Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2016)
FLASH HEADS TO NYC FORD HOPES TO WIN WESTMINSTER DISTRICT TITLE Page 7A Page 10A Volume 141, Issue 6 www.Polkio.com 75¢ February 10, 2016 Former WOU students guilty on sex crimes IN YOUR TOWN DALLAS Fractal art “mesmer- izes” viewers at the Dal- las Public Library’s Feb- ruary art exhibit. By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — Two men were convicted on sex charges on Feb. 3, Measure 11 crimes involving a sin- gle victim. Robert Godeaux Savoy III, 23, was convicted of first-degree rape, first-de- gree sex abuse and third- degree sex abuse. Chr istopher James Weekly, 23, was convicted of first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse, sec- ond-degree sex abuse and third-degree sex abuse. The incident occurred in 2014 in the city of Mon- mouth while Weekly and Savoy were students at Western Oregon University. The investigation by Monmouth Police Depart- ment and the disciplinary process at WOU took some time, District Attorney Aaron Felton said. Whether or not the vic- tim also was a student is unclear from court records. Felton said he de- clined to say anything that may further identify the victim. The trial took place over two days in front of Polk County Circuit Court Judge Norman R. Hill. Both Weekly and Savoy waived their rights to a jury trial. “The case was tried by Chief Deputy DA Jayme Kimberly, who did an out- standing job in getting jus- tice for the victim,” Felton said. “The investigation conducted by detectives from Monmouth Police Department was thorough and highly professional.” First-degree rape and first-degree sodomy are Measure 11 crimes which carry mandatory sentences of 100 months in the De- partment of Corrections. Sentencing is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Thursday in Polk County Circuit Court. Dallas man arrested on homicide charge Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Police arrested Cody Moore on Feb. 3 on criminally negligent homicide and irst-degree criminal mis- treatment charges. The charges are related to the drowning death of a child that occurred on Oct. 6, 2015, according to a report from Dallas Police. Moore, 21, of Dallas was indicted on Feb. 3, but Polk County Court records didn’t reveal more details about the incident, including the name of the alleged vic- tim or where it happened. Moore is being held on $50,000 bail and is scheduled to appear for a pretrial confer- ence on Feb. 25. THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK »Page 2A FALLS CITY Faces after-school program receives na- tional attention from Sen. Jef Merkley. »Page 16A INDEPENDENCE JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer The facade of the Blue Garden is nearly complete, except for its refurbished sign. It will once again grace the building this week, with an informal “lighting,” the first in 30 years, scheduled for Thursday evening. A sign of what’s to come The classic Blue Garden building facade will be completed this week By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — For the first time in about 30 years, the old Blue Garden sign will add its light to Main Street in downtown Dallas. Thursday the newly refur- bished sign will be reinstalled on the building, which is un- dergoing major transforma- tion of its own behind the re- modeled facade. Around dusk Thursday evening, Blue Garden owner Bob Collins will flip the switch to light the sign. It will be an outward indi- cation of progress on a proj- ect that Collins admitted has been more work than he an- ticipated. The building had been declared a nuisance by the city, and once he started work, he knew why. “The old girl was on her last leg,” Collins said Mon- day. A portion of the ceiling had collapsed, exposing the interior to rain. “It was all mold and mildew,” he said, “and it was JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Blue Garden owner Bob Collins leans on the old counter in what will soon be the remodeled cafe. just ugly.” Collins, who is financing the remodel piece by piece, persevered and has made notable progress, starting with abatement of the mold and removal of all the old kitchen equipment. The building had been locked up for 15 years when he bought it, and Collins found evidence of that — old bottles of salad dress- ing — in one of the freezers. “It was just terrible,” Collins said. He decided the remodel would have to be from the ground up if he was going to do it. “It’s an overwhelming big project, but we keep moving forward on it,” Collins said. “Every day we get a little closer on it.” Collins just finished in- stalling new sewer lines, a new grease trap and a new storm drain that will keep about a half a million gal- lons of rain water out of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. He’s made necessary repairs to the roof on two levels. New plumbing and heating systems are being installed now. “A lot of stuff that you don’t really think of it having any- thing to do with the restau- rant, but it is just trying to make it all correct,” he said. Collins has completed a seismic upgrade that will pre- vent a complete collapse and allow people to get out if a big earthquake were to strike. “I have enough lumber in here that I could have framed two ver y large homes. We’ve lined all the walls, we framed within the frames,” Collins said. “It’s a pretty big expense, but we wanted to do it right.” Collins believes he is fi- nally at a point in the restoration where he can think about working toward opening at least part of the restaurant. See GARDEN, Page 5A Dallas Street hearing slated By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The Dallas City Council is holding a public hearing Tuesday on the proposal to ask voters for a 10-year, $10 million bond to pay for residential street repair. The proposal would have the issue before voters in May 2016 and is backed by two citizens’ committees that studied the condition and funding options for resi- dential streets. The majority of funding for streets — including street maintenance, sidewalks, street lights and other oper- ations costs — comes from state and federal gas tax rev- enue. In the 2015-16 budget, that amounted to about $1,050,000, $270,000 of which is allocated to street and sidewalk repairs. In recent years, the fund- ing allocated to streets has been dedicated to those in town with the highest use, collector and arterial streets. The other approximately $700,000 covers opera- tions — personnel, materi- als, and services, said City Manager Ron Foggin at the council’s Feb. 1 meeting. Questions about the bond election timing and other al- ternatives — such as a utility fee or revenue bond — were also discussed at the meet- ing. Tuesday’s hearing will provide citizens a chance to comment on the plan. “There will be plenty of opportunity for folks to come and talk about it, one way or the other,” Mayor Brian Dalton said. “We wel- come that.” Learn more What: Residential street funding public hearing. When: 7 p.m. Tues- day, during the Dallas City Council meeting. Where: City Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dallas. Of note: The council will be taking comments from residents about the proposal to put a 10- year, $10 million bond on the ballot to pay for residential street repair. Master Gardeners get ready for annual Moth- er’s Day Plant Sale and give out a few tips for things to do in the gar- den now. »Page 5A MONMOUTH Western Oregon Uni- versity’s fall freshman enrollment has in- creased, but overall en- rollment has dropped. »Page 3A SPORTS Central’s boys bas- ketball team tries to build of wins to make a postseason push in the Mid-Willamette Confer- ence. »Page 10A POLK COUNTY Don’t let scams get the best of you. Just hang up on suspicious callers. »Page 3A Voting for community awards to close Itemizer-Observer staf report MONMOUTH/INDE- PENDENCE — Online vot- ing for the 51st annual Community Awards Ban- quet, hosted by the Mon- mouth-Independence Chamber of Commerce, will close on Friday. All chamber members are included in the busi- ness award categories, as well as nomination forms for First Citizen, First Jun- ior Citizen, Distinguished Service, Educator of the Year, and Educator Sup- port Staff of the Year. The banquet will be at 6:30 p.m., with social hour starting at 5:30, on March 4 at Eola Hills Wine Cellars. Tickets are $40. For more information, to register, vote or nomi- nate someone: www.micc- or.org. wed thu fri sat sun mon tue ASL classes begin today at Monmouth Senior Center. Learn the alphabet and basic sentence structure. 9-10 a.m. Free. Meet other young professionals at a gathering at Wash- ington Street Steak- house. The group meets monthly. 5:30-7 p.m. Free. Enjoy lunch and learn about rock hounding at the monthly potluck at the Monmouth Sen- ior Center. Noon. Free. Central High’s choirs will host a dessert and performance at the school. The evening is a fundraiser for the arts. 7 p.m. $7-$10. Celebrate Valen- tine’s Day with chocolate and music at Dallas Alliance Church, beneiting displaced people. 2-4 p.m. Free. A veterans support group, Polk County Battle Buddies, meets at West Valley Hospital. Dinner will be served. 6 p.m. Free. Learn all the tricks of pruning grapes from Master Gar- deners through hands-on training at the Gentle House. 10 a.m. Free. Cloudy Hi: 59 Lo: 44 Showers Hi: 59 Lo: 46 Rain Hi: 56 Lo: 43 Showers Hi: 54 Lo: 43 Rain Hi: 54 Lo: 45 Showers Hi: 60 Lo: 47 Showers Hi: 57 Lo: 44