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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Home values skyrocket across much of Mid-Valley Tax bills are going out and here’s what you’ll pay Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Though the real market value of homes in Salem and most of the Willamette Valley are skyrocketing, most property owners will see minimal increases in their 2021-22 tax bills. The real market value of all properties in Marion County jumped 7.6% from a year earlier, to $57 billion. In Polk County, the real market value rose by 9% from 2020, to $12.8 billion. Due to Measure 5 and Measure 50 limi- tations, taxes will only rise by 3%, except for people in areas like St. Paul, Stayton and Monmouth who voted to pay additional taxes for bonds or levies. In Polk County, tax statements were to be mailed out Oct. 20 and payments are due Nov. 15. In Marion County, tax state- ments were mailed Oct. 18 and are due Nov. 15 for a 3% discount and to avoid interest. Polk County Assessor Valerie Patoine said much of the increase in real market value is due to the boom in the housing market. “It increased about that same rate last year as well,” she said. “It’s a kind of a crazy time right now that the market’s growing faster than I’ve ever seen in the last couple years." She said the rising prices are having a negative impact on some. “There’s just not enough housing units for the number of people," she said. "And the prediction for the coming years, even, The real market value of properties in Marion County has jumped 7.6% over the past year. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL they’re predicting a shortfall of housing.” Real market values skyrocketed in a few cities. In Aumsville, the average real market value jumped 18% to $298,222, from See MARKET, Page 4A Forward This Capi Lynn Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK A Canadian billionaire and a secret Roth’s visit ANSWERS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT Chemawa Indian School families hopeful for investigation Natalie Pate, Capi Lynn and Dianne Lugo Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK Content warning: This article includes historical photos and personal experiences detailing the abuse and deaths of Native children at residential institutions. Viewing the article may be traumatic, especially for survivors and their families. Lillian Medina combed through every headstone in Chemawa Cemetery, searching for some indication that her great-aunt was there. h She scoured the grounds twice before finding Tillie Frank- lin’s burial site near the entrance. Medina placed her hand on the marker and introduced herself. She poured water over Franklin’s name. h “To think that, in almost 100 years,” Medina said, “I was the first family to visit where she is buried.” h Medina sobbed for every child buried in the cemetery that abuts Chemawa Indian School. If you are experiencing When she stood to leave, Medina said she felt like something grabbed traumatic stress, panic, at her ankles. She couldn’t move. h “We didn’t want to leave these anxiety, depression or children that never got to go home to their grandmothers,” she said. hopelessness, help is available. Call “We didn’t want them to be without family again.” 1-800-273-TALK (8255) See CHEMAWA, Page 3A to speak with a crisis counselor now. Additional resources are available at the end of this story. JOURNAL ARCHIVES, PACIFIC UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES, STATESMAN JOURNAL Vol. 140, No. 45 News updates: h Breaking news h Get updates from the Silverton area Photos: h Photo galleries See VISIT, Page 2A Time has run out to prevent evictions Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK PHOTOS: STATESMAN Online at SilvertonAppeal.com Jim Pattison, who's been described as Canada's Warren Buffett, visited Salem under the radar in early August. The 93-year-old self-made billionaire and fourth- richest person in his country was on a scouting trip for a potential acquisition. Pattison, who Forbes reports has a net worth of $10.4 billion and oversees an empire spanning every- thing from cars to groceries, was accompanied by five members of his finance team. They stayed in a down- town hotel and took a tour of the Mid-Valley. Their guide was Michael Roth, president of Roth's Fresh Markets. "Jim is very active in his businesses, and I found him to be a treasure of a person," Roth said. "I don't think a lot of people know his name in the U.S. But I can tell you, they definitely will." Residents of Salem and surrounding communities were introduced to him this week when it was an- nounced that Pattison Food Group, a division of The Jim Pattison Group, is buying their beloved local gro- cery store chain. Pending regulatory approval, it marks the group's first acquisition outside of Canada. Financial terms were not disclosed in Wednes- day's announcement, some four months after con- versations were initiated. Many of the details will never be publicly known, because of non-disclosure agreements. But Michael Roth, who will retire when the deal is finalized, shared with the Statesman Journal a be- hind-the-scenes glimpse of how the sale of the com- pany his late father Orville founded nearly 60 years ago went down. Serving the Silverton Area Since 1880 A Unique Edition of the Statesman Journal QEAJAB-07403y On a sunny June day, Michael Bouchard went to the Sa- lem office of The ARCHES Project to apply for emergency rental assistance for his 24-foot trailer in north Salem and filled out all of the paperwork given. And then he waited. Like thousands of other Oregonians, Bouchard had a hard time paying rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, Congress sent $204 million to help people in Oregon pay rent, and Bouchard qualified for help. The former journeyman carpenter received unemploy- ment payments for much of the pandemic and used that to pay his rent, but fell behind. He has worked when he could, such as at the State Fair, and said he paid as much as he could. Bouchard never received an official eviction summons, but said he received a number of verbal warnings from his landlord about the past-due rent. While his application wound its way through the sys- tems the state had rushed to install weeks earlier, Bou- chard's time was running out. In June, the same month Bouchard applied for help, the state’s pandemic-induced ban on evictions expired. To buy renters more time to get assistance from the new program, lawmakers extended the ban on eviction for nonpayment of rent by 60 days. But now the clock on that protection has run out for Bou- chard and approximately 11,900 other people in Oregon, ac- cording to Oregon Housing and Community Services. The state continues to be overwhelmed by the volume of applications and the Legislature has not extended the “safe harbor” to protect residents from getting evicted while they wait for the state to send out the assistance funds. At an Oct. 4 hearing, Oregon Housing and Community Services officials said it could take 10-13 weeks for the state to catch up with the backlog of applications. See EVICTION, Page 4A