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 . 44 W EDNESDAY , O CTOBER 18, 2017 SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM A friendship there, every step of the way Matt Plummer, left, and Denyce Boles, right, are both in the race for Marion County commissioner. Marion County political race heats up New Silverton city councilor vying for commissioner spot CHRISTENA BROOKS SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE Joseph "Joey" Shewey, 4, and Hilary Brik-Morris, 46, of Salem, play together at his home in Aumsville. After Morris, who works with special education students, and Shewey met at a physical therapy clinic, he raced in the Awesome 3000 without the use of his walker., Ore., on Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. After Morris, who works with special education students, and Shewey met at a physical therapy clinic, he raced in the Awesome 3000 without the use of his walker. ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL Disabled Salem preschooler is able to walk in race with peers thanks to one unlikely companionship NATALIE PATE STATESMAN JOURNAL Joseph Shewey had never been able to walk on his own. Born with a form of cerebral palsy, the non- verbal 4-year-old had to cling to a walker just to stand. That started to change when a 46-year-old Salem woman, crushed in a hor- rific car crash, showed up in the waiting room of Joey's physical therapy clinic. With coinciding ap- pointment times, the two quickly discovered ways to communicate, play, even inspire each other — week after week. That's where Hilary Morris got the idea. Joey should enter Awesome 3000, an annual fun run put on by the Salem-Keiz- er Education Foundation. Joey's sister had done the event. His parents thought it was worth a Joey Shewey walks with Victoria Gidenko at the SKEF luncheon Sept. 12 at the Salem Convention Center. He walked the Awesome 3000 with encouragement from SKEF‘s Hilary Brik-Morris. MOLLY J. SMITH/STATESMAN JOURNAL try. But no one imagined what Joey would do. Just feet from the end of the race, he paused, tossed his walker to the side and walked across the finish line. ** * Hilary only caught a glimpse of the speeding, swerving Toyota before it slammed into the back of her Subaru Outback. She was on her way last year to Oregon Health & Science Univer- sity in Portland for an eye exam, stuck in I-5 traffic while a motorcycle acci- dent was cleared near the Aurora exit. Her car was demol- ished. Already at the scene, paramedics rushed to help her. Hilary remembers a female po- lice officer removing her earrings so they didn't get lost. She would make it to OHSU, but as a patient in intensive care. Hilary would endure hip surgery, numbness and weakness in her hands, severe neck and back pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction and other debilitating inju- ries. Months of painful physical therapy lay ahead. ** * Joey was a floppy ba- One of Silverton’s new- est city councilors has filed to run for Marion County commissioner, vy- ing for the job with a rural south Salem-area resi- dent. Matt Plummer, of Sil- verton, and Denyc Boles, of south Salem, are seek- ing the seat being vacated by Commissioner Janet Carlson, who is wrapping up a 16-year career on the board responsible for leading Marion County. Marion County has three paid commissioners serving four-year terms. In the upcoming May 15 election, voters will de- cide between Plummer and Boles – and anyone else who registers before March 6 – for Position 2. Voters will also decide Po- sition 1; incumbent Kevin Cameron is currently the sole candidate. Matt Plummer, 38, a Democrat, arrived on the local political scene last year with a successful write-in campaign for Sil- verton City Council. By the time the May election arrives, he’ll have served 18 months in that position. As a Marion County employee – he’s the safety and wellness coordinator – Plummer quietly launched his campaign last week. He’s pledging to promote safety and wellness for county resi- dents and employees, pur- sue environmental sus- tainability and consider new ideas. “I want to have an openness to fresh ideas and also reach out to hear from the experts,” he said. “At the county level, that means working with every department, under- standing the positives and negatives, and hearing di- rectly from the employ- ees.” A traveler and outdoor enthusiast, Plummer has lived in Maine, Alaska and Bend. He has a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and a master’s in Exercise Science/ Health Promotion from the University of Pennsyl- vania. He’s taught at Cen- tral Oregon Community College and the Univer- sity of Portland and oper- ated Central Oregon Rac- ing, a race event compa- ny. Bike races are what brought Plummer to Sil- verton, and he eventually moved here to join his partner, Sarah DeSantis, now the executive direc- tor of Silverton Area Com- munity Aid. Together they are raising their 2- year-old son here. Plummer’s academic experiences have given him at least two ideas when it comes to county politics. First, he’s an admitted statistics hound who strives to take a research- See RACE, Page 2A See WALKS, Page 2A Steelhammer Road closed for paving The State Library Board will meet at the Mount Angel Abbey Library Oct. 20, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL Left: Silverton's Steelhammer Road will close Oct. 16-20 as crews complete a paving operation. Right: Drivers can expect to take this detour while the Steelhammer Road work is completed.. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SILVERTON PUBLIC WORKS JUSTIN MUCH STAYTON MAIL Silverton Public Works announced that Steelham- mer Road, between Oak St. and Jaysie Drive, will be closed this week due to paving operations. Work hours scheduled for the project are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, Oct. 16-20. The road will be closed completely from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday during the pav- ing process. Detours will Online at SilvertonAppeal.com NEWS UPDATES PHOTOS » Breaking news » Get updates from the Silverton area » Photo galleries be established. Project Manager John Cramer said that the pav- ing dates hinge on weath- er and availability of ma- terials, so they could change. For information, visit the project website, www.silverton.or.us/ steelhammer, or con- tact Cramer at 503-874- 2209. INSIDE Letters....................................3A Life in the Valley.................4A Public Notices.......................2B Sports......................................1B ©2017 Printed on recycled paper State Library Board to meet in Mt. Angel SILVERTON APPEAL TRIBUNE The State Library Board will meet at the Mount Angel Abbey Li- brary, 1 Abbey Drive, Saint Benedict, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. Aletha Bonebrake of Baker City will chair the meeting. The board will discuss the results of its best prac- tices survey and hear an appeal on a 2017-2018 Ready to Read Grant. An open forum is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. Anyone may address the board on any topic at the open forum. The meeting will in- clude a 9 a.m. tour of the Mt. Angel Abbey Library. Sign language inter- pretation will be provided for the public if requested prior to 48 hours before the meeting; notice prior to 72 hours before the meeting is preferred. Handouts of meeting ma- terials may also be re- quested in alternate for- mats prior to 72 hours be- fore the meeting. Re- quests may be made to Robin Speer at 503-378- 5015. For information, con- tact State Librarian Mary- Kay Dahlgreen, 503-378- 4367, marykay.dahl- green@state.or.us.