WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Permit system tweaked
Season dates
changed, day use
availability altered
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
It wasn’t the smoothest first season
for a sweeping new permit system
meant to limit crowding in three of
Oregon’s most popular wilderness
areas, so the U.S. Forest Service is
making some changes for the summer
of 2022, the agency announced Tues-
day.
The agency required anyone day-
hiking popular trails and camping any-
where across the Three Sisters, Mount
Jefferson and Mount Washington wil-
derness to get a permit in advance in
2020.
The system was marred by confu-
sion, technical glitches and hikers not
using large numbers of the permits
they purchased, which resulted in few-
er people being able to hike and camp,
officials said.
“We always knew we weren’t going
to get it exactly right straight out of the
gate,” Forest Service spokeswoman
Jean Nelson-Dean said. “The changes
we’ve made should help increase ac-
cessibility, make the reservations less
See PERMITS, Page 4A
The permit season for three of
Oregon’s most popular wilderness
areas will be from June 15 to Oct. 15,
instead of the Friday before Memorial
Day to the last Friday in September.
ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Have
graduation
rates
improved?
Claire Withycombe
Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown gave her final “State of
the State” address Feb. 3.
During her speech, she listed what she believes
are key accomplishments of her seven-year tenure
leading the state through a pandemic, historic wild-
fires and a contentious political atmosphere.
“Collaboration, a deep love for Oregon and our col-
lective determination to continue making our state a
better place for everyone have led to our successes
every step of the way,” Brown said.
The Statesman Journal is examining some of the
governor’s statements for accuracy and to provide
context.
What Gov. Brown said
“We increased the graduation rates for Oregon
kids by 8%.”
What we found
Kayla Burdine-Rea, executive director of Sheltering Silverton, at the doorway to the basement offices of
the nonprofit —which it shares with the Silverton Area Community Aid offices. GEOFF PARKS/SPECIAL FOR THE
STATESMAN JOURNAL
Sheltering Silverton offers
ongoing services to homeless
Geoff Parks
Special to Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
“Where did you sleep on the night of Jan. 24?”
For most people, that question would be met with a
ready answer, “Home, of course, in my bed.” But for an
unknown number of the homeless population, an-
swers include a tent, a friend’s house, a shelter — or in
the open in a park.
The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is a nationwide
count of sheltered and unsheltered people experienc-
ing homelessness on a single night in January. Com-
munities' totals help determine how much state and
federal funding they may receive for programs that
serve the unsheltered.
For most agencies charged with conducting the
survey, the effort means squads of their volunteers
disperse throughout their communities from a central
location, seeking out homeless individuals and their
families.
For some coordinating agencies, it also means
bringing those individuals and families into their
buildings to offer hot food and personal items such as
socks and shoes, a place to warm up, and the opportu-
nity to familiarize themselves with social and other
services the agencies provide.
Sheltering Silverton has a necessarily different ap-
proach.
The nonprofit was the central hub for conducting
this year’s PIT count in the Silverton-Mt. Angel area.
As the bulk of the group's work for the homeless is in
case management, events like the PIT survey are a
crucial part of their goal of getting the homeless con-
nected with services and into housing.
“We need to be able to get a full picture of how
many people are sleeping unhoused, captured in one
fell swoop on one day in January,” Kayla Burdine-Rea,
executive director of Sheltering Silverton, said. “All of
the agencies ask the homeless they encounter, ‘Where
did you sleep on the night of Jan. 24?’ and if it’s any-
where other than a permanent residence of theirs,
then they are counted.”
Sheltering Silverton reserved the upper gymnasi-
um in the Silverton Community Center — where their
basement offices and resource center are located —
for what Burdine-Rea called the PIT Count Fair on
Jan. 26.
“Our plan with the PIT Count Fair was that window
of 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., where we had access to the gym
that we don’t usually have and reserved it to host our
PIT count stations,” she said.
See SERVICES, Page 4A
Performers sought for 'Senior Follies'
Alia Beard Rau
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Adults age 50 and older are invited to show off their
talents at "Senior Follies."
Applications are due by March 15. To request an ap-
plication, call Candace Pressnall or Dodie Brockamp
at 503-873-3093. Auditions and rehearsals will be
scheduled after that.
News updates: h Breaking news h Get updates from
the Silverton area
Photos: h Photo galleries
Our analysis
Oregon’s graduation rate has been a topic of con-
cern among Oregon policymakers and a regular talk-
ing point on the campaign trail for years.
Between the 2010-11 and 2018-19 school years, Ore-
gon consistently trailed behind the national gradua-
tion rate, according to the National Center for Educa-
tion Statistics, although the rate improved from year
to year during that time period.
In 2019, state lawmakers passed the Student Suc-
cess Act to funnel more money into schools.
Republicans have bemoaned recent state mea-
sures to suspend a requirement that students show
proficiency in certain “essential skills,” like critical
thinking and clear writing, to graduate — the impli-
cation being the suspension makes it easier for Ore-
gon students to graduate now.
Under that requirement, Oregon students had to
take standardized tests or submit work samples to
show proficiency in those skills.
The state Board of Education suspended the re-
quirement in 2020 and 2021 as part of its COVID-19
response.
“The pandemic disrupted our state assessment
system entirely in 2020 and substantially in 2021,
which would have deprived most students of their
primary opportunity to meet this rule’s require-
See GRADUATION, Page 4A
"We are very excited about this fun community
event that will show the talented side of seniors, who
are still very active and vibrant," Pressnall, the show's
director, said in a news release.
She said interested seniors should check out you-
tube "follies" to get ideas.
Shows will be held at 7 p.m. June 24 and 25, and 2
p.m. June 26 at Silverton High School auditorium,
1456 Pine St. Tickets will be $10, with proceeds bene-
fitting the Silverton Senior Center.
Vol. 141, No. 10
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
Asked for supporting information, a spokesman
for Brown, Charles Boyle, provided a news release
from the state Department of Education saying the
statewide graduation rate was 72% in 2014 and
80.6% in 2021.
Brown first took office as governor in February
2015.
Technically, the graduation rate increased by 8.6
percentage points since Brown became governor.
When calculating the percent change in the rate from
2014 to 2021, that’s actually an increase of 11.9%.
But the rates for last school year fell for the first
time since the state began calculating them in 2008,
dropping about two percentage points.
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Silverton High School graduate Wyatt Wolf laughs
with friends during the ceremony on Thursday,
June 10, 2021 at McGinnis Field in Silverton.
ABIGAIL DOLLINS / STATESMAN JOURNAL