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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2015)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 28, 2015 3A Polk County News Indy will decrease reconnection fees 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. WEATHER RECORDED HIGH LOW Jan. 20............... 49 Jan. 21............... 48 Jan. 22............... 51 Jan. 23............... 54 Jan. 24............... 64 Jan. 25............... 52 Jan. 26............... 53 33 29 39 43 43 44 41 RAIN .00 .00 trc. .04 .00 .00 .00 Rainfall during Jan. — 3.21 in. Rain through Jan. 26 — 3.21 in. By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — The city of Independence will no longer charge $400 to re- connect a customer’s sewer service, but high connec- tion fees remain for water. Also, the $42.93 base rate for sewer will remain, re- gardless of whether or not the sewer connection is being used by a resident. “We would eliminate the option to disconnect sewer,” City Manager David Clyne said, “because you can’t really disconnect the sewer line. People would continue to pay the base rates.” The change came about by the Independence City Council questioning the high base rates of both water and sewer when compared to other cities at Tuesday morning’s council meeting. Councilors Marilyn Mor- ton and Tom Takacs both expressed concern that In- dependence’s overall rates were at the top of the list of 10 cities provided for com- parison by rate consultant Ray Bartlett of Economic and Financial Analysis. Bartlett said the cities were chosen by physical proximity to Independence, as well as a couple ex- tremes, and was not sure how meaningful the com- JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Family Building Blocks’ recently added play room at the Academy Building in Dallas is just one of many services Sara Matthews, FBB outreach coordinator, hopes to promote. Family Building Blocks opens office in Dallas By Jolene Guzman Check It Out The Itemizer-Observer POLK COUNTY — Family Building Blocks, a Salem- based child abuse prevention nonprofit, recently opened a Dallas office, offering play groups and parent education to families in Dallas, Mon- mouth, Independence and Falls City. Family Building Blocks (FBB) has an office in West Salem, but saw a need to open a more centrally located facility in Polk County, said Gabriela Maldonado Bell, the program supervisor in Dallas. The organization serves fami- lies struggling to care for their young children due to pover- ty, domestic violence, drug abuse, or mental health or other issues. FBB offers families with children 5 years old or younger home visits, play groups and seminars for par- ents. Maldonado Bell said the focus is on parent educa- tion, child development and early childhood health. “I think our goals are to es- What: Family Building Blocks open house. Where: The Academy Building, 182 SW Acade- my St., Suite 210, Dallas. When: Friday. Open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a ribbon cut- ting ceremony from noon to 1 p.m. Of note: FBB hosts monthly play groups in Dallas and Independence. The Dallas group meets the third Tuesday of each month at the Academy Building; the Independ- ence group meets the third Friday of the month at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Independence. Both groups meet from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and are open to families with children 5 years or younger. For more information: 503-623-9664; www.fam- ilybuildingblocks.org. tablish this facility and this office as part of our greater Family Building Blocks relief nursery and continue to ex- pand services to as many children and families in Polk County as possible,” Maldon- ado Bell said. The Dallas office is holding its “grand opening” Friday, inviting anyone wanting to find out more about FBB. The organization moved into the Academy Building in September, joining several other agencies and service organizations — including Mid-Valley Parenting, Com- munity Action Agency Re- source Center and The Salva- tion Army — in the county’s “co-location” model. Under the model, several organizations and county agencies all providing assis- tance to at-risk families in one form or another are situ- ated under one roof. Sara Matthews, FBB’s Polk County family outreach co- ordinator, credits those part- nerships for helping find more families in need. “Working together has re- ally helped increase our re- ferrals that come in,” she said. parisons were. Each city charges for water and sewer services differently, depending on what the needs are, Bartlett said. While some cities charge higher base rates, others charge based on usage. “Most of your costs are fixed,” Bartlett said, “so if use goes down, revenue g o e s d ow n . G e n e ra l l y speaking, small communi- ties tend to have high base rates. Those communities that are heavily indebted have higher base rates.” Those fixed costs include fire protection and annual flushing of water lines and fire hydrants, Bartlett said. Capital projects, debt service, depreciation, insur- ance and compliance also are all fixed costs, he said. “If the city decreases rates for some customers, it must increase rates for other customers,” Bartlett said. Morton and Council- woman Nancy Lodge both said they own vacant prop- erty downtown and pay base charges for water and sewer and understand the impact of paying money for something they are not using. “But I understand the im- pact to our community,” Lodge said. “I want the toi- lets to still flush 10 years from now.” KATHY HUGGINS/ Itemizer-Observer Independence water and sewer rates top the charts in the surrounding area, including Salem. These trucks come with 6 Year/100,000 mile extended warranty at no extra charge! NEW OCK IN ST 2015 S9F0 Transit Connect XLT Wagon 2015 Fiesta 5-Door Hatch SE 2.5L DOHC Engine, 6 Spd Auto Transaxle with O/D, 7 Passenger, 28 MPG HWY. #184427 0% for 60 months available. 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