WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Fire board resign after heated meetings
County commissioners appoints
new members for Idanha-Detroit
It all started when the part-time fire
chief pleaded guilty to assaulting his
wife.
Turnover in small staff
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
After a slate of contentious meetings,
all five board members – and the fire
chief and the acting fire chief – of the
Idanha-Detroit Rural Fire Protection
District have resigned since the begin-
ning of the year.
As of Feb. 25, all that was left in the
department were dozens of volunteer
firefighters and one part-time employ-
ee. And this on top of the district losing
its Detroit fire hall in the 2020 Labor Day
wildfires.
Without any board members, which
are volunteer positions, state law re-
quires county commissioners to ap-
point a new slate. So the Marion County
Board of Commissioners was forced
into a situation it has never faced:
choosing, all at once, the new leaders of
a rural fire protection district.
The Idanha-Detroit Rural Fire Protec-
tion District covers seven square miles
in Marion and Linn counties, including
the cities of Detroit and Idanha. It has
two paid part-time employees, includ-
ing the chief. Most of its services are
performed by volunteers. It has a budget
of $295,778 for the current fiscal year.
The district came to the forefront
during the wildfires of September 2020
when most of Detroit was wiped out. No
one died in the city and the district’s
firefighters were credited with saving
dozens of lives.
The district’s fire station in Detroit
and a fire engine were destroyed in the
fire. Its remaining station, which was
built in the 1950s, is in Idanha.
It has been seeking money to build a
new station.
Will Ewing, the district’s fire chief
since 2018, resigned Jan. 5, about two
months after pleading guilty in Novem-
ber 2021 to assaulting his wife by chok-
ing her for 15 seconds.
Ewing’s sentence was deferred on
See RESIGNATIONS, Page 4A
5th district
races heat up as
Kurt Schrader
tries for 8th
term
Wet relief
Rain dampens recent
pollen count in Mid-Valley
Bill Poehler
Louis Krauss
Salem Statesman Journal
Register-Guard | USA TODAY NETWORK
USA TODAY NETWORK
The abnormal snow and rain showers this
April have improved air quality by reducing pol-
len counts measured in the Mid-Valley, but it
could be an indicator of allergy season coming
back in full force once the region dries out.
Early spring tends to bring an elevated tree
pollen count as opposed to grass pollen, and on
April 8 Oregon Allergy Associates measured a
“very high” tree pollen count of 1,254, more than
double the 500 required to reach the highest cat-
egory. But the rains over the past few weeks have
tamped things down. The National Weather Ser-
vice listed Salem on Tuesday in the moderate
category with high tree pollen but moderate
grass pollen and no ragweed pollen.
Registered nurse Judy Moran, who works for
Oregon Allergy Associates, said the counts typi-
cally reflect the weather activity over the past 24
hours of when it was measured.
“If it was a really nice or hot day, and someone
is seeing the count, presuming that I did the
count that next day and published it, then it
could be weather like this outside and they’re
going, ‘Oh, I can’t go outside today because the
count was sky high.’ Well, weather conditions
are totally different, so their exposure is proba-
bly going to be less outside.”
Still, air quality agencies are recommending
Oregonians take steps to protect themselves
from allergies and respiratory problems.
While this week’s rain creates a short-term
reprieve from pollen in the air, it could also be a
This election is different for Kurt Schrader, and he knows
that.
Running for re-election to Congress in the redrawn 5th
Congressional District, the moderate Democrat from Canby
has more name recognition than his opponent in the May 17
Democratic primary, Jamie McLeod-Skinner – as well as all
of the Republicans combined – as he seeks his eighth term.
Even the local Democrat parties are choosing his pro-
gressive opponent against him in the primary. The Demo-
cratic parties of Clackamas, Marion, Linn and Deschutes
counties have endorsed McLeod-Skinner above Schrader.
They had to change their rules to endorse her. Typically the
county parties don’t endorse a candidate.
Schrader isn’t worried about that.
“The parties generally, or at least the county party folks,
represent the more left-wing activist points of view,”
Schrader said. “I don’t think that at the end of the day
they’re in lock step with mainstream Democrats, who I
think want someone that is effective and can get the job
done and represent them. Those folks are more ideologi-
cally motivated. I want to represent the people.”
McLeod-Skinner takes those endorsements a different
way.
“It was really a powerful statement, I think, to have the
county Democrats essentially say to a sitting member of
Congress, ‘You’re not getting the job done,’” she said. “And he
tried to dismiss me when I first jumped in as running to the
left of him.
“And yes, technically I’m running to the left of him, but
See DEMOCRATS, Page 2A
See POLLEN, Page 4A
No favorite
among 5
Republicans
A bicyclist rides over fallen petals at Minto Brown
Island Park. ABIGAIL DOLLINS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Bill Poehler
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Upheaval at beloved restaurant
Capi Lynn
Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
For nearly 30 years, Marlene Blanchard poured her
heart and soul into Court Street Dairy Lunch, Salem’s
oldest restaurant. She started working there as a prep
cook in 1994, just a few months after the founding
family sold the business to a pair of employees. Three
years later, she bought out one of the partners. Blan-
chard became the sole owner in 2006. She nurtured
the old-fashioned diner, a fixture of downtown since
1929 and a go-to spot for generations. It was not just
an institution for the community but a nest egg for her
retirement. In 2019, as the restaurant celebrated its
90th birthday, Blanchard announced she was ready to
sell. It’s been a hardship ever since.
She survived a failed sale that year, then the
COVID-19 pandemic, and then she was diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer.
See DAIRY, Page 3A
Jimmy Crumpacker
Court Street Dairy Lunch, established in 1929, is
Salem’s oldest restaurant. It is located at 347 Court
St. NE in downtown. CAPI LYNN/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Vol. 141, No. 19
Online at SilvertonAppeal.com
News updates: h Breaking news h Get updates from
the Silverton area
Photos: h Photo galleries
A medical business owner, a financial analyst, a re-
tired orthopedic surgeon, a contractor and a tennis coach
are vying for the Republican nomination for the Fifth
Congressional district in the May 17 primary election.
But the large field of contenders – Jimmy Crumpacker,
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, John Di Paola, Madison Oatmtan
and Laurel Roses – are mostly unknown to voters in the
Willamette Valley.
Only one has been voted into public office previously,
Chavez-DeRemer, but all have a background in some
form of business.
Jim Moore, a professor of politics at Pacific University,
said there is no favorite among the five.
“No, because they’re all unknowns,” he said. “They
have little bases or they have no bases.”
The district has been redrawn to combine areas from
Stayton, Mill City and Detroit with Linn County, South-
west Portland and Central Oregon cities like Bend, Red-
mond and Sisters.
These are the contenders vying for the nomination:
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Crumpacker’s professional background is in finance.
Born and raised outside Portland to a family with ties
to Oregon dating back to 1845, he went to high school in
New Hampshire before going to college at Georgetown.
After working as an intern for Sen. Gordon Smith
while in college, he went into finance, working on Wall
Street for American International Group.
Crumpacker moved back to Oregon 10 years ago and
continued to work in finance. Because the stock markets
closed early afternoon Oregon time each day, he had time
See REPUBLICANS, Page 2A