By Brenna Wiegand For the past 35 years, members of Silverton’s Assembly of God Church have been providing a fun, free, out-of-the-weather trick-or-treating alternative for local kids. This year’s no different, except for the location. This year’s Kids Karnival will be at the church itself. With construction of its new Civic Center, the City of Silverton gave up its lease […]
By Melissa Wagoner During the 74 years Silverton Area Community Aid (SACA) has been supplying food and other services to low income families, the number of individuals seeking assistance has continued to rise. The square footage of its headquarters has not. At least, not since the organization moved from the basement of the Eugene Field Elementary School to the basement […]
By Melissa Wagoner In the Willamette Valley, the need for support services like food and shelter has been growing. “Our recent annual report reflected that the 2023-24 fiscal year was the busiest year in our 40-plus year history…” Jean Hubbard – board vice president of the Stayton Community Food Bank (SCFB) said. “The number of households served in 2023-24 is […]
By James Day The Silverton City Council met for the first time in the new City Hall on July 15. It also marked the first day that official business was conducted in the $19.5 million building, although some minor odds and ends of the construction/move-in process still must be taken care of. The council met for three hours, including an […]
By James Day The Silverton City Council passed its regular budget for 2024-25 and one for its urban renewal agency at its June 17 meeting at the Silverton Community Center. But both spending plans, which total approximately $79 million, involved little councilor discussion and no amendments were offered. The budgets passed unanimously, and the largest chunk of time at the […]
By James Day The Silver Falls Family YMCA has embarked upon a major fundraising campaign to pay for and construct a new building in which to operate its programs. Amid challenges to insuring an aging building, the YMCA left its long-time home in the Silverton Community Center in March. The building is currently being leased by the city from the […]
By James Day Housing continues to be a major concern statewide, with the Legislature passing another major housing bill in its recently completed short session. The City of Silverton decided to bone up on housing and land use issues in a March 18 joint session involving city staff, the City Council and the Planning Commission. The special meeting heard from […]
By James Day Figuring out what is next for the Silverton Community Center is turning into a confusing game of musical chairs. The city holds the lease for the building, which is owned by the Oregon Military Department. That lease expires March 31, which means that tenants Jazzercise, Silverton Area Community Aid (SACA), WIC, the Silver Falls YMCA and the […]
By James Day The lease on the Silverton Community Center likely will transfer to the Silver Falls YMCA when the Silverton City Council moves its meetings to the new Civic Center building next spring. The Oregon Military Department owns the Community Center building on South Water Street, with the city’s lease set to expire March 31, 2024. The council discussed […]
The Silverton City Council is heading toward a decision that will mean more housing than previously planned for a property on Eureka Avenue just east of The Oregon Garden. Developers already had received approval to build up to 42 units on the 5.15-acre property, which was zoned R-1 or single-family residential. During a public hearing at the council’s Dec. 4 […]
Karen Garst had one goal when she came up with the idea for Santa Cares in 2018 – to make sure everyone has a gift to give on Christmas. “[A]fter working with Sheltering Silverton and SACA I knew there were many in need,” Garst said. Inspired, Garst developed the Santa Cares event during which community members can donate gently used items – toys, children’s books, sports […]
The Elizabeth Ashley Hoke Memorial Trust sponsored the collection of new and gently used coats for kids and families during October. Coats were dropped off at Friends of Abiqua Heights, Willamette Valley Bank, Silver Creek Fellowship Church, Adventist Community Services, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Silverton Senior Center, Hi-School Pharmacy, Gear-Up, Sunflower Farms, First Christian Church, St. Paul’s, Les Schwab Tires, Robert […]
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 When the community-building nonprofit known as Silverton Together dissolved earlier this year, the Elizabeth Hoke Trust – a foundation honoring the legacy of SHS alumnus, Elizabeth Hoke – decided to take over many of its programs, including the annual Silverton Community Christmas Fest. “This is a celebration of the Silverton Community and the amazing people that make […]
By Melissa Wagoner Gus Frederick has always been interested in the art of cartooning. But in 1972, he’d never heard of the famous political cartoonist Homer Davenport, let alone seen any of his art. It wasn’t until a shift at the local cannery, where he met several other cartoon fanatics, that he learned a famous cartoonist once lived in the […]
