S ERVING THE S ILVERTON A REA S INCE 1880 50 C ENTS ● V OL . 135, N O . 18 A U NIQUE E DITION OF THE S TATESMAN J OURNAL W EDNESDAY , A PRIL 20, 2016 SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM MOLLY J. SMITH/STATESMAN JOURNAL Silverton High School's Sarah Potter competes at a district meet for Oregon High School Equestrian Teams at the State Fairgrounds on Sunday. Equestrian team looks for state honors BY CHRISTENA BROOKS SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE Back-to-back state champions, Silverton High School’s equestrian drill team is seeking gold again at the state meet in Redmond next month. The regular equestrian season ended for Silverton at its last district meet in Salem on April 8-10. With a 934-point score from the judges, the Foxes’ premier drill team won the meet and the North Valley District. Now it’s off to state May 12-15 for a shot at a third-in-a- row state title. Three seniors – Elsie Guenther, Angeline Starrs and Nicole Kuenzi – have been on the drill team during its two-year Oregon reign, and they hope to find vic- tory one last time before graduating. “We are telling ourselves, ‘Go big or go home,’ be- cause we’re going home anyway,” said Starrs. Rounding out Silverton’s six-plus drill team are senior Hannah Brunkal, junior Brienne Hook and sophomore Hannah Zurbrugg. Senior Sarah Potter is team alternate. Six-plus drill is arguably high school equestrian’s most popular event, as groups of riders on horseback – as many as 16, in some cases – perform complex rou- tines to music. Their scores are based on ability, spac- ing, coordination, originality, difficulty, speed, horse- manship and other factors. This year, the Foxes’ drill team is performing to an orchestral remix, with riders guiding their steeds through an eye-popping 5-minute routine. Watching the horses weave among one another – sometimes at high speed – is akin to watching the Blue Angels fly in formation. Silverton High School's Ella Kaufmann tends to her horse Meadow in between events at at a district meet on Sunday. “This is not ponies and ribbons,” said parent Jackie Zurbrugg. “It’s collisions and falls,” added Starrs. “Drill is definitely the scariest thing because there are six minds out there,” said Hook. “And then there are six horses with totally different minds.” Now that the six-month equestrian season is end- ing, Silverton’s riders – especially the seniors – are feeling a little nostalgic. Many have pictures of their horses on the phones or in their lockers. Each will tell you that riding is an act of complete trust between horse and rider. This year, they’ve helped each other learn new events and deal with injuries. They’ve adapted, over- come and often won. Most of all, they’ve put in untold hours of work. “This is what my life will be like when I have a job – I have to get up, go to school and then go to the barn every day,” said Hook. “Sometime I joke about just taking my mattress down to the barn and living there.” Because they don’t practice at school – rather at home, the Salem Saddle Club and Abiqua Country Es- tates – much of their toil goes unnoticed. In fact, the drill team’s 2014 and 2015 trophies haven’t made it into the high school’s trophy case because there’s never been an official moment of recognition to hand them over, they said. OHSET, which stands for Oregon High School Equestrian Teams, began in 1993. Throughout the state, high school teams operate as clubs, costing rid- ers several hundred dollars in fees each season. That doesn’t include the cost of owning or leasing a horse. For Silverton’s girls and their parents, the time and money commitments are worth it. “All of a sudden, you have to take care of something other than yourself,” explained Holly Kuenzi. “Be- fore OHSET, my horse was just a pasture horse. Now I have a goal with him I actually have to achieve.” “OHSET has some really great long-term effects,” said Gary King, a coach. “There’s a lot of responsibil- ity that comes into play. The girls have to learn how to adapt, to listen and to learn.” “Silverton has had a great many years in OHSET,” added coach Sue Rush. “This season, we have a well- rounded team. We had an athlete in every class.” See EQUESTRIAN, Page 3A Victor Point snags $1.2M in seismic-upgrade funding STAYTON MAIL For the second time just under a year and a half, Sil- ver Falls School District can pencil a significant boost for its facilities into its financing ledger. The district learned April 8 that rural Victor Point Elementary School was among the schools included as seismic-improvement grant recipients this year. It stands to receive $1,167,400 in this round of grants. “We are thrilled and excited for this amazing oppor- tunity for our kids, parents, community, and staff,” said Victor Point Principal Jamie McCarty. It is one of a handful of schools in the east Willamette Valley to get a grant. Santiam High School in Mill City received nearly $1.5 million to retrofit its gymnasium. Cascade School District received $1,484,200 for Tur- ner Elementary School improvements, and Jefferson Elementary School was awarded just more than $1 mil- lion. The grants were secured through Business Oregon’s Infrastructure Finance Authority and entailed the first of two phases for awarding 2015-17 funds allocated through the Oregon Legislature. Earlier in 2013, the legislature approved $30 million for seismic projects with the funding split between schools and emergency services. In December 2014, roughly $15 million was awarded to 13 schools state- wide, including Silver Falls District’s Butte Creek and Scotts Mills elementary schools. Total awards during this recent phase of the 2015-17 funds eclipsed $50 million; the next application round begins July 1, 2016, and includes $125 million for schools and $30 million for emergency services buildings. Business Oregon noted that eligible applicants in- clude public K-12 school districts, community colleges, education service districts and universities. For emer- gency services facilities, the emphasis is on first re- sponder buildings. Those include hospital buildings with acute inpatient care facilities, fire stations, police stations, sheriff’s offices, 911 centers and emergency operations centers. JUSTIN MUCH/STAYTON MAIL Victor Point Elementary School is among the schools awarded seismic-improvement grants. See GRANTS, Page 3A Online at Silverton Appeal.com NEWS UPDATES » Breaking news » Get updates from the Silverton area PHOTOS » Photo galleries INSIDE Births......................................2A Briefs ......................................3B Calendar ...............................2A Classifieds..............................3B Engagements ......................2A Life..........................................4A Obituaries.............................2A Police logs.............................2A Sports......................................1B 503-873-8600 119 N Water St Silverton, Or. Top 3 Listing Agents for March! “WE KNOW THIS MARKET” Call us to buy/sell your home! Visit us at 399 S. 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