Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 18, 2015 3A
Polk County News
DEADLINES
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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
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.00
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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