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 . 137, N O . 1
W EDNESDAY , D ECEMBER 27, 2017
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
Mt. Angel BB wins judges hearts, titles
Dachshund puts namesake Mt. Angel on map, makes history
JUSTIN MUCH SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
Maybe it was an auspicious fate, a dachshund born
during the Sunday finals of the 2016 Mt. Angel Oktober-
fest wiener-dog races.
The birth was a surprise to the dog’s owner. One of
the litter’s two pups, Mt. Angel BB (beautiful baby),
continued to be a surprise since.
The newborn pup didn’t hang around her namesake
town for long, but rather headed out for a life back east
– along with a stretch of success on dog-show circuits,
including a recent one which aired on TV Thanksgiving
Day as the National Dog Show held in Philadelphia. Mt.
Angel BB was among the champions.
But, to back up a bit…
“It (BB’s birth) was actually a real freaky thing,”
said Jacque Keller-McCormick, a dachshund breeder
from rural Mt. Angel/Brooks area. “Her mother was
not supposed to be bred. My son took her diaper off
and…”
Suffice it to say, Jacque’s intentions were under-
mined.
Keller-McCormick took the unexpectedly expecting
mom to the wiener dog races on a Sunday where a
friend and vet, Michelle Kutzler, was on hand and
planned to perform an ultrasound. As it turned out, she
performed a delivery.
"My daughter, Colleen Kutxler, accompanied me to
Mount Angel to ultrasound B.B. (Mt. Angel BB's mom).
When we arrived and removed B.B. from her travel
kennel, she was in the process of delivering the first
puppy," Kutzler recalled. "We supervised B.B’s delivery
of two pups -- a wire coated girl and a smooth coated boy
-- until Jacque could bring them home after the Okto-
berfest wiener races were over. I checked on the pup-
pies 4 days later and they were thriving."
Mt. Angel BB’s brother, Meatloaf, was born first,
See PUP, Page 2A
Literally born during the 2017 Mt. Angel wiener dog races, Mt.
Angel BB (beautiful baby) went on to become a champion
dog-show dachshund before her first birthday.
SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
Silverton’s murals
now have an app
New smart tool serves as an electronic tour guide
Silverton eyes
smoking bans,
project fees
JUSTIN MUCH SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
With New Year’s Day falling on the first Monday of
the month, Silverton City Council is adjusting its meet-
ing schedule for the month.
Rather than meeting on its regularly scheduled first
Monday, the council will meet on Monday, Jan. 8, then
again in a work session on Monday, Jan. 15.
The council had a busy December, fielding a host of
testimony on a proposed development at the north edge
of town during a lengthy Dec. 4 meeting. The panel ulti-
mately overturned the proposal, which had been ap-
proved earlier this fall by the city’s Planning Commis-
sion.
The council then held an open Town Hall meeting at
Silverton High School on Monday, Dec. 18, where coun-
cilors and city staff answered a variety of questions on
topics ranging from growth and the city’s comprehen-
sive plan to infrastructure developments and systems
development charges.
Mayor Kyle Palmer also delivered his state-of-the-
city address during the Town Hall.
He updated those on hand about activities within
each city department, council goals and a glimpse of
what to anticipate in the coming year, including further
discussion and potential action on the smoking ban and
a proposed ban on plastic bags and polystyrene.
The development issue on Dec. 4 was a hot enough
topic that another hot topic was postponed: a proposed
ban on smoking in the downtown area and city parks.
That issue will be front and center on Jan. 8.
The council has reviewed nuances of the prohibition
See COUNCIL, Page 2A
A new iPhone app — "Silverton Mural Society" — designed by Chip Uricchio, a Galveston, Texas, cardiologist, assists tourists
in Silverton with information about the local murals; an abridged, electronic version of the society's "Silverton Murals."
Gas not detected
in N. Santiam River
samples after spill
PHOTOS BY JUSTIN MUCH/STAYTON MAIL
JUSTIN MUCH SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
A new iPhone app curiously developed in Galves-
ton, Texas, provides a nice tool for Silverton tourists.
The free app is called “Silverton Mural Society,”
and it provides an electronic tour guide to the town’s
extensive mural displays, complete with a bit of histo-
ry behind each work and a map that locates each one.
The electronic guide is the work of a cardiologist,
Francis “Chip” Uricchio, whose sister, Ellen Snow, is a
Silverton Mural Society member and a strong advo-
cate of the city’s adornments, their history and the lo-
cal heritage they provide.
Uricchio learned how to develop apps as a hobby.
He combined what he learned with his sister’s enthu-
siasm for her hometown. The final product was ap-
proved and released by Apple earlier this month.
“I have visited Silverton but I have not seen the mu-
rals,” Uricchio said. “My sister, Ellen Snow, is quite
proud of her town. One day, when she was talking
about the town, I had the idea of combining my inter-
est in programming with the need to help the Mural
Society promote murals in the town.”
It was not a simple process; there were drafts and
refinements along the way, adding codes, functional-
ity and even a voice option. But the painstaking work
paid off with a nifty final product.
“I find coding to be a great deal of fun. Debugging
the software after the first drafts is like a puzzle and
challenges my ability to solve puzzles,” Uricchio said.
“He worked on it for a couple of years, so he’s pret-
ty excited,” Snow added. “He did it because I asked-
…just what you could call a hobby, I guess. But he real-
ly wanted to figure it out.”
Uricchio’s hobby has its roots in simple YouTube
videos that he watched a few years back, videos post-
ed by a high school student.
“My regular job is a cardiologist, but I program on
the side because it is interesting to me,” Uricchio said.
“I taught myself how to code on the Internet. There is
a young man named Lucas Derraugh who published a
See APP, Page 2A
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
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TRACY LOEW SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
A second round of testing at municipal water intakes
on the North Santiam River has found no evidence of
gasoline from a Dec. 15 fuel spill on Highway 22.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took
samples at intakes for the Salem, Stayton, Gates and Ly-
ons-Mehama water systems. It also took surface sam-
ples on Detroit Lake, and a sample at the U.S. Army
Corps Engineers Minto Fish Collection Facility intake.
Preliminary results from all of those samples have
come back clean, said Katherine Benenati, a spokes-
woman for the Oregon Department of Environmental
Quality.
The city of Salem shut off its Geren Island water in-
take Dec. 16 and relied on reservoir storage and
groundwater wells. It reopened the intake at 9:45 a.m.
Dec. 20
See SPILL, Page 2A
Uricchio’s sister is Ellen Snow, is a Silverton Mural Society
member. He learned how to develop apps as a hobby and
combined what he learned with his sister’s enthusiasm for
her hometown.
INSIDE
Letters to the Editor...........2B
Life in the Valley.................4A
Sports......................................1B
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