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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2015)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 4, 2015 3A Polk County News Dallas seeks grant for training facility DEADLINES NEWS DEADLINES For inclusion in the Wednesday edition of the Itemizer-Observer: Social news (weddings, engagements, anniver- saries, births, milestones) — 5 p.m. on Thursday. Community events — Noon on Friday for both the Community Notebook and Community Calendar. Letters to the editor — 10 a.m. on Monday. Obituaries — 4 p.m. on Monday. ADVERTISING DEADLINES Retail display ads — 3 p.m. Friday. Classified display ads — 11 a.m. on Monday. Classified line ads — Noon on Monday. Classified ads are updated daily on www.polkio.com. Public notices — Noon on Friday. CORRECTIONS The Polk County Itemizer- Observer is committed to publishing accurate news, feature and sports reports. If you see anything that re- quires a correction or clarifi- cation, call the newsroom at 503-623-2373 or send an e- mail to kholland@polkio.com. WEBSITE The Polk County Itemizer- Observer website, www.polkio.com, is updat- ed each week by Wednes- day afternoon. There, you will find nearly every story that appears in the print version of the newspaper, as well as some items, in- cluding additional photos, that do not appear in print due to space limitations. The Itemizer-Observer is also on Facebook and Twitter. WEATHER RECORDED HIGH LOW Feb. 24.............. 61 Feb. 25.............. 52 Feb. 26.............. 53 Feb. 27.............. 54 Feb. 28.............. 57 March 1............ 57 March 2............ 56 28 36 47 46 32 26 36 RAIN .00 trc. .04 .12 .00 .00 .02 Rainfall during Feb. — 4.33 in. Rain through March 2 — 7.56 in. FAIRGROUNDS CALENDAR POLK COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS & EVENT CENTER 520 S. Pacific Highway (99W) Rickreall 503-623-3048 www.co.polk.or.us/fair — MARCH 7 — Polk County Folklife Fes- tival 9 — Polk County Livestock Association meeting 12 — Polk County Saddle-ites 14-15 — Spring Gun Show 18 — Ag First meeting 19 — Fair Board meeting 19-22 — Good Sam RV Rally 28 — Doll Show and Sale APRIL 4 — Swine Sale 4 — Wagon Wheelers 5 — Flea Market 9-11 — Oregon Old Time Fid- dlers Convention 10-12 — Oregon Meat Goat Producers Show and Sale 11 — Wagon Wheelers 16 — Fair Board meeting 17-19 — Gem and Mineral Show — Schedule Subject to Change By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer TAMMY McCAMMON/ for the Itemizer-Observer Kira Bufka, Max Norton, Austin Mather and John Watkins work on rebuilding the roof on the pump house at the Independence Heated Outdoor Pool on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22. New roof finished on old pump house at city pool HALO youth program helps get work done By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — The pump house at the Inde- pendence Heated Outdoor Pool has a new roof, thanks to the combined efforts of local organizations. The work was done by youth through the Build, Learn, Construct Project. “The youth is from our program; the trainer is from Habitat for Humanity,” said Tammy McCammon, execu- tive director of HALO (Help- ing Achieve Lifelong Objec- tives). The project was paid for through a grant from United Way, McCammon said. Money raised during a triathlon last summer organ- ized by Brian Joynt also helped pay for repairs. The roof of the cinder- block pump house was old and starting to leak, said Shawn Irvine, economic de- velopment director for the city of Independence. He said the project was “It’s a good win- win. These kids get some construction experience and we get a new roof.” — Shawn Irvine, city of Independence beneficial to all involved. “It’s a good win-win. These kids get some construction experience and we get a new roof,” Irvine said. The pool is owned by the city of Independence and managed by the Monmouth- Independence YMCA. Natascha Cronin, executive director of the M-I YMCA, said she is happy to see the renovations done. More work is needed, but the money is not available yet, Irvine said. “We were hoping to do a rebuild of the whole pool house last spring-early sum- mer,” he said. “But it’s a big, big project, and even with the youth as labor, we’re going to have to pay for ma- terials, which was a couple hundred thousand dollars.” With grant cycles being the way they are, Irvine said it may be a while before the pool house can get the reno- vation treatment. Cronin said people will see other changes at the pool this summer. “We’re changing the pool schedule,” she said. Swim classes in the morning will be followed by a block of open swim time. Evenings will be reserved for adults- only, Cronin said. “If you’re a YMCA member, you don’t have to pay extra to go to the pool,” she said. The pool will be closed to the public all day Sunday now, she noted, but it will still be available to rent. For more information about pool hours or mem- bership to the Y: http://they- online.org. For more information about HALO: www.halopro- gram.org. Cuppers Coffee Company 5152 Salem Dallas Hwy (Hwy22) (Next to Cafe 22 West and Fruitstand) 503-383-2577 Espresso - Italian Soda - Smoothies Pastries - Red Bull & Kickstart - Espresso Milkshakes 12oz = 1 shot of Espresso 16oz = 2 shots of Espresso 20oz = 4 shots of Espresso Hours: Mon - Wed 7am to 3pm Thurs - Sun 7am to 6pm Cuppers Coffee Company 5152 Salem Dallas Hwy (Hwy22) (Next to Cafe 22 West and Fruitstand) $ 1.00 OFF any purchase of $ 3.50 or more Expires March 30, 2015. No Cash Value. 1 coupon per person per visit. DALLAS — The Dallas Fire & EMS Department will b e a w a i t i n g w o rd o n whether it will receive a $550,000 federal grant for a “mobile training facility.” Applications for the grant were under review as of Monday, but it could take until September for the city to learn if it was awarded the funding. “If we don’t get the grant for that and now we don’t have a training facility, what is the backup?” asked Dal- las City Councilor Kelly Gabliks Monday night dur- ing the council’s meeting. “What is the fire depart- ment going to do?” The city’s training facility was torn down last year after the land the structure was located on was sold in the 2012 auction of the for- mer Weyerhaeuser mill property. The new owner and the department couldn’t settle on a use agreement the city could af- ford, so the center had to be removed. City Manager Ron Foggin said since the training facility was torn down, the depart- ment has been “capturing training wherever we can.” The now-vacant house next to the fire station on Shelton Street is being used for training exercises, and the department has been finding other ways to keep its firefighters sharp. “We will look for oppor- tunities to do joint training with other jurisdictions where they do have training facilities and, of course, we will look for “burn to learn” opportunities in the city,” Foggin said, noting that most solutions are not con- venient. CITY COUNCIL The city applied for a similar grant last year, but was unsuccessful. This time Dallas Fire Chief Fred Hertel restructured the application to include other jurisdic- tions in hopes that will ele- vate its status. “We are going to keep asking,” Foggin said. “The money is there; the grants are available.” The council also re- viewed a first reading of an ordinance that would hope to solve a parking issue on Church Street downtown. About 90 percent of the parking available on Church Street, which has no limit from Washington Street to Oak Street, is being used by employees of busi- nesses downtown. The ordinance would re- move the 2-hour time limit on 16 spaces on Mill Street between the mid-block alley and Church Street, al- lowing for all-day parking. “These spaces are very rarely utilized and would serve to accommodate some additional employee parking,” wrote Jason Locke, the city’s community development and opera- tions director. In other business on Monday, the council: • Approved an ordinance to charge Astound Broad- band a franchise fee to offer fiber to commercial busi- nesses or other entities in the city.