S ERVING THE S ILVERTON A REA S INCE 1880
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A U NIQUE E DITION OF THE S TATESMAN J OURNAL
V OL . 136, N O . 32
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
W EDNESDAY , J ULY 26, 2017
Event strives to ‘take back the night’
National Night Out promotes fighting crime, boosts neighborhoods
ANNETTE UTZ
SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
It’s been a while since folks were not
wary of an unexpected knock at the door
or walking alone after dark.
In an effort to “take back the night,”
area residents will join to greet neigh-
bors, make new friends and participate
in National Night Out, an annual event
held across North America on the first
Tuesday of August.
The concept was born out of the Na-
tional Association of Town Watch, a non-
profit crime prevention organization
formed in1981.Through its network of lo-
cal law enforcement, crime prevention
agencies, civic groups and neighborhood
watch groups, NATW launched the an-
nual National Night Out campaign in
1984.
National Night Out is a community-
building program that promotes anti-
crime efforts, strengthens neighbor-
hood cohesiveness and enhances rela-
tions between residents and local public
safety officials.
The event has grown from front
porch vigils to community-wide events
that include barbecues, safety demon-
strations, visits from emergency per-
sonnel and more.
Today, the NATW estimates that eight
million neighbors in sixteen thousand
communities across the nation take part
in National Night Out.
“The most important part of National
Night Out is the opportunity to talk with
members of the community we don’t nor-
mally have an opportunity to talk with,”
Stayton Fire Chief Jack Carriger said.
“The events ... bring out entire families
and a large part of the neighborhoods in a
very low key situation which is the oppo-
site of how both fire and police normally
get to experience contacts with the pub-
lic. It’s a really good thing. In our normal
course of duty, we interact with less than
5 percent of our community and as you
can imagine that interaction is often dur-
ing high-stress incidents and we really
don’t have a chance to converse with
them. Events like this give us that oppor-
tunity.”
Stayton Police Sgt. Danielle Wetzel
pointed out that “The importance of this
event is that it allows people to gather to-
gether, get to know their neighbors and
See NIGHT, Page 2A
River Fusion 22 links
towns during eclipse
MT. ANGEL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Mt. Angel residents enjoy a barbeque by the
Glockenspiel during National Night Out.
Creekside chat
Silverton
murals and
aesthetic
windfalls
JUSTIN MUCH
Vince Till recalls a
time about a quarter
century back when the
sprawl of Salem’s Lan-
caster Drive siphoned
significant
business
away from downtown
SAM DREVO-ENRG KAYAKING/SPECIAL TO THE STAYTON MAIL
eNRG Kayaking will hold a downriver race and family “fun float” down the North Santiam River on Sunday, August 20. The event is
part of River Fusion 22.
Thousands expected to descend on N. Santiam River
Silverton.
Many of the traditional department
stores, such as a small-town Main
Street JC Penny, found it difficult to
compete with the malls and box stores
stretching out on the fringes of the
larger, capital city. Vince said those box
stores were especially appealing to
commuters who could pick up their
goods a few bucks cheaper before
heading home.
About the same time Silverton felt
that big-box economic drain, the city
parlayed an economic-development
grant into an aesthetic shot in the arm.
A Silverton Murals Beautification
Team was assembled and the Silverton
Mural Society was born, patterned ap-
preciably after mural successes of
Chemainus, British Columbia.
Silverton raised money to bring Karl
Schutz, an ambassador of that Canadi-
an project, to town for consultations.
Twenty-five years hence results
from those aesthetic efforts currently
adorn walls all over town, admired by
locals and visitors alike. Those adorn-
See MUCH, Page 2A
ANNETTE UTZ
SPECIAL TO THE STAYTON MAIL
Get your glasses ready, it’s com-
ing.
For months, perhaps a year, peo-
ple have been making travel plans for
the Total Solar Eclipse 2017.
With the North Santiam River re-
gion lying directly in the path of total-
ity that will shadow mid-Oregon,
thousands of visitors are expected to
arrive to witness the phenomenon.
As a result, those involved on the
hosting end are working diligently in
the few remaining weeks to prepare
for the first-ever regional multi-day,
multi-location festival in North San-
tiam River Country, from Aumsville
to Detroit, being held Friday through
Monday, August 18-21.
River Fusion 22 is a celebration of
the small towns along and near High-
way 22 and will serve as a link to some
of the myriad events associated with
the eclipse.
“Our tourism teams opted to
launch this festival while so many
visitors are here to see the eclipse,”
said Allison Ford McKenzie, execu-
tive director of GROW-EDC, the non-
profit organization coordinating this
effort with help from Travel Salem
and dozens of regional volunteers.
Events range in scope from a tra-
ditional grilled steak dinner to the
rather unconventional howling con-
test in Stayton or an attempt at a
s’mores world record. Camping op-
portunities throughout the area run
the same gamut, from the very basic
to the action-filled experience at Bai-
ly’s Beads Pirate Eclipse Camp.
The benefits of coordinating di-
verse events in a festival form are not
solely the visitors.
“The River Fusion 22 committee
has done a great job of communicat-
ing to the businesses along the San-
tiam River/Hwy. 22,” Maricela Guer-
rero of Travel Salem said. “The re-
sponse from businesses has been
very positive and they are looking
forward to increased visitation ...
River Fusion 22 will provide the ave-
See RIVER, Page 3A
Salem man, nursing assistant reflect
on saving drowning 4-year-old boy
LAUREN E HERNANDEZ
STATESMAN JOURNAL
The pale, limp body of a four-
year-old boy sped by, submerged in
the fast current of the Little North
Santiam River.
There was no time to think. Ja-
son McDade plunged into the frig-
id, swirling water and pushed the
boy’s body toward the surface.
Balancing on a
slippery rock with
water reaching his
collar bone, Mc-
Dade lifted the boy
onto a higher rock in
the middle of the
Kelda Klukis
river.
“I got him! I got him!” McDade
screamed, trying to keep his own
head above water.
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
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The boy’s body was white, lips
blue and eyes rolled back when
McDade yelled to others at North
Fork Park on July 16.
“I wasn’t paying attention to the
current, I was more focused on
getting the baby out,” McDade
said. “My adrenaline was going so
fast.”
See SAVING, Page 2A
INSIDE
Canyon views .......................3B
Life..........................................4A
Sports......................................1B
©2017
Printed on recycled paper
JUSTIN MUCH | APPEAL TRIBUNE
Tonya Smithburg left, and Kali Dirks work
on the Mammoth Camera mural on Water
Street in Silverton on July 19 as Norm
English of the Silverton Mural Society visits.