Monmouth
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Wednesday February 18, 2026 | Volume 151, Issue 6
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Monmouth man arrested in Salem shooting
PHOTO BY SMY PHOTOGRAPHY
The Lady Dragon’s wrestling team are all goofy smiles after winning the Mid-Willamette Conference District Wrestling Meet Feb. 13-14. For more images from the tournament, see Page A8.
Lady Dragons celebrate district title The Lady Dragon’s wrestling team took first place at the MidWillamette Conference District Wrestling Meet Feb. 13-14. En route to winning the title, Dallas also qualified 12 wrestlers to move on to state finals Feb. 27-28 in Portland. Here’s a look at the top finishers:
FIRST PLACE Yoselin Nunez, 105 pounds Madelyn Russel, 130 pounds Lindsey Faulkner, 135 pounds Jenna Rogers, 140 pounds
SECOND PLACE Marissa McGinnis, 100 pounds Nanasi Talakai, 125 pounds Gabriella Dyer, 170 pounds Mahala Collins, 235 pounds
Kassidy Guy, 125 pounds
THIRD PLACE Khadijah Tabib, 155 pounds Madelyn Vogel, 235 pounds
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL Fourth place, Mica Tonnsen, 115 pounds
FOURTH PLACE Maya Bakanov, 120 pounds
A Monmouth man was arrested Feb. 14 in connection with a Salem shooting incident. At 6:55 p.m., Salem Police officers responded to a report of a shooting at a U.S. Market located in the 1000 block of Broadway Street Northeast. A store clerk reported that a conflict arose between him and a male patron. The subject, later identified as Jonathan Debnam, 33, then retrieved a handgun from his vehicle. He used the butt of the gun to break a window at the store. According to the police report, as Debnam was leaving the area, he fired shots at the store, which struck a few feet from where the store clerk was hiding. No one was injured in the See MONMOUTH, page A7
Local Businesses celebrate milestones Monmouth Curves comes full circle
PHOTO BY DAVID HAYES
Traci Weston (left) and Mary Porvancha celebrate Fee Mail Depot’s 10th anniversary with a ribbon cutting Feb. 13.
Fee Mail Depot marks decade of friendly service By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor
Traci Weston has a simple slogan for her Monmouth business. “If you’re just trying to figure out how to get something somewhere, we gotcha.” Fee Mail Depot is more than a FedEx and UPS shipping store. It’s been a community staple in Monmouth that
celebrated its 10th anniversary. Weston added, the storefront’s name is also a play on words for a business that’s a block off the main strip through town, “We’re not on Main Street. But where else would you find a female owned depot but on Broad Street?” Weston joked. She and friend Mary Porvancha opened the
IN THIS ISSUE
store in 2016, offering up services including copies, notary, faxing, scanning and emailing. Weston does have a quick reminder about shipping deadlines. “We just like to remind people that FedEx picks up at 2.30 p.m., as well as UPS. So you’ve got to come before that. If you come in at 4, we See FEE MAIL, page A8
PHOTO BY DAVID HAYES
Crystal Sperling, and several of her clients, celebrate her taking over the Curves Monmouth location (again) with a ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 13. when she herself was a client. “I was just a client myself and I lost 90 pounds working at Curves. So I was like, I love this, I want to do this with you,” she said at the ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the occasion. “It was kind of an exciting dream and I really wanted to do it.” Sperling describes Curves as a boutique fitness center specializing in women’s fitness. In 2003, Sperling so believed in the
By DAVID HAYES I-O Editor
To paraphrase a business slogan from the 80s, Crystal Sperling is not just a franchisee, she was also a client. Sperling celebrated in Monmouth Feb. 13 owning both of Oregon’s only two Curves Women’s Health and Fitness Clubs, again. The other gym she opened in Corvallis in 2021. Sperling’s journey as a franchisee in two Willamette Valley cities began in the early 2000s
company’s business model catering to weight loss and fitness programs designed specifically for women, she became a coach. Then, in 2011, she took the next leap, bought the Monmouth location and became a franchisee. “So I’m the owner, operator, manager, toilet cleaner, social media person. I do all of the things,” Sperling said. One of the biggest challenges she and other See CURVES, page A8
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