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2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 28, 2015 Polk County News Freight line expansion set By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — Inde- pendence will become a hub of importing and exporting goods via train and trucks when White’s Hauling ex- pands. The company hopes to have the new operation on Hoffman Road up and run- ning by June, said Cody White, co-owner. “Our plan is to connect to the short line there with (Portland & Western Rail- road) and bring in a rail sid- ing, or track, to both ship out wheat and bring in grain,” White said. “We’ll import-ex- port basically anything the local economy demands and supports: timber, lumber, steel.” From the site, located be- tween Marquis Spa and For- est River, truckers will be able to unload onto rail cars, which will then connect with the train, and vice versa, tak- ing products from the rail car and distributing them in smaller loads via truck. The operation will in- crease truck traffic in the area, but White said truck drivers will be encouraged to take Highway 99W and Hoff- man Roads. “They want us to use ex- isting routes trucks should take, the Hoffman-99 route right there,” he said. “The overpass is significantly safer than turning onto Highway 51.” Traffic should also be di- verted from Stryker Road, a concern of residents at the Independence Airpark, Tips to protect you from scams offered By Emily Mentzer EMILY MENTZER/ Itemizer-Observer Cody White, co-owner of White’s Hauling, will begin a transloading operation in Inde- pendence off Hoffman Road, similar to the company’s station in Brooks, this spring. White noted. “It will increase truck traf- fic, but when the mill (Boise Cascade) was up and run- ning, there were quite a few more trucks through there,” White said. Portland & Western will likely not have to increase rail traffic because of the op- eration, said Larry Gomez, assistant vice president of in- dustrial development. The goal of the new opera- tion is two-fold, he said. By using more rail trans- portation, it cleans up main corridors such as Interstate 5 by removing trucks from traffic. Every rail car used re- places four semi-trucks on the roads, White said. Secondly, the operation ex- pands options for local farm- ers to distribute products. White said wheat farmers may truck grain to Portland — through “terrible” traffic — or they can take it up the Gorge to Biggs — “which is in the middle of nowhere.” “With this, we can load it on rail and it opens up the doors for a lot of people to purchase this grain,” White said. White’s Hauling was start- ed in the early 1970s by Cody’s father and grandfa- ther, who have developed re- lationships with wheat farm- ers and buyers. “We already have a good group of people that want to take advantage of this,” White said. “We also have a lot of people who want to purchase it up in that area (Portland), so we have both sides of it. We just want to connect the two.” The project is possible in part through a ConnectOre- gon grant for $842,320, awarded through the Ore- gon Department of Trans- portation. The Itemizer-Observer Don’t Be a Victim MONMOUTH — When it comes to people trying to get personal information of any kind, it is not rude to just hang up, close the door or delete an email. In fact, it’s the smartest thing to do, said Ellen Klem, director of consumer out- reach and education for the Office of the Attorney Gen- eral, at a presentation about how to protect against fraud at the Monmouth Senior Center on Monday. “If Rachel from Card Holder Services calls and asks you to press 1 to be re- moved from the call list, just hang up,” she said. Pressing 1 may remove you from that list, but it sells your phone number and information to 200 other scammers. Even set- ting the phone down in front of the TV or making loud noises lets her know you’re home, Klem noted. She said people who commit crimes of fraud cast a wide net, hoping to catch one or two people who will send money. Another thing scammers say they look for is “no tres- passing” signs in urban areas. These signs tell the scammer that the person living there is probably older, single and has no pets, Klem said. Many of the people in the a u d i e n c e o n Mo n d a y shared stories of how they’d been victims of scam — or Ellen Klem of the De- partment of Justice offers these six “red flags” that something is a scam: • Receiving a phone call, letter, email or some- one at your door out of the blue, unexpected or uninvited. • The scammer has in- vented some kind of emergency or urgent sit- uation. • Request for person- al/financial information, or asking you to click on something online that you don’t know what it is. • Asking you to wire money or send a prepaid cash card. • The scammer will in- clude a level of secrecy, such as this is a one-time special offer just for you, don’t tell anyone else. • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Klem said the facts and story might change, but these six signs point to a scam 99 percent of the time. how they avoided it. One man said he leaves the names of other relatives living with him on his mes- sage machine, even though he lives alone. If you think you are being exposed to a scam, or have fallen victim to one, call your local police depart- ment or Department of Jus- tice at 1-877-877-9392. For more information: ore- gonconsumer.org. Nomination deadline for 2015 Dallas community awards is Friday Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Friday is the deadline for nominations for the Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce’s 58th annual Community Awards, “Com- munity Champions.” Each year, the chamber recognizes individuals and businesses in the Dallas area that have made a positive in- fluence on the community at the awards ceremony, to be held this year on Feb. 20 at the Oregon National Guard’s Nesmith Readiness Center. Nominations can be sub- mitted online at www.dalla- soregon.org/awards, by printed form available in the chamber office or via email to chamber@dallasoregon.org. The award categories are: First Citizen, Junior First Cit- izen, Outstanding Organiza- tion, Good Samaritan, Life- time Achievement, Excep- tional Family, Small Business of the Year, Most Improved Business of the Year, Ag Busi- ness of the Year, and Busi- ness of the Year. A selection committee consisting of previous award winners will choose this year’s award recipients. Information about past winners and award descrip- tions are available on the c h a m b e r ’s w e b s i t e a t www.dallasoregon.org/awards. Tickets are available at the chamber office, 119 SW Court St., Dallas, and Dallas City Hall, 187 SE Court St. Cost is $40 each. For more information: 503-623-2564. Jan. 19, 2015 and Feb. 13, 2015 Ben & Joe Flande Proud Owners & Local Citizens Must present this coupon at time of service. Not valid with any other offers. Expires 02/28/15 Itemizer-Observer