Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 18, 2015 3A Polk County News DEADLINES SALUTING THE BEST OF DALLAS 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. DANI MOUSER/ for Itemizer-Observer Chelsea Metcalfe serves as master of ceremonies for the annual Dallas Community Awards Banquet. 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 Feb. 10.............. 56 Feb. 11.............. 54 Feb. 12.............. 56 Feb. 13.............. 53 Feb. 14.............. 61 Feb. 15.............. 64 Feb. 16.............. 66 44 38 40 37 39 42 39 RAIN .07 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 Rainfall during Feb. — 4.17 in. Rain through Feb. 16 — 7.38 in. Community awards banquet Friday By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Heroes. Team- mates. Champions. Those were the words that re- peatedly came up when the Dal- las Community Awards’ planning committee tried to come up with a theme for this year’s ceremony. “We just looked at the purpose of the awards, who we are giving them to, and why,” said Chelsea Metcalfe, Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce executive director. “We just kept coming back to these are the champions of our community who often pull a team together to make things happen.” But, Metcalfe noted, there is always that one leader who really leads the charge — a champion for the cause. That is who the chamber and the community will honor Friday during the “Community Cham- pions” ceremony. This year, there were plenty of people Dallas residents consid- ered worthy of the recognition. Metcalfe said there were more than 70 nominations, the major- ity of them for people, business- es and organizations that hadn’t won before, submitted this year. Community Champions What: Dallas Community Awards Ceremony. When: Friday. Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner is at 6:30 p.m., and program begins at 7 p.m. Where: Oregon National Guard's Nesmith Readiness Center, 12835 Westview Drive, Dallas. Admission: $40 per person. Tickets can be purchased at the Dal- las Area Chamber of Commerce office, 119 SW Court St., daily through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., or at the city manager’s office at Dallas City Hall, 187 SE Court St., daily through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. And the winners are: First Citizens — Grant and Judy Boustead; Business of the Year — Oregon Family Health; Small Business of the Year — Capricorn Catering; Outstanding Organization — Guthrie Park Community Center; Good Samaritan — Ken Braun; Lifetime Achievement — Delbert Fredricks; Ag Business of the Year — Bermudez Family Farms; Most Improved Business — Pressed Wine & Coffee Bar; Junior First Citizen — Austin Markee; Exceptional Family — Wall Family; Excellence in Arts — Kurt Dugan; Presidential Award — Jim Williams. For more information: DACC, 503-623-2564; www.dallasore- gon.org/awards; www.facebook.com; or send an email to cham- ber@dallasoregon.org. “I do not envy the review and selection committee because everybody deserves to win,” she said. Metcalfe said the overwhelm- ing response was the product of making the nomination process easier and promoting nomina- tions on social media. The good news is that with the ceremony now taking place at the Oregon National Guard’s Ne- smith Readiness Center, there’s still plenty of tickets for those in- terested in celebrating Dallas’ champions come Friday night. “We won’t be turning anyone away,” Metcalfe said. Falls City selects councilor to fill vacant position By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer FALLS CITY — Gerald Melin is the new face on the Falls City City Council, filling the vacan- cy left when former councilor Terry Ungricht was sworn in as mayor in January. Melin was appointed on a 4-to-1 vote Thurs- day following an interview with members of the city council. He was sworn in immediately and participated in several votes Thursday. A Falls City resident for 10 years, Melin is the part-time clerk at the town’s post office. He said he felt it was time to give back to the community. “I have plenty of time to get in here and help,” Melin said. “I will be listening and trying to help people understand what is going on.” Melin said some of his con- cerns regarding city govern- ment are rising water rates and the lack of street signs in some areas. He said it’s his goal to investigate the reasons behind those issues. “I want to check in on the Melin ‘why’ of things and commu- nicate (with the public) as clearly as we can,” he said. Melin will serve the rest of Ungricht’s term, which expires at the end of 2016. With his ap- pointment, all six seats on the council are filled. Two other candidates applied for the office, Jim Partridge, who ran for mayor in November, and Ryan Wright, who has lived in Falls City for 7½ years. Partridge was not in attendance for Thursday’s interview. Interim City Manager Jon Hanken said he didn’t know why Partridge was absent. The council also approved a change in the city’s contract with Hanken in an effort to save the city money. He is on contract with the city to serve through June 30 and is paid $4,200 plus a $1,200 housing allowance each month. How- ever, Hanken is actively seeking other employ- ment opportunities and interviews will take him away from the office for several days in February and March. Hanken offered that the city change his con- tract from a monthly salary and housing al- lowance to a daily calculation to account for the days he is not available. The council ap- proved a daily rate of $193.85 and daily housing allowance of $60. The change will save the city about $3,300. “It really did not make sense to stay with the contract the way it is,” Hanken said. “I look at this in fairness to the city, in fairness to the city’s budget.” Did the stork visit you in 2014? Gemma Hawkins Born Sept. 17, 2014 Time to showcase your little bundle of joy! Baby’s Full Name ________________________________________ (Please print clearly.) Birthdate Only $25 ______________________________________________ Birth Place ______________________________________________ to include a full color photo in our Feb. 25 publication. Parent’s Name __________________________________________ Phone # ________________________________________________ The cutest section of the year! Please mail or drop off the form at right, a photo and $25.00 to our office by February 19th prior to 2:00 p.m. (The photo may be picked up after publication). If you have any questions, please call Dawn at 503-623-2373. Only babies born in 2014 are candidates for BABIES OF 2014. CLIP THIS FORM Address ________________________________________________ Remember to bring in a photo! Cost is only $25.00 ! Mom! Dad ! ts Grandparen Bring in a photo! All babies will be entered into a drawing for FREE PRIZES from area merchants! will All photos d DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 19 PUBLISH: FEBRUARY 25 be publishe ! r o in col Itemizer-Observer 147 SE COURT ST. • DALLAS • 503-623-2373