S ERVING THE S ILVERTON A REA S INCE 1880 50 C ENTS ● A U NIQUE E DITION OF THE S TATESMAN J OURNAL V OL . 136, N O . 25 W EDNESDAY , J UNE 7, 2017 SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM Silverton gains apartment complexes CHRISTENA BROOKS SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE SILVERTON - A new 20-unit apart- ment complex for low-income agricul- tural workers filled less than a month af- ter opening, while half of the 93 units at a luxury apartment complex now under construction have already been leased. The two apartment complexes are un- related, even as they enter Silverton’s di- verse rental market at the same time. Approved by the city about 18 months ago, they both generated community buzz because they feature three-story buildings and are expected to create some additional street traffic. Beyond those similarities, however, Colonia Jardines and Silverplace Apart- ment Homes are distinctly different. Colonia Jardines, on South Water Street, is a subsidized apartment com- plex open only to low-income agricultur- al workers. The 27-year-old Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, based in Woodburn, has been building similar communities for low-income farmworkers since 1992. There are five other such complexes in Salem, Sublimi- ty, Stayton, Woodburn and Keizer. “A lot of our tenants … they were working in Silverton and living in Salem or living in Mt. Angel,” said resident manager Circe Vielman. “Now they live and work in the same community.” Colonia Jardines apartments rent for between $680 and $795 apiece, with rent- ers paying only a portion of that monthly cost. Typically, they’re asked to put 30 percent of their income toward rent, Vielman said. Each year, they’re re- quired to prove their low-income status and their employment in agricultural or related industrial jobs, she said. FARMWORKER HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION The ribbon is cut at the Colonia Jardines grand opening. See HOUSING, Page 2A SILVERTON HIGH SCHOOL Recording studio promised to students CHRISTENA BROOKS SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE PHOTOS BY LAUREN HERNANDEZ/STATESMAN JOURNAL Madison Mooney, left, and Leila Walker embrace for a photo in front of the South Falls of the Silver Falls State Park on May 27. PASSPORT OREGON OFFERS NEW VISTAS Program allows kids to explore Silver Falls LAUREN E HERNANDEZ STATESMAN JOURNAL Kids from a Beaverton-area ele- mentary school laced up their hiking shoes, hoisted backpacks filled with water bottles and snacks and ex- plored new terrain May 27. Passport Oregon, a nonprofit or- ganization aimed at providing oppor- tunities for children to explore the Oregon outdoors, guided six stu- dents from Beaver Acres Elemen- tary School through the Silver Falls State Park as part of its program. “It was developed as a goal to reach out to young students, commu- nities, and schools that have no ave- nues or opportunities to be out in na- ture,” said volunteer coordinator Ar- iel Kanable. Stephanie Smith, volunteer cohort leader with Passport Oregon, teaches kids about rock formations. See PASSPORT, Page 4A Silverton High School is still rever- berating from the news accompanying the splashy appearance of High School Nation on its sports fields late last month. The Foxes’ music program has been promised a $30,000 recording studio from the California-based traveling music and arts festival, which wrapped up its 2017 nationwide tour in Silverton on May 19. At a school-sanctioned event, visiting rockers and artists en- tertained roughly 1,000 high school stu- dents, turning an empty baseball field into a dual-stage interactive rock festi- val for the afternoon. “The kids loved it and were really grateful,” said Principal Justin Lieual- len. “We figured this would be a nice way to lighten the mood after a tough week.” Not only did High School Nation’s visiting artists and bands perform, but they also let Silverton kids jam onstage, listen to music and make T-shirts. Stu- dents played, danced, sang along, threw Frisbees and basked in the after- noon sunshine during the two-hour par- ty. The tour’s lasting contribution to Sil- verton’s music and arts program is the recording studio its organizers plan to install as a free gift. In fact, High School Nation’s sponsors are funding similar giveaways all 60 high schools on its tour schedule, according to orga- nizers. McNary High School in Keizer got a visit and similar gift on May 18. If Silverton High gets a full record- ing studio, it will be a windfall for stu- dents who want to try writing, record- ing and producing music. A brand-new class is already taking 28 students through the process of making an al- bum, using what equipment the high school already had and could afford. Band teacher Frank Petrik debuted the class, Music Studio Recording Technology, this winter as a unique out- let for student musicians who aren’t in band or choir or may want another cre- ative opportunity. Now those students – and others like them – have something more to look forward to. “It’s a class that allows kids to write See STUDIO, Page 2A Normal levels expected for Detroit Lake ZACH URNESS STATESMAN JOURNAL After two consecutive years of low water at De- troit Lake, this summer is expected to bring a return to normal. Water managers are projecting normal to above normal water lev- els in the reservoir east of Salem for the entire sum- mer. “We are expecting that most of the boat ramps to be usable until the end of summer,” said Salina Hart, chief of reservoir regulation and water quality for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. That’s good news for Detroit business owners Online at SilvertonAppeal.com NEWS UPDATES PHOTOS » Breaking news » Get updates from the Silverton area » Photo galleries and recreational boaters, who all suffered during two years of historically low water levels. Last summer, the res- ervoir only reached a height of 1,554 feet, be- fore dropping sharply and leaving docks on dry ground earlier than nor- mal. The year before, 2015, a historic drought brought the reservoir to its lowest summer- time level in history, 1,511 feet in early sum- mer and as low as 1,425 feet by autumn. This year, the reser- voir should remain around 1563.5 feet for much of the summer. INSIDE Calendar ...............................3A Classifieds..............................3B Life..........................................4A Obituaries .............................3B Sports......................................1B ©2017 Printed on recycled paper