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 . 39 W EDNESDAY , S EPTEMBER 13, 2017 SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM CREEKSIDE CHAT Marion County DA candidate discusses crime CHRISTENA BROOKS JUSTIN MUCH | STATESMAN JOURNAL Pictured, from left, are four generations of Haslebachers: Bryan, his son Casey and his daughter Hallie, Mary and Raymond along with four-legged Guido. CELEBRATING A CENTURY FARM Haslebachers take time to reflect Here’s a political race that Silverton and Mt. Angel residents might overlook: the election of a new district attorney, whose job is to prosecute crime in Marion County. Longtime prosecutor Paige Clarkson stopped by Silver Creek Coffee House for a Creekside Chat last week to tell lo- cal voters what they’ll get if they pick her for the office being vacated by District Attorney Walt Beglau in next spring’s election. So far, she’s the only person to announce candidacy. Clarkson, 43, is a sen- ior deputy district attor- ney who leads the coun- ty’s team of drug-crime prosecutors while also participating in alterna- tives for offenders with addiction and mental ill- ness. Over 20 years, she’s prosecuted everything from DUII to murder for the Marion County Dis- trict Attorney’s Office, starting there as a clerk even before earning her law degree from Willam- ette University in 1999. “The district attorney is responsible for dealing STAYTON MAIL August 26, 2017, proved to be a good day for the Haslebacher family to celebrate more than a cen- tury of hard work. The Lake Labish-area agrarians joined 19 other farm and ranch families from 10 different coun- ties honored by the Oregon Farm Bureau Founda- tion as Century Farms or Ranches; one farm from Clackamas County — Voss Farms — Jeannette Voss and Julie Edy — reached Sesquicentennial status, bringing the total number of Oregon Cen- tury Farms and Ranches to 1,200 and Sesquicen- tennial to 39. OFB ceremoniously honored farm families at the Oregon State Fair, including Raymond and Mary Haslebacher who officially submitted their farm for recognition. For the Haslebachers, the honor provided an opportune time for some reminiscence and re- flection. Reaching into his sixth decade, Ray and Mary’s son, Bryan Haslebacher, harbors a re- spectful perspective of farm life and the myriad changes that have shaped and reshaped the fam- ily business since his great grandfather, Ferdi- nand Haslebacher, founded it in 1911. Over the decades the Haslebachers have raised dairy cattle, grains, hay, hops, berries, row crops, and Bryan planted and currently tends a hazelnut orchard. Bryan’s memory stretches back to the vestigial hop infrastructure, though he wasn’t around when hops were the crop. He has vivid memories of the row crops, and the labor force necessary to har- vest them. That was during the days when many area teenagers were bussed out to the farms for picking duties. Bryan actually took a different career path for a time, serving in law enforcement in Gervais, See FARM, Page 2A Citizen-soldiers fighting wildfires CONNOR RADNOVICH STATESMAN JOURNAL Before an Oregon Na- tional Guard airman or soldier can deploy to a wildfire, the state must overcome a number of lo- gistical hurdles. One of the biggest is boots. It takes about four days for each pair of handmade boots to arrive after a special order is made for every service member — and it could become a record year. Teams of guardsmen are fighting the Horse Prairie and Chetco Bar fires in the southwestern corner of the state. With about 500 guards- men activated, this year already is at the 2015 level for most deployed guardsmen directly CONNOR RADNOVICH / STATESMAN JOURNAL Sgt. Lucas Hoffman, left, selects a wildfire fighting shirt with Mike Brown of the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training at the Oregon Public Safety Academy. fighting wildfires, said Maj. Cory Jones, joint di- rector of military support for the Oregon National Guard. “We have citizen-sol- Online at SilvertonAppeal.com NEWS UPDATES PHOTOS » Breaking news » Get updates from the Silverton area » Photo galleries diers out there right now that are assisting the citi- zens of Oregon,” Jones said. “It’s pretty amazing what they do.” From the time Gov. Kate Brown activates a group of guardsmen for firefighting, it takes sev- en days until they arrive at the fire camp. Most of that time is spent training at the Oregon Public Safe- ty Academy — a 235-acre facility on the outskirts of Salem. It’s four days of class- room and field work, set- ting fires to learn how to control them. Training touches on establishing fire lines, using various tools, opening fire shel- ters, studying communi- cation terms and learning suppression techniques. Usually the training last five days, but the Oregon National Guard cuts it to four, 13-hour days. See FIRES, Page 3A INSIDE Classifieds..............................3B Life..........................................4A Sports......................................1B ©2017 Printed on recycled paper See CHAT, Page 2A Man accused of stealing from area nonprofit WHITNEY M. WOODWORTH STATESMAN JOURNAL JUSTIN MUCH with crime and the is- sues that drive crime in every small com- Clarkson munity,” Clarkson said. “Marion County is diverse, and each community is dif- ferent, but it’s our job to see that the law is applied consistently every- where.” If elected, Clarkson would be the county’s first female DA. “There’s not enough of us,” she said. “I think women bring different life experience to the job. Our experience isn’t bet- ter or worse – it’s just dif- ferent – and it’s needed.” She’s worked for two male district attorneys: Beglau and, before him, Dale Penn. Both she re- spects for “being politi- cal servants, not politi- cians,” and “setting aside ego and personal inter- ests for the good of the community,” she said. From her early days as a line attorney, han- dling up to 150 cases at a time, Clarkson said her A Mount Angel man — and longtime community fixture — is facing felony charges for allegedly stealing tens of thou- sands of dollars from an area nonprofit. James Byron Hall Jr., 64, was arrested on two counts of first-degree ag- gravated theft and two counts of first-degree theft. He is accused of steal- ing from the Mt. Angel Community Foundation, a local nonprofit that raises funds for the pub- lic library, scholarships for graduating seniors and Mount Angel’s fam- ous glockenspiel. The organization’s website lists Hall as their treasurer. According to a Wood- burn Independent article, Hall served with the nonprofit since its creation in 1995. He was awarded the Mount An- gel Chamber of Com- merce First Citizen Award in 2014 for his community volunteer work. The article also notes that Hall served on the St. Mary’s church fi- nance committee and as- sisted with Benedictine Sisters finances. Officials with the Mt. Angel Community Foun- dation did not immediate- ly respond to a request for comment. The Oregon Board of Accountancy website lists Hall as a certified public accountant li- censed since 1984. No dis- ciplinary actions are list- ed in his file. According to court records, Hall was ar- raigned on the theft charges Aug. 18. He is ac- cused of stealing more than $20,000 from the nonprofit in 2011 and 2012. Hall also allegedly stole more than $2,000 in 2014. Court records state that the Oregon Depart- ment of Justice began in- vestigating Hall this year. He was released from custody on Aug. 18 and or- dered to have no contact with the Mt. Angel Com- munity Foundation. His next court appear- ance is scheduled for Sept. 21 at 1:30 p.m. For questions, com- ments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwood- wort@statesmanjournal. com.