnership with GeerCrest and Sustainable Silverton. A main focus will be the role of oak trees […]
By James Day Thriving in Times of Change is the theme for the Sustainable Silverton event set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 6 at The Oregon Garden. Admission is $12 and includes refreshments. Registration is available at https://www.simpletix.com/e/thriving-in-times-of-change-tools-for-adap-tickets-163552/. The conference begins inside the Garden’s education center, which is the building on the right as you enter […]
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 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 James Day Sustainable Silverton will be hosting Earth Day Projects on Saturday, April 22 and volunteers are welcome. The day will start with a 9 a.m. effort to remove invasive species at Old Mill Park near Salamander Island at the end of Cowing Street. In the afternoon two oak sapling protection projects are set, at 2 p.m. at the […]
By James Day If you build it, other decisions will have to be made. That’s the challenge the City of Silverton faces as construction heads toward the home stretch on the new Civic Center on the former Eugene Field School property. The $19.5 million Civic Center project, which was opened to public tours March 16, is scheduled to be ready […]
By James Day Just like that, the Silverton City Council was whole again. New councilors Marie Traeger, April Newton and Eric Hammond were voted in on Nov. 8 to replace outgoing members Jim Sears, Dana Smith and Crystal Neideigh, with Jason Freilinger winning election as mayor, replacing Kyle Palmer. However, Freilinger’s ascension to the mayor’s post left his council seat […]
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. Jason Freilinger, who had served as council president, was sworn in as mayor, replacing Kyle Palmer, whose elected office experience dates to 2004. In addition, outgoing councilors Jim Sears, Dana Smith and Crystal Neideigh […]
By James Day The City of Silverton has agreed to spend an additional $350,000 on “contract administration” costs for the civic center project. The Dec. 19 City Council session included a Zoom meeting with project/design consultants from Mackenzie and Compass Project Solutions. The consultants have spent just more than $250,000 in contract administration costs to date and recognized that they […]
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 goes back to 2015, and although Holman said there have been some temporary improvements he remains ”not satisfied” […]
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 Neideigh. In addition, current council president Jason Freilinger was elected to a two-year term as mayor, and one of […]
By James Day Jason Freilinger, a 10-year city council veteran, has been elected Silverton mayor. Freilinger will replace Kyle Palmer, who has served as both a councilor and mayor since 2004. Palmer chose not to seek reelection. Although results have not been certified, Freilinger leads with 56.88% of the vote to 43.12% for planning commissioner Morry Jones. Jones already has […]
By James Day Ten-year Silverton City Council member Jason Freilinger appears to be on his way to being elected the town’s mayor. Freilinger, a financial services officer and this term’s council president, was leading corporate executive Morry Jones by nearly 450 votes, according to unofficial results released Tuesday night by Marion County. Freilinger had 1,896 votes (56.66%), with Jones at […]
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 Stephen Floyd serving as the moderator. Approximately 100 residents attended, some munching popcorn from the Palace concession stand. […]
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 for sale. On hand will be mayoral candidates Jason Freilinger and Morry Jones. Six of the seven City Council […]
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 Smith and Crystal Neideigh all chose not to seek re-election to new four-year terms. In addition, Council President […]
By James Day The Silverton Chamber of Commerce is hosting an election forum on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the Oregon Garden. The noon luncheon event ($15 for chamber members and $20 for non-members) will take place at the education building, which is just across from the visitor center entry gate. Go to https://business.silvertonchamber.org/events/details/silverton-candidate-forum-20009 to register. Invited to participate will be […]
By James Day The emerald ash borer (EAB), a forest pest that has been targeting ash trees in the United States since 2002, has been found in Oregon. An infestation discovered June 30 in Forest Grove means that concerns of state and local officials about the ash borer’s impact on urban forests, wetlands and streams has gone from the hypothetical […]
By Melissa Wagoner Whether your goal is to save the planet, save a little money, or perhaps a bit of both, conserving water can be a good place to start. “There are times when your pocket book is the only thing that matters,” Eric Hammond – a horticulturist and member of Sustainable Silverton, an organization whose mission is to increase […]
By Melissa Wagoner It’s been two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And while we still have not reached the “end” (wherever that may be) Our Town asked readers to describe what the pandemic era been. “My best friend’s marriage fell apart after 35 years…” Yvette Marty recalled. “Without all of her activities, not seeing her children and grandchildren… she […]
By Melissa Wagoner A lush, green lawn looks beautiful, feels fabulous under foot and can serve a real purpose as the backdrop for picnics, sporting events or just lounging in the sun. But it can also have some real drawbacks. “An irrigated, one or two species, mowed green lawn, that mimics a golf course is an ecological disaster,” Horticulturist Eric […]
By Melissa Wagoner When horticulturist Eric Hammond, heard that the majority of the oak trees in a grove adjacent to Mark Twain Elementary School were removed after the February ice storm, he saw an opportunity. “I sent emails explaining the importance of the oaks from an ecological standpoint and a social standpoint,” Hammond said of the communication he initiated with […]
By Melissa Wagoner Within hours of the ice storm horticulturist Eric Hammond began walking, covering as many miles of Silverton’s streets as he could, cataloging the trees – the ones that were damaged, the ones that were toppled and the ones that made it through relatively unscathed. “I’m up to 3,300 different survey points and 130 different species,” Hammond said. […]
