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 . 34
W EDNESDAY , A UGUST 9, 2017
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Creekside Chat
SHS alumni, Rep. Lewis, and a shindig!
JUSTIN MUCH
Gregg Sheesley in-
voked the appropriate
quote:
“Music has charms to
soothe a savage breast, to
soften rocks or bend a
knotted oak,” – Britan-
nica.com cites British playwright/poet
William Congreve as the author, from
“The Mourning Bride,” 1697.
Gregg was merely imparting a piece
of the spirit behind the Silverton Side-
walk Shindig. He and Greg Hart of Mol-
alla stopped into Silver Creek Coffee
House on Wednesday, Aug. 2, to provide
a glimpse of this year’s shindig poster
and get us up to speed on planning for the
Saturday, Oct. 7, event.
This year, organizers are preparing
for the sixth annual shindig, and once
again they will have dozens of musicians
— from a wide variety of genres — lined
up to immerse the city in music that day.
The organizers are buoyant about the
lineup, but they are also amenable to
hearing from any street musicians who
would be interested in chiming in for the
purpose of exposure or experience.
The idea is to weave a nice early au-
tumn event into the town’s fabric, and it
has succeeded in doing just that these
past five years.
“Silverton is art- and music-inclined,”
Greg intoned, “and we want to nourish
this.”
Beyond the music of that day, shindig
planners like to see the exposure of the
various genres and their influence, espe-
cially with the youth. Last year, they pro-
vided a kids’ element to the mix with a
music theory workshop in Town Square
Park.
It’s never too early to expose the
younger set to music, Gregg observed,
nor is there ever an age or time when mu-
sic should not be a part of the day.
The event’s coordinators, like Gregg,
Greg and the ever-handy Ron Nelson,
could use some help on the day of the
event, and would like to hear from like-
minded music lovers or those who appre-
ciate the event and may have a few hours
to chip in. Tasks are varied, from setup to
take-down to simply being on hand to di-
rect visitors to the varied gigs.
To volunteer, contact the Shindig’s
chairman, Nicholas Coffey, at Astonish-
ing Adventures, 503-874-1919.
See MUCH, Page 2A
JUSTIN MUCH | APPEAL TRIBUNE
Stopping in to Silver Creek Coffee House for a
Creekside Chat to discuss plans for the
upcoming Silverton Sidewalk Shindig are
Gregg Sheesley, left, and Greg Hart.
Silverton
eyes site
for new
City Hall
Whitewater Fire
forces major closures
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
MARCUS KAUFFMAN / ODF
Scooper planes fly down over Detroit Lake on Saturday, picking up water to drop on the Whitewater Fire.
Detroit Lake, Pacific Crest Trail, Jefferson Wilderness affected
ZACH URNESS
STATESMAN JOURNAL
DETROIT — As the Whitewater Fire
continued to expand, fire officials
took their biggest steps yet to limit en-
try to the Mount Jefferson Wilder-
ness.
Almost half of the 111,177-acre wil-
derness and 30 miles of the Pacific
Crest Trail is now closed, officials an-
nounced late Saturday.
At the same time, a large swath of
Detroit Lake was also closed to allow
large “scooper planes” to pick up wa-
ter to fight a blaze now 5,421 acres.
The fire crossed the South Fork
Breitenbush River and is expected to
expand north and south in the coming
days. The blaze is zero percent con-
tained and remains mostly in the wil-
derness area. The flames remain
three to four miles from State High-
way 22.
A total of 257 people are working
the fire including 10 ground teams
and 7 helicopters.
A meeting to update the public on
operations was planned for 3 p.m.
Sunday at Detroit City Hall (160 De-
troit Avenue N).
Here are details on the closures:
Detroit Lake
To allow scooper planes to safely
pick water up from the reservoir, offi-
cials closed the southern half of the
lake to boat traffic beginning Satur-
day.
The official closure runs from De-
troit Dam to Mongold, and south of Pi-
ety island.
The area open to boats is from
Mongold to the upper arm, north of Pi-
ety, and up Hoover arm.
The planes won't fly every day —
they shifted to the Rebel Fire on Sun-
day — but will be dipping when condi-
tions allow on Detroit Lake.
It's unclear how long the closure
will remain, but it could last five to six
days, incident spokesman Marcus
Kauffman said.
Fourteen months after shuttered
Eugene Field School hit the market, it
has engaged a fourth potential buyer,
the City of Silverton.
The 3.46-acre property at the heart
of downtown Silverton would be a fa-
vorable spot for a new police station
and City Hall, the City Council indicat-
ed with its decision on July 17 to move
toward buying it for $1 million.
“There is a desire among councilors
to keep City Hall in the downtown core,
if possible,” said City Manager Christy
Wurster.
Before the sale goes through, the
city has more than a month to scruti-
nize the empty 35,000-square-foot
building and five lots comprising the
school grounds. Its second-position bid
to buy for $50,000 above the Silver Falls
School District’s asking price of
$950,000 rose to first position when an-
other buyer’s offer fell through last
month.
“The city and school district have a
long history of great relationships, in-
cluding the sale of school district prop-
erty to the city in the past,” said Silver
Falls Superintendent Andy Bellando.
In the 95-year-old school building,
lead paint and asbestos are among the
hazards expected by both parties to be
found. Anticipating this, the city has
agreed to pay up to $400,000 toward
cleanup. If abatement bids come in
higher, the sale agreement could be ter-
minated or the school district could
help pay, Wurster said.
“The future of the building is yet to
be determined,” she said. “We really
have to assess it from all standpoints, to
see if we can reuse the building or if it
will have to be razed.”
A new police station would bring un-
der one roof the officers, staff, sup-
plies, evidence and archives now
crammed into about 4,800 square feet
at City Hall, the Public Works shops,
the Fisher Building and the community
center. An outside study done in 2007
showed the department needed 18,000
square feet by 2015, said Chief Jeff
Fossholm.
The Eugene Field property is to his
See FIRE, Page 2A
See PROPERTY, Page 3A
Silverton pool tax renewal on ballot
APPEAL TRIBUNE
An extra tax paid by Silverton
residents has been funding the Sil-
verton Pool’s operation and main-
tenance for the last four years. The
City Council will ask voters in the
upcoming November election to
approve a renewal that would keep
the pool running for five more
years.
The owner of a home assessed
at $200,000 is currently paying
about $90 per year – that’s $7.50 per
month – toward pool operations.
The cost of the new levy would go
down to about $73 per year – or $6
per month.
The proposed rate is roughly 37
cents per $1,000 of assessed value,
for a total collection of $275,000
per year.
If the levy passes, the city plans
to replace the cover that allows the
pool to operate outside of summer,
said Public Works Director Chris-
tian Saxe. It would also pay for rec-
ommended maintenance and oper-
ations. Silver Falls YMCA has the
contract for day-to-day operations.
A recent evaluation of the pool
left the city “pleasantly surprised”
with its condition, Saxe said. Its
most recent problem has been a
collection of leaks that lost 4,000
gallons of water per day. Fixes re-
duced losses to 1,000 gallons per
day, and the city continues to work
on the problem, Saxe said.
Silverr ton B usiiness of t he Y ear 2 016
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Nick Ayhan
In the Top 10!*
Dean Oster
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Agent Awards
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