The Fall Line Stout & Ale Fest is a new fundraising event in honor of Jason Franz who founded Silverton’s local bike and skate shop, known as Fall Line Sports. Jason’s unexpected death in 2019, left the Silverton community stunned. He was an active, contributing member of the coomunity and of the Silverton Chamber of Commerce. He gave back to […]
The city of Silverton is accepting bids for lights that will be added to the skatepark. A total of $30,000 in urban renewal funds are available for the project, said Bart Stepp, city engineer. He added that the city hopes to complete the work before the end of 2022. Four lights will be installed at the skatepark, which recently expanded, […]
By James Day If you want to get an update on the skatepark expansion in Silverton you get in touch with Sue Roessler. She maybe in Hawaii, but she always gets back to you. And when she was asked to comment on the project winning the inaugural Service Group award for the annual Silveton Chamber of Commerce Community Awards? Well, […]
By James Day Backers of the expansion of the Judy Schmidt Memorial Skate Park held a groundbreaking Sept. 11 for the next phase of the project. Actually breaking ground given the dry summer proved to be a challenge, so organizer Sue Roessler said she “had to bring potting soil to layer on top so we could at least ‘move some […]
At the March 1, 2021 Council Meeting there was a presentation from a citizen’s group that wanted to complete improvements at the skate park. The group has raised around $60,000 and has partnered with a contractor that specializes in skate parks to design and construct the improvements in honor of the late Jason Franz. The proposal is to allow the […]
A few years ago, a man named Larry Platt auditioned for American Idol with an original hit (that later sold millions), “Pants on the Ground”, which made fun of young men and boys who wore their pants halfway down their bottoms with their underwear exposed. Many of us have done the same, shaking our heads. Jason Franz likely said, “My […]
By Kristine Thomas Wearing an Oregon State sweatshirt and gray helmet, 6-year-old Ike Basile cruises on his silver scooter down the ramp at the Silverton Skate park while his dad, Ryan, and 3-year-old brother, Peter, watch. Nearby 14-year-old Ethan Crofts and 15-year-old Justin Benguerel perform stunts on their BMX bicycles. As people of all ages rode skateboards, scooters or BMX […]
There’s just one thing keeping the Silverton Community Skate Park from rolling forward. Money – lots of money. The city of Silverton acquired a 13-acre parcel at the corner of Westfield and West Main streets, donated a portion of it for the newly opened Silverton Senior Center; the rest is dedicated to community parks.
Jason Franz was the boy who went into bike shops with $100 in his pocket and no one would help because he was a kid and didn’t look like a customer.
By Jan Jackson The Beijing Summer Olympics and the Oregon State Fair have fast action BMX racing (bicycle motocross) in common this summer and Jason Franz of Fall Line Bike, Skate and Snow in Silverton is right in the middle of it. Franz and his crew are responsible for building the BMX track at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, 2330 17th […]
