PLAYING THE POINT
WHO’S WHO
KYLIE NASH Page 10A
IN POLK COUNTY 2015
Section C
Volume 140, Issue 3
www.Polkio.com
January 21, 2015
75¢
IN YOUR TOWN
THE LISTENER
DALLAS NEWS
He didn’t know it at the time, but Dallas artist
Tom Kunke had an early clue at what he would be
doing in his second career.
When he was in elementary school in Dallas, an
Itemizer-Observer photographer took a picture of him
painting during class while two friends looked on.
Kunke, 51, recalls that it was around President’s
Day, so the painting was of George Washington
cutting down a cherry tree.
He still has a copy of the photo. Throughout his
first career as a college professor at Warner Pacific
College in Portland, he would run across it.
»Page 7A
FALLS CITY NEWS
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Ken Braun has made a career of helping through difficult situations, both as Dallas fire chaplain and mediator.
Dallas resident Ken Braun has a gift of lending
his ears to victims, first responders and others
Meet Ken ...
By Jolene Guzman
Name: Ken Braun.
Age: 55.
Claim to fame: Super
volunteer. He volunteers
for four Polk County Serv-
ice Integration Teams, the
county’s Victim Impact
Panel, as a fire chaplain
since 1997, and more.
Favorite food: Spicy (re-
ally spicy) Mexican cuisine.
Favorite sports teams:
Seattle Seahawks and Port-
land Trail Blazers.
Favorite Movie: “The
Lord of the Rings” trilogy
because “good overcomes
evil and the hero is a Hob-
bit, not a ‘superman.’”
Something most peo-
ple don’t know about
him: He reads between 80
and 100 books a year and
has yet to find food that is
too spicy to eat.
DALLAS — Ken Braun
learned early the importance
of listening.
The Dallas resident, for-
mer pastor, mediator and
volunteer Dallas Fire Depart-
ment chaplain still was in
college and working as an
on-call chaplain for a hospi-
tal when his pager went off.
It was a sound Braun — and
all other seminary students
— dreaded because it meant
something tragic had hap-
pened and he was being
called in to counsel one or
more victims.
When he arrived, he met
an elderly woman who had
been celebrating her best
friend’s birthday when her
friend suffered a heart attack
and died.
Braun couldn’t think of
The Itemizer-Observer
Braun speaks at one of
four Service Integration
Team meetings he attends.
any words to say that would
console her for the sudden
loss, so he did the opposite
“I asked, ‘What hap-
pened?’” Braun recalled.
The woman talked for two
hours.
“I don’t think I said 10
words,” he said.
Later, the woman’s family
contacted him to thank him
for being there for her.
“It’s a gift that we give to
people,” Braun said. “As a
chaplain, when I show up
people are either dead or
their houses are burning
down. What am I going to
say that will make it better?”
But he can be compas-
sionate. He can answer ques-
tions. He can be honest
when people ask if their
loved ones are really dead.
He can listen.
Sometimes, it’s not only
the victims of a horrible acci-
dent and fire he helps, but
those who come to rescue
them.
“The typical person sees a
couple of deaths in their life.
We see thousands, depend-
ing on how long you are in
the fire service,” Dallas Fire
Chief Fred Hertel said.
See LISTENER, Page 14A
Area firefighters burn to learn
Experience provides best possible training for local volunteers
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — All the com-
motion on Orchard Drive in
Dallas Saturday wasn’t what
it appeared.
The house going up in
flames wasn’t a traumatic
event for a local family, but
the best training firefighters
can go through when
preparing for the real thing.
Firefighters call it “burn to
learn,” when a house or
structure is donated to use
for live fire training.
Saturday, the Dallas and
Southwest Polk fire depart-
ments sent five crews
through one or two fire sce-
narios under conditions that
closely mimic what they
would see if called out to a
real blaze.
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
It was fire and rain Saturday afternoon as Dallas firefight-
ers trained in a “burn to learn” in Dallas. Onlookers hud-
dled under umbrellas, watching the small house burn.
“They feel the heat, experi-
ence the smoke and limited
visibility, and actual fire,”
said Sean Hoxie, Dallas Fire
Department’s training officer.
For four firefighters, the
“live fire” experience was the
last hurdle before they were
cleared to fight structure fires.
April Welsh, Dallas’ com-
munity service officer, was
one of those four.
Welsh was in the house
when the first fire was set.
She said the experience was
much more intense than any
other training, and she had
to overcome her natural in-
stinct to move as far away as
possible. On her second sce-
nario, she was in charge of
the hose and had to go right
at the fire.
“Then, when I got to go
back in and fight the fire, it
was a completely different
experience,” she said. “Ini-
tially, you don’t want to go
toward it. You want to go the
other way, so it was good.”
See BURN, Page 14A
The Falls City City Council has increased the rates it
will charge Luckiamute Domestic Water Cooperative
in hopes of spurring further negotiations on a con-
tract to sell water to the utility.
In September 2014, a long-term water sales agree-
ment between the city and cooperative was ruled in-
valid by a Polk County judge, the outcome of a law-
suit the city pursued to dissolve the contract.
At issue originally was the length of the contract
— 20 years — and a handwritten change made after
the contract was approved by both the city council
and LDWC board in 2003.
»Page 3A
INDEPENDENCE NEWS
More citizens attended the Jan. 13 Independ-
ence City Council meeting with water complaints,
ranging from rates to base fees to stormwater fees.
Water and sewer rates had been on the tentative
agenda for this meeting, but City Manager David
Clyne said he had to move the topic to the 7:30
a.m. Tuesday meeting.
Clyne said key people were on vacation or had
medical emergencies and weren’t available to
compile the answers requested on time for the Jan.
13 meeting.
The issue first came up during a December
council meeting.
»Page 2A
MONMOUTH NEWS
Fitness is more than just a number on the scale or
the reflection in a mirror.
It’s about body composition, risk factors, lifestyle
and aerobic endurance — and there’s a science be-
hind it all.
Students at Western Oregon University work in a
modern exercise science lab, getting hands-on
training on how to help their future clients and pa-
tients achieve better overall health, not just a
smaller pants size.
Equipment used to measure fitness includes a
metabolic cart and a bio pod.
»Page 15A
POLK COUNTY NEWS
More and more law officers are encountering
people armed with replica guns.
Toy guns don’t always look like the Daisy Red
Ryder BB guns of old these days.
It used to be standard for toy guns to have an or-
ange tip, making them easily identifiable as fake.
But people are removing that tip, or buying repli-
cas never made with the identifier, said Dallas Po-
lice Department Lt. Jerry Mott.
“The replicas we’re seeing are not manufactured
with the (orange) tip,” Mott said. “We’re not seeing
it.”
»Page 2A
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Unwind after work or
school with a friendly
evening of bingo at
Rogue Farms Hop-
yard south of Inde-
pendence.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Celebrate “The King”
as the Dallas Area
Seniors Music Jam
pays tribute to Elvis
Presley at the Dallas
Senior Center.
6:30 p.m. Free.
It’s a key league test
for Dallas, as the
Dragons host Corval-
lis in Mid-Willamette
Conference girls bas-
ketball action.
7 p.m. $5.
Take a few minutes
to help save a life by
donating blood dur-
ing a Red Cross
event at the Mon-
mouth Burgerville.
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.
Tune up your voice
and check out the
From the Heart
Community Sing at
St. Thomas Episco-
pal Church in Dallas.
1:30 to 3 p.m. Free.
Learn how to protect
yourself from being
a victim of fraud dur-
ing a presentation at
the Monmouth Sen-
ior Center.
2 p.m. Free.
Central High’s girls
basketball team re-
turns to the hard-
wood for a
conference contest
against Silverton.
7 p.m. $6.
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