Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 26, 2017
NEWS IN BRIEF
Monmouth updates sewer charges
MOnMOuTh — The Monmouth City Council approved at its
April 18 meeting changing the way the city calculates sewer
charges.
Residents will now be charged based on their water usage in
the months of December, January, February and March. The
change will increase the overall revenue for the city by an esti-
mated $37,277 a year.
Some residents — roughly 571 — will see an increase in their
monthly bill by $9.24, while some (estimated 230) will see a de-
crease in charges by $9.42, according to the city’s analysis.
The change accommodates the city’s new software, and will
save time for city employees, according to the report.
Indy police takes back unwanted drugs
InDEPEnDEnCE — Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Inde-
pendence Police Department and Drug Enforcement Adminis-
tration will give the public its 13th opportunity in seven years to
prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potential-
ly dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription
drugs.
Bring the pills for disposal to the Independence Civic Center,
555 S. Main St. The service is free and anonymous — no ques-
tions asked.
Washington Fed celebrates 100 years
DALLAS/MOnMOuTh — The washington Federal branches
in Monmouth and Dallas will celebrate the credit union’s 100th
anniversary with celebrations throughout the week.
The branches are inviting businesses and residents to join
the party from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at their branches, 611 Main St.,
Dallas, and 523 Main St., Monmouth.
Refreshments will be provided. The celebration will feature a
drawing to be held Friday afternoon. All residents are invited to
participate in the event.
Indy PD cracks down on ped safety
InDEPEnDEnCE — The Independence Police Department
will conduct a four-hour long pedestrian safety enforcement
operation at heavily used crosswalks on hoffman Road and Polk
Street, as well as on Monmouth Street, focusing on motorists
who fail to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.
The efforts are part of the department’s ongoing efforts to
improve pedestrian safety.
The operation will be on Thursday. Officers dressed in plain
clothes will cross the street while uniformed officers monitor
the crosswalk for motorists and pedestrians who fail to yield the
right-of-way, or who take unsafe and illegal actions. Drivers and
pedestrians stopped during this safety operation will be issued
warnings or citations.
Mr. & Ms. Dallas event exceeds goal
DALLAS — The Mr. & Ms. Dallas Pageant, held last Saturday,
well exceeded its goal of raising $10,000 for Doernbecher Chil-
dren’s hospital.
The event, which had 10 pairs competing for the crown
through fundraising and Saturday’s performance at Bollman
Auditorium in Dallas, raised nearly $16,000.
“It was an incredible night,” said Dallas School Board member
and pageant judge Mike Bollman. “The place was packed.”
Contestants and Dallas high School leadership students also
participated in a “beautification day” on April 17. Forty-five stu-
dents worked in the downtown area and around Dallas City
hall, weeding, cleaning and putting down bark dust.
RECYCLE.
A great investment in the future.
Theater creates drama
Applebox organizers seek resolution to reservation dilemma
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Mon-
mouth city officials and
councilors butted heads with
organizers of the Applebox
Childrens Theater at the
April 18 city council meeting.
The council chambers
were filled with ABC Theater
supporters wanting to plead
the case for allowing the
children’s theater company
access to the new Mon-
mouth Main Street Park Am-
phitheater.
After a heated back-and-
forth between Mayor Steve
Milligan and ABC Theater
volunteers, the council ad-
journed the council meeting
to move into the work ses-
sion, where the discussion
was on the agenda.
The organization request-
ed use of the facility for its
rehearsals and performanc-
es, in total, about 45 days in
June and July.
“That’s half the summer,”
Councilor Royal Johnson
said. “To me, that’s 45 days
you’ve asked to use the am-
phitheater, according to
your form.”
Rob Harriman, of ABC
Theater, said that some re-
hearsals could be performed
on the outdoor stage at
Western Oregon University,
but they submitted their en-
tire rehearsal schedule so
that the city could under-
stand the scope of the pro-
duction.
Other requests of the the-
ater included opening the
wings of the amphitheater,
using the built-in storage,
using the city’s sound sys-
tem, and hanging sets,
which would mean putting
holes in the structure.
Community Development
Director Mark Fancey said
the parks and recreation
board spent “considerable
time” developing the rules of
the new amphitheater and
wanted to see how the facili-
ty would be used over time
before altering those rules.
“One particular group
should not be able to break
the rules,” he said.
Harriman said the stage
was built beautifully for
music, but not for accom-
modating theater troupes.
He said the group could
drape sets on the walls with-
out installing eyehooks or
drilling holes, but someone
would need to unlock the
wings so they could be
opened.
The wings of the am-
phitheater present a safety
hazard, City Manager Scott
McClure said after the meet-
ing.
“The panels/doors can get
caught in the wind and
cause a ‘sail’ effect,” he said
in a follow-up email. “This is
why we only want author-
ized staff to open and close
these.”
After about an hour of dis-
cussion, Harriman said rep-
resentatives from the theater
group will speak with the
parks and rec board at its
May 10 meeting to deter-
mine what its members can
do to accommodate the
troupe’s requests.
Councilors and Milligan
agreed that the council
wanted to respect the work
of the parks and rec board in
creating the policies and
rules of reserving the new fa-
cility.
“If they can’t solve the
problem, they can come
back, but we’re not here to
make that decision,” John-
son said.
“You guys built an am-
phitheater for music,” Harri-
man said. “So now we’re
stuck in a facility that wasn’t
designed to do plays, and
we’re trying to work with
that.”
To view the council meet-
ing and this portion of the
work
session:
www.youtube.com/watch?v
=bI3GS5752so&feature=yout
u.be
Bill targets dam safety
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
SALEM — A bill is working
its way through the Oregon
House of Representatives re-
quires operators of “high
hazard” dams — which in-
c l u d e s D a l l a s’ Me r c e r
Dam —to develop an emer-
gency action plan.
The city of Dallas has an
emergency action plan for
Mercer Dam. Its last inspec-
tion was completed in
March, and the city is await-
ing the inspection report,
said Public Works Director
Frank Anderson.
He said the city is working
on updating its plan.
Emergency action plans
mandated in House Bill 3427
mean “a plan that assists a
dam owner or operator and
the local emergency manag-
er to perform actions to en-
sure human safety in the
event of a potential or actual
failure of a dam or sudden
release of water.”
Such a plan would include
emergency communication
and notification, actions to
prevent dam failure or reduce
the effects of dam failure, and
maps of dam failure inunda-
tion zones. Those plans are to
be filed with the state and
local emergency services
agency in the county.
The bill defines high haz-
ard as those the Oregon
Water Resources Department
expect loss of human life to
occur if they fail.
HB 3427 was passed out of
the House Committee on
Veteran and Emergency Pre-
paredness on and was re-
ferred to the Ways and Means
Committee on April 18.
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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 pub-
lishing accurate news, feature
and sports reports. If you see
anything that requires a cor-
rection or clarification, call the
newsroom at 503-623-2373 or
send an email to
ementzer@polkio.com.
WEBSITE
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Observer website,
www.polkio.com, is updat-
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day afternoon. There, you
will find nearly every story
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version of the newspaper,
as well as some items, in-
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WEATHER
RECORDED
HIGH LOW
April 18............. 64
April 19............. 59
April 20............. 61
April 21............. 69
April 22............. 64
April 23............. 56
April 24............. 58
48
47
41
36
47
47
45
RAIN
.12
.38
.08
.00
.11
.41
.38
Rainfall during April — 3.40 in.
Rain through April 24 — 29.90 in.
Solution on Page 6
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