VALENTINE’S DAY
DISTRICT MEET PREVIEW
ON THE CHEAP
MAT
CLASH
Page 10A
Page 7A
Volume 140, Issue 6
www.Polkio.com
February 11, 2015
Tax scam
artists at
work in
local area
IN YOUR TOWN
DALLAS NEWS
OK, longtime Dallas residents. Ready for a blast
from the past?
Remember the name Dandy Burger? It’s back,
now operated by original owner Bill Pettit’s son,
Otis Pettit.
The first Dandy Burger was only open from 1982
to 1987 before the Pettit family sold the drive-thru-
only restaurant. It closed shortly after, but those
first five years made an impression on Dallas. Pettit
said since he’s been open, he’s seen a stream of fa-
miliar faces come through his new location off
Monmouth Cutoff Road in Dallas.
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Don’t
panic. That call you just got
from someone claiming to
be from the Internal Rev-
enue Service is not from
the IRS — it’s a scam.
You’re not going to be ar-
rested. Do not give the
caller your information or
any money. Just hang up.
This scam, which several
Polk County residents have
reported recently, can be
particularly scary, said
Ellen Klem, director of con-
sumer outreach and edu-
cation for the Office of the
Attorney General.
“It’s horrific,” Klem said.
“Who isn’t afraid of the
IRS? Even if you know you
don’t owe any money.”
The IRS will never call
someone to demand im-
mediate payment, nor
about taxes owed without
first having mailed a bill,
according to www.irs.gov.
If you’re concerned you
may be in trouble with the
IRS, go online to the
agency’s website or call the
IRS at 1-800-829-1040. Do
not ask the caller — who is
part of a scam — what
number to call.
The scammer will give
his or her number rather
than the phone number to
the IRS.
“They say, ‘Here’s our
phone number,’ and magi-
cally, they answer the
phone and say, ‘This is the
IRS,’” Klem said.
If you have been a victim
of this scam and have lost
money, a complaint may
be filed with the Oregon
Department of Justice at
www.oregonconsumer.org.
Another IRS-related fraud
happening now is through
third-party tax filing soft-
ware, such as Turbo Tax.
“It’s basically tax refund
identity theft,” said Bob Es-
tabrook, public informa-
tion officer for the Oregon
Department of Revenue.
What’s happening is
someone — a fraudster —
has enough information
about you to file a tax re-
turn on your behalf and re-
ceive your refund in his or
her bank account.
“When taxpayers go to
file their own return, you
get a notice saying you’ve
already filed,” Estabrook
said. “Of course the taxpay-
er knows they haven’t filed
before.”
Taxpayers can protect
themselves by reporting
any possible identity theft
and filing their returns as
quickly as possible.
Ideally, the first tax re-
turn someone files should
be the authentic one, Es-
tabrook said.
For more information or
to report being a victim:
www.oregon.gov/dor, call
503-378-4988 or 1-800-
356-4222.
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
75¢
»Page 2A
FALLS CITY NEWS
More than a year after the first code violation ci-
tation was issued at Akha Farm in Falls City, the city
and farm will be back in court this spring for an ap-
peal hearing.
Akha Farm owner Matthew McDaniel is appeal-
ing code violations he was convicted of last fall.
The appeal is scheduled for a pretrial conference
April 2 and a trial on April 29 in Polk County Circuit
Court.
McDaniel was found guilty in Falls City Municipal
Court on seven code violations from six citations is-
sued from March 18, 2014, to June 18, 2014.
»Page 14A
EMILY MENZTER/ Itemizer-Observer
Marshall Guthrie leans on bicycle racks that he helped get installed — he even gave
tips to the welder on design — on Western Oregon University’s campus.
MONMOUTH’S MAN
OF MANY HATS
Marshall Guthrie has gotten involved, is making
a difference in the community, on WOU campus
By Emily Mentzer
M
ONMOUTH —
Marshall Guthrie
rides his bike
everywhere.
He enjoys taking loops
around country roads, stop-
ping in at Rogue Hop Farms
for a craft beer — at least
when he has time in between
his work as director of Western
Oregon’s Student Enrichment
Program and attending seem-
ingly endless meetings as a
Monmouth city councilman.
Long rides in the country
also take a backseat to him
helping define WOU’s future
as a member of the institu-
tion’s first independent gov-
erning board.
In just 12 months, Guthrie
has gone from a moderately
involved citizen of Monmouth
to having his hands in a little
bit of everything in town.
“I’ve officially said my
plate’s full, unless it’s replac-
ing something or it’s some-
thing I have a personal pas-
sion for,” he said.
For Guthrie, 35, commu-
nity involvement started by
moving to Monmouth five
years ago from New York,
just outside of New York City.
Name: Marshall Guthrie.
Hometown: Monmouth.
Employment: Western Oregon Uni-
versity TRIO program, Student Enrich-
ment Program.
Age: 35.
Family: Megan Habermann, partner
for 10 years.
Origins: He is from Iowa, but his an-
cestors are from Scotland. One of his an-
cestors allegedly gutted three fish, so his name is Guthrie,
sounding like “gut three.”
Favorite pastime: Bike riding — also his main form of
transportation — closely followed by a love for movies and
music.
Did you know? Marshall and Megan have no children or
pets, but once upon a time they had three sibling kittens in
their care. They were foster parents for strays while living on
the East Coast, and these little kittens made such an impres-
sion, their photo remains on the couple’s refrigerator.
It was the first time he had
lived in the same community
he worked in, and it gave
him a sense of ownership.
Back East, Guthrie worked
a stressful job with long, odd
hours. When he got to Mon-
mouth, he was unemployed.
Even after he got his job at
WOU, he felt bored.
“It’s close to an 8-to-5 job,”
he said. “I had too much free
time on my hands. I was like,
‘All right, let’s see what would
happen if I actually try and
When a parent decides their student does not
need to or should not take a state-mandated test,
it is considered an automatic “does not meet” stan-
dards.
Central School District Superintendent Buzz
Brazeau addressed the school board at its Feb. 2
meeting about the topic, including informing
board members that the district will be adopting
policy on how to handle parents who opt-out of
tests.
“There is potential for a parent to opt out based
on one of two reasons: religious purposes or dis-
ability,” Brazeau said.
»Page 17A
MONMOUTH NEWS
Meet Marshall
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE NEWS
One thing Louisiana native Rebecca Chiles is sure
of: Southern hospitality is not just in the south.
“I’ve been welcomed more warmly in this town
and on this campus than I’ve been welcomed any-
where else,” she said. “It’s not a Southern hospitality
thing; it’s a people thing.”
Chiles, 45, took the job of Western Oregon Univer-
sity’s director of campus public safety on Feb. 2, mak-
ing the move from Shreveport, La., to Monmouth.
She said it hasn’t been a huge culture shock, noting
that Monmouth’s as-yet mild winter has been a nice
change from Louisiana’s typically extreme weather.
»Page 2A
POLK COUNTY NEWS
get involved.’”
A chance meeting with
Cec Koontz, a Monmouth
community leader, at Crush
Wine Bar in downtown Mon-
mouth led to Guthrie’s par-
ticipation in the Ford Insti-
tute Leadership Program.
“From there, it spiraled
out of control,” Guthrie said.
His first appointment to a
government committee was
to work on the city of Mon-
mouth budget.
See GUTHRIE, Page 15A
wed
thu
fri
sat
It’s rivalry night on
the basketball court,
as Dallas plays host
to Central in a Mid-
Willamette Confer-
ence girls game.
7 p.m. $5.
Ash Creek Arts Center
is hosting an artist re-
ception for its current
exhibit at MaMere’s
Bed & Breakfast in
Monmouth.
5-7 p.m. Free.
Dance the night
away to music from
the 1940s, 50s and
60s at the Sweet-
heart Dance at the
Dallas Civic Center.
7-10 p.m. $5.
It’s closing night for
the Central High
School theater de-
partment’s winter
play production of
“Oklahoma!”
6:30 p.m. $5-$8.
Fog; Mostly Cloudy
Hi: 56
Lo: 42
Fog; Partly Sunny
Hi: 59
Lo: 43
Fog; Party Sunny
Hi: 59
Lo: 43
Fog; Partly Sunny
Hi: 56
Lo: 43
Children whose records on file show missing immu-
nizations will not be able to attend school or child care
starting Feb. 18, the state’s school exclusion day.
State law requires that all children in public and pri-
vate schools, preschools, Head Start and certified
child care facilities have up-to-date documentation
on their immunizations or have an exemption, ac-
cording to the Oregon Immunization Program.
“Immunization is an effective way to keep schools
and the entire community healthy,” said Stacy de
Assis Matthews, school law coordinator in the Ore-
gon Health Authority Public Health Division.
»Page 17A
sun
Receive vocal les-
sons during the
weekly “From the
Heart Community
Sing” at St. Thomas
Episcopal Church.
1:30 p.m. Free.
Mostly Sunny
Hi: 56
Lo: 39
mon
tue
Don’t forget that it’s
the President’s Day
holiday. Schools, as
well as city, county,
state and federal
government offices,
will be closed.
Have some coins
that need appraising?
Visit the Polk County
Coin Club meeting at
the Monmouth Sen-
ior Center.
7 p.m. Free.
Mostly Sunny
Hi: 55
Lo: 39
Partly Sunny
Hi: 54
Lo: 38