By James Day Cory Misley is just starting his second month as Silverton’s city manager. His schedule sounds punishing. He has met with all the councilors and Mayor Jason Freilinger. Plus Chamber representatives, social-service and nonprofit directors, and with his next whirlwind tour government officials such as those of Marion County, Governor Tina Kotek’s office, and the state Legislature. “I’m […]
By James Day A proposal by Silverton Mural Society to place a mural celebrating Silverton’s cultural roots on the new Civic Center is closer to fruition. The Silverton City Council reviewed the latest proposal at its Nov. 20 work session, and although a vote was not taken, there was a strong consensus to move forward with the plan. New City […]
Silverton residents will have an opportunity on Tuesday, Dec. 5, to chime in on a new parks and recreation master plan. The city is hosting an open house on the plan from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Silverton Senior Center, 115 Westfield St. A city advisory committee has been working on the new plan and will be taking feedback […]
By James Day Main Street Bistro is spearheading a fundraising effort to assist the Silverton High band with its expenses for an upcoming tour in March in preparation for the League Band Festival. A silent auction begins on Friday, Dec. 1, in conjunction with festivities surrounding the tree lighting ceremony in Town Square Park. Auction sheets will be available for […]
By James Day Sheltering Silverton has hit a milestone in its serving of the homeless in town with the opening of its new warming shelter and cabins outside the parking lot of the city shops complex on McClaine Street. “It’s not the end, but it’s a new chapter,” said board president Mary Jane Schaffer, one of the speakers at an […]
The Silverton High football program wound up another superlative season on Nov. 17 when the Foxes fell 43-19 to Mountain View of Bend in the Class 5A semifinals. Silverton finished 11-1 and downed long-time rival West Albany twice by a composite 90-42 score The Foxes, now in their second year under coach Dan Lever, have made the playoffs every season […]
By James Day The new Silverton Civic Center will not be occupied until next spring. The $19.5 million project, which originally was projected to open in July 2023, has experienced a steady stream of delays, including supply chain issues, work that had to be redone and even emails that went missing. The project remains under that $19.5 million overall cost, […]
Sustainable Silverton is sponsoring an emergency preparedness pop-up “escape room” from Friday, Nov. 24 through Sunday, Nov. 26. It’s an hour-long interactive learning experience, taking place from noon to 8 p.m. on all three days at High Water Grill, 215 N. Water St. Side Quest Escape Games will bring in its mobile escape room that teaches players about emergency preparedness. Those […]
Kirsten Barnes’ return to the coaching reins of Silverton volleyball was a highly successful one. Barnes previously coached in the program from 1996 to 2010 and won eight league titles during an 11-year run as head coach. This year’s Foxes were 12-8 overall, hovered around the top 10 in Class 5A most of the year, finished fourth in the brutally […]
By James Day Sheltering Silverton’s move to a new space in the city’s Public Works complex is just a week or so away. Sarah White, the nonprofit’s executive director, told Our Town “we are very close to completing the renovations of our building.” Key work to be done on the modular structure includes plumbing, adding a kitchen and a bathroom, […]
The Mt. Angel Oktoberfest can take another bow. Its 58th rendition from Sept. 14-17 not only was a clear success amid splendid weather and enthusiastic crowds, but the local celebration has sparked support in a national survey. USA Today polled U.S. residents as part of its readers’ choice ten best series and the numbers showed that the Mount Angel event, which honors […]
By James Day Kennedy High and Silverton both have received lofty rankings in the annual ratings of American high schools by U.S. News & World Report. Kennedy came in at No. 26 in the rankings, while Silverton took 41st. The U.S. News high school rankings include data on nearly 25,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 18,000 schools were ranked on […]
By James Day For a police officer, getting an opportunity to train at the FBI Academy is the ultimate feather in your cap. The intense ten-week course, which is free to those whose applications are accepted, is the equivalent of graduate school-level instruction. And you learn from and with city, county, state, federal, NCIS and even NASA law enforcement personnel. Captain Todd Engstrom […]
Austin Ratliff is used to being in the spotlight. A starter on the Silverton High football team as a sophomore, he helped lead the Foxes to a state Class 5A championship in 2021, catching six passes for 172 yards and 3 TDs in the semifinals vs. West Albany and he also caught a TD pass in the title win vs. […]
By James Day Silverton took down host West Albany 49-28 on Oct. 20, to move to 8-0 and clinch the Mid-Willamette Conference title. The Foxes have won or shared the past three league titles. The Foxes broke a 14-14 tie right before halftime on a 20-yard TD pass from QB Sawyer Teeney to WR Elijah Howard, who made a spectacular […]
By James Day Cory Misley has been hired as Silverton’s city manager and will start work Oct. 16. Misley replaces Ron Chandler, who retired to Utah in May. Misley’s hiring and contract were approved Oct. 2, on a unanimous vote of the Silverton City Council. As the top administrator for the city Misley will supervise all departments and report to the […]
We’re two-thirds of the way through the regular season as I write this and it has been a stunningly impressive one for our two local football teams, Silverton and Kennedy. The Foxes were 6-0 and ranked No. 3 in Class 5A heading into Thursday, Oct. 12’s Homecoming encounter with 5-1 McKay. The top-ranked Trojans are 5-1 and ranked No. 1 […]
By James Day City of Silverton officials have called off their plans to host a public meeting to discuss the update of the parks master plan. The meeting was scheduled for Oct. 3 at the Silverton High cafeteria. City officials said that the technical advisory committee working on the plan wanted a bit more time before hosting the public session. […]
By James Day The Silverton City Council is in the home stretch in its effort to hire a new city manager. The council is seeking to replace Ron Chandler, who retired and moved to Utah in May. Councilors, who started with a batch of 27 applicants, have reduced that list to three, with the finalists introduced to the public on […]
By James Day The Silverton High volleyball program is off to a strong start under “new” coach Kirsten Barnes, who is back leading the program after guiding the Foxes to eight league titles during her first stint with the team from 1996-2010. Silverton was 7-4 overall at Our Town presstime and 4-2 in the pressure cooker that is the Mid-Willamette […]
I first became aware of Scott Gragg on a lunch trip to the Wooden Nickel shortly after my arrival in Silverton in 1997. There was a New York Giants Scott Gragg jersey on the wall and I got the lowdown on him from my food server. Great story. Silverton High grad in 1990, college player at Montana and then 11 […]
By James Day Silverton is celebrating the venerable oak tree during September and October, or OAKtober, as Sustainable Silverton organizers are calling it. “OAKtober is a month-long celebration of oak trees in Silverton, of their history and what they do for us, and how we can help them, so we have them to enjoy now and in the future,” noted […]
By James Day Silverton residents have an opportunity to meet the three finalists for city manager with a Monday, Sept. 18 meet-and-greet session 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Silverton Senior Center, 115 Westfield St. Silverton is seeking to replace chief administrative officer Ron Chandler, who left the city in May to retire to Utah. Members of the public will […]
By James Day Like many nonprofits, the Silverton Senior Center still is trying to recover from COVID-19. Use of the center dropped during the pandemic, and memberships declined as well. The center also was forced to close its Revamp Store, which had been bringing in a needed $2,000 per month by selling used items. Now, the center board reports it […]
Silverton Grange is hosting the Inaugural Grange Hoedown and Concert Series on Sunday, Oct. 1, to help pay for needed heating, ventilation and air conditioning work. The event had been scheduled for earlier this summer but was postponed because of the heat wave. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. for the open mike signups, with the music set to start at […]
