attends Silverton High School's prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 in Silverton Silverton students wait in line for prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 and Ian Mattison attend Silverton's High School prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 in Silverton Silverton students check in for prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 and Marissa Schacher pose for pictures during Silverton's prom at the Oregon Garden Silverton students enter prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 in Silverton dances during Silverton's prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 and Trevor Redman-Brown attend Silverton's High School prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 Silverton High School students pose for pictures during prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 and Seth Brown chat during Silverton's prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 in Silverton Students dance during Silverton High School's prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 Silverton High School students pose for pictures during prom on May 3 Silverton High School students pose for pictures during prom Silverton High School students crowd the dance floor during prom and Alexander Nankman win "best outfits" at Silverton High School's prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 Students dance to "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" during Silverton High School's prom Students dance during Silverton High School's prom Students dance during Silverton High School's prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 in Silverton is named Silverton High School's prom queen at the Oregon Garden on May 3 in Silverton was named prom king during Silverton High School's prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 in Silverton Students slow dance during Silverton High School's prom at the Oregon Garden Students dance during Silvertonhoo High School's prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 Hudson Waples gets carried above the dance floor during Silverton High School's prom Students dance to "Wobble" during Silverton High School's prom Silverton High School students dance during prom at the Oregon Garden on May 3 AUSTIN – Winning a gold medal is the thrill of a lifetime at any UIL State Track and Field Championships Winning two gold medals and a silver medal Even the bigger dreamers usually don’t reach that far along in their dream But that’s exactly the busy Saturday Silverton junior Maddie Francis had at Mike A Myers Stadium with a dream-come-true performance leaving the Class 1A girls’ portion of the meet with gold medals in the high jump and 100 hurdles Francis scored 28 team points by herself and that effort meant Silverton finished in a tie for fourth place in the 1A girls team race “This day is something I did dream about,” Francis said And who could blame her for being tuckered out Francis opened her day winning the high jump as she was in no mood to play a strategy game clearing 5-foot Then in Saturday’s evening session she crushed the field in the 100-meter hurdles leading from start to finish then completed her medal haul finishing second to the defending state champion in the 300 hurdles Instead of waiting to enter the high jump at a certain height Francis was one of four in the nine-girl competition to start at the beginning height of 4 feet By the time Francis tied her season-best 5-foot-2 on her second attempt at the height and eighth jump overall Francis won the 1A state high jump gold medal on fewer misses over runner-up sophomore Brenna Briles of Forestburg it’s probably adrenaline is what went right today,” Francis said “You make it this far you might as well try your hardest Jumping here and in a front of crowd like this is nerve wracking.” Briles missed twice at five foot clearing the height on her third and final jump Francis missed once at five foot before clearing on her second jump and that proved to be her golden moment in the sun Both Briles and Francis missed their first attempts at 5-2 then mirrored each other clearing the height on their second jump But with the other three remaining contestants bowing out of the competition at 5-2 that meant silver and gold were guaranteed to Francis and Briles Francis was declared the gold medal winner Francis said with the competition so elite and a few of her opponents having jumped higher than she had entering Saturday starting out on the first height of 4-foot “In jumping anything can happen,” Francis said “I knew I could probably make the podium but really my whole strategy was just to try my hardest Some of these girls have jumped higher than what we finished at so I just wanted to get a mark.” Francis was simply dominate in the race she started running this year for the first time Francis exploded out of the blocks owning the lead by a couple of meters by the first hurdle Then it was a case of ‘see ya later’ as she built a larger lead throughout the race finishing in 14.79 almost two seconds ahead of runner-up Kaitlyn Collins of Wells (16.25) Francis said the fast start out of the blocks was something missing in her runs early in the year “It’s very rewarding from all the work I’ve put in all season,” Francis said I wasn’t the strongest out of the blocks early in the season and I’ve worked to fix it.” Francis stayed smooth throughout the race and despite the large lead remained focus “I try to stay relax so I didn’t fall or anything,” Francis said “But I still try to push it and beat my time I guess I was hoping for a race like that but you just never think about it.” The 300 hurdles race became a two-person show by the 150-meter mark with Francis running in lane five next to defending champ sophomore Gracie Lane of Gordon in lane four Coming out of the turn the two were well ahead of the rest of the field Lane held a small lead at the time and then over the final two hurdles Francis slowed a tad “I just ran out of gas,” said the honest-as-it-gets Francis with Francis second at 45.21 and then the bronze went to Tatum Heady of Roscoe Highland at 47.40 Francis was more than happy with the two golds and a silver as she improved immensely from a year ago here at stat with a fourth place finish in the 300 hurdles Silverton girls track coach Janee’ Harrison said  not making the medal stand last year was a strong catalyst for Francis’ impressive three-event performance Saturday “Maddie has pushed herself all year long in the weight room to get stronger and we are so proud of her,” said Harrison who gave credit to Silverton hurdle coach April Howell and high jump coach Noe Beltran for Francis’ improvement “When she didn’t make the podium last year it put a fire in her “Maddie is an athlete any coach would love to have.” Francis said the folks back in Silverton will be proud of her special day at the track “We have a very good community who is always encouraging us to do our best,” Francis said No matter how good or bad you do they are always going to support you I will celebrate by spending time with my family.” For a full look at the UIL state track and field meet results, please visit https://uil.tfresult.com/ Press Pass Sports will provide fans a 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By using our site, you consent to our policies Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInSILVERTON Ore (KPTV) - Following two seemingly false reports of active threats at Silverton High School a week apart the Silver Falls School District has decided to preemptively cancel classes and all athletic events at the facility for Friday the police department announced on Thursday they received a “computer-generated phone call inquiring about an emerging incident” happening at the high school on Thursday Officers contacted school security and sent units to the school They didn’t find anything and the day ended as scheduled for students This follows a week after someone called 911 from inside the school on April 11 to report a shooting. While officers investigated the Thursday report SPD said they found information about an “implied threat” to the high school for Friday “investigators are confident that the swatting threats are isolated to the high school.” the district decided to cancel school and events scheduled for Friday at the high school in an “abundance of caution,” SPD said All other Silver Falls district schools will operate as usual on Friday and community’s safety is the highest priority for the school district and police department We will continue to work together to keep all parties safe and promptly informed,” police said Officials in the Silver Falls School District have canceled school and home athletic events for Friday at Silverton High School out of “an abundance of caution” after an “implied threat” against the school was made according to the Silverton Police Department Swatting is when a person calls emergency services about a fake incident in the hopes of bringing about a large emergency response. That indeed happened, as police officers descended onto the high school, which was placed into lockdown. (KATU's coverage of the threat to Silverton High School last week) This week’s threat came when the Silverton Police Department received a computer-generated phone call Thursday asking about an incident at the high school, the police department said. Police officers and school security investigated and found no threat. The police department said students were released from school on time. Police said they were made aware of an “implied threat” to Silverton High School on Friday. “Police investigators are confident that the swatting threats are isolated to the high school,” the police department said in a news release. While Silverton High School will be closed, police said all other Silver Falls School District schools will remain open but with increased police presence. “Our students, families, staff, and community’s safety is the highest priority for the school district and police department,” police said. “We will continue to work together to keep all parties safe and promptly informed.” ItalyChevron TuscanyChevron Getty/Mozza Restaurant GroupSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links a column in which chefs tell us what they ate on a recent trip which is sort of the same as being in my backyard.” Silverton is coming off a big buzzy opening this past November: the latest location for Osteria Mozza in Washington at which the likes of Obama have been spotted digging into focaccia and fresh cheeses So: Where does Nancy Silverton eat when she's on vacation in Tuscany Silverton transports us to her regular haunts The places where she loves the owners like family and knows the menus like the back of her hand Where's the first place you eat when you drive into Tuscany or his restaurants [Oficina and Solociccia which he calls dining rooms] which are about an hour drive to Florence He also has a food truck on the outskirts of Panzano Dario was a butcher before it was hip to be a butcher and I love to eat at his places with a group of friends because it's all family style He does a set menu with different cuts of meat [there's also a fully vegetarian menu] but there's always potatoes and larder with white beans and there's a beef knee or beef shin salad I love When I'm en route from Umbria to Florence, I also stop at Da Delfina in a tiny town called Artimino Chef Carlos is another godfather of Tuscan cuisine and a fantastic cook My favorite time to go there is in the fall where there's lots of game and he's got the fireplace roaring The food that he cooks lends itself to that time of year but one of my favorite things that he makes and one that we borrowed and have on had on our menu at the Osteria since we opened For those who don't know what ribolita is it's a vegetable soup with yesterday's vegetables thickened with bread and he goes one step further and he fries that mixture It's all drizzled with with olive oil I love that it's a soup you can eat with a fork because there's a very thoughtful hand when it comes to composing the dishes They have a few more vegetables that other trattorias and their insalata caprese is really refined Ino and his sandwich combinations are so delicious and unusual and so carefully curated but in taking advantage of all the fantastic Italian jarred items It makes his sandwiches different than all the other big focaccia that you can get throughout Florence I love to get cantucci in Florence (what we Americans often call biscotti), and there's a place called San Lorenzo that makes them a little bit softer and they're so delicious that I buy bags to bring home My favorite gelato is La Sorbettiera Gelato Artigianale at Piazza Tasso All of their gelato and sorbetti is so good but they have one chocolate flavor that is so dark that it translates to tar: catrame Everyone has the fondant that's black They've basically converted this town into various parts of a hotel I also always stock up on Zolfini beans, which is called the lost bean of Tuscany, supposedly the indigenous bean of the area. They taste like Roveja beans from Umbria. Which one dish would you fly back for, right now, if you could? I'd have to go see Dario, because he's like family to me. At Oficina and Solociccia. it's both family, and a meal—and the spirit of the place. up-to-the-minute voice in all things travel Condé Nast Traveler is the global citizen’s bible and muse We understand that time is the greatest luxury which is why Condé Nast Traveler mines its network of experts and influencers so that you never waste a meal or a hotel stay wherever you are in the world Silverton baseball player Bryson Nygren is the winner of the Maps Credit Union high school boys Athlete of the Week Nygren threw a three-hit shutout and struck out 12 batters April 21 to lead the Foxes to a 5-0 win over Central Nygren received 70.48% of the reader poll votes Sprague baseball player Jace Dalton was second (19.04%) Woodburn senior Sergio Bravo had a personal-best shot put throw of 49 feet That gave Bravo the fourth-best mark in the state among Class 5A athletes this season Sprague baseballSprague senior second baseman Jace Dalton went 4 for 4 with a triple and six RBIs April 23 to help the Olympians to a 13-3 win over West Salem Silverton track and fieldSilverton freshman Keysean Davis clocked a personal-best 100-meter dash time of 11.04 seconds April 22 to win a Mid-Willamette Conference meet That's the eighth-fastest time in the state among Class 5A athletes this season Silverton sophomore Caden Druliner uncorked a high jump personal best of 6-6 April 22 at a Mid-Willamette Conference meet That was the third-best mark in the state among Class 5A athletes Paul senior Clay Smith went 4 for 4 April 24 in an 11-0 win over Salem Academy Smith went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a double to lead the Buckaroos to a 15-0 win over the Crusaders To submit an Athlete of the Week nomination please email Statesman Journal sports reporter Jarrid Denney at JDenney@salem.gannett.com with the athlete's name stats and any other relevant information about the performance they are being nominated for Silverton High School was placed on lockdown on Friday after a reported “active shooter” threat (KATU) — The active shooter threat made against Silverton High School on Friday was a hoax According to Silverton Police Chief Todd Engstrom Swatting is when a person calls emergency services about a fake incident in the hopes of bringing about a large emergency response Engstrom said dispatch got a call around 1:30 p.m who said that they were inside the school and that they had shot someone No other details about the caller have been released other than it was a male voice on the line The school was immediately placed on lockdown and responding officers including several officers from other agencies in Marion County I have to commend the high school for what they did They did everything that they’ve trained to do over the years,” Engstrom said The officers conducted an initial sweep of the school and then went through a second time during which classrooms were released one at a time after they were searched One student told KATU he texted his dad as his classmates around him cried it's not a drill," the student said after his dad picked him up police officials tell KATU News they do not believe there was an actual threat It’s what’s commonly referred to as a ‘swatting call.’ They tried to get a giant police response and that’s what they got,” Engstrom said Engstrom said the police department will reach out to the FBI for help in tracking down the person who called in the hoax Officials also secured other school campuses within the district as a precaution Authorities asked parents to report to the Silverton Middle School tennis courts for reunification with their children police said high school students who drove to school can walk onto campus from the entrance at Grant St Students will not be allowed to go back into the high school Any personal belongings left inside the school can be picked up on Monday READ ALSO: Disturbing new details released in home invasion, sex assault at SE Portland apartment The Bureau of Land Management is restoring up to 11 cubic feet per second of water previously diverted to the Uncompahgre River Basin back to the headwaters of the Animas River north of Silverton other aquatic wildlife and mining remediation said Trout Unlimited’s Mining Coordinator Ty Churchwell because the water will dilute heavy metals to less toxic concentrations Both the national organization of Trout Unlimited and the local Five Rivers chapter provided financial assistance with the acquisition The 11-cubic-foot diversion is about 10% of the river’s total current flows in Silverton before the confluence with Cement Creek “The Mineral Point Ditch project restores natural water flows improving a popular recreation area and addressing the remediation of historic mines,” said BLM Colorado State Director Doug Vilsack in a news release “This acquisition is a critical step toward enhancing the environmental and recreational value of this area.” The previous owner held the rights to divert the water through the Mineral Point Ditch – before it entered Burrows Creek – over into the Uncompahgre Basin for agricultural use This resulted in a 100% depletion of that water from the Animas River “We’re believers in keeping water higher in water systems throughout the year,” said Trout Unlimited Five Rivers Chapter President Kara Armano “It keeps cold water higher in the water system longer and can recharge the watershed.” The BLM paid $297,000 – fair market value – to buy the water right from a willing seller agency spokeswoman Katie Palubicki said in an email to The Durango Herald using funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the agency’s Abandoned Mine Lands program to acquire the right “BLM focuses on purchases that have the biggest benefits for the management of public lands,” Palubicki wrote the water right was capable of diverting the entire flow of Burrows Creek so protecting and reestablishing the hydrology of a stream is a major public benefit.” Although the BLM is not required to keep the water in-stream in perpetuity the agency is prohibited from selling the right to other parties The Colorado Water Conservation Board has indicated it will accept an offer from the BLM to lease the water right in perpetuity to the state for in-stream flow purposes Trout Unlimited’s national organization pitched in a little over $3,000 and the Five Rivers chapter pitched in over $5,000 to cover the legal fees of the seller for which Armano extended gratitude to the chapter’s donors Burrows Creek runs through the Boston Mine site one of 48 remediation sites within the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund designation “Although it does have some intermingling with one of the Superfund sites the purpose for it was to bring more clean water in at the top of the watershed to help dilute metals further down in the system just add more base flow to the entire system,” Churchwell said (This story has been updated to include new information) Silverton Police said Silverton High School was placed on lockdown April 11 after a 911 call was received from inside the school about a possible shooting at 1:26 p.m The school resource officer and officers from several neighboring agencies reported to the school and completed an initial search at 2:07 p.m Silverton Police said they did not locate any threats Students were transferred to nearby Silverton Middle School at 714 Schlador St the high school was cleared with no threat located Parents were asked to come to the middle school to pick up their children Silverton Police said one student at Silverton High School had an unrelated medical incident during the lockdown and was treated Silverton Police say the investigation into the initial 911 call is ongoing as did the Silverton Fire District and Woodburn Ambulance Students with cars parked on campus were allowed to walk onto the campus to get their cars as of 4:15 p.m but will be able to retrieve their belongings on Monday Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com (KPTV) - After an anonymous report of a shooting at Silverton High School on Friday police searched the school but did not find any threat the school was put into lockdown after an anonymous person called 911 from inside the school at 1:30 p.m Officers with SPD and other neighboring agencies all responded to the school officers finished their initial search of the building and began releasing one classroom at a time The students were taken to Silverton Middle School while officers did a second Two other nearby elementary schools went into closed campus status (not a full lockdown) SPD said they did not find any evidence of a threat and the school was completely cleared at 3 p.m Police noted that a student suffered an unrelated medical incident and was treated during the lockdown SPD said they were continuing to investigate the initial 911 call School is canceled April 18 at Silverton High School after Silverton Police received a computer-generated phone call about an incident at the school Silverton Police said they received the threat on April 17 and responded to the high school They said no threat was found and school was released as scheduled The Silver Falls School District decided to close the high school and cancel all home athletic activities on April 18 Silverton Police said all other schools in the district will be open that day though there will be an increased police presence at those schools Silverton High School was locked down on April 11 after a male voice called the school on a blocked number and reported a threat and students were reunited with their families at Silverton Middle School later that afternoon SILVERTON — After 2024's hard-fought run to the OSAA Class 5A state semifinals Dallas softball had to rebuild from the ground up early spring 2025 if it hoped to be in the mix for another deep postseason run The Dragons lost all but three of 2024's starters to graduation including four-time all-state pitcher Kadence Morrison For a program that has been a perennial title contender under ninth-year head coach Brandi Jackson "It's a tribute to what past players leave — the legacy that they leave," Jackson said So that when new players are coming in to fill those shoes they know what the expectation is from the get-go They know what it means to play Dallas softball That's being competitive and controlling what they can control." upstart squad saw proof of concept as it captured a statement win over a longtime rival 5 Silverton 9-4 on the road to avenge 2024's regular season sweep at the hands of the Foxes 4-1 Mid-Willamette Conference) surged to second place in the league standings behind first-place Central (9-4 the friendly rivalry between the league foes has featured no shortage of classic matchups Silverton won both of 2024's two contests by a combined four runs while Dallas split a pair of close games with the Foxes in 2023 before going on to win the 5A title The Dragons also opened the 2025 season with an 11-4 nonleague win over Silverton on March 18 April 23's showdown had the makings of another close-fought clash as the Dragons who fell behind 3-0 in the bottom of the first scratched and clawed their way back into contention in the middle innings before closing out the game with six unanswered runs "We'll take these games any day over blowouts," Jackson said of Dallas' recent history of close matchups with Silverton "These are the games that you live for — those close dogfights that go back and forth These are the fun ones and the ones that mean the most when you come out on top Dallas senior first baseman Grace Walls busted the game open in the top of the seventh when she jumped on a first-pitch fastball and clobbered a three-run homer "I came up late and have just been super chill recently," Walls said of her approach in the seventh inning I've been hitting really well and have just been relaxing at the plate I just knew it when (the pitch) was coming through that's out of here!' Right when I made contact The home run was Walls' third of the season It also carried extra significance as it came at the expense of her good friend and travel ball teammate "I pretend to hate her on game days," Walls said with a laugh All the time we're messaging each other and just messing with each other." One of Dallas' few returning starters from 2024's squad The senior right-hander tossed a complete game and struck out 13 she settled in and held the Foxes in check down that stretch "We know what she was gonna throw — change-ups and fastballs change-ups and fastballs," Silverton coach Ralph Cortez said That's the only pitcher Dallas has and she was getting tired toward the end of the game Whoever took care of the ball during this game was going to come out on top and we just didn't take care of the ball." Ruman played shortstop for 2024's state semifinal squad and made a major sacrifice by stepping into the role of ace pitcher in 2025 "We always talk to her about being a leader "That's kind of the pressure that you have being in that circle She's done a very good job of leading by example and pushing the girls to the next level She knows what it takes to win: the hard work She really sets the tone for us along with our other returners which also reached the 5A semifinals last season returns plenty of firepower from its 2024 squad But the Foxes have been forced to adapt in 2025 as Peterson dealt with an injury during the early portion of the season "This is her fifth game back," Cortez said of Peterson We're just working fastballs and change-ups right now Jarrid Denney covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at JDenney@salem.gannett.com or on X @jarrid_denney there haven't been many more closely contested basketball rivalries in the state than the one between the Silverton and South Albany girls' programs The pair of Mid-Willamette Conference powerhouses have reached the Class 5A state semifinals each of the past two seasons they have squared off five times in the last 14 months with each matchup carrying significant weight the RedHawks halted the Foxes' hopes of a second consecutive state title in the 5A semifinals at Linfield University to clinch a spot in Saturday's final while the Foxes will look to bounce back quickly for the third-place/fifth-place game against No We're never gonna do that — that's something that we've proven over and over again," Foxes head coach Alyssa Ogle said (South Albany's) two best players only had 17 (combined) points; I'll take that That's a win for the Foxes in my book as far as defense goes It's just the shots didn't necessarily fall for us." Silverton hung close with South Albany for the majority of the game but was never able to trim the lead to fewer than five points in the second half 'Games like this are what you want," South Albany coach Marc Cordle said of the rivalry with Silverton "Every since (Ogle) and I took over as head coaches it's been back and forth every single time We look forward to it; I think the girls look forward to it That's what we're here for; so the kids can have these moments and live these moments you never forget "But Silverton and South Albany — it's not bad blood Senior wing Hadley Craig led Silverton with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 12 rebounds During a game in which easy buckets were at a premium Craig kept the Foxes' offense afloat by consistently creating contact at the rim She went 10 of 11 from the free-throw line Meanwhile, Silverton held South Albany's all-state duo of Taylor Donaldson (nine points) and Kaylee Cordle (eight points) to relatively quiet offensive evenings. Donaldson, the Mid-Willamette Conference player of the year, scored 35 points during the RedHawks quarterfinal win over Springfield on Wednesday. But South Albany utilized a well-balanced offensive attack and a smothering man-to-man defense to maintain control of the game As was the case during their most recent regular-season matchup Silverton looked to slow Donaldson down by sticking standout senior forward Brooklynn Pfeifer on her The Foxes were forced to alter their gameplan as Pfeifer was called for her third foul early in the second quarter and was forced to sit for the remainder of the half in order to avoid picking up a fourth "It's been a great battle for two years between Brooklynn and Taylor," Ogle said "Brooklynn is an undersized post at the position she plays I'm saying this for any player: I don't care if there's a 6-foot-7 girl out there I'm putting Brooklynn Pfeifer on her and I have no doubt that Brooklynn will give everything she can to defend that girl Brooklynn is a great defender and it was a great matchup tonight between the two of them." she managed to avoid further foul trouble and held Donaldson in check "I think (Pfeifer) and Taylor match up well — Brooklynn is a very good defender," Silverton senior wing Grace Hayashida said even during games that we were leading by a lot (Ogle) would keep us in the game when we have three or four fouls That way we can get used to playing defense that way It was good; it goes to show that Brooklyn could come in and avoid picking up another." Silverton's best chance to take hold of the game came toward the end of the third quarter contested jumper to cut the RedHawks' lead to 29-22 Hayashida forced a turnover and found Craig for a layup at the other end to make it a five-point game Donaldson answered by converting a difficult and-one to push the score to 32-24 The Foxes flashed signs of life again when Hayashida drove for a layup and trimmed South Albany's lead to 41-35 with 3:40 left in regulation Kaylee Cordle drilled a dagger 3-pointer 34 seconds later to give South Albany control of the game for good "They hit a couple of big shots to kind of cool off our runs," Ogle said "We did everything we could in the game that was there I don't question our effort; we did everything we could Silverton will look to cap off its season on a high note when it faces Redmond at 1:35 p.m Saturday with a third-place trophy on the line "I'm so proud of just how far we've come as a team," Hayashida said I love every single one of these girls and I love these coaches the Stayton girls basketball team will play in a state title game in Friday's semifinal at Forest Grove High School they will set their sights on a highly anticipated rematch with league foe and No Breeci Hampton led Stayton with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting Kathryn Samek scored 14 and tallied six blocks and four steals The Eagles used a 21-11 second quarter to take control of the game and never looked back Stayton and Philomath have already played a pair of down-to-the-wire thrillers against one another this year The Warriors escaped with a 27-26 home win over the Eagles on Jan Stayton responded with a 40-39 home win on Feb Cascade gave the Warriors everything they could handle during Friday's semifinal and will now look to bounce back in Saturday's third-place/fifth-place game against Baker at 12:30 p.m Olivia Bennett scored a team-high 18 points and nabbed three steals for Cascade Rozalyn Schmunk scored six points and grabbed six rebounds Anneka Steen and Reagan Heiken scored 15 points apiece for Philomath They rallied back and outscored the Warriors 24-16 in the second half but never managed to take hold of the game The Sprague boys bounced back quickly after Thursday's Class 6A quarterfinal loss and captured a big win to keep their campaign rolling Avery Lohrman scored 23 points on 9-of-9 shooting Anthony Best tallied 23 points and nine rebounds Braxton Long dished out 14 assists for the Olympians and added 11 points and four steals Sprague went 34 of 57 (59.6%) from the field in one of its best shooting performances of the season Cascade's state title hopes were halted by Baker in the Class 4A final four at Forest Grove High School in Friday's semifinal Baker will take aim at its second straight 4A title on Saturday while Cascade will look to close out its season on a strong note in the third-place/fifth-place game Kaiden Ford led Cascade with 20 points and eight rebounds and Landon Knox added 19 points and three steals The Cougars shot 14 of 47 (29.8%) from the field and 4 of 17 (23.5%) from 3-point range Isaiah Jones and Jaxon Logsdon led Baker with 20 points apiece Southwest and South-Central Colorado — US Highway 550 Coal Bank and Molas Passes will close at 8 p.m The overnight safety closure is being implemented due to the intensity of snowfall expected tonight Colorado Department of Transportation personnel have been monitoring the weather forecast and are bracing for accumulations of up to two inches of snowfall per hour The closure points are from just north of Purgatory and Cascade (Mile Point 53) to Silverton (MP 70) Red Mountain Pass north of Silverton to Ouray will be plowed and remain open overnight Coal Bank and Molas passes are expected to be opened by mid-day tomorrow Feb.14 after winter maintenance operations are complete in the morning A Winter Storm Warning has been posted by the National Weather Service Forecasters for both the NWS and CDOT report that snow will be prevalent across southwest Colorado including mountains and valleys The San Juan Mountains are particularly favored for heavy snow CDOT crews are preparing for winter weather that is expected to hit the region tonight and continue through the weekend Travelers are advised to be prepared for treacherous road conditions and additional winter safety closures along all southwest Colorado mountain passes including US 160 Wolf Creek South-central mountain passes like US 50 Monarch Travelers are urged to "know before you go!" Check weather and travel resources before hitting the road. Visit COtrip.org for the latest information about potential delays and road closures due to severe weather  Contact CDOT A wind storm, rain, thunder and lightning on Monday evening knocked out power across the Willamette Valley with one pocket of east Marion County even seeing a tornado warning The National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory Monday afternoon that ended at 4 a.m Hundreds in the Willamette Valley remained without power Tuesday morning many wondered whether a tornado did touch down The NWS in Portland got unconfirmed reports of a funnel cloud near the unincorporated community of Marquam on Monday evening “We had a spotter report a funnel cloud in the sky but no touchdown,” NWS meteorologist Colby Neuman said “The video and pictures we’ve seen don’t confirm a funnel cloud at this point." Neuman said all the ingredients were there for a rare Oregon tornado “We did have broad rotation in that storm system southwest of Marquam (that could have led to a tornado) What NWS could confirm was hail and extremely high winds of 45 to 55 mph with gusts near Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge That brought power outages of nearly 100,000 for a brief period Monday night NWS issued a tornado warning from 5:26 p.m Monday evening for Marion and Clackamas counties Neuman said Oregon can typically see two types of tornado activity happening on average one to three times per year which are narrower and less powerful than traditional tornados Oregon does get real tornadoes that form from thunderstorms including those that brought damage to Aumsville in 2010 and Manzanita in 2016 Monday night’s storm had the potential to become one of those more powerful storms “The storm yesterday that tracked east of Salem was a supercell thunderstorm that did have the capability of producing stronger tornados in the right environment it didn’t appear to end up happening this time.” Warm up coming across northwest OregonNorthwest Oregon’s weather will warm up into the low 60s over the coming days in one of the warmer stretches of the year so far The average temperature for this time of year is the mid 50s “but we’ve had such a cool start to the year that anything in the 60s is going to feel really warm,” Neuman said Previous photo captions erred in saying the road is expected to reopen by Friday The road is not expected to reopen until Wednesday Drive around downtown Silverton and look for parking spot and you might find one of the few remaining penny meters anywhere in the world Those meters haven’t been enforced for six months and the Silverton City Council this month voted to make downtown parking free for a maximum of three hours and to remove its coin-operated parking meters The penny meters were one of those quirky things about Silverton, and over the years brought it national attention. ABC World News Tonight filmed a segment about them, and the Los Angeles Times wrote about them in the early 2000s But it has been annoying for those who had to scramble to find change to plug the meters “I have seen firsthand when shoppers and visitors come to town It’s a frustration,” said Silverton Mayor Jason Freilinger Silverton City Manager Cory Misley said the city intends to cut out the meters and patch the holes that remain from the posts The city is giving the parking meters to local non-profits to sell Silverton’s City Council voted to install parking meters in much of downtown The City Council in 2001 opted to phase out the penny parking meters with ones that charged 50 cents for two hours The city transitioned to new meters the next year But some of the penny parking meters still were sprinkled throughout downtown Silverton Retirement of city employee leads to Silverton parking meters' removalSilverton was one of the few Oregon cities its size — the most recent population estimate was 10,882 — that still charged for parking Silverton no longer had someone to keep the meters working after the retirement of Russ Newell who collected the coins and kept the meters repaired and operating “The ultimate decider is they don’t make parts for them anymore,” Freilinger said we have been buying old parts off of other cities who have taken them out." the city stopped charging for parking and put small signs on them saying they weren't being enforced That allowed people to park up to four hours at a time A resolution passed by the councilors on Dec The City Council is taking on a “visioning” process about downtown and one of the components is redeveloping Main Street including its intersection with Front Street "But what’s the future of charging for parking in downtown Silverton One of the options is adding parking kiosks and going back to charging for parking “I will let the facts lead me in my decision making but I’m not feeling currently that is the way I want to go,” Freilinger said “I think it spoils the historic downtown feel and we can come up with a parking situation for free parking with enforcement.” McMINNVILLE — There were plenty of moments when it would have been easy for Silverton to fold The Foxes entered this week's OSAA Class 5A girls state basketball tournament as the No. 2 seed, dead-set on capturing a second consecutive state title. Midway through their Wednesday quarterfinal matchup with No they found themselves in a significant hole as one of the top scorers in the state rained an endless barrage of buckets on their typically stout defense as its players dug in and captured a gutsy win to keep its title hopes alive at Linfield University to secure a trip to Friday's 5A semifinals After trailing by eight midway through the third quarter Silverton delivered a well-rounded team performance down the stretch to take control of the game "We've been in this position before this year," Silverton coach Alyssa Ogle said There was a timeout (in the third quarter) and we talked about it; we're not going to go after the next 16 minutes We're just going to go after the next four We're gonna play in four-minute incraments and do everything we can to get stops "Every team is going to go on runs — especially when you play a great team like West Albany We just talked about doing what we could to stop it then we have to match it and create a bigger run of our own." five assists and four steals in 28 minutes we've played West Albany twice — we've been there before," Craig said "We've been down before and we always come back Allie Mansur scored 12 points and dished out five assists She also was tasked with guarding West Albany star sophomore Payton Starwalt on-ball for the entire game scored a game-high 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting contested looks in the first half to give the Bulldogs a significant early advantage Starwalt got 20 of her points in the first half and helped West Albany stretch its lead out to 25-17 early in the second quarter Mansur and Silverton's defense found ways to slow her down Meanwhile the Foxes' offense roared to life as they picked apart West Albany's vaunted 1-3-1 zone defense "She's a good player; she's a tough guard," Mansur said of Starwalt She's a good player and I commend her for that but I'm always going to come out with my best I couldn't do it without the help of my team." As Silverton slowly but surely chipped away at West Albany's lead Mansur gave the Foxes the spark they needed she buried a 3-pointer to give her team a 38-37 advantage It was Silverton's first lead since the 1:36 mark of the first quarter "Every game I go in and whatever I can do for the team offense or being the biggest cheerleader," Mansur said "There are games where I don't get many points But West Albany went down swinging and put the Foxes in plenty of difficult scenarios during the fourth quarter Cate Kurth hit a three for the Bulldogs to cut the lead to 47-44 with 6:38 to go Silverton answered back with a free throw from Mansur then a tough layup from Brooklynn Pfeifer next time down the floor to push the lead back to six Mansur nabbed a steal and quickly dished the ball to Craig who found Hayashida for a transition layup to make it 54-47 "It was definitely a team win," Craig said But this was one of the best we've had all year in terms of everybody contributing." It will mark the third meeting this season between the Mid-Willamette Conference rivals after South Albany won both regular-season matchups. Class 5A girls state tournament quarterfinal scoresNo Sage Winslow led top-seeded Crater with 31 points nine rebounds and seven assists during a blowout quarterfinal win Taylor Young had 27 points and six steals for the Comets who will face Redmond in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m Freya Snow hit the game-winning layup with five seconds left in regulation to give Redmond a thrilling victory over its league rival and Aspen Morris scored nine and grabbed 10 rebounds South Albany star junior Taylor Donaldson erupted for 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting — including 7-of-11 from three — to lead the RedHawks to a decisive win Marion County's original schedule was for Torvend Road NE which has a junction with Hazelgreen just west of the Pudding River to reopen by June 30 and Hazelgreen to reopen by Oct Flaggers will close one lane of the bridge at a time while the contractor finishes work on the project Final paving won’t be completed until the spring as the contractor monitors the location for erosion The project funded through the federal government is budgeted at $6.8 million OnTheSnow.com’s visitors and app users have chosen Silverton as the best small ski area in North America in its annual Visitors’ Choice Awards for the 2024-2025 season who take millions of destination ski trips each winter rated and reviewed the resorts they visit for characteristics such as terrain It’s the highest ski area in North America with a peak of 13,487 feet and Colorado’s steepest heli & lift-served skiing and comprised of completely natural terrain featuring bowls There’s truly no place like it in North America Here’s what some of OnTheSnow’s users have to say about Silverton:  I went during guided season and there are only about 80 skiers max each day I have to say I came during near perfect conditions after about 17″ of fresh powder and good weather and low winds Safety was always a priority.” – Craig  The guide staff are really professional and friendly It’s not a resort; it’s a mountain meant for people who want a raw OnTheSnow wants to continue to hear from skiers and snowboarders about ski resorts they’ve recently visited. Leave a review here for any ski resorts you’ve visited this season. Congratulations to Silverton and all of the 2024-25 Visitors’ Choice Award winners, which you can read more about here Montage Deer Valley is a Luxury Year-Round Outdoor Destination Snow Before You Go: Where to Find the Best Snow this Week The Best Destinations in North America for Spring Skiing The Best Ski Resorts in the Rockies and Beyond for Spring Skiing This is part of a weekly series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community There's no mistaking what to expect when you watch a Silverton High School girls basketball game the Foxes are going to do everything possible to make life difficult for opposing offenses — and they're going to do it in a gritty "That's where we kind of put our trademark on things," Ogle said "When somebody is coming in and watching us the Foxes allowed just 35.4 points per game — the second fewest in the state among large schools During her first three seasons at Silverton, Ogle, 33, has built on the program's rich tradition with her own unmistakable brand of basketball. The Foxes won the 2023-24 Class 5A state title and reached this year's state semifinal. "We're not going to be the ones to get out and deny and do all this trapping We want to get stops on the defensive end and turn that into buckets on the other end "We pride ourselves on that; we hang our hats on that." A Sheridan native and University of Oregon graduate Ogle also teaches student leadership at Silverton Ogle's rise to the top of the 5A coaching ranks has been a rapid one she was dipping her toe into the world of coaching at the Eugene YMCA unsure where it would lead her professionally as she pursued her teaching degree at UO After cutting her teeth as an assistant under two renowned coaches — Burdy Smith at North Eugene High School and Tal Wold at Silverton — Ogle has utilized bits and pieces from both mentors to forge her own coaching ethos "I have been so fortunate in my coaching career to this point — I have so much more to learn Having two mentors with different defensive styles helped give me some different ideas for the way that I can do things." Ogle acknowledges there is a bit of irony in her passion for coaching defense "I love coaching defense; love thinking about it and all the small adjustments But that was not the type of player I was," Ogle said with a laugh You were only worried about the offensive end when you played.'" Ogle helped lead Sheridan to the state tournament as a senior before heading off to La Grande to pursue her undergraduate degree at Eastern Oregon University where she briefly contemplated continuing her playing career She soon decided she would rather focus her energy on coaching basketball than playing and transferred to UO in order to be closer to home she saw an ad for volunteer coaches and referees at the local YMCA who had recently been hired as North Eugene's head coach Ogle loved her experience with the Highlanders She spent six years as Smith's assistant and took over as head coach during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons "I really liked Eugene and thought I would stay there but they didn't have any social studies (teaching) openings," Ogle said I had to take into consideration that I needed to start my teaching career and not just coach When I was doing my undergrad and graduate degrees I was just coaching basketball and going to school "I remember walking into the interview sort of laughing because Silverton is a teaching place where you're supposed to end your teaching career "It was only my second teaching interview and I was like There's no way.' And then what do you know It didn't take long for Wold to reach out to Ogle to see about joining his Silverton staff. He had recently led the Foxes to the best season in school history — a 28-0 campaign in 2015-16 that ended with a thrilling 39-38 win in the 5A title game. Ogle worked under Wold for the next four seasons before the longtime head coach decided to step down He wasn't shy about endorsing Ogle as his successor "Tal checked in with me quite often and would be like 'Do you ever see yourself being a head coach again Do you want to take that next step?'" Ogle recalled I told him that I wanted to continue to be a part of the program and learn he really wanted to help me and gave me his blessing A great coaching staff and a lot of community support." Ogle is quick to credit her two lead assistants — Hank Ulven and Katie Stanley — for much of the Foxes' recent success "I had a great coaching staff at North Eugene that would assist me I've learned to really rely on my coaches," Ogle said "That has been such a great thing for our program They do so much behind the scenes that they don't get recognized for as well Having a good staff and a good team has really helped." The Foxes emerged from the ultra-competitive Mid-Willamette Conference as the No 2 team in the state this season before falling to league rival South Albany in the 5A semifinals Silverton leaned heavily on its talented group of seniors and will have to find a way to replace them and Grace Hayashida each earned first-team all-league honors while fellow senior Brooklynn Pfeifer earned honorable mention recognition But there is still plenty of talent slated to return Junior Allie Mansur (second-team all-league) and sophomore Marley Wertz (honorable mention) will be key figures for the Foxes next season Juniors Maggie Davisson and Susie Efimov took on big roles this year Regardless of which players are on the floor the expectation will remain the same for Ogle's Foxes "We have a really good youth program in Silverton and a good youth following," Ogle said me and my staff have really tried to take an active role in our youth programs We're preaching to them at the youth level as much as we are at the high school level: You've got to be able to defend if you want to get to the varsity level If you have an idea for someone we should profile for this series, please email Statesman Journal executive editor Cherrill Crosby at crosbyc@statesmanjournal.com  A 41-year-old woman from Crested Butte was killed in an avalanche Thursday near Ophir Pass north of Silverton Sarah Steinwand was snowboarding a line known locally as “The Nose” in the Mineral Creek drainage when she and her male partner were both caught in the slide The male skier was able to ski out of the moving debris and avoid being buried Staff members from the nearby Opus Hut noticed the avalanche and alerted search and rescue before they went to help the male skier extricate his partner Silverton Medical Rescue and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office responded a little after 1 p.m Steinwand was dug out by her partner and two staff members from the hut before first responders arrived, but did not survive, according to an initial report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Steinwand was the founder of a public relations firm in Crested Butte. Twenty-seven team members responded to the incident from Silverton Medical Rescue and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office along with team members from Silverton Avalanche School Avalanche conditions have begun to settle following a large natural cycle that began after a significant storm deposited several feet of snow in the region last week The risk forecast by the CAIC dropped in that region from “considerable” above tree line and “moderate” near and below tree line on Wednesday to “moderate” at all elevations Thursday. Moderate conditions are a hazard level two of five and mean that natural avalanches are unlikely but human-triggered avalanches are possible The CAIC has warned that moderate conditions does not mean the snowpack is safe – 40% of avalanche fatalities in Colorado happen in moderate conditions “With the recent quiet in the backcountry and a substantial reduction of human-triggered avalanches, it’s easy to look to steeper lines with curiosity and eagerness,” Thursday’s forecast for the region warned and decision-making in the backcountry is critical Even if most avalanches have failed just beneath the new storm snow The Nose is a sparsely treed slope near tree line. In 2021, four backcountry skiers were caught in an avalanche on the same face This is the second fatal avalanche in Colorado of the 2024-25 season. The first occurred Jan. 7 just north of Red Mountain Pass when a 57-year old Ridgway man skiing alone was caught and killed in a slide 11 people have died in avalanches this winter It was never going to be easy for the Silverton girls basketball program to replicate last season's success The Foxes captured their fourth-ever state title in March — and did so in thrilling fashion — as Olivia Boyd buried a free throw with 0.3 seconds left to seal a 61-60 win over Crater The title game victory capped off a dominant 20-4 campaign that featured 13 consecutive wins during the final five weeks of the season Gone are many of the key figures from that team Class 5A state player of the year Kyleigh Brown has moved on to Portland State where she has carved out a starting spot with the Vikings in the Big Sky Conference all-state guard Justina Semerikov and several other seniors from last year's group have moved on the Foxes reloaded by adding one of the top returning players in the state "I got a phone call from my athletic director saying we just received some paperwork from Hadley Craig," Silverton head coach Alyssa Ogle recalled with a smile "It's not every day you get a player like that; it's exciting to be able to coach her." was a second-team 5A all-state selection as a junior with the Central Panthers last winter and finished third in the Mid-Willamette Conference player of the year voting She is committed to play collegiately at Division II Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa Throughout the first month of the 2024-25 season experienced group of returners to help Silverton maintain its status as one of the state's bonafide 5A title contenders Despite having to replace plenty of star power from their title squad the Foxes might be even deeper from top to bottom than they were a year ago and we have the toughest league in the state; we play against some of the best 5A athletes in the state," Ogle said Although she is still adjusting to the nuances of Silverton's system and the rhythms of playing at a new school Craig is making an instant impact for Silverton on the offensive end of the floor She has consistently been one of the program's top scorers thus far this winter she buried the go-ahead jumper to seal the victory for a Silverton squad that typically relies on an intense her defensive work has been just as significant "I just think defense really sets the tone If you're talking and have a bunch of energy you get in the offense's head," Craig said "I love getting steals; I love changing the tempo and controlling the game that way." Craig has hit the ground running during her first season with the Foxes in part because she spent two summers playing with several Silverton players on the Central Oregon Force AAU team She's still learning our system and learning what we do so when she's able to come in here and she's able to adapt and do those things Several players helping lead Foxes: 'Everybody is all in'While the addition of Craig has been a crucial one Silverton is far more than just a one-player show Senior guard Grace Hayashida earned 5A honorable mention all-state honors as a junior and has taken on even more offensive responsibility this season she stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting "It was definitely tough with the players we lost," Hayashida said it's been a lot of fun with us adding Hadley like (Maggie Davisson) and (Susie Efimov) really step up and take on some roles we needed to fill but we also gained a lot this year so it's kind of evened out." Hayashida and Craig feel that their respective skill sets mesh well with one another and one of my strengths is passing," Craig said She does such a good job of getting to open spots and when I pass her the ball I have full confidence that she's going to knock down the shot." Allie Mansur earned honorable mention all-league honors last season and has also taken a step forward this year she was tasked with covering Bulldogs' all-state guard Payton Starwalt for the majority of the evening and battled through an endless array of screens to hold the star sophomore to a relatively quiet scoring night Senior post Brooklynn Pfeifer and sophomore wing Marley Wertz are making big contributions on each end of the floor too; Wertz racked up a team-high 16 points during Silverton's season-opening win over McMinnville five different players have tallied double-digit points at least once we're so close — we're so connected," Hayashida said The federal holiday to celebrate and honor the life of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. falls on the third Monday of January every year. The holiday means the closure of state offices, courts, public schools, universities and other businesses and individuals are encouraged to celebrate the holiday by volunteering. In Salem, the Salem-Keizer NAACP branch is hosting an event on Monday an annual MLK day event is back after the ice storm canceled last year's celebration Salem-Keizer's NAACP branch is hosting a Peace Walk event on Monday to honor the legacy of Rev Participants will gather at Seed of Faith Ministries on 1230 Winter Street The event will feature a history of the Civil Rights Movement a Peace Walk and a "facilitated conversation for those interested." Warm cider will be provided for participants The event is sponsored by Seed of Faith Ministries and the Salem Leadership Foundation. Silverton's annual MLK observance event takes place from 5:30 p.m Monday at the Silverton Grange at 201 Division St There will be a potluck with traditional southern dishes and a keynote speech from Trivina Kassis, the community partnership coordinator for Salem for Refugees Silverton People For Peace and KBOO Community Radio will be accepted but the event is otherwise free Information is available at silvertongrange.org or at 503-873-5307 The USDA Forest Service is waiving recreation fees at most day-use sites at national forests in Oregon and neighboring Washington on Jan "We invite everyone to experience the beauty and serenity of our national forests on this day of reflection and service," Tracy Calizon for the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region King's legacy by connecting with nature and considering how we can contribute to the stewardship of these precious resources.” cabin rental and other permit fees will still apply on Monday Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on X @DianneLugo Stories you've missed since your last login: Recommended stories based on your interests: Passengers enjoy the view as they ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train high above the Animas River between Silverton and Durango Tuesday asks a question during a court session held at Pine Creek High School in Colorado Springs on Thursday Márquez speaks during oral arguments at the Colorado Supreme Court's "Courts in the Community" event on May 9 After two trial judges and the state's Public Utilities Commission confirmed La Plata County can regulate the physical changes made around a tourist train station the Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments about whether to uphold the proceedings that have unfolded over the past four years "We really wanted the county to get out of our lives how many passengers we could have," said attorney Stuart N representing the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Company "we are here today because the railroad refused to comply with the county’s land-use code and sought to enjoin the county’s enforcement of the code." The issues brought to the Supreme Court largely revolved around whether the county correctly went to the Public Utilities Commission to clarify if the commission had the exclusive responsibility to regulate the railroad's development at Rockwood Station. Or, could the county exercise its own authority under state law to regulate "extensions or plant or other equipment," even if those belonged to a utility — in this case the commission agreed it could decide who had authority some members of the court struggled to see any impropriety alleged by the railroad we’ll file for a declaratory order with the PUC,'" said Justice Richard L why isn’t it appropriate for the PUC to decide the question of its own jurisdiction?" "Help me understand what the county is supposed to do," added Chief Justice Monica M the Durango & Silverton implemented a shorter excursion run that started at Rockwood Station about 10 miles north of Durango The railroad enlarged a parking lot and driveway installed portable toilets and upgraded other items onsite the county issued a violation notice in May 2021 telling the railroad to stop its "new use of the Rockwood Station as a major embarking and disembarking location."  seeking a declaration that the county could not regulate its activities through the land-use code asked the Public Utilities Commission to answer whether its regulatory authority over the railroad displaced the county's in this situation An administrative law judge concluded the commission could clarify its authority and that the railroad's changes amounted to "extensions or additions" that the county was empowered to regulate noting the county had "a legitimate local interest that cannot be ignored." The railroad sought review in Denver District Court on procedural and constitutional grounds Baumann agreed last May that the commission correctly exercised its power and did not violate the railroad's rights in doing so Carlson issued an order once again confirming the county's legal land-use authority applied "The County is clearly not attempting to regulate train operations," she wrote "The Court also notes that every other tribunal which has examined the issue has concluded that the Railroad’s activities constitute betterments the railroad alleged the commission violated its rights by not holding a hearing and that only a regulated utility could even ask the commission to weigh in in the first place 'only the utility can apply,'" responded Gabriel "That's not crazy to say a county can do that if there’s a dispute over who has jurisdiction." "I would point to this very case as an example where it could be necessary appropriate for the commission to be the one to make that decision," agreed Senior Assistant Attorney General Ruth M also argued that while the commission may have deemed the Rockwood Station changes to be "extensions or additions," the evidence was insufficient to satisfy the other condition — that the changes apply to "buildings "What’s the structure that we’re talking about?" asked Gabriel "If we disagree with you on that," said Márquez to enforce its land-use code through the court case?" the county could take action against the railroad through the case Carlson heard which the railroad has since taken to the Court of Appeals Members of the Colorado Supreme Court heard on Wednesday that a long-running group effort to revise the rules of juvenile procedure has culmin… Email notifications are only sent once a day Colorado Politics is published both in print and online Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily designed for public policy arena professionals Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper containing outstanding features and news stories Secure your subscription to Colorado’s premier political news journal You can be in the know right alongside Colorado’s political insiders Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Colorado’s Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is expanding the schedule of its popular “Highline Express” trains this summer The evening excursion between Durango and Rockwood gives passengers a taste of the iconic scenery along the former Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge route without having to dedicate an entire day to riding the 45-mile line The D&SNG’s summer excursion season begins May 3 and lasts through November 1 Portland & Seattle E-1 4-8-4 700 will be under steam for the first time in nearly a decade this week plans to acquire Minnesota Commercial Railway Locomotive 1616 is the second unit UP has painted to honor a U.S Railfan & Railroad Magazine takes you trackside A party of two backcountry tourers (one skier and one snowboarder) was traveling in the Middle Fork of Mineral Creek drainage the pair was caught in an avalanche on a terrain feature locally known as The Nose along with personnel and a helicopter from Silverton Mountain joined the rescue effort the CAIC posted this on its Facebook page warning of the dangers in the area: “Avalanches in Colorado’s central and northern mountain ranges could be very large and break across multiple terrain features is just one of the many very large (D3) avalanches recorded over the past week You don’t want to tangle with monsters like this Choosing to recreate on lower-angled slopes well away from steeper connected terrain will increase your safety and help you avoid a deadly avalanche Avalanche danger will change on Thursday and Friday as new snow piles up.” The forecast for the zone at the time was 2/5 moderate avalanche danger. According to OpenSnow the area had seen four inches of snow in the previous 72 hours “You could trigger an avalanche on steep slopes where recent snow has settled or drifted into a cohesive slab above weaker snow The most dangerous slopes are at upper elevations where winds have drifted snow into deeper cohesive slabs Look for and avoid trigger points near rock outcroppings reevaluate your plan and move to a lower angle or lower elevation slope Sticking to slopes less than about 35 degrees in steepness will reduce your risk of triggering an avalanche.” – CAIC forecast for Thursday Our deepest condolences go out to the family and community of the people involved in this tragic accident We’ll update this report as more information becomes available and publish a final report in a week The Colorado Avalanche Information Center posted on its Facebook Page: “On February 20, a backcountry snowboarder was caught and killed in an avalanche on a terrain feature locally known as The Nose in the Middle Fork of Mineral Creek drainage, west of the town of Silverton. The avalanche occurred near treeline on a northeast-facing slope in the San Juan Mountains. You can read the preliminary accident report at https://ow.ly/wVf150V3ZcF We will visit the site tomorrow and update that report as we collect more information Our deepest condolences to the deceased rider’s family This is the second avalanche fatality in Colorado this season, the 12th in the US, and the 13th in North America For more information, visit the CAIC’s website the traffic in there during typically bad mid winter avalanche conditions is troubling A lunchtime look inside the M Street magnet luring everyone from Biden to Bezos Welcome back to Scene Report where Eater takes the pulse of a buzzy new restaurant at a specific time of day It just opened in November, but Osteria Mozza in Georgetown a partnership between Los Angeles chef Nancy Silverton and D.C and Philly mega-restaurateur Stephen Starr is already developing a reputation as a “power lunch” spot for Washingtonians Here’s a dispatch from the scene on a recent Friday afternoon The crowd: Things looked a little sleepy at first entrance around 11:45 a.m. with only a handful of customers dotted through the dining room and patio But it didn’t take long for the place to fill up almost completely —including customers packed around the central circular bar or smart blazer (one table involved two women wearing almost the exact same plush white turtleneck sweater) there were also plenty of pairs of casual jeans and even a Roxy Music sweatshirt The restaurant hosted a smattering of tourists and at least two tables appeared to hold a Georgetown student having lunch with the parents on their dime Business lunches seemed largely relegated to the interior dining area which also sported more than one open laptop Where to sit: Inside the restaurant the spacious glass-windowed “solarium,” decked out with plush greenery is prime for people-watching — you can spy people hurrying down the cobblestone alley (or roll your eyes at a Cybertruck or two whizzing past on M Street) Second pick is the round “mozzarella bar,” a good option for solo diners which also offers a peek into the greater dining room below A post shared by Osteria Mozza (@osteriamozzadc) Start with an aperitivo: The lower-ABV vermouth and other aperitivo options are the best way to kick off a meal here They’re smartly presented — each with its own different substantial garnish — and largely priced in the teens which is starting to feel on the affordable side for D.C The Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino Extra Dry is super easy to sip and gets perked up with a plump gorgonzola-stuffed olive Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again. President Donald Trump makes a major sports announcement. The announcement comes amid reports Washington, D.C. will host the 2027 NFL Draft. WATCHSilverton Casino Lodge to host pool hiring event for summer seasonby Martha Cruz The Silverton Casino Lodge is preparing for an exciting summer at The Swimmin’ Hole by hosting a two-day pool hiring event The event is scheduled to take place on Thursday Hiring managers are looking for enthusiastic individuals to fill positions as bartenders “We’re looking for team members who bring energy and top-notch hospitality to The Swimmin’ Hole experience,” said Rob Kunkle “This is a fantastic opportunity to join one of Las Vegas’ most exciting off-Strip resorts.” MORE ON NEWS 3 | Downtown Las Vegas Events Center unveils 2025 lineup Applicants are encouraged to pre-applyonline to expedite the hiring process Interested candidates can attend the hiring event for on-the-spot interviews and to learn more about the dynamic work environment at Silverton Casino Lodge A cougar has been spotted in Silverton, the Silverton Police Department announced on Monday The big cat was seen in the South Water Street area near Olson Street and Pioneer Drive The primary prey of cougars are elk and deer Here are some safety tips to keep in mind: What to do if you see a cougarIf you encounter a cougar Raise your voice and speak firmly.Maintain direct eye contact.Pick up children but do so without bending down or turning your back on the cougar.Back away slowly.If the cougar displays aggressive behavior or does not leave raise your arms to make yourself look larger and clap your hands.In the unlikely event of an attack tools or any items available.Elliott Deins is an outdoor reporting intern for the Statesman Journal You can reach him at edeins@salem.gannett.com the Silverton girls basketball players and coaching staff gather around a table and discuss what they want the team's identity to be for the next four months After winning the Class 5A state title a year ago many of the Foxes' top players returned for the 2024-25 season with reasonable hopes of making another deep postseason run But they made it clear early on that they didn't want to simply be judged on their past accomplishments That's the first thing we're establishing here — it's a new us It doesn't take away from our state championship team last year but this is a new year,'" Silverton coach Alyssa Ogle said or whatever they want to call it; we just know that we are super thankful and blessed for what we accomplished last year But we also know that we're going to get everybody's best game We just want to come out and compete and set a new tone We're focused on one game at a time and focused on the new us." 16-2 Mid-Willamette Conference) will be in the hunt for the program's fifth-ever state title this weekend at the OSAA Class 5A state tournament at Linfield University in McMinnville 13-5 Mid-Willamette Conference) at 8:15 p.m Silverton and West Albany are two of three teams that emerged from the Mid-Willamette Conference to reach the state quarterfinals; No Crescent Valley and Lebanon also reached the postseason but lost their respective first-round matchups "It's kind of unfortunate that all three of our league teams ended up on the same side of (the 5A bracket) we're the best league in the state and have the most teams represented," Ogle said It's not to take away from other teams and other leagues; but we have a lot of talent and great coaches I really do think it helps because you're challenged all the time the Foxes relied heavily on 2024-25 5A player of the year Kyleigh Brown several contributors from last year's squad have taken on even greater responsibility Marley Wertz and Allie Mansur are among the returners from the state championships squad who have upped their respective games this winter Additionally, all-state guard Hadley Craig, who spent last season at Central, has stepped into a lead role on both ends of the floor "She's just such an awesome kid and has kind of melded into the program while also giving her skills to this team as well," Ogle said of Craig "She's a special talent; one of the most talented players at the 5A level in the state Just watching her kind of settle in and her confidence build Ever since she came to us and started playing with us last summer The way that (Hayashida) trusts her and (Mansur) trusts her and she trusts them It's just been fun to watch those relationships grow." the Foxes will be tasked with slowing down West Albany star sophomore Payton Starwalt a sharpshooting guard who has received multiple Division I offers Starwalt averaged 22 points and six assists during her 10th-grade campaign Silverton and West Albany met twice during league play this season "Payton is a great shooter; she gets her shot off pretty quick," Ogle said "We are very versatile defensively and pride ourselves on defense It doesn't matter which team we're playing or which kid we're guarding; we celebrate that we've given up the fewest points of any 5A school in the state We've got the quickness and peskiness of a guard with (Mansur) we've got length and quickness with (Hayashida) and (Wertz) You look at the strength aspect and we have (Craig) and (Pfeifer) we like our ability to match up and defend." Cascade girls basketball both chasing Class 4A titlesAfter navigating their way through the gauntlet that is the Oregon West Conference Stayton and Cascade both reached the Class 4A state tournament and will kick off play Thursday at Forest Grove High School 9-1 OWC) won the league title and will face No Under second-year head coach Tal Wold, Stayton has quickly entrenched itself as one of the top programs in 4A The Eagles are led by senior Kenzi Hollenbeck who was named the Oregon West Conference co-league player of the year as well as defensive player of the year Haley Butenschoen Sophomores Breeci Hampton and Kathryn Samek also earned first-team recognition for their strong play during the regular season The Eagles are seeking their first title since 2017 is chasing its first state title since 2011 The Cougars are led by first-team all-league junior Rozalyn Schmunk Fellow juniors Olivia Bennett and Cassidy Crabtree earned second-team recognition ALBANY — With a little over a week to go in the regular season Silverton and South Albany each entered Tuesday evening with a chance to take a commanding lead in the Mid-Willamette Conference girls basketball title race it was the RedHawks who emerged with a statement win 2 Silverton with a wire-to-wire 47-24 victory the RedHawks improved to 19-4 on the year and 15-1 in MWC play — one game ahead of the Foxes (20-3 it doesn't matter what the scoreboard reads It's a learning opportunity for us," Silverton coach Alyssa Ogle said "The result of the game obviously showed us what we have to get better at and what we have to work on for the next couple of weeks and now it's time to get ready for March." The Foxes own the best scoring defense in Class 5A this season but couldn't keep pace with the RedHawks' up-tempo attack Tuesday the Foxes endured their own season-worst shooting slump They finished 8 of 33 from the field and 3 of 16 from 3-point range Plenty of teams have tried and failed to slow down South Albany's all-state duo of Taylor Donaldson and Kaylee Cordle this season They held Donaldson to four first-half points and Cordle to five But the RedHawks' supporting cast stepped up and consistently punished Silverton with a flurry of clean 3-point looks with a long 4-pointer from Maddie Angel at the first-half buzzer serving as the exclamation point Ogle credited the play of senior post Brooklynn Pfeifer for holding Donaldson and Cordle in check who earned Class 5A first-team all-state recognition as a sophomore last year 24 in a 42-33 South Albany victory in Silverton not letting (Donaldson) get open or get an opportunity to get a shot," Pfeifer said I knew my teammates were right behind me to back me up and help me." Silverton fought to stay in contention and trimmed the deficit to 31-15 near the end of the third quarter after back-to-back buckets from Pfeifer and junior guard Allie Mansur But South Albany's Hannah Patten immediately answered with a 3-pointer and the Foxes never threatened again after that but I think we know that this doesn't define us as a team This isn't the end for us; it's just one game," Mansur said But it's a game we're going to play in the future Silverton will wrap up league play next week when it travels to face McKay (2-20 South Albany will close out regular-season play with a pair of big road trips to No (Ogle) is a heck of a coach," South Albany coach Marc Cordle said of potentially facing Silverton during the postseason "When you play against (Ogle) and the state champions from last year We got to stick to what we’re good at and adjust to every game.” they will capture the Mid-Willamette Conference title If they drop a game and Silverton wins out the two programs will be crowned co-champions "We probably will see (South Albany) again "That's the first thing the girls said when we walked in the locker room; 'This doesn't define us We want that matchup again.' That's exactly what I wanted to hear." When Dan Lever took over as Silverton's head football coach ahead of the 2022 season he was well aware that he was stepping into some big shoes The Foxes were coming off a 5A state title under longtime head coach Josh Craig John Mannion led Silverton to a 57-20 record during his seven seasons heading the program Tony Smith (1997-2005) and Robby Robinson (1990-96) are also renowned figures in the Oregon coaching community who found success during their respective stints at the school "The superintendent at the time was talking to me about Mannion," Lever recalls the Foxes are 27-6 under Lever and are coming off back-to-back trips to the 5A state semifinals they tactfully navigated a grueling regular-season schedule that included wins over three different teams that reached the 5A quarterfinals Their lone regular-season loss was to eventual 6A state runner-up Lake Oswego Silverton's star-studded, senior-heavy group fell to eventual 5A champion Wilsonville in a wild semifinal shootout As has been the case for Lever throughout his entire career the process of coaching is about far more than just wins and losses is that we're going to create great young people who are going to be great human beings and work hard," Lever said His great-grandfather Henry Lever was the head football coach at Texas Christian University during the 1911 season and later went on to coach football His grandfather Dan Lever coached at Newberg High School in the 1960s and '70s was an assistant coach at Canby High School for 20 years "That's one thing I'm really very proud of my family's legacy in football," Lever said Lever was a standout tailback at Canby High School and went on to play collegiately at Linfield where he light-heartedly describes himself as "the ultimate role guy" for a pass-heavy offense that didn't exactly have many carries up for grabs Lever knew he wanted to coach football for a living His four years at Linfield proved extremely beneficial in that regard "I wanted to go there because they were known for developing coaches — great coaches," Lever said "Getting the chance to be around Ad Rutschman and Jay Locey and Joe Smith; one person I can't give enough to is (longtime Linfield offensive line coach) Doug Hire Lever graduated college in 2008 with hopes that the connections he formed during his playing days would generate a flurry of teaching and coaching opportunities he got his big break when he accepted an offer to become the head coach at Gervais High he got the call that every young coach dreams of: a shot to work at the college level who spent last season as Oregon State's running backs coach and was recently hired as head coach at Idaho served as Lever's position coach at Linfield Ford was an on-field assistant at Southeastern Oklahoma State and he wanted Lever to coach the program's tight ends for somebody who had never lived more than 45 minutes from home "I loaded up in a 1991 Honda to drive 2,000 miles," Lever said Corinne) was going to come back here; she had a great job in Lake Oswego and we were going to see how it went out there I get out of the car and it's 110 degrees in the middle of August followed by assistant coaching stints at Puget Sound Santa Barbara City College and Moorpark College after six years of grinding through the college coaching ranks he reached the same fork in the road that many in his profession do we're living in California in a two-bedroom apartment 'We're going to live in this situation for another 10 years to be able to afford a decent house and kids,'" Lever said Or are you going to keep playing roulette here?'" he accepted a role as the head coach and physical education teacher at Tualatin High School Lever led the Timberwolves to a 39-15 record that included a trip to the 2021 6A state final Lever and his wife purchased 20 acres near Silverton in 2020 and he had been making a daily three-hour round-trip to Tualatin each day "I couldn't eat dinner with my family anymore," Lever said he made the difficult decision to leave a role that had become his dream job "It's probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life," Lever said and saying goodbye to my coaching staff was even harder and my kids were getting ready to start school I grew up in the country; I wanted my kids to grow up on a farm and not on a cul-de-sac." Lever found a football community in Silverton that has had an equally profound impact on his life The Foxes have been one of the more dominant large-school programs in the state under Lever; they landed 10 players on the 5A all-state list after last year's run to the semifinals "I've been blessed with unbelievable assistants They were instrumental in helping me make that transition in keeping things going in the right direction," Lever said "It was very important for me to not change too much here but not throw great traditions and things that are important to this community out the window." Osteria Mozza—the massive Georgetown Italian restaurant and market from Le Diplomate’s Stephen Starr and California chef Nancy Silverton—has been more than three years in the works we’ve finally got an opening date for the highly anticipated destination: Sunday “Most restaurants open before they’re ready,” Silverton says “And Stephen really gives all the support and all the time to make sure that that restaurant is ready when it opens both back of the house and front of the house.” Silverton says she used to chat with Starr when he used to visit her Los Angeles restaurants over the years but the two didn’t have much of a relationship beyond that So when he called her and asked if she’d partner with him for a new restaurant in DC “That’s your $10 million focaccia.” You can in fact make the focaccia feel expensive with add-ons like caviar and black truffle Another Chi Spacca carryover is a spicy roasted chicken on toast—one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes ‘You should order the chicken on the crostone but hold the chicken,’ because that toast is so delicious It just absorbs all of the juices,” Silverton says “It’s our version of chicken and waffles.” Her famous deconstructed version of the classic is basically dressed lettuce accompanied by a fancy toast layered with garlic aioli Handmade pastas will include orecchiette with sausage and Swiss chard For “secondi,” look for whole branzino with charred lemon A wood-fired oven will turn out pizzas for lunch which will launch (along with brunch) in the weeks ahead Another big attraction is the marble-topped mozzarella bar where diners can watch various cheesy dishes prepared While the restaurant does not make its own mozzarella the menu features an entire section of mozzarella-centric dishes That includes Nancy’s Favorite Trio—mozzarella di bufala paired with Cantabrian anchovies It also includes dishes like burrata with braised leeks and mustard vinaiegrette or burratina Pugliese drowned in olive oil and sprinkled with dried-and-fried sweet cruschi peppers The biggest difference between DC’s Osteria Mozza and Silverton’s other restaurants is that this one is big Really big: 20,000 square feet in the building that previously housed Dean & Deluca “That’s not something that everybody can get,” Silverton says Silverton has four restaurants around the world and one in Hawaii She says she’d always wanted to have a presence on the East Coast and she was already familiar DC because her son lives here and so did her late great-aunt “Anytime a restaurateur goes into a new city it’s a little bit scary,” Silverton says “I’m not going there to show Washingtonians what Italian food is like I’m just going there to try to be part of the community.” Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.