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 . 42
W EDNESDAY , O CTOBER 4, 2017
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Silverton
considers
solutions to
nuisance deer
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
What you need to know about Oregon's new
distracted driving cellphone law
New distracted driving laws go into effect Oct. 1 in Oregon. The new law, which will increase fines substantially, are more
restrictive when it comes to electronic devices such as cellphones. STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE
New law in effect
"Obviously, if your eyes are down and
WHITNEY M. WOODWORTH
STATESMAN JOURNAL
looking at your tablet or your phone,
Oregon's upcoming distracted driving cellphone
law has many residents nervous.
Would navigation apps like GoogleMaps suddenly
be illegal?
Would drivers be forced to revert to using those
pesky, pre-smartphone era printed out directions?
Would they wind up with a ticket and $260 fine after
listening to their favorite podcast or music station on
their iPhone?
The new law, which took effect Oct. 1, comes with
steeper fines, stricter rules and even possible jail time
for repeat offenders.
But, as Salem police Senior Officer Mitch Mason
said, drivers won't have to say goodbye to their favor-
ite apps — as long as they use them correctly.
During his 22 years at the Salem Police Depart-
ment and 18 years as a traffic patrol officer, Mason
has seen cellphone use and distracted driving-related
crashes drastically increase.
"Fatalities are just skyrocketing," he said.
The Statesman Journal sat down with Mason to ad-
dress some common concerns over the new law:
Can I use GoogleMaps or other navigation
apps if I have a dashboard mount? What if
the phone is in my console, cup holder or on
the seat?
People can still use their usual navigation apps as
long they follow a few guidelines, Mason said.
Drivers will need to enter their destination address
before they begin their trip. If they need to enter an
address after they've begun driving, they'll need to
pull over and legally park their car before keying in
the address.
Once you start driving, the only time you can touch
your phone is a "single touch or swipe to activate or
deactivate the device," according to the new law.
Your phone can be mounted on the window or dash-
board, on the console, in a cup holder or in your pocket
— anywhere except in your hands.
Are other GPS devices okay to use?
Yes, if you follow the same guidelines: Enter the ad-
dress before driving, pull over to type a new address,
don't hold the device and refrain from touching ex-
cept for a single tap or swipe.
Previously, the law only mentioned "communica-
tion devices," which Oregon courts interpreted to
mean only cellphones used for talking and texting.
Now, the wording has been changed to include all elec-
your eyes aren't up looking at the
traffic and what's happening out
there."
MITCH MASON
SALEM POLICE SENIOR OFFICER
tronic devices, including GPS devices, tablets and
smartwatches.
Can I listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks
or sports streaming?
Nothing makes a trip pass quicker than your favor-
ite songs, a juicy audiobook or an interesting podcast.
One reader voiced her concern over not being able to
listen to baseball game broadcasts over her phone
during trips. Another worried about having access to
his iPhone music library.
Thankfully, drivers will not have to sit in silence or
settle for the radio. Mason said travelers can listen to
music, podcasts, audiobooks and streaming apps on
their phones or devices as long as they keep their lis-
tening "hands-free."
The "single touch or swipe" rule might not apply to
switching stations or clicking "thumbs down" on a Pan-
dora song, he warned.
The wording of the law said the single tap is only
allowed to activate or deactivate, so something shuf-
fling through songs would be up to an officer's inter-
pretation until there's an actual court ruling to go by.
"I probably wouldn't be "thumbs-downing" stuff,"
Mason said.
Can you wear headphones, earbuds or a
Bluetooth earpiece while driving?
Yes, all are acceptable as are any devices built into
your vehicle, Mason said.
Can I type in a phone number or address
while I'm driving? What if I'm at a
stoplight?
Nope, those are all off limits. Drivers will need to
be legally parked in a parking spot or alongside the
See LAW, Page 2A
It was still dark out-
side, so the three early-
morning runners didn’t
notice they were being
followed, not at first.
Then a passing car’s
headlights
illuminated
the sidewalk behind them,
and Krista Kuenzi, Ste-
phanie Traeger and Eric
Rogers saw a deer chas-
ing them down the street.
It didn’t have antlers, and
it didn’t seem threaten-
ing. Instead, it was loping
about 5 feet behind them
like a dog following its
master.
“We did a double-take,”
Kuenzi said. “It was like
something straight out of
a Chevy Chase movie.”
Outrunning the crea-
ture was laughable, so the
joggers continued on
their regular route from
Webb Lake Estates to-
ward Hwy. 214. Passing
traffic didn’t faze the
deer, and it stuck with
them as they jogged past
the school district’s bus
barn and other businesses
still closed for the night.
“The deer continued to
trail us, consistently and
respectfully
staying
about 5 or 10 feet behind
us, but it didn’t seem to
have any intention of leav-
ing us either,” Kuenzi
said.
After jogging nearly 2
miles with their new run-
ning
buddy,
Kuenzi,
Traeger
and
Rogers
slipped into Silverton Fit-
ness – leaving the deer
staring at them through
the glass door – and quiet-
ly exited out the other side
of the building. They
maintained full communi-
cation blackout until safe-
ly clearing the far side of
McDonald’s next-door.
This saga is hardly the
only “deer story” circulat-
ing in Silverton, a small
town with a visible urban
deer population. Black-
tailed deer are regularly
seen walking down the
street, bedding down in
yards and munching resi-
dents’ plants. Depending
on whom you ask, they are
a charming part of small
town life, an annoyance or
an outright danger.
A new state law, passed
overwhelmingly by state
legislators and signed by
the governor this sum-
mer, allows the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife to cull nuisance
deer in cities that ask for
its help. The department
is developing a 12-year pi-
lot program that will start
Jan. 1, 2019.
How exactly nuisance
deer might be killed
hasn’t been clearly de-
fined yet, but Senate Bill
373 prohibits the use of
darts or lethal injections
It also requires the har-
See DEER, Page 2A
Two dead in
crash north of
Monmouth
JONATHAN BACH
STATESMAN JOURNAL
A head-on car crash
north of Monmouth left
two dead Sept. 22.
Jacob Bailey, 24, of
Dallas, and Elizabeth
Hoke, 18, of Silverton,
were both pronounced
dead at the scene after
their cars collided on Rid-
dell Road north of Whi-
teaker Road, the Polk
County Sheriff’s Office
said. Riddell Road runs
alongside Highway 99W.
Bailey was driving his
silver 2007 Acura north as
Hoke drove her black
2012 Volvo south, a pre-
liminary
investigation
shows. The two slammed
into one another, and Bai-
ley was ejected from his
car.
The road was closed
for about six hours,
though the cause of the
crash is still under inves-
tigation, the sheriff’s of-
fice said.
Reach Jonathan Bach
by email at jbach@states-
manjournal.com or by
phone at 503-399-6714.
Follow him on Twitter
@JonathanMBach
and
Facebook
at
https://
www.facebook.com/jona-
thanbachjournalist/.
Photographer captures
epic aurora borealis
ZACH URNESS
STATESMAN JOURNAL
The aurora borealis put
on a spectacular light
show for photographers
across northern Oregon
Sept. 27.
Jeff Green, a Salem
photographer, was one of
those lucky enough to be
prepared. He headed into
the mountains above State
Highway 22 and captured
a stunning shot.
“I've seen the Northern
Lights a couple times, but
never as strong as last
night,” Green said. “With
my naked eye, I could see
the lights moving and
dancing in the sky.”
Green said the Face-
book page, Aurora Alerts
by Soft Serve News, was a
great way to track good
nights for the phenome-
non.
“They publish updates
when a solar storm has oc-
curred and a visible Auro-
ra may be visible,” he said.
“They detail the Aurora
intensity measured in
KPs. Sept. 27 was a strong
KP6, which is very strong
for our area.”
To best see the lights,
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
NEWS UPDATES
PHOTOS
» Breaking news
» Get updates from the Silverton area
» Photo galleries
he also recommended:
1) KP5 (on the K-index
of geomagnetic activity)
or above.
2) Clear cloudless skies
3) Darkest skies possi-
ble
4) Far away from city
light pollution
5) No moon in the sky
6) Face North
7) Let your eyes adjust
to total darkness for 15-20
minutes
“My mind was blown,”
Green said. “I can't wait
for the next Aurora
event!”
This picture, taken by Salem photographer Jeff Green, showcases the aurora seen in Oregon
on Wednesday night. JEFF GREEN / SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
INSIDE
Classifieds..............................3B
Life in the Valley.................4A
Obituaries .............................3B
Sports......................................1B
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