Polk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 11, 2015 4A EDITORIALS How to Contact Officials Public safety system requires resources People inside the city limits of Dallas, Monmouth, In- dependence and West Salem may feel the May 19 county public safety levy doesn’t affect them. They may feel as though, as long as the cities maintain and operate effective police departments, it doesn’t really matter what happens on the county level — which is a level of government, not a geographic reference. This week, as we continue our coverage of the public safety levy, we take a journey with three criminals, who we label as Smash, Grab and Middleman. On the journey, we see that county resources are used from the start, with jail space, parole and probation, and the district attorney’s office. The fact is, county law enforcement workers finish what city police officers start. Without the county jail, criminals would walk free to commit more crimes. With- out attorneys at the DA’s office, paperwork is not filed on time or prosecution is delayed, hurting both the victim and the suspect. The people in Polk County — city police officers included — deserve better. Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office do more than just patrol county roads. They serve restraining or- ders, court custody orders, eviction notices, property seizures and foreclosures. They back up our fire districts and city police when emergency responders may be in danger of violent people. If something bad has happened to a member of your family who lives in another county, it’s the face of a Polk County deputy you will probably see at your door deliv- ering the news. The people in Polk County deserve prompt justice for criminals and victims, and quick response from a sheriff’s deputy. The system doesn’t work if all the needed parts aren’t there working together. Both the DA’s and sheriff’s offices are running on bare bones staffing. If a household was surviving on such little income and needed more money, it would be time to get a second job. But neither the DA’s office nor the sheriff’s department can moonlight at another job. 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, MARCH 11 • Monmouth Library Advisory Board — 7 a.m., Monmouth Public Library meeting room, 168 S. Ecols St., Monmouth. 503- 838-0722. • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. • Polk Soil and Water Conservation District Board — 6 p.m., USDA Service Center, 580 Main St., Suite A, Dallas. 503-623- 9680. • Monmouth Park and Recreation Board — 7 p.m., Volun- teer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0722. THURSDAY, MARCH 12 • Polk County Fire District No. 1 Board — 6 p.m., Central Station 90, 1800 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1510. • Luckiamute Watershed Council — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-837-0237. • Falls City City Council — 7:30 p.m., Falls City Community Center, 320 N. Main St., Falls City. 503-787-3631. MONDAY, MARCH 16 • Dallas City Council — 7 p.m., City Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dal- las. 503-831-3502. • Perrydale School Board — 7 p.m., Perrydale School, 7445 Perrydale Road, Amity. 503-623-2040. TUESDAY, MARCH 17 • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. • Independence Historic Preservation Commission — 4 p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212. • Monmouth City Council — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0722. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 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. GOVERNOR Gov. Kate Brown (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 Help make Polk County safer place The entire Polk County Sheriff’s Department — pa- trol deputies, sergeants, lieu- tenant and the sheriff him- self — work hard to keep our county as safe as possible. Staff shortages caused by se- vere budget cuts have been answered with increased ef- fort and dedication. We receive much from these brave and devoted public servants, but their dedication is stretched to the limit. It can’t go on this way. Support the public safety levy and give these folks the resources needed to restore 24-hour patrol service. Re- turn Polk County to the safer and more secure communi- ty that it once was. Lynnette Henshaw Dallas Republican antics are embarrassing After the GOP election victory, I wondered how long it would take to renew their push toward establish- ing a plutocracy in America. In the first legislation passed, they attached two riders. The first increases substantially the amounts of money the very wealthy may donate to political causes. The other item is legislation making the taxpayers rather than banks the guarantors for Wall Street banksters who gamble with fake finan- cial instruments. Of course the tried and true GOP attack campaigns roll on. There has been a fresh outbreak of hatred of Presi- dent Obama. Rather than argue issues, they insult the president with such idiocy as doubting that Mr. Obama loves America. There is never any substantive debate; it is always pejoratives and innu- endo, hatred and insult. Jon Stewart is a leftist po- litical commentator on TV. He recently showed several clips of Fox News commen- tators fawning over decisive, strong and action-orientated foreign leaders. Their exam- ples were Vladimir Putin of Russia, who just ripped Crimea from the Ukraine; Abdel Al-Sisi, the dictator of Egypt who is killing protest- ers against his rule; and King Abdallah of Jordan, who is an absolute ruler with an ex- cellent repression of dissent program. Their point was “Why can’t Obama be like that?” Then Stewart showed a series of clips where Fox News folks are calling Mr. Obama a tyrant, a dictator and traitor. The segment was a perfect example of how the GOP will say any- thing to make their point no matter how illogical or un- true it might be. How long will moderate Republicans continue to accept this trashing of everything dis- agreeable to the GOP? Any Republican readers who think you are moder- ates need to take a closer look at the rhetoric spewing forth from your party. Then you should be embarrassed. Fred Brown Dallas Levy’s tax increase would hurt us all Increased property taxes hurt homeowners, business- es and renters. Homeowners on fixed in- comes are negatively im- pacted by increased proper- ty taxes. Businesses are hit hard and need to increase charges to consumers in order to compensate for in- creased taxes. Landlords need to increase rent to cover their costs from in- creased property taxes. The proposed property tax levy will have a dramatic financial impact on all. Every year, additional taxes are collected, yet it’s never enough. It’s time to be creative in allocating tax monies and make things leaner and more efficient. Vote “no” on 27-117 and defeat the property tax levy. Terri Parsons Dallas Festival’s food drive effort appreciated Willamette Valley Food Assistance Program would like to thank the Polk Coun- ty Folklife Festival folks for the canned food drive they held during the festival on Saturday at the Polk County Fairgrounds. They gathered more than 1,000 pounds of food for our food assistance program in Dallas. Their mission is to pre- serve and promote the cul- tural and ethnic traditions of the people in the Mid- Willamette Valley. A good time was had by all. Thanks again. Kathy Chiles Willamette Valley Food Assistance Program Dallas 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 Know the law prior to complaining To the “gentleman” in the sports vehicle on Uglow and Miller in Dallas on Sunday at about 12:30 p.m. who shouted epithets at me while I obeyed Oregon traf- fic laws: Please re-introduce your- self to the laws of Oregon. It is illegal to turn on a solid red traffic arrow. Regardless of how important you be- lieve you are and how it is your “right” to curse at an- other driver you disagree with, the law remains. ORS 811.260 clearly states there is no turn allowed on a solid red arrow. Liz Thiessen 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 that are libelous, ob- scene or in bad taste will not be printed. Attacks by name on businesses or individuals will not be printed. Letters, like all editorial mate- rial submitted to the newspaper, are edited for length, grammar and content. Letters must include the au- thor’s name, address and tele- phone number. This includes letters submitted via the I-O’s website. Letters must be submitted from individuals, not organiza- tions, and must be original sub- missions to the Itemizer-Observer, not copies of letters sent to other media. 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. — Reach us at: Mail: Editor, Polk County Itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, OR 97338. Fax: 503-623-2395. Email: ionews@polkio.com. Office: 147 SE Court St., Dallas. 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 — 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. 10 (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 DISPLAY ADVERTISING Heidi Leppin .................Display Advertising Manager ....................................hleppin@polkio.com Rachel Best ....................Display Advertising.............................................................rbest@polkio.com Karen Sanks...................Client Services ...................................................................ksanks@polkio.com CLASSIFIED LINE ADVERTISING Dawn Ohren .....................................................................................................................ioads@polkio.com PRODUCTION Kathy Huggins ..............................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com Karyn Pressel .................................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com BOOKKEEPING Pat Letsch ......................................................................................................................pletsch@polkio.com Web: www.polkio.com Phone: 503-623-2373 Fax: 503-623-2395