Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 ܂ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Racers ignore rain for relay event Virginia Barreda Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK The first-time participants said they were compet- ing to raise money for the Weight Loss Surgery Foun- dation of America, Pacific Northwest Chapter. The teammates had previously undergone weight loss sur- gery after spending most of their lives weighing over 300 pounds. “Now our lives look very different,” Gomez said. “We’re very excited to be able to do this. ... We may be the very last team, unless there’s a lot of people that are casual, but we’re just happy to be finishing.” Participants young and old had the option of sign- ing up individually or in groups of two or three. This year, there were 90 individuals within 30 teams, ac- About 120 participants gathered on Salem’s pedes- trian bridge Sept. 16 awaiting the start of the second annual River 2 Ridge Relay, a nearly 50-mile course through the Willamette Valley. The three-part race challenges competitors to run, bike and kayak from the southwest end of the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge to Silver Falls State Park. Melissa Gomez, 52, of Salem and Darla Black, 55, of Portland said they’d been preparing for the race for six months. See RELAY, Page 2A A runner dashes across the bridge during the first leg of the River 2 Ridge Relay. VIRGINIA BARREDA / STATESMAN JOURNAL Barry Shapiro faces long odds vs. Rick Lewis Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK The Benedictine Brewery in Mt. Angel, shown on Sept. 5. The brewery, operated by the monks of Mount Angel Abbey, opened Sept. 22. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL Benedictine Brewery opens in Mt. Angel Emily Teel Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Seven years ago, a friend offered Father Martin Grassel and the Mount Angel Abbey some brewing equipment. He said no, thank you. He had never brewed beer, and in fact, hadn’t much enjoyed drinking beer until he tasted a Black Butte Porter from Deschutes, but the idea of brewing nee- dled him, the same way that the idea of becoming a priest had back when he was still an engineer. “That idea stuck in my mind, “ said Grassel, “I couldn’t stop thinking about it.” He called her back to say that he had changed his mind. This week, Grassel, now Head Brewer, and the rest of the monks at Mount Angel welcome guests to visit Saint Michael’s Taproom at the now open Benedictine Brewery. Quality & Simplicity Mount Angel Abbey was founded in 1882 by Bene- dictine monks from the Abbey of Engelberg in Swit- zerland. Still today, the Benedictine monks in Mount Angel live a life governed by prayer and work as pre- scribed by their sixth-century founder, St. Benedict of Nursia. When they began the conversation of building a brewery at the Abbey the first thought was to re-pur- pose an existing structure. None were the right fit and any of them would have posed a problem when it came to parking. “Where would you put parking on the hilltop? It’s on a hilltop!” said Grassel. Instead, they chose a site for a new building in a different area of the 300-acre parcel, separate from the rest of the buildings. A good fit, Grassel said, be- cause “it insulates the activity at the brewery slightly from the monastery itself.” On November 11, 2017– the Feast Day of Saint Mar- tin–the brewery welcomed more than 100 community volunteers for a brewery-raising. Henry Fitzgibbon and New Energy Works designed the timber frame building, to be built from Douglas Fir harvested from the Abbey’s tree farm and milled in Corvallis. See BREWERY, Page 2A Got an idea for Silverton’s flag? Christena Brooks Special to Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK And now, another reason to dub 2018 the Year of the Kid. Two young brothers from Silverton have convinced city leaders that this east valley town should have its own flag. So the city council is running an art contest through November, asking the public for ideas. Just for fun, the Blair brothers – Benji, 16, and Eliah, 10 – worked together this spring to create a flag for the City of Silverton. When they emailed a digital copy to city leaders, Councilor Matt Plummer invited them to talk to the council about it. “I love that they took an interest, looked to see if the city has a flag, saw Silverton does not and they decid- ed to take action,” Plummer said. The Blair brothers’ flag proposal is the latest in a series of civic engagements from Silverton children and teens. This year, local youth inspired adults to in- stall swings for kids in wheelchairs at the park, won Oregon’s “If I were Mayor” contest and will be repre- sented by a youth council in the near future. SILVERTON — Rick Lewis and Barry Shapiro both came to politics late in life, but their back- grounds are disparate. Lewis, a state legislator from Silverton, spent most of his life in law enforcement; Shapiro, a teach- er and photographer from Silverton, spent the majority of his life working in advertising and involved in the art community. Whichever candidate for Oregon House of Representatives District 18 wins the Nov. 6 general election, he'll be a first-time House-race victor. Barry Republican Vic Gilliam resigned Shapiro from the seat in 2017 due to health is- sues and Lewis was appointed to fill the seat. The 18th district has been a Re- publican stronghold — Gilliam held the seat for a decade, including an election in 2012 when he was unop- posed. Rick Lewis said over the last 25 years of Lewis his law enforcement career he was on numerous committees in the state legislature. Lewis admits there were challenges in being a first-time legislator in 2017, especially being ap- pointed after the session was underway. “The hardest part was finding my way around the building,” Lewis said. “I got lucky because most of the administrators or staff assistants were taken by the time the ses- sion had started. I got lucky and got one who just had moved to Oregon not too long before and had background and experience working in another state legislature.” If Shapiro or another Democrat were to pick up a seat held by a Republican in the House, the Demo- crats would take a supermajority (a 3/5 majority) in the 2019 session. Lewis was a popular figure as police chief and mayor of Silverton, the largest city in the district. “I don’t know if I can beat him, in all honesty,” Shapiro said. “The reality is district 18 was drawn to be red. ... It’s been red as long as it’s been here.” Lewis’ campaign has raised $30,521 this year and has a cash balance of $34,934 as of September 20; Shapiro’s campaign has raised $19,622 and has a cash balance of $5,720. Lewis’ largest contributions were $2,500 each from Mountain West Investment Corp. and AGC Committee For Action (a PAC that supports the commercial construction industry). Lewis’ campaign has received contributions from out-of-state companies including Union Pacif- ic Railroad Company, 7-Eleven and Koch Industries. Shapiro’s largest contribution was $3,000 from Laurie Chadwick. Most of the contributions to his campaign have been amounts under $100 from indi- viduals. “I’m running as an independent Democrat, See DISTRICT 18, Page 3A The Blair Brothers: Benji, 16, and Eliah, 10. CHRISTENA BROOKS / SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE “The proposals that kids have brought forward have all been really executable,” said City Manager Christy Wurster. “All of these wonderful ideas … I’ve been very impressed by the preparations that were made.” Benji Blair, a senior at Silverton High School, devel- See FLAG, Page 3A Online at SilvertonAppeal.com Vol. 137, No. 40 News updates: ܂ Breaking news ܂ Get updates from the Silverton area Photos: ܂ Photo galleries Serving the Silverton Area Since 1880 A Unique Edition of the Statesman Journal 50 cents ©2018 Printed on recycled paper
