WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019 ❚ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Gates is in a scramble for sidewalks
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
GATES – To catch the school bus in this quirky, East
Marion County city of 500 people, children walk in the
middle of skinny roads to reach the stop near busy
Highway 22.
In his four years as mayor, Jerry Marr spent much of
his time trying to figure out how one of the cities with
the lowest revenues in the state could do something
both simple and safe — build sidewalks.
The city applied for a grant through the Oregon De-
partment of Transportation’s Small City Allotment
Program last year, and was awarded the maximum
$100,000 in December 2018, though that was reduced
to $85,000.
New estimates from a project engineer are the pro-
ject will cost $170,000 and now Gates is stuck between
the prospect of finding another $100,000 in 18 months,
drastically scaling back the project or giving back the
money.
“Basically, we have a year and a half yet to come up
with some money,” current mayor Daniel Tucker said.
“If we’re lucky, we’ll just have to have at least three
more grants just to get it up to the point where we
could afford to do it.”
Gates has a combination of roads owned by ODOT,
Marion County, Linn County and the city, and it can
only do work on streets it owns.
The streets it targeted for upgrading are Louisa
Drive, Dogwood Drive, East Sorbin Street and Oak
Street.
Gates public works superintendent Greg Benthin
sought a cost estimate for the work in the grant a pro-
ject manager from construction company Keller Asso-
ciates estimates $170,418.
See GATES, Page 3A
Q&A WITH
RAQUEL MOORE-GREEN
Newest
legislator
outlines
her views
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Silverton High School FFA member Tyler Heater and his angus heifer Stella in a breeding class at the Marion
County Fair earlier this month. PHOTO COURTESY OF SILVERTON FFA
FFA GETS STATE
FUNDING BOOST
Oregon State Legislature approved $1.43 million in spending
Christena Brooks
Special to Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
They show farm animals, give speeches, judge soil
quality, weld, fix cars and so much more.
They’re known as “Future Farmers of America,”
and they’re getting targeted state funding for the first
time in eight years. The Oregon State Legislature ap-
proved $1.43 million in spending on FFA programs and
competitions in this state over the next two years.
Silverton’s long-running FFA program and Mt. An-
gel’s new club – restarted several years ago after a
nine-year hiatus – have been self-supporting, thanks
to generous donors and an annual auction.
However, this new state funding, to be meted out
by the Oregon Department of Education, will con-
tinue to help local students participate and compete.
About 7,000 Oregon high school students participate
in FFA. Clubs at some high schools will use the new
funding to waive individual students’ $20 member-
ship fees to the national organization.
Silverton’s FFA program already picks up those
fees for anyone enrolled in FFA courses, but every lit-
tle bit of funding helps, said club advisor Scott Tow-
ery. A classic blue FFA jacket rings up at $80, a trip to
nationals costs a minimum of $1,200, and the compe-
titions leading to it – districts, sectionals and state –
require plenty of cash too.
Local members fundraise by selling Christmas
trees at Wilco, holding plant sales, and cleaning up at
the Oregon State Fair.
So, as representatives and senators arrived for the
2019 legislative session, FFA advisors and students
from around the state wrote letters and visited their
lawmakers to request funding.
“We have a lot of support at the state level right
now,” Towery said. “I took a group of kids to the Capi-
tol, and, on the day that this bill passed, three of our
graduated members were able to be there.”
In Mt. Angel, Kennedy High School’s FFA advisor
and agriculture teacher is Korrie Shull. At Silverton
See FFA, Page 3A
State’s native trees declining
Tracy Loew
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Oregon’s iconic Douglas firs are declining as the
state’s summers have grown hotter and drier.
Drought also is killing grand fir, and may be con-
tributing to declines in Western red cedar and bigleaf
maple.
“A lot of people really notice it, especially driving
down I-5,” said Christine Buhl, an entomologist for
the Oregon Department of Forestry. “They see a lot of
dead trees in the hills.”
Oregon has experienced drought each summer
since 2012, peaking in 2015. While rainfall and snow-
pack have been close to average the past two years,
temperatures in many areas still were above normal.
Climate change is expected to increase drought in
Oregon.
Oregon Department of Forestry scientists conduct
statewide aerial and ground tree surveys across 30
million acres each year, recording the number of dead
and dying trees from all causes, including drought,
storms, disease and insect damage.
They look for indicators of of drought stress, such
as sparse or asymmetrical crowns, an abnormally
high number of cones, and brown or dead branches.
In 2018, about 680,000 acres contained damaged
or dead trees attributed to all causes. That’s fewer
than at the peak of the drought but still higher than
historic levels.
Doug fir, Oregon’s official tree and largest timber
cash crop, has been declining since Oregon’s drought
began in 2012, Buhl said.
Die-offs were first recorded in the driest areas, like
south-facing sites, ridges and rocky areas.
“Now, we’re seeing Doug fir dying in other areas
where maybe they could have lived before,” Buhl said.
That includes throughout the Willamette Valley.
Tree mortality has dropped a bit in the past couple
Raquel Moore-Green was sworn in as the newest
member of the Oregon House of Representatives
Thursday during a brief ceremony in the state Capitol
with friends, family and future colleagues.
Moore-Green now represents House District 19, a
district previously represented by Sen. Denyc Boles, R-
Salem, who herself was appointed to replace the late-
Sen. Jackie Winters last month.
House District 19 encompasses roughly 63,000 peo-
ple in South Salem, Turner and Aumsville.
While she had never sought public office before,
Moore-Green has worked behind-the-scenes in state
politics for years. She worked on the campaigns of
Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron, and as
a legislative aide for Cameron when he was in the Leg-
islature and for Winters in 2019.
The Marion County Commissioners selected
Moore-Green Tuesday over two other finalists —
House legislative aide Becky Mitts and Salem city
councilor Brad Nanke.
“Raquel’s background as a small business owner,
her time working as a legislative staffer and her leader-
ship and non-profit service in her community will
make her a great addition to the Legislature,” said
House Republican Leader Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass.
After the ceremony, Moore-Green sat down with
the Statesman Journal for a brief interview. The ex-
change below has light edits for clarity:
Q: I’m curious about your perception of last ses-
sion: It was considered broadly one of the more con-
tentious sessions in recent memory and I’m curious
how you thought it went from a political perspec-
tive but also from a “what was done” perspective:
Moore-Green: Obviously, there were some positive
things done for Oregonians but I do feel that there were
some things that did not favor many Oregonians well.
The gross receipts sales tax — essentially a sales tax on
the working class — that’s just an extra burden there.
And I’ve said this before, as well, the repeal of the un-
documented driver’s licenses, which the voters had
voted on in 2014.
Some of the good things that happened were that
thousands upon thousands of Oregonians were re-en-
gaged in the process of government and I think we saw
that through the Timber Unity group and through ...
the anti-vaxx moms. And I think that’s a good thing. I
think any time that you can engage people in the proc-
ess, because it’s their process. I mean, this is their gov-
ernment. We are a government for the people and by
the people, you know.
On the Senate side, there was that nine-day
walkout at the end of session. What’s your position
on that? Do you think that was the right thing for
them to do?
I believe that they were representing their constitu-
ents. And that’s what we’re called to do. We’re called to
represent our constituents. I think they made a state-
ment.
You’ve been involved in politics behind-the-
scenes for some time. I’m sure you have a good
See MOORE-GREEN, Page 3A
See TREES, Page 3A
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Raquel Moore-Green takes the oath of office. ANNA
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