S ERVING THE S ILVERTON A REA S INCE 1880
50 C ENTS
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A U NIQUE E DITION OF THE S TATESMAN J OURNAL
V OL . 136, N O . 3
W EDNESDAY , J ANUARY 4, 2017
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Silverton man faces 13 sex abuse charges
LAUREN E HERNANDEZ
STATESMAN JOURNAL
A Silverton man has been arrested on
accusations of 13 sex abuse charges, ac-
cording to officials.
Jason Dean Tison, 38, initially faced
four counts of second-degree sexual
abuse and promoting prostitution in Au-
gust, according to a secret indictment
filed by the Marion County Circuit
Court.
The secret indictment states Tison
forced a woman to engage
in sexual intercourse over
the course of a four-month
period starting around Oc-
tober 1, 2014 and lasting to
February 2, 2015. An addi-
tional charge of promot-
Tison
ing prostitution was relat-
ed to the four second-degree sexual
abuse charges.
Judge Vance Day ordered an arrest
warrant on Aug. 26, 2016 related to those
charges.
A second warrant stemmed from
eight sexual abuse charges that started
around June 2015, according to a secret
indictment.
Tison allegedly raped, sodomized and
forced two different women to engage in
sexual intercourse on more than one oc-
casion. One of the victims was subjected
to sexual abuse for roughly one year
starting around July 1, 2014 and lasting to
around July 1, 2015.
Tison faces one count of first-degree
rape, two counts of first-degree sodomy,
eight counts of second-degree sexual
abuse, one count of coercion and one
count of promoting prostitution.
Rape and sodomy are Measure 11
crimes and each carry mandatory mini-
mum sentences of 100 months in prison.
Tison is scheduled for a plea hearing on
Thursday, Jan. 5 at 8:30 a.m. for the rape,
sodomy, second-degree sexual abuse
and coercion charges. He was previous-
ly convicted of second-degree sexual
abuse and using a child in a display of
sexually explicit conduct in 2005.
Silverton
finds itself
another year
older, wiser
ANNETTE UTZ
FOR THE SILVERTON APPEAL
DANIELLE PETERSON / STATESMAN JOURNAL
The Oregon Garden is aglow during the opening night of Christmas in the Garden on Friday, Nov. 25, in Silverton. The event features
a lighting display, ice skating, snowless tubing, an artisan market and more.
Year in Review
Highlights, lowlights and even Christmas lights
JUSTIN MUCH
STAYTON MAIL
A lot happens within a given year,
and nowhere is that more apparent
than looking back at highlights, low-
lights, those in the limelight and even
Christmas lights.
Headlines in the Silverton/Mt. An-
gel area included festivals, awards,
civic officials on the move and others
moving in and an array of old and new
stitching 2016 to its predecessor and
onto the current new year.
The following year-in-review snip-
pets are but a fraction of the Appeal
Tribune stories over 2016, arranged
in month-to-month segments and in-
cluding contributions from Christena
Brooks, Annette Utz, Carlee Wright,
Sheldon Traver, Whitney M. Wood-
worth and Brooke Jackson-Glidden,
to name a few. And, of course, a host
of vibrant residents who constitute
the colorful communities of this area.
January
Silverton City Council votes to al-
low marijuana to be grown and manu-
factured within city limits.
Oregon Coast Aquarium in New-
port visited elementary schools in Sa-
lem, Silverton and Aumsville, bring-
ing a piece of the coast inland as part
of its marine science traveling educa-
tion program.
Hours after a fire destroyed long-
time Silverton-area resident Melody
Harpole's home, family and friends
responded, and within days a YouCa-
ring.com fundraising site had $1,395
in donations, and Silverton Grange
No. 748 had already run a successful
collection of clothing and bedding to
meet Harpole's immediate needs.
After more than four months of de-
nials and reconsiderations, the Silver-
ton City Council approved an applica-
tion to build a 93-unit apartment com-
plex on Fossholm Road.
Mountain View Tree Service per-
forms a delicate tree-removal opera-
tion atop the mouth of the slippery
South Falls chute at Silver Falls State
Park. The rickety trees had been
compromised by winter conditions.
February
Hubbard-based
businessman
Mohsen Salem added the 111-year-old
Ames Building to the pair of historic
buildings at the intersection of Main
and Water streets that he's already
bought and rehabbed. Now he's the
owner and developer of the iconic
five-sided building at 100 S. Water
Street that was Larsen Flynn Insur-
ance, but has also been a bank, real es-
tate office, movie set, and home to the
Silverton Appeal's printing press.
"For me, I just love old buildings, and
I love Silverton," Salem said. "These
buildings deserve to be preserved so
people can continue to get use out of
them."
Mt. Angel’s John F. Kennedy High
School, is one of the 71 schools state-
wide to be included in the newest
round of educational grants from
NIKE, Inc. and the Nike School Inno-
vation Fund.
Poetry comes alive at the 16th an-
nual Silverton Poetry Festival, fea-
turing nine guest poets.
Silverton Resident Gayle Goschie
is awarded the 2015 Judy Schmidt
Lifetime Achievement Award from
the Silverton Chamber of Commerce.
March
Even before Rite-Aid moved into
its new location at the intersection of
Westfield and C streets and Silverton
Road, rumors were flying about the
location. Some were certain a dollar
type store had already signed a lease
and others said it would be Bi-Mart.
Students from Silverton High
School emerged successful at the an-
nual High School Industrial Skills
Contest held at Linn-Benton Commu-
nity College in Albany. Andrew Dum-
mer received first place in Welding
Technology-Gas Tungsten Arc Weld-
ing; Ben Dahl and Caleb Gunderman
took first and second places, respec-
tively, in Welding Technology-Oxy-
Acetylene Welding; Monte Martin
finished second in Welding Technol-
ogy-Gas Metal Arc Welding.
At Davenport Place in Silverton,
stories abound about residents' mili-
tary service and the history they have
to share. A new tribute wall was ded-
icated to these veterans, recognizing
their contributions. Family and com-
munity members visited Davenport
Place for the official unveiling.
Seven local fire fighters are hon-
ored at Silverton Fire District's
awards banquet: Firefighter of the
Year, Max Hughes; Officer of the
Year, Fred Bridgehouse; Emergency
Medical Technician of the Year, Matt
See SILVERTON, Page 2A
See 2016, Page 3A
Driver killed on Highway 214 identified
LAUREN E HERNANDEZ AND
DAVID DAVIS
STATESMAN JOURNAL
The driver killed in crash on
Highway 214 in the early morning
on Dec. 22 has been identified.
Pedro Topete, 35, of Jefferson,
was driving westbound on the high-
way when his vehicle hit black ice
and crossed the centerline accord-
ing to Oregon State Police.
Topete was killed when his vehi-
cle collided with a semi-truck head-
ing eastbound. The driver of the
semi-truck, John Illingworth of
Keizer, was uninjured.
The crash closed the highway for
several hours west of Silver Falls
State Park and east of Cascade
Highway.
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
NEWS UPDATES
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One person was killed in a crash on
Highway 214 early Thursday, Dec. 22.
INSIDE
Classifieds .............................................3B
Life .........................................................4A
Obituaries ............................................2A
Police logs ............................................2A
Sports.....................................................1B
©2017
This past year has been one of great
change for many. In Silverton, that is no
exception, with progress and improve-
ments expected to continue in 2017.
Mayor Rick Lewis pointed to expan-
sion, marijuana and water treatment as
primary developments in 2016.
With the passage of Senate Bill 1573,
the State Legislature determined that
voter-approved annexation would be
nullified. Silverton was one of 34 cities
that had voter-approved annexation, ei-
ther by charter or ordinance. Lewis not-
ed that there are challenges to the new
law and the city is watching to see what
ensues.
In the meantime, several large annex-
ations have occurred since passage of
the law.
“While the City cannot outlaw growth,
we do have an interest in ensuring that
growth is dealt with sensibly and does
not over-burden our infrastructure.” he
said. “Growth is subsidized by our rate
payers. Moderate, controlled growth is
important.”
The second matter that involved con-
troversy, staff and council time was the
resolution of marijuana issues and relat-
ed regulations.
“There was a great deal of compro-
mise,” Lewis said. “The council was di-
vided on the issues surrounding mari-
juana, but in the end I believe we came
up with a set of regulations that we all
can live with.”
There will be a public hearing process
prior to approval.
Another focus was the creation of a
comprehensive community vision for
the future.
“A significant amount of public input
went into the creation of the vision which
was adopted in final form by the city
council mid-year,” Lewis said. “This vi-
sion should now lead to a strategic plan
and that process will hopefully begin
sometime in 2017 if funds are budgeted
to accomplish it.”
With regard to 2017, most critical is-
sue looming on the horizon is the state of
the water treatment plant. The plant is
older than its life expectancy and a re-
cent consultant report shows that ad-
dressing the construction of a new plant
must begin very soon.
“The problem, of course, is how we
pay for it,” the mayor said. “The one cer-
tainty is that we simply cannot ignore the
problem. Water quality is something that
is important to all of us and I would cate-
gorize the state of our treatment plant as
critical at this point.”
Lewis mentioned several other mat-
ters that are on the horizon, including
budgeting, rebuilding and council goals.
“As the new year begins, we welcome
Christy Wurster, Silverton's new city
manager,” he added. “Christy has been
hired effective January 17th. We look
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