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 . 8
W EDNESDAY , F EBRUARY 8, 2017
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Rep. Gilliam leaves state Legislature
Silverton representative diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease
TRACY LOEW
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Two days before the start of the 2017
Legislative session, Silverton Rep. Vic
Gilliam has announced his resignation.
Gilliam, 63, announced his departure
Jan. 30 on Facebook, saying he was led to
the decision, “for reasons including fair-
ness to you, my constituents.”
Gilliam has amyotrophic lateral scle-
rosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s
disease.
ALS is an incurable nervous system
disease that weakens the body's mus-
cles.
During the 2016 legislative session,
Gilliam walked with a cane and his
speech was slightly impaired.
Gilliam, a Republican, has served
District 18 since 2007. He declined to be
interviewed Monday.
“Rep. Gilliam would like people to re-
spect his privacy,” said Cindy Jones, his
chief of staff.
In Oregon, replacements for Legisla-
tive vacancies are chosen by county
commissioners representing the vacant
seat. In this case, that is Marion County
and Clackamas County.
Commissioners must consider at
least three candidates provided by the
party that last controlled the seat. They
have 30 days to appoint a replacement.
The replacement will serve for the re-
mainder of the term, which in this case
is until Jan. 13, 2019.
“I’ll gladly support a smooth transi-
tion with whomever is chosen by Ore-
gon’s respected appointment process,”
Gilliam wrote. “Then I intend to turn my
primary focus on personal faith and the
important path as a follower of Jesus.”
Preston Mann, communications di-
rector for House Republicans, said he
was not aware of any likely candidates
for the position.
But Mike Early, Gilliam’s Republican
CREEKSIDE CHAT
challenger in the 2016 pri-
mary previously said he
would pursue the job.
Early dropped out of the
race in March 2016 and
Gilliam went on to win re-
election in November.
Gilliam
“I will seek appoint-
ment to the office when the incumbent
withdraws because of his declining
health,” Early said in his withdrawal
statement.
That move drew complaints from
Clackamas County Democrats who said
it was a "bait-and-switch" scam because
voters who chose Gilliam over his Dem-
ocratic opponent in the general election
See GILLIAM, Page 2A
Silverton
honors its
leaders and
volunteers
Chamber presents five
with First Citizen award
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
nance the murals must meet two vital
criteria: they must be historical and Sil-
verton oriented. Other conditions in-
clude having adequate space, a willing
building owner and they can’t be paint-
ed on a street-front facing façade.
His favorite, the Napa Auto build-
ing’s “Our Twentieth Century” exhibits
a Silverton historical timeline.
Jim cites “The Gallon House
Bridge” as his favorite, and adds a sto-
ry behind his preference, harking back
What would this community look
like without the group of volunteers
who were briefly recognized before a
crowd of 200 on Saturday?
Likely there wouldn’t be a Fallen He-
roes Memorial Plaza
downtown, nor a $ 1 mil-
lion scholarship fund for
local high school grads,
nor the annual cleanup of
Silver Creek, nor an up-
coming comedy pageant
poised to make $60,000
Jones
for overseas medical
care.
Because
they’ve
shaped the community
with their ideas, time
and money, five out-
standing
volunteers
were honored by the Sil-
ver Falls Chamber of
Mannion
Commerce at the 46th
Annual Silverton First
Citizen Banquet, held
Feb. 4 at the Festhalle in
Mt. Angel.
Silverton’s top volun-
teers for 2016 are First
Citizen Cindy Jones, Fu-
ture First Citizen Megan
Hinsdale
Mannion, Distinguished
Service honoree Norm
English, Business of the
Year Harcourts NW Ore-
gon Realty Group, and
Judy Schmidt Lifetime
Achievement
winner
Mason Branstetter.
Another 21 communi-
Branstetter
ty members, ranging
from teachers to artists, were also cele-
brated by their respective organiza-
tions at the event. Diverse in experi-
ence and abilities, many the winners
expressed a shared sense of love and
duty for Silverton.
First Citizen Cindy Jones – dubbed
“Silverton’s queen” in song by emcee
Beth Davisson – closed the evening
with the quote, “Volunteering is the ul-
timate exercise in democracy. You vote
in elections once a year, but when you
volunteer, you vote every day about the
kind of community you want to live in.”
Jones is Oregon Rep. Vic Gilliam’s
chief of staff; when she’s not at work,
See MUCH, Page 2A
See CITIZEN, Page 3A
JUSTIN MUCH/APPEAL TRIBUNE
During Creekside Chat, Connie Barkley displays a piece of a handmade quilt. Barkley never regarded herself as artistic in any way whatsoever
— until she discovered Hawaiian quilting.
Quilted and wall-worked
aesthetics in Silverton
CREEKSIDE CHAT
JUSTIN MUCH
“That was a lot of fun!”
Jim Squires remem-
bered a pivotal day for the
growth of Silverton’s mu-
rals back in the early
1990s – he remembered
the day so well he thrice repeated: “So
much fun!”
The day Jim described spurred a
fundraiser to the tune of $13,000 and
sparked funding for the “Four Free-
doms” mural, launching Silverton on its
journey to be known for its rich, busi-
ness-district trimming artwork.
Silverton exhibits no shortage of or-
namentation; apply virtually any stan-
dard measure of a small-town’s aesthet-
ics and it’s bound to gauge positively
here, as evidenced by the town's runner-
up status in the national Small Business
Revolution on Main Street project last
year.
Still, anyone who enters Silverton, lo-
cals and out-of-towners alike, is invari-
ably struck by it’s murals – whether the
visitor sees one or two downtown or the
entire 31 around town. The murals’ eye-
catching artistry even arrests eyes amid
the town’s other scenic features.
Those murals are a salient feature to
behold and maintain. Their history, fu-
ture and ongoing care were on Jim’s
mind, as well as that of his cohort Norm
English on Wednesday, Feb. 1, during the
Creekside Chat at Silver Creek Coffee
House.
The Groundhog Day Eve chat
churned up even more aesthetics when
Dodie Brockamp and Connie Barkley
stopped by to discuss new developments
and activities with the Silverton Area
Seniors – including a Hawaiian quilting
element.
Jim numbered the current mural tally
at 31 with “probably another 6 or 7 on the
drawing board.” He serves as president
of Silverton’s Mural Society and Norm is
the vice president, charges they hold
with reverence as the murals are not
only adornments but illustrative pieces
of the town’s history.
Norm, a past president of the local
historical society, conveys that by ordi-
Next chat
What: Creekside Chat
Where: Silver Creek Coffee House, 111
Water St., Silverton
When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb.
8 (First and third Wednesdays)
Questions and information: Contact
Justin Much, jmuch@StatesmanJournal.com;
503-769-6338, cell 503-508-8157
YMCA camp counselor accused of rape
WHITNEY M. WOODWORTH
STATESMAN JOURNAL
An elementary school teacher
was arrested for allegedly sexually
assaulting a 17-year-old girl while
working at a summer camp at Sil-
ver Falls State Park, officials said.
Rohan Cordy, 28, of Monmouth,
was arrested Thursday by Marion
County detectives on charges of
first-degree sodomy, attempted
rape, first-degree unlawful sexual
penetration, third-degree sexual
abuse, supplying al-
cohol to a minor and
using a child in a dis-
play of sexually ex-
plicit conduct.
He is accused of
attempting to rape
Cordy
the teen while em-
ployed as a counselor at the YMCA
camp at Silver Falls State Park be-
tween June and August of 2016,
Marion County Sheriff’s Office
spokesman Lt. Chris Baldridge
said.
Cordy also works as a second-
grade teacher at Holley Elemen-
tary School in Sweet Home. The
sheriff’s office has no information
to support that there are any addi-
tional victims.
Samuel Carroll, CEO of the
YMCA of Marion and Polk Coun-
ties, said Cordy was a seasonal em-
ployee during the summer of 2016.
During his time of employment, he
allegedly began an “improper rela-
See ASSAULT, Page 2A
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