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 . 1
W EDNESDAY , D ECEMBER 21, 2016
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Family celebrates Christmas tradition
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
It seems every family has a unique
Christmas tradition, and for the Schmid-
gall family in Silverton, it looks a lot like
the recently bygone game show, “Minute
to Win It.”
Every Christmas Eve, you’ll find up to
50 family members crowded into the
Pine Street home of sisters Bev and
Marilyn Schmidgall, rooting for a re-
volving pair of contestants in a race
against the clock. For 60 seconds, they
might be stacking metal bolts with candy
canes or bounding like bunnies, trying to
shake jingle bells from boxes tied
around their waists.
All this wackiness is for a good cause.
Each challenge’s champion wins a vote
for his or her favorite charity. By night’s
end, a single charity is the winner, and
it’s winner take all – all the money the
Schmidgalls would’ve spent on gifts for
each other. For the past four years, com-
peting and donating has taken the place
of traditional gift-giving.
“In this world today, when we all have
so much stuff, we decided we don’t need
any more stuff,” said Marilyn, a retired
caregiver for developmentally disabled
adults. “That’s what brought all this on.”
Since 2012, the Schmidgalls have do-
nated several thousand dollars to Liber-
ty House, the Women’s Crisis Center,
HOST shelter for teens on the street, and
foster kids in Marion County. This year,
they’re making kits for students in the
Silver Falls School District who don’t or
can’t live at home.
Matt and
Amie
Schmidgall,
of
California,
use candy
canes to
stack bolts
in a
“Minute to
Win It”
challenge
last
Christmas
Eve in
Silverton.
See TRADITION, Page 2A
CHRISTENA BROOKS/SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
MOUNTAINS DEEP
WITH SNOWPACK
ANNETTE UTZ/SPECIAL TO THE STAYTON MAIL
Mill City candidates Hannah Baker, left, and
Scott J. Baughman prepare to roll the dice
for a city council seat on Monday. He won.
Mill City
election tie
broken by
toss of a die
JUSTIN MUCH
STAYTON MAIL
PHOTOS BY ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Snow plows clear a road near Detroit Lake, Ore., on Monday, Dec. 5
OREGON’S PEAKS SEE MOST SNOW SINCE 2001
ZACH URNESS
STATESMAN JOURNAL
It’s been a long time since Ore-
gon’s mountains had this much snow
so early in the year.
A consistent barrage of storms
combined with colder-than-normal
temperatures have blanketed Ore-
gon’s mountains with the deepest
mid-December snowpack since 2001,
officials said.
“After several pretty bad years,
it’s a welcome sight for a lot of peo-
ple,” National Weather Service mete-
orologist Matthew Cullen said.
Oregon’s snowpack, calculated by
snow-water equivalent, was 141 per-
cent of normal on Dec. 16. That’s the
highest mark since snowpack hit 217
percent of normal on Dec. 16, 2001, ac-
cording to the Natural Resources
Flakes stick to a “Snow Zone” caution sign
near Detroit Lake. It’s the deepest
mid-December snowpack since 2001.
Conservation Service.
The heaviest snow has accumulat-
ed in Oregon’s Northern and Central
Cascade Range. In the Willamette Ba-
sin — which includes areas such as
Santiam Pass and the Mount Jeffer-
son area — snowpack is 162 percent
of normal. The Mount Hood area and
Central Oregon are also well above
average.
“We’re seeing really good snow-
pack everywhere, but especially in
the Cascades from McKenzie Pass
north to Mount Hood,” said Scott
Oviatt, snow survey supervisor for
the NRCS in Portland.
The heavy snowfall is a welcome
development, especially following
snow-starved seasons in 2013-14 and
2014-15 — the worst year for snow-
With every vote counted -- and re-
counted -- and no clear winner estab-
lished, what do you do?
Bring out the dice.
That’s how Mill City’s 2017 City
Council was determined on Monday,
Dec. 12, as incumbent Councilor Scott
J. Baughman’s roll of five topped chal-
lenger Hannah Baker’s two in the city
hall council chambers.
Roughly 20 attendees came to the
event, with a handful of phone cameras
on the spot. Attendees included Mayor
Thorin Thacker and City Attorney Jim
McGehee, while the atmosphere was
essentially one of informal curiosity.
City Recorder Stacie Cook carried
the special die into the chambers in a
signed bag, purchased that day at Mill
City Pharmacy. McGehee acknowl-
edged that election ties are rare and
that the procedure undertaken at the
gathering is indeed that tie-breaking
method in the city’s charter. He then
outlined that procedure and gave the
incumbent Baughman the option of
rolling first or second.
Baughman said “ladies first,” and
nodded to Baker to go ahead.
Both candidates clearly enjoyed be-
ing a part of the unique situation as
Baughman’s demeanor was laid back
while Baker wore a bright, cheery
smile throughout. She did seem to know
immediately after rolling that her
deuce placed the odds to her disfavor.
The situation came up following the
election as Baughman and Baker each
received 395 votes. By Oregon law, that
triggered a recount, a tad tricky since
Mill City is a two-county town. The re-
counts in both Marion and Linn coun-
See SNOW, Page 2A
See ELECTION, Page 2A
MarKum Inn to reopen after 2014 fire
BROOKE JACKSON-GLIDDEN
STATESMAN JOURNAL
The MarKum Inn, a casual fam-
ily restaurant at the Marquam
junction near Silverton, has been
open on and off for over a century
as a watering hole for generations
of ranchers. It’s burned down at
least three times, twice in the last
fifty years.
Now, it will reopen serving
wood-fired pizzas and steaks.
The restaurant last burned
down in 2014, and has been closed
since. Mark Burnett, an Illinois na-
tive, purchased the space in Janu-
ary after living nearby for three
years.
“I used to drive by it every day,”
Burnett recalled. “My friend said I
should buy the MarKum Inn, and I
said don’t mention it again, said he
was crazy. But it started to dig in. I
started to learn about the history. It
did an amazing amount of busi-
ness, being in the middle of no-
where.”
Burnett and his team are in the
final stages of preparation for a re-
opening, hopefully before the year
ends. Burnett said he can’t commit
to an opening date, but said it
would be “as soon as possible.”
The restaurant was known for
its prime rib, burgers and biscuits
and gravy. The new MarKum Inn
should remain true to its roots, but
will offer new specials like butter-
nut hummus and wood-fired piz-
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