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 . 135, N O . 32
W EDNESDAY , J ULY 27, 2016
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Man arrested after head-on crash
WHITNEY M WOODWORTH
STATESMAN JOURNAL
A head-on crash just west of
Silverton hospitalized two peo-
ple, led to the arrest of a Salem
man and closed Silverton Road
NE for several hours July 19, of-
ficials said.
Jonan Kovac, 28, was driving
a Chrysler 300 eastbound on the
roadway at around 7 a.m. when
his car crossed the center line
and struck a westbound car
head-on, said Lt. Chris Bal-
dridge, a Marion County Sher-
iff’s Officer spokesman. After
the crash, deputies discovered
Kovac’s blood-alcohol level was
almost twice the legal limit.
Witnesses said Kovac struck
the car, a Chevrolet Malibu, as
he was attempting to get back
into the east-
bound lane.
The
Malibu
sustained heavy
damage, and fire
crews extricated
the driver, Je-
Kovac
nelle Gasper, 44,
of Silverton. She was taken to
the the hospital with possible
life-threatening injuries.
Gasper is a long-term admin-
istrative worker for the state of
Oregon, said Director of Hu-
man Resources Lore Christo-
pher. Her co-workers brought
flowers and gifts to her at the
hospital. They weren’t able to
visit personally with Gasper,
but her husband promised to up-
date them on her condition,
MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
A head-on crash just west of Silverton hospitalized two people, led to the arrest of a Salem man and closed
Silverton Road NE for several hours July 19, officials said.
See CRASH, Page 3A
CREEKSIDE CHAT
Shifting Geers
in Oregon
JUSTIN MUCH/STAYTON MAIL
Jim Toler, Ed Barradough and Charles Baldwin took part in the
Creekside Chat on July 20 at Silver Creek Coffee House.
Festival set to
roll out with
bicycle theme
JUSTIN MUCH
STAYTON MAIL
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE STAYTON MAIL
Visiting children enjoy a presentation at historic GeerCrest Farm.
Family’s historic
farm still stands
ANNETTE UTZ
FOR THE STAYTON MAIL
It all started in the early 1600’s when two or-
phaned boys, Thomas and George Geer, were sent
by their uncle to America, arriving via ship in Bos-
ton. Four centuries later, descendants of the Geer
boys are congregating this weekend at the Geer-
Crest farmstead in the rural Waldo Hills, located
between Silverton and Sublimity, for the triennial
national Geer family reunion, hosted by the non-
profit GeerCrest Farm & Historical Society.
“Every three years, family members from
around the country get together,” GeerCrest Presi-
dent and Board Chair Jim Toler said. “We rotate lo-
cations and this year we’ll be having it here and vis-
iting various sites to celebrate our family history.”
The Oregon branch of that history began in 1845
when Joseph Cary Geer Jr. joined a wagon train of
approximately 200 families to flee the recession
facing Ohio and head to greener pastures in Ore-
gon. From Idaho, the entourage followed Steve
Meek on a shortcut straight across Oregon to avoid
potential difficulties and encounters with the Walla
Walla and Cayuse Indians but unfortunately be-
came lost in eastern Oregon.
While many did not survive the “lost wagon
train,” Geer made it to the Willamette Valley and
prompted his father, Joseph Sr., and the rest of the
family to follow suit.
Musa Eoff, aunt of Theodore Geer, hangs with the locals.
After settling near Macleay, Joseph Sr.’s son He-
man Geer and his wife Cynthia announced the birth
of their son, Theodore Thurston Geer, in 1850. Theo-
dore later served as a Marion County representa-
tive for several years and in 1898 was elected the
10th governor of Oregon. Known as the “bicycle
governor,” he signed the 1899 “cycle path” legisla-
tion to create a statewide network of cycling paths
statewide. In his enthusiasm, he rode his bike reg-
ularly from his Macleay home to the Capitol during
his tenure.
Another of Joseph’s sons, Ralph Geer, represent-
ed Marion County in the Oregon Territorial Legisla-
ture. He also established a farmstead in the Waldo
See GEERS, Page 3A
Silverton council approves annexation
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
The Silverton City
Council annexed and re-
zoned a 4.87-acre piece of
rural property near Pio-
neer Drive earlier this
month, making it possible
for developers to build an
estimated 20 homes there.
The council’s 4-2 deci-
sion for annexation —
Councilors Laurie Carter
and Kyle Palmer voted no
— was clouded by con-
cerns that a new subdivi-
sion on the property could
increase traffic on nearby
Jodi and Ryan drives.
“Jodi Drive is a very
residential little street,
and it seems to me it
would degrade that neigh-
borhood substantially,”
Carter said.
How a future subdivi-
sion would access South
Water Street — consider-
ing a direct connection to
Ike Mooney Road isn’t al-
lowed — is a matter devel-
opers and the planning
commission will have
to work out, said Com-
munity Development
Director Jason Gottge-
treu. Concept draw-
ings of street connec-
tions are theoretical
until an actual subdivi-
sion proposal is sub-
Wheels will turn when
one of Silverton’s signa-
ture community celebra-
tions rolls out next week; a
bicycle theme will front
and center while the leg-
endary couch races con-
tinue to cruise.
Charles Baldwin sat
down at Silver Creek Cof-
fee House on Wednesday,
July 20, for a Creekside
Chat to impart this year’s
bicycle themed Homer
Davenport Community
Festival, while expanding
on the broader two-
wheeled objectives of Sil-
verton’s Bicycle Commit-
tee and Friends of East-
side Trails.
Friends of Eastside
Trails defines its mission
as to promote safe walk-
ing and bicycling trails
and lanes, as well as bicy-
cle safety, along the east
side of Oregon’s Willam-
ette Valley.
Meanwhile, Tonya Rue
is once again putting her
energy behind a festival
staple, the couch races, a
heart-harbored
legacy
and tribute to her late
mother and mentor, “Barb
Rue Memorial Davenport
Races.”
A third-generation hair
stylist, Tonya inherited
not only her vocation
from Barb, but the races
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See COUNCIL, Page 3A
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INSIDE
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Life..........................................4A
Obituaries .............................2B
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as well. Tonya speaks of
the races in terms of gen-
erations, reaching back
from mom’s memory:
“She was a runner in
the races (decades ago),
and they started to lose
momentum – as those
things tend to do – so she
just took it over.”
So wheeled events for
the festival celebrating
Silverton’s prodigal son
received
considerable
discussion at Creekside in
anticipation of the Aug.
5-7 gala.
Friends of Eastside
Trails members Ed Barra-
clough and Jim Toler
flanked Charles as he list-
ed off the group’s goals,
successes and long-term
visions.
A fun footnote: Jim’s
also currently occupied
with the upcoming Geer
Crest
Farm
reunion
(Homer Davenport’s ma-
ternal family). The state’s
first native Governor,
Theodore Thurston Geer,
is reported to have rode
his bicycle from his east
valley ranch to work at
the capitol back around
the turn of the 19th and
20th centuries.
Looking just beyond
the festival, this August
Silverton’s bicycle advo-
cates plan to submit an ap-
plication to gain a bike
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