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 . 37
W EDNESDAY , A UGUST 31, 2016
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Field burning issues persist
Some health, traffic problems continue in Marion County
TRACY LOEW
STATESMAN JOURNAL
At least six times in the past four
years, thick smoke from field burning
has covered roads in communities east
of Salem, while required flaggers and
signs were absent.
The incidents created potentially haz-
ardous situations, the Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture said in citing the
farmers, including grass seed giants
Doerfler Farms, Taylor Farms and Schu-
macher Farms.
It’s a far cry from 1988, when field-
burning smoke caused low visibility on
Interstate 5 near Albany, causing a mas-
sive pileup that killed seven people and
injured 38.
Since then, Oregon has gradually de-
creased the number of acres that grass
seed farmers can burn:
In 1991, the Legislature established a
phased-in cap on field burning of 40,000
acres per year, about a fifth of what had
traditionally been burned.
And in 2009, lawmakers reduced it
even further to 15,000 acres in Marion
County, mostly near Silverton, where
certain terrain and types of seed make
alternatives difficult.
Complaints have fallen dramatically,
from a high of 3,783 in 1988 to 86 last
year.
But, while most of the Willamette Val-
ley has seen relief from heavy smoke,
communities such as Silverton, Detroit,
Lyons and Mill City still experience
some health and traffic problems.
“You can barely breathe. If you have
asthma, you can’t breathe at all. And you
can’t see,” Silverton resident Tom Moss
said.
ODA only allows field burning when
weather conditions promise to lift smoke
up and away from populated areas. And
STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE
Field burning takes place at a grass seed field
in the Lyons area on Aug. 4, 2011.
See BURNING, Page 2A
Dance troupe
prepares
for festival
and beyond
A TALE OF TWO FIELDS
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
MT. ANGEL – Just weeks from the
cultural explosion that is Oktoberfest,
the small town that will host it is remark-
ably quiet.
On this hot August night, below a rosy
sunset, in the shadow of the abbey, past
rows of hops, the Festhalle doors are
open. Over the chirp of crickets, German
music is audible, but instead of snare and
squeezebox, it features pounding bass
and electric guitar.
Inside, on the dance floor, five couples
are sweating their way through Austrian
folk-rocker’s Hubert von Goisern’s
“Oben und Unten.” To the heavy beat,
they skip and spin, polka-style, then the
circle breaks into a line, and dancer Lu-
cas Rue is suddenly swinging his fian-
cée, Christy Anderson, into the air like a
competition ballroom dancer.
For six years, the Kleinstädtlers, an
all-local Bavarian dance group with a
modern twist, have been entertaining
audiences in Mt. Angel. They’ll rock the
house again at the Alpinegarten three
times during Oktoberfest, set for Sept.
15-18.
A week later, they’ll perform 2,000
miles from home, in St. Charles, Missou-
ri. Turns out, there’s enough buzz sur-
rounding the Kleinstädtlers that other
Oktoberfests have come calling. In the
Northwest, they’ve danced in Leaven-
worth, Ontario, Sandy, Salem and Junc-
tion City. Now they’re being flown out of
state to perform.
“I don’t know how St. Charles found
us,” said the group’s choreographer, Sa-
rah Bauman. “I’ve never had to go out
and find us work.”
Impressive for a group whose name,
Kleinstädtlers, roughly translates to
“small-town folks.” That’s what they are:
10 men and women whose roots run deep
and who simply love to dance. Two of
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE STAYTON MAIL
Athletes test out the new artificial turf at Silverton’s McGinnis Field during practice.
New artificial
turf installed
at local schools
ANNETTE UTZ
FOR THE STAYTON MAIL
It’s been a busy summer for Field
Turf USA and a season of big devel-
opments for Stayton and Silverton
high schools.
The company was responsible for
the final installation of new artificial
turf surfaces on the schools’ athletic
fields. The work on Silverton’s
McGinnis Field was completed Aug.
9 and is being used during practice.
The inaugural event is the JV foot-
ball game against Sandy at 5:30 p.m.
Sep. 1. The varsity team will host
their home opening at 7 p.m. Friday,
Sept. 9, against Redmond.
The Eagles’ field is expected to be
finished around Labor Day, with a
soft opening Sep. 2 during the boys
and girls soccer games. The varsity
football team hosts Banks on Sep. 16.
The stories of both fields are simi-
lar, involving several years of dis-
McGinnis Field track and field elements are repositioned during the new artificial turf
project.
cussions and negotiations and count-
less hours of community participa-
tion, fundraising and volunteer
work.
“This year, several key factors
came together in order to make it
happen,” North Santiam School Dis-
trict Superintendent Andy Gardner
said of the Stayton developments.
“First, the Stayton High School
See DANCE, Page 3A
Boosters have a great deal of energy
and can-do attitude right now, and
they undertook a massive fund-rais-
ing campaign. Second, the excava-
tion of the field and removal of the
dirt was done by Roger Roberts ...
Also, the great support of contrac-
tors Denny Holm and Bill Martinak,
See TURF, Page 2A
CHRISTENA BROOKS / SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
Liz Schaecher and other dancers partner up.
Landlord arrested in beer-can beating
WHITNEY M. WOODWORTH
STATESMAN JOURNAL
A Mt. Angel landlord was ar-
rested on suspicion of unlawful use
of a weapon for allegedly beating a
tenant in the head with full can of
beer.
On July 30, police officers re-
sponding to reports of a disturb-
ance at a Mt. Angel residence
found a man bleed-
ing from the head. A
probable
cause
statement filed in
Marion County gave
the following ac-
Danny Free
count:
The victim told
police his landlord, Danny Free, 48,
shoved him to the ground and beat
him with an unopened, 24-ounce
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
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can of Colt 45 malt liquor.
The victim said Free held the
can in his right hand. When he
swung at the victim’s face, the can
hit with enough force to explode.
Free punched the victim several
more times before he was pulled
off.
Free fled the scene before po-
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See BEATING, Page 2A
INSIDE
Briefs ......................................3B
Calendar ...............................2A
Classifieds..............................3B
Life..........................................4A
Obituaries .............................3B
Sports......................................1B
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