Polk County
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Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 18, 2015 4A
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Kitzhaber ultimately
was blinded by love
John Kitzhaber has made a number of good decisions
during his tenure as governor of Oregon. He also has made
a number of bad decisions.
His worst — not acknowledging the conflict of interest
between his office and the work of his fiancée — has now
cost him his job.
Kitzhaber announced Friday that he was resigning as
Oregon governor effective Wednesday (today), just weeks
into his fourth term in office. It was clearly the right deci-
sion for him to make.
Investigations and allegations into possible ethics viola-
tions and corruption by Kitzhaber and Cylvia Hayes had
reached a point where the governor could no longer lead
the state. Oregonians as a whole had lost trust in him, in-
cluding members of his own party. Several Democratic
Party leaders had asked Kitzhaber to resign.
The recent uncovering of this State Capitol mess seemed
to faze Kitzhaber in ways previously unseen. It was like the
governor had become dazed and confused. He made no ef-
fort to answer the concerns raised during early questioning.
He summoned Secretary of State Kate Brown, who will now
serve as governor until an election in 2016, back to Oregon
from a conference she was attending in Washington, D.C.
When she arrived in Salem for her meeting with him,
Kitzhaber asked her why she had come back early. Seriously?
Kitzhaber, considered a champion for health care and
for jobs, got lost somewhere.
What may be most disappointing is the governor had to
of known what was going on, yet continued his re-election
bid last year.
Kitzhaber noted in his resignation statement that he
was troubled that he could be “charged, tried, convicted
and sentenced by the media” without an independent ver-
ification of the allegations brought forth.
But what are we supposed to think when he requests
public documents be destroyed? We’re glad newsrooms
still had the staffing to examine his — and her — records.
We hope that now that he has resigned, the state will
continue its investigation to determine just what was
going on. Oregonians deserve it and this simply can’t be
swept under a rug.
In the end, Kitzhaber was blinded by love and it affected
his ability to govern. And now, the level of trust in Oregon
government has taken another hit. It’s unfortunate he did-
n’t love his state as much as he loved his companion.
PUBLIC AGENDA
Public Agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for gov-
ernmental and nongovernmental agencies in Polk County.
To submit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the
actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Observer via fax (503-
623-2395) or email (kholland@polkio.com).
—
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 18
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173.
• Monmouth Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Volunteer
Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0722.
THURSDAY, FEB. 19
• Polk County Fair Board — 8 a.m., Polk County Fairgrounds
and Event Center, Main Building, Meeting Room No. 2, 520 S.
Pacific Highway (99W), Rickreall. 503-623-3048.
• Dallas Economic Development Committee — Noon, City
Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dallas. 503-831-3502.
• Independence Parks and Recreation Board— 6 p.m., In-
dependence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-
838-1212.
• Monmouth Arts and Culture Commission — 7 p.m., Vol-
unteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0722.
MONDAY, FEB. 23
• Dallas School Board — 2:45 p.m., Whitworth Elementary
School, 1151 SE Miller Ave., Dallas. 503-623-9664, ext. 2334.
• Independence Library Board — 4 p.m., Independence
Public Library, 175 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1811.
TUESDAY, FEB. 24
• Independence City Council — 7:30 a.m., Independence
Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 25
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173.
GOVERNOR
Gov. John Kitzhaber (Dem.)
160 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-378-4582
Email: via website,
http://governor.oregon.gov/
—
STATE LEGISLATORS
Sen. Arnie Roblan
(District 5, Democrat)
S-417 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
sen.arnieroblan@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/roblan
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Event’s volunteers
make a difference
The fourth annual Polk
Community Connect on Jan.
28 was a success.
The planning committee
and leadership team would
like to recognize and thank
all of the many partners and
community members that
helped make the day a suc-
cess. More than 300 individ-
uals were served with access
to direct services and re-
sources including dental,
haircuts, pet care, clothing,
bike repair and more.
The planning team would
like to thank Valley Life Cen-
ter for generously opening
its doors and hosting the
event; James2 Community
Kitchen and Marion-Polk
Food Share for providing
and preparing the 500-plus
meals served; Salem-Keizer
Transit for providing free-
fare rides to and from the
event; Medical Teams Inter-
national and local dentists
for serving guests with den-
tal needs; Salt Creek Baptist
Church clothing ministry; to
the 50-plus service providers
who provided resource infor-
mation and access to servic-
es; and to the more than 100
volunteers that helped make
the day a big success.
The planning team is
grateful to serve alongside
supportive and community-
minded churches, organiza-
tions and community mem-
bers.
Michelle Bornfleth
Dallas
Business steps up
for Falls City library
Over the winter months,
the Wagner Community Li-
brary has been on the receiv-
ing end of a plethora of do-
nations, including toys, art,
books and volunteer time.
The most recent contri-
bution deserves special
mention.
That “thank you” goes out
to House of Floors, 680
Main St., Dallas. When
House of Floors learned that
the Wagner Community Li-
brary children’s area desper-
ately required updating, its
staff was quick with a re-
sponse. The quality Berber
carpet with multi colors is
expected to endure for
many seasons.
It will be put to the initial
test on Feb. 28 between 10
a.m. and 1 p.m., when the li-
brary celebrates Dr. Seuss’
birthday. Come on out to
the library to admire the
cozy children’s section.
Cynthia Hovind, director
Wagner Community Library
Falls City
Legal marijuana
isn’t the problem
Regarding the letter head-
lined “Marijuana won’t be
good for Dallas” (Feb. 11
Itemizer-Observer), it’s like
“Refer Madness” revisited in
Dallas.
Presumably, the reason
Josephine County is without
police protection and their
citizens need to arm them-
selves is legal medical mari-
juana. Josephine County is
influenced by the Tea Party.
They don’t agree with taxa-
tion and love guns.
To insinuate seasonal
farm workers are abusing
Oregon Trail cards smacks of
the 1930s that used blacks,
Puerto Ricans and Asians as
similar scapegoats.
Mike Neufeldt
Dallas
Tired of repeated
tax levy requests
Why vote “no” on another
county tax levy?
Maybe we’re tired of the
old song, “We need more
money. It’s only a cup of cof-
fee a day more.” Voting “no”
is the only way to send our
message — our only hope of
trying to make government
take notice and change what
they do. We resoundingly
voted “no” more than a year
ago. Is that not a valid voter
decision? It’s always ask for
more.
We are at our limit. We
want government to recog-
nize that and live within its
means. Don’t ignore our
votes. Remember, you work
for us.
Charles Krogman
Dallas
Local businesses
value customers
It was two years ago I
bought a pair of comfort-
able and durable shoes from
the folks at Rugged Wear in
Dallas.
Wouldn’t you know it —
my shoelaces started looking
like they might not make it
much longer. I went back to
Rugged Wear.
I told ’em I need some
new shoelaces, “Could you
sell me some?” The answer
was “no.” And they contin-
ued, “We’ll give you some.
Since you bought your shoes
here, it seems like the right
thing for us to keep you in
laces, doesn’t it?”
Now that’s why I like
shopping at home — in Dal-
las I’m a valued customer
and person.
Dave Weston
Dallas
Behavior of young
men was refreshing
Sen. Jackie Winters
(District 10, Republican)
S-301 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1710
sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/winters
Sen. Brian Boquist
(District 12, Republican)
S-305 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1712
sen.brianboquist@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/boquist
Rep. David Gomberg
(District 10, Democrat)
H-471 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1410
rep.davidgomberg@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/gomberg
Rep. Paul Evans
(District 20, Democrat)
H-281 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1420
rep.paulevans@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/evans
Rep. Mike Nearman
(District 23, Republican)
H-378 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1423
rep.mikenearman@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/nearman
—
U.S. CONGRESS
Sen. Ron Wyden (Dem.)
221 Dirksen SOB
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-5244
Fax: 202-228-2717
Salem office: 707 13th St. SE,
Suite 285, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-589-4555
Email: via website,
www.wyden.senate.gov
While having lunch at a
local eatery Friday, we ob-
served a group of young
men having a meal. I want
to compliment their parents
and their coach.
They were polite to the
server (I heard a lot of
“thank yous”), paid atten-
tion to others around them
so they were all able to enjoy
a quiet wonderful meal.
It seems that the ones
who make the most noise
and create problems are the
ones who make the newspa-
pers. I just want to encour-
age them to continue on the
path that they are on be-
cause it looks like they have
a good start.
Again, please pass this on
to any young person that
you think might have been
there. You are indeed on the
right path. Kudos to your
parents.
Shelly Thornicroft
Dallas
WANT TO WRITE A LETTER?
Letters to the editor are lim-
ited to 300 words. Longer letters
will be edited.
Election-related letters of all
types are limited to 100 words.
Writers are limited to one elec-
tion-related letter per election
season. Election letters from
writers outside of Polk County
are not accepted.
Each writer is restricted to
one letter per 30-day period.
Letters, like all editorial mate-
rial submitted to the newspaper,
are edited for length, grammar
and content.
Letters of thanks to busi-
nesses, individuals and organi-
zations are limited to 10 names.
The deadline for letters to the
editor is Monday at 10 a.m.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (Dem.)
313 Hart SOB
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-3753
Fax: 202-228-3997
Salem office: 495 State St. SE,
Suite 330, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-362-8102
Email: via website,
www.merkley.senate.gov
Rep. Kurt Schrader (Dem.)
108 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-5711
Fax: 202-225-5699
Salem office: 544 Ferry St. SE,
Suite 2, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-588-9100
Fax: 503-588-5517
Email: via website,
www.schrader.house.gov
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POLK COUNTY
Board of Commissioners
850 Main St.
Dallas, OR 97338
Phone: 503-623-8173
www.co.polk.or.us
—
CITIES
Dallas
187 SE Court St.
Dallas, OR 97338
503-623-2338
www.ci.dallas.or.us
Falls City
299 Mill St.
Falls City, OR 97344
503-787-3631
www.fallscityoregon.gov
Independence
555 S. Main St.
Independence, OR 97351
503-838-1212
www.ci.independence.or.us
Monmouth
151 W. Main St.
Monmouth, OR 97361
503-838-0722
www.ci.monmouth.or.us
HOW TO REACH US
Vol. 140, No. 7
(USPS) - 437-380)
The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875
Winner of 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 General Excellence Awards
from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
Periodicals postage paid at
Dallas, OR, Independence, OR and Monmouth, OR.
Published weekly at 147 SE Court Street
Dallas, Oregon 97338
Phone: 503-623-2373 Fax: 503-623-2395
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Polk County — One Year $27
Other Oregon Counties — One Year $33
Outside of Oregon — One Year $38
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to: Polk County Itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, Oregon 97338
The Polk County Itemizer-Observer assumes no financial responsibility for errors in adver-
tisements. It will, however, reprint without charge for the portion of an advertisement
which is in error if the Itemizer-Observer is at fault.
NEWSROOM
Nancy Adams ...............Publisher ...........................................................................nadams@polkio.com
Kurt Holland..................Managing Editor...........................................................kholland@polkio.com
Lukas Eggen..................Sports Editor......................................................................leggen@polkio.com
Jolene Guzman............Dallas/Falls City/Polk County Reporter ................jguzman@polkio.com
Emily Mentzer ..............Monmouth/Independence Reporter ..................ementzer@polkio.com
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Phone: 503-623-2373
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