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 . 9
W EDNESDAY , F EBRUARY 15, 2017
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Commissions to fill Gilliam’s seat
Panels convene next week to interview potential appointments
JUSTIN MUCH
STAYTON MAIL
Who is going to replace Rep. Vic Gil-
liam?
Interviews of potential appointments
and the selection of a replacement for
the vacant Oregon House District 18 seat
are scheduled to take place Wednesday,
Feb. 22, when two county commission
panels convene.
Gilliam, of Silverton, resigned from
the seat two days prior to the beginning
of the current legislative session. Diag-
nosed with amyotrophic lateral sclero-
sis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s
disease, he had been battling health is-
sues during the 2016 session.
The Republican has served District 18
since 2007.
Marion County Board of Commission-
ers announced last week that it will hold
a joint session with Clackamas County
Commission to interview candidates and
select a replacement for the open posi-
tion. Plans are for the interviews and se-
lection to take place at the same meeting.
The meeting is 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the
Mt. Angel Fire District, 300 Monroe St. in
Mt. Angel. The public is welcome to at-
tend.
County officials stated that Oregon
law requires that a legislative vacancy to
be filled by county commissioners rep-
resenting the district in which the vacan-
cy exists. House District 18 includes vot-
ers in Clackamas and Marion counties.
Officials also said the session will be
videotaped and archived on Clackamas
County’s YouTube Channel and broad-
cast on the Clackamas County Govern-
ment Channel and Capital Community
Television in Marion County.
Marion County officials said the com-
mission will receive a list of candidates
applying for the position from the Ore-
gon State Republican Party no later than
Tuesday, Feb. 21.
ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Frankie Bell stands with Rep. Vic Gilliam on
the Senate Floor before Sine Die to adjourn
the 2016 legislative session at the Oregon
State Capitol in Salem on March 3.
Utility
rates to
rise this
summer
Salem meeting aims to bring together
bikers, horseback riders in
Local fuel tax may be on
the ballot in November
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
This summer, the average house-
hold’s monthly utility bill will rise by
about $10, and, in fall, residents may
be asked to consider a local fuel tax.
The City Council voted unani-
mously last week to raise rates and
fees and consider proposing a 2-cent-
per-gallon gas tax to voters in No-
vember, making both decisions to
pay for infrastructure projects.
“These decisions are difficult,
very difficult, but we’ve got things
that have to be taken care of,” said
Mayor Rick Lewis. “Paramount is our
concern for the safety of the commu-
nity.”
McClaine Street’s patched-up as-
phalt, degraded roadbed and non-ex-
istent storm water collection system
dominated the Feb. 6 conversation
about specific projects, but new Pub-
lic Works Director Christian Saxe
also talked about replacing Silver-
ton’s water treatment plant and add-
ing a 2-million gallon reservoir to im-
prove water pressure on the west
side of town.
“We’re pursuing every grant out
there that’s available,” Saxe said. To
replace the city’s 40-year-old water
treatment plant – his “No. 1 priority”
– he and his staff are vying for a
matching grant, “making our propos-
al as attractive as possible,” that
would pay for 75 percent of the pro-
ject. The cost to the city would still be
in the millions.
To save for this and other projects,
the council voted to raise water rates
and charges 15 percent, which re-
sults in a $4.50 increase for the aver-
age residential user. Councilors also
bumped both the storm water fee
(now a flat fee $4.05 for residential
users), and the street maintenance
fee (a flat $6.07) by $3 apiece.
The resulting $10.85-per-average-
household increase will go into effect
July 1. Those increases will generate
an estimated $630,000 in additional
revenue in 2017-18, said Councilor
Jim Sears.
If voters also approve a 2-cent-per-
gallon gas tax, to be levied at local gas
stations, the city would gain another
estimated $173,000 that “is only al-
lowed to be spent on street mainte-
Silver Falls’
backcountry
ZACH URNESS | STATESMAN JOURNAL
C
hanges to the vast system of
backcounty trails at Silver
Falls State Park will be
considered at a Wednesday meeting in
Salem.
GETTY
IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
A focus of the meeting will be
resolving issues between mountain
bikers and equestrians, two groups
that have sometimes found conflict
over trail use at Oregon’s largest state
park.
See TRAILS, Page 3A
South Loop Trail, part
of the Trail of Ten Falls
at Silver Falls State
Park, is pictured.
Changes to the vast
system of backcounty
trails at Silver Falls
State Park will be
considered at a
Wednesday
meeting in Salem.
See UTILITIES, Page 2A
Legislature discusses vaccinations
as school deadline approaches
NATALIE PATE
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Vaccinations are back in the Oregon legislature.
After a one year hiatus, there are three bills so far
that touch on the subject. SB 579 addresses consent re-
quired before administering vaccinations. SB 580
would require written notice of vaccinations. SB 687
would clarify the definition “abuse” cannot include re-
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
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fusal or delaying of vaccination of a child.
“We see these bills as necessary steps to protect the
rights of parents (and their families),” said Bob Snee,
director and legislative policy consultant for Orego-
nians for Medical Freedom, a coalition that supports
parents’ rights to be exempt from vaccinations.
Snee has been working on the bills presented to the
Silverton Spotlight!
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INSIDE
Life..........................................4A
Obituaries.............................2A
Police logs.............................2A
Sports......................................1B
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