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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2017)
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 . 28 W EDNESDAY , J UNE 28, 2017 SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM Take a hike into history at Silver Falls JUSTIN MUCH STAYTON MAIL COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF SILVER FALLS STATE PARK There will be many hands-on activities at the 8th Annual Historic Silver Falls Days. A prime regional destination for sightseeing and hiking becomes a hotbed for history during the second weekend of July. The 8th Annual Historic Silver Falls Days takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 8-9, at Silver Falls State Park, 20024 Silver Falls High- way, Sublimity. The event celebrates the scenic envi- rons of a park that spawned in part from a depression era Civilian Conservation Corps project. Oregon State Parks history informa- tion cites the area’s first homestead dat- ing back to 1883 next to the South Falls, and Silver Falls City platted in 1888, where a peak population reached around 200 over the ensuing decades. The re- gion was home turf to Kalapuya and Mol- alla natives for millennia prior to that. The site has developed into one of Oregon’s most popular state parks; Ore- gon State Parks lists its annual day-use attendance at about 1,273,680. The histor- ic celebration event accommodates that popularity and history as well. Saturday will feature Model T and Model A antique cars; demonstrations of antique logging tools; flint knapping; spinning wheel demonstrations; families participating in old-fashioned games; storytelling of historic days in the area; and a farrier will demonstrate making horseshoes and other iron work. “The changes to the event over the past eight years (include) draft horses and more participation by the antique car clubs,” said Lou Nelson of the Friends of Silver Falls, a volunteer group that helps oversee the pristine area and promotes special events. “This year we have another group of Model Ts joining us. Mill Creek Car- riages will not be here this year but will be next year and plan to be regulars. But we do have Kirt Fisk, a farrier who dem- See HISTORY, Page 3A CREEKSIDE CHAT ‘Tooning’ up for Homer Davenport Festival HIGH WATERS, HIGH CONCERN JUSTIN MUCH To no one’s surprise in Silverton, a reasonably mild and sunny Wednes- day lured many out- doors on Wednesday, June 21. Silver Creek Coffee House was no different as most midday patrons shifted out onto the bistro’s bal- cony perched over Silver Creek’s crys- tal-clear, west-flowing waters, as co- proprietor Josh Nightingale con- versed at length with a visitor from Eu- reka, Calif., about area attractions and the region’s natural features. The visitor appeared entranced with the sites he had already visited, such as Abiqua Falls, and absorbed recommen- dations for others. Meanwhile, to many locals, the sun- niest of days to date triggered anticipa- tion of more sun to come and annual events ushered in with that warmer weather, such as the Homer Davenport Community Festival, slated for Aug. 4-6. One highlighted festival feature this year is the International Cartoon Con- test, and Gus Frederick advised that the deadline for that contest, July 28, is but a month out. Gus furnished a couple of light- hearted videos, one to help would-be artists get their juices flowing (https://youtu.be/O8k6X8-aWx0); an- other to capture the overall spirit of the annual event (https://youtu.be/zSfpTTebr6c). Information and entry forms for that contest are available at http://homerdavenport.com/tooncon. “Here’s a chance to earn some real funny money!” Gus quipped, stressing that prize winnings have increased with a grand prize of $750, with hopes that the augmented cash awards will entice more people who are “drawn to Silverton.” "True, pretty much every small town has some sort of festival,” Gus said. “Corn, Blues, Iris, Jazz and UFO Festi- vals are everywhere. But only one small town hosts a festival honoring Oregon's first media superstar, a politi- LAUREN HERNANDEZ/STATESMAN JOURNAL Members of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s dive team search the Three Pools water for a man presumed to have drowned. Swimmers warned after 2 drowning deaths on Little North Santiam River ZACH URNESS STATESMAN JOURNAL Hot weather and high water lev- els have been a tragic combination on the Little North Santiam River this spring. Two people, an adult and teen- ager, lost their lives while swim- ming in a river running higher than any time in almost a decade. On June 18, 13-year-old Kendall Alexander drowned after being swept into current near Elkhorn Valley Recreation Site. Less than a month earlier, 25-year-old Kung Shing Yau, of Hong Kong, jumped from a cliff at Three Pools Recrea- tion Site and didn’t resurface. In both cases, the Little North was running higher than normal — and far higher than in recent years. With a string of warm-weather days in the forecast, officials are stressing the danger of the rivers and importance of wearing a life- preserver when swimming. “That water is cold, fast-moving and high right now,” Marion Coun- ty Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Chris Baldridge said. “People that want to head out there are going to have to be prepared for those con- ditions. At this point, it’s more dan- See RIVER, Page 2A See MUCH, Page 2A Silverton Reservoir gets life-jacket kiosks JUSTIN MUCH APPEAL TRIBUNE As the warming season draws more people to the water to beat the heat, Sil- verton Fire District has been proactively working to beat the inherent dan- gers that often surface with increased water rec- reation. The district announced Friday that with the help of partners it has erected life jacket kiosks at Sil- verton Reservoir, fur- nished with life preser- vers of all sizes. "We went out and looked at the life jacket stations today, and they are all being used," Silver- ton Deputy Chief Ed Grambusch said Friday afternoon. "We are look- ing at adding more life jackets." The project took place under the guidance of Grambusch and Lt. Rick Heuchert, who decided more could be done to pre- vent water tragedies. This year has already seen a number of drown- ADY ALRE PEND ings statewide, includ- ing two on the North Santiam River. “For the Silverton Fire District, helping to save lives is more than putting fires out and prying patients out of wrecked cars...pre- vention is always a ma- See JACKETS, Page 3A PEN ADY ALRE Online at SilvertonAppeal.com NEWS UPDATES PHOTOS » Breaking news » Get updates from the Silverton area » Photo galleries INSIDE Classifieds..............................3B Life..........................................4A Obituaries .............................2B Sports......................................1B ING ©2017 Printed on recycled paper DING