Another piece of the impressive facilities upgrades at Stayton High in recent years will begin taking shape soon.
A groundbreaking ceremony has been set for Wednesday, Nov. 8, at noon to note the beginning of construction of the Ty Hart Memorial Fitness Center. The ceremony takes place behind the main gymnasium.
Hart, a former Eagles student and athlete, died in 2016 in a helicopter crash in Hawaii while serving in the Marine Corps.
“[The Hart family] have talked at length about how much Ty loved his time at Stayton High School and specifically about his commitment to fitness,” Stayton athletic director Darren Shryock told Our Town. ”They felt like this was the perfect way to honor him, and we are thrilled to have the fitness center named after Ty in perpetuity. Everyone who knew Ty remembers him as a student-athlete that represented all of the values that we cherish here at SHS. Someone like that is worth remembering well beyond our lifetime.”
The key goals of the $1 million project, which is scheduled for a fall 2024 debut, are, Shryock said, “to increase the appeal and accessibility of our current weight room and to increase the overall health of our students and our athletes.”
“We love the idea of making Stayton a healthier school,” said Randy Forrette of the Stayton Boosters Club. ”I believe it goes beyond the very important goal of physical education. To me, making Stayton ‘healthy’ also includes creating pride in our schools, pride in our town. We’ve been on a mission for nearly 10 years to make Stayton the best high school in the state.”
Forrette then noted the series of upgrades alluded to above. Field turf at the stadium, softball and baseball hitting facilities, softball infield turf, resurfacing the tennis courts, and making major updates to the main gym.
“While we will always have a few projects to work on, the Ty Hart Fitness Center is the perfect cherry on top of our long list of accomplishments,” he said.
No North Santiam School District funds are being used, Forrette said. Mike and Trina Hart made key cash contributions, the Boosters Club contributed $40,000 and plans to raise more at the 44th Annual Blue and Gold Auction on Feb. 10 at The Oregon Garden. Stayton-area building trades firms Emery and Sons Construction (excavation and labor) and Freres Engineered Wood (materials) also pitched in. The 6,000-square-foot building will be made from Freres’ innovative mass plywood panels.
“We’ve been considering this project for a few years,” Forrette said. “It just seemed too far out of our reach. Each year, Darren would bring it up again, and each year we’d turn our focus to some other, more attainable project. Last year, we finally decided to go all in. We decided it might take three or four years to raise enough funds and complete the project, but we needed to get it started.”
And then special things started to happen. Emery and Sons threw in all excavation equipment and labor. A “special project paddle raise” at the auction set a record of more than $40,000.
“And shortly after the auction,” Forrette said, “the Hart Family contacted us to make their major donation. It’s hard to believe that one year ago we had no idea how to get this done, and one year from now we will be standing inside the new Ty Hart Memorial Fitness Center.”
Boys Basketball: Shryock, the Stayton AD, is taking over the boys program on an interim basis. Shryock coached the Silverton boys for 12 years and took 3rd at the 2009 and 2013 Class 5A tournaments. He also coached the Stayton girls for 3 years, earning a 6th-place finish at the 4A tournament in 2018.
“Since it is a challenge for an administrator to coach, we will re-evaluate at the end of the season to see if it will be just this year,” Shryock said. “The challenge is less the burden on me and more on the rest of the administrative team. There are lots of meetings, etc., that I can’t attend if I am coaching. For me, it is just time. I don’t think I could do it in any other season than winter due to the number of sports that need supervision. It is possible this may be a one-year situation, but we will see.”
Boys Soccer: Stayton won the Oregon West title with an 8-0-2 record and will be hosting a first-round Class 4A playoff game on Wednesday, Nov. 1, against a team that was still to be determined at Our Town presstime. The Eagles are 11-1-2 overall and have not allowed a goal since Oct. 3. The team has outscored opponents 54-4.
Volleyball: Cascade, which won a Class 4A title in 2021 and finished second a year ago, is seeded No. 4 for this year’s playoffs. The Cougars were a perfect 10-0 in Oregon West play and took an overall mark of 18-3 into the playoffs. Stayton, seeded 14th, also was still in the hunt at presstime.
Winter Officials: Practice begins for the winter high school sports of basketball, swimming and wrestling on Nov. 13 and the Oregon Athletic Officials Association and the Oregon School Activities Association are recruiting officials for all sports. There is an immediate need for officials in basketball and wrestling, said OAOA Executive Director Jack Folliard.
Becoming a high school official has several benefits including staying involved in athletics, maintaining good physical condition and earning money, Folliard said.
“Officials provide valuable service to high schools and students, make a positive impact in the community and build relationships.”
Those interested should visit www.newofficials.org.
