WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018 ܂ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
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Farmhouse seen as site for museum
Christena Brooks
Special to Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Could the little white farmhouse on the corner of
College and East Garfield streets become Mt. Angel’s
own history museum?
Local historians are close to deciding whether to
turn the Saalfeld House into a history hotspot open to
visitors. The outcome depends on the cost of upgrad-
ing the quaint structure’s foundation and floor, as well
as other major repairs.
“The idea of turning the house into a museum is by
no means dead, but it’s taking time,” said Bill Predeek,
Mt. Angel Historical Society president. “Now contrac-
tors are going to evaluate what has to happen under
the house and how much it’ll cost.”
The late Henrietta Saalfeld donated her family
home to the City of Mt. Angel in 2010, stipulating that
the yard become a public park.
Two years later, volunteers turned the tidy little
yard into usable patio and park space. At the same
time, the Mt. Angel Historical Society was being
formed.
Almost immediately, the society’s board was cau-
tiously optimistic about asking the city to use the
house to store photographs, documents and artifacts –
and to possibly convert it into a museum someday.
As the nonprofit grew to its current size – a seven-
person board serving 109 members – it successfully
negotiated a one-year lease with city council, followed
by a 15-year lease that began in February.
For $1 per year, the organization is now using the
house as a home base for small meetings and archiv-
See MUSEUM, Page 3B
Marion County
will conduct
audit after sex
bias claim
Jonathan Bach
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Friends E.J. Rubesh, 8, left, and Colin Cordle, 9, both of Albany, try to carry a pumpkin during the Harvest
Festival at Greens Bridge Gardens in Jefferson. ANNA REED/STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE
Agritourism helps
boost farm income
Abby Luschei
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A good workout wasn’t the only thing that Dee Mal-
one got while picking fruit at Beilke Family Farm.
The trunk of her car now contained more than
three buckets of fresh produce, which she got for less
than $40.
Malone, of Keizer, rarely goes to the grocery store
for her produce after discovering U-Pick farms last
year. Instead, she picks her own fruit and vegetables
about every other week.
Knowing where her family’s food comes from
makes Malone feel like a more conscious consumer.
“Those are right off the tree, so you know they are
fresh,” she said pointing at her buckets of apples. “(U-
Pick farms) are wonderful, they really are.”
Businesses like Beilke Family Farm are a part of
agritourism, a growing industry in Oregon that’s con-
necting operators and consumers.
And most Oregonians have tried it, possibly with-
out even knowing it.
Browsing a local harvest festival, eating at a farm to
table dinner or sipping rosé while painting with your
best friend in a tulip field — it’s all agritourism.
In Marion and Polk counties, 115 of more than 3,500
farms in the area are involved in agritourism, said Ma-
ry Stewart, the agriculture business development and
marketing leader for the OSU Extension Service.
Agritourism provides farm operators with an addi-
tional stream of income while providing farmers and
the public opportunities to get to know and learn from
each other.
Isabella (from right), Penelope and Hazel
MacPherson take to the slides at Bauman’s Harvest
Festival in Gervais. MOLLY J. SMITH/STATESMAN JOURNAL
And becoming familiar with how food gets from the
farm to the store helps educate consumers about lo-
cally-grown products and land-use choices.
Enhancing the on-farm experience
Agricultural diversification — the introduction of a
new product or experience, usually at a farm — has to
consider many factors, including land use laws and
neighboring farms.
“Whenever agritourism is added to a farm, it has to
be done thoughtfully and carefully,” Stewart said. “It
is not for everyone, but we are seeing more do it.”
See AGRITOURISM, Page 3A
Marion County officials will hire an outside com-
pany to conduct a “cultural audit” after a public
works employee accused her manager of sexual dis-
crimination.
The audit may cover more than 1,650 county work-
ers, including part-time and temporary hires.
“My understanding is that we will try to get that
contract for a consultant completed as soon as we
can,” said Jolene Kelley, spokeswoman for the coun-
ty.
“A lot will depend on what we think the cost of that
will be,” Kelley said. Another factor is the procure-
ment process they’ll need to follow.
“The goal is to get this in place as soon as possi-
ble,” Kelley said.
Meantime, preliminary results from a Marion
County Employees Association survey shared with
the Statesman Journal show additional county work-
ers say they have experienced unwanted sexual at-
tention in the course of their jobs.
Jamie Namitz, who has worked for the county for
16 years, went public last week with an accusation
that Don Newell, public works operations division
manager, sexually discriminated against her during a
recent job interview, calling her “biggest strength”
her “sexuality.”
Newell declined to comment Wednesday.
Findings from a county human resources
investigation showed Newell violated Marion County
administrative policy four times for verbal harass-
ment, discriminate treatment, discrimination and
disparate treatment.
Newell also violated Marion County personnel
standard of conduct rules twice, according to the
findings. Human resources recommended termina-
tion.
Kelley declined to say what, if any, action has been
taken, except that Newell remains employed.
The Marion County Employees Association start-
ed circulating a survey on Oct. 1 about unwanted sex-
ual attention at the workplace, said Bob Hopkinson,
SEIU Local 503 communications organizer. “The sur-
vey is still open and data is still being collected.”
Of the association’s estimated 757 members, only
79 have responded so far. Early results show:
܂ 10 respondents said they experienced unwanted
sexual attentionwhile working at the county by a co-
worker, colleague, business partner or contractor, or
person in a supervisory position/supervisor, or
someone with perceived power/influence over their
career.
܂ 19 respondents said they witnessed or knew of a
county colleague having experienced unwanted sex-
ual attention.
܂ 35 respondents said human resources did not
address their concerns. (Only 62 people responded to
that question).
MCEA President Trish Straw told commissioners
at Wednesday’s Marion County Board of Commis-
sioners meeting that she sat in on about 20 inter-
See AUDIT, Page 3B
Oregon wildfire costs hit record high
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
The cost of fighting wildfires in Oregon reached an
all-time high $514.6 million in 2018, according to data
from Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.
Fueled by wildfires that started early and threat-
ened communities all summer, Oregon’s costs sky-
rocketed past last year’s record-setting total of $447
million.
“The difference this year — what made it so expen-
sive — was having so many large wildfires that lasted
not just weeks but months,” said Carol Connolly, in-
formation officer for NWCC. “We also had a lot of large
fires close to populated areas.”
All totaled, Oregon had 1,880 fires that burned
846,411 acres or 1,322 square miles — an area larger
than Rhode Island.
Humans were blamed for 1,217 wildfires, while
lightning caused 664 fires but also burned a much
larger area.
The number of acres burned isn’t a record, but it’s
well above historic averages and continues a trend of
more extreme fire seasons.
“We’ve reached a point where people have stopped
See WILDFIRE, Page 3B
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