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 . 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-
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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
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©2017
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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.