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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2019)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 ❚ SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK Silverton home values jump by 10 percent Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Though the real market value of property in Silver- ton has jumped 10% to an average of $338,125 per home in the past year, homeowners in the city will only see the 3% increase in property taxes. While taxpayers in many areas of Marion County, such as Salem and Mill City, saw large or small in- creases based on bonds and levies being added or sub- tracted from the tax rolls, those in Silverton will only see the Measure 50-limited 3% increase. The average Silverton homeowner will pay $4,313 in taxes. “Measure 50 does set expectations with people that their taxes will go up 3%, which is not accurate,” Mar- ion County Tax Assessor Tom Rohlfing said. Those in Mt. Angel will see a 2% increase to an aver- age of $3,278. Homeowners in Scotts Mills will see a 3% increase to $1,880. Scotts Mills has one of the lower tax rates in the county. Marion County mailed tax statements Oct. 10. Mar- ion County residents who pay by Nov. 15 receive a 3% discount. Those who disagree with their new property tax evaluation can appeal their taxation to a local Board of Property Tax Appeals. The highest tax rate in Marion County is in Aurora, where residents pay an average of $4,434, an increase of 6% due to the Aurora Replacement Local Option Levy. Those in Woodburn and Jefferson will see their tax- es increase by 5% for new fire district levies. Homeowners in Salem and Keizer will see slightly lower increases. A Salem-Keizer school district bond was paid off early and was taken off the tax rolls. The bond measure voters passed in 1992 was refi- nanced at a better interest rate in 2013 and was com- pletely repaid in June. Combined with the Measure 50 limited 3% increase in assessed value, Salem residents will see an increase in taxes of about 1%. Salem residents on the Marion County side will pay an average of $3,544 while those in West Salem will See TAX, Page 2A Fire departments get a hand in recruiting Duane Means works with parks operations changing out garbage bags, cleaning restrooms, clearing sidewalks and more as an intern with the city of Salem. Salem launched an internship program for adults with disabilities. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL Honing skills to get hired Salem starts internship for adults with disabilities Jonathan Bach Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Probie, a 12-week-old golden retriever, is joining the Sublimity Fire District as an emotional support animal for the volunteer firefighters and will help with community outreach. Photographed with his handler and volunteer firefighter Amber Cross at the Sublimity Fire District on Oct. 16, 2019. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL Stayton, Sublimity receive $680,000 grant from FEMA Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Volunteer fire departments in cities like Sublimity face unique challenges: with 2,890 residents and a few hundred more in the outlying areas of its district, there are a limited number of potential new recruits. Attracting new volunteer firefighters is a constant challenge, but the fire departments in Sublimity and Stayton are getting help. The two closely-linked fire departments have re- ceived a $680,000 grant from FEMA to recruit new volunteer firefighters and retain current volunteers. For the communities of Stayton and Sublimity – where the departments cover a combined 150 square miles of Marion County – volunteers are vital. Stayton has five full-time paid firefighters, but it relies on its group of about 50 volunteers ; Sublimity’s only full-time paid firefighter is Fire Chief Alan Hume and relies on its group of about 30 volunteers. “For a small town, it can be very difficult,” Hume said. “You’ve kind of recruited everybody that’s in your town at some point.” What the grant will do The FEMA grant — officially called a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant — will allow Stayton and Sublimity to hire a full-time re- cruiter to aid the two departments for the next four years, and they plan to have a person hired by Jan. 2, 2020. Stayton and Sublimity aim to bring in 12 new vol- unteers each year between the two departments over Duane Means has scrubbed public bathrooms, wiped down city water fountains and hauled trash away from public parks. He doesn’t earn a nickel from the City of Salem for the work, but that doesn’t ex- tinguish his enthusiasm. “It was awesome,” gushed Means, 41, recounting at Geer Community Park how he learned to wield a powerful backpack leaf blower. “I never used any- thing like that.” He and seven others started the city internship, called Project SEARCH, in September. It gives adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities hands-on experience to help prepare them to land a well-paying job. It’s worked in other locales. Partnering with Portland nonprofit Albertina Kerr, Salem is the fourth Oregon Project SEARCH location, joining Embassy Suites by Hilton and two Kaiser Per- manente locations, all in the Portland area. Oregon’s branch has delivered on its promise. In 2018, 68 graduates found jobs, working an average of 21.57 hours per week and earning $11.78 an hour. That’s up from 34 graduates the year before, who worked an average of 23.19 hours a week earning $11.49 an hour, according to program data. Since its 1996 launch in Cincinnati, Project SEARCH has expanded internationally. Today it op- erates in most U.S. states and several countries. Since program officials began tracking data national- ly in 2010, more than 25,000 people entered the in- ternship program with about 23,275 graduating. See GRANT, Page 2A Program bolsters workforce diversity Mom gets prison after DUI crash kills daughter Whitney Woodworth Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK A Turner woman arrested on manslaughter charges following a 2018 DUI car crash that killed her toddler daughter was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison Tuesday. Janie Miller, 34, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree assault for causing injury to her daughter along with charges of DUI and four counts of reckless endangerment. The first-degree manslaughter charge against her was dismissed as part of a plea agreement. One count of methamphetamine possession was also dismissed. Miller was arrested in March, almost a full year af- ter her 2-year-old daughter died in the crash in Salem. According to Salem police, she was involved in an April 7, 2018, crash at the intersection of Cordon Road and Lancaster Drive SE. Miller Salem police officials said Miller’s car was traveling southbound on Cor- don when it collided head-on with an SUV stopped in a turn lane waiting to turn north onto Lancaster. Miller and her daughter Ellie Jane Bruce were taken to Salem Hospital for treatment. No one else was injured in the crash. Ellie died later on April 26, 2018, according to her obituary. “She was as good as it gets when it comes to having a two-year-old in your life,” the family wrote in the obituary. “She was just starting to realize that she was in charge and running the show. Her favorite word was ‘NO’. She will forever be in our thoughts.” Ellie would’ve turned 4 this December. See PRISON, Page 2A Online at SilvertonAppeal.com Vol. 138, No. 44 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 QEAJAB-07403y ©2019 50 cents Printed on recycled paper Means would soon learn to operate a lawnmower. “I don’t know when he’s going to teach me how — maybe today or next week — he’s going to teach me how to mow,” he said of his supervisor, George Rosal. The parks maintenance operator became Means’ mentor after getting a call from the city about the in- ternship. Rosal promised the pair would find a “great, big spot” to push the mower around. “That way we can get practice, practice, practice and muscle memory.” Albertina Kerr CEO Jeff Carr said Salem is the first city government his nonprofit has partnered with. Albertina Kerr plans to work with the State of Oregon next year, he said. “The people we support certainly can help mu- nicipalities, as well as companies, have a more di- verse workforce that’s really more representative of the society that we live in,” Carr said. Mina Hanssen, Salem’s human resources director, said the internship bolsters efforts to diversify the city’s workforce. The city hopes to welcome more in- terns in the future, she said. Adults with intellectual or developmental disabil- ities have tended to struggle with high unemploy- ment rates, Carr said. Those who have found jobs have sometimes worked in what are called “sheltered workshops.” Carr described the workshops as “sub-minimum wage jobs where people were doing piecework and See SEARCH, Page 3A