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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2015)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 11, 2015 9A Polk County Living BIRTHS Snakes are a gardener’s friend It might be a little early, but when the time comes gardeners should be glad to see snakes glide through the garden. These much-ma- ligned reptiles consume gar- den pests, including slugs, grubs, mice, voles and rats. “The vast majority of snakes in Oregon are very beneficial,” said Bob Mason, a professor of integrative biol- ogy at Oregon State Universi- ty who specializes in snakes. Snakes eat a variety of pests. The garter feeds on slugs; the sharp-tailed snake adds grubs to their diet, in- cluding the destructive Japanese beetle grub. Rubber boas specialize in eating mice and voles, going down their tunnels after them. And gopher snakes snack on mice and rats. “I’ve even had farmers call me up and ask if I had any snakes available,” Mason said. Garters are the type of K YM P OKORNY Your Garden snake most often seen by urban and suburban garden- ers, he said. Two species of garter snakes are commonly found throughout much of Oregon, except the moun- tains: the abundant western terrestrial garter snake and the common garter snake. In Western Oregon, a third species is also present, the northwestern garter snake. An aquatic garter snake resides in Southwestern Oregon. Garter snakes generally breed in the spring and give birth to live young in the late summer or fall. Often, young are not seen until the follow- ing spring, after they emerge from hibernation after their first winter. “Most young garter snakes don’t survive into adult- hood,” Mason said. “They are killed off by predators, cars and lawnmowers.” To make your property garter snake friendly, Mason advises: • Walk your lawn before you mow it to scare the snakes into hiding. Lawn mowers are deadly to snakes because they can’t hear like we do. Rather, they feel vibrations. • Provide habitat for snakes if you have room. Old plywood or corrugated metal roofing left loosely on the ground in an out-of-the- way place on your property provides hiding and nesting places for slithering crea- tures. Old stumps and large rocks also make good snake habitat. • Don’t use chemicals such as pesticides and fertil- izers in areas used by snakes, including lawns. • If you have pets, the like- lihood of attracting snakes is minimal. The western rattlesnake, the only species of truly ven- omous snake native to Ore- gon, feeds on mice, rats and other smaller animals. Rat- tlesnakes were once more commonly found on both the west and east sides of the Cascades, however they’ve largely been killed off on the west side, Mason said. Learn more about snakes from the OSU Extension publications “Common Garter Snake” and “Attract Reptiles and Amphibians to Your Yard.” Mason also rec- ommends the photo-illus- trated book, “Reptiles of Washington and Oregon,” published by the Seattle Audubon Society and edited by Robert M. Storm and William P. Leonard. MI TOWN Does anybody know what time it is? Hopefully by now we’ve all sprung ahead and even the pesky digital clocks in our vehicles have been changed over to daylight saving time. On the positive side: It’s wonderful to have more light at the end of our day. Now if only somebody could figure out how to convince our dog and cat to sleep in an extra hour. After all, we let sleeping dogs lie; what about them re- turning the favor to us? — Friday evening, I was priv- ileged to present the Daugh- ters of the American Revolu- tion ROTC National Defense Medal to Army ROTC Cadet Micha T. Massari at an awards ceremony held in the Memorial Union at Oregon State University in Corvallis. What an honor it was to P ATTY T AYLOR D UTCHER Columnist be in the company of such bright young men and women as they prepare to go out into the world as mem- bers of the U.S. Army. I’m learning so many interesting things and meeting even more interesting people as a member of DAR, and would like to invite any women in- terested in their family histo- ries to think about member- ship in this great organiza- tion. With all the genealogi- cal information now avail- able online, tracing your family history isn’t the time (and money) consuming procedure it was years ago. The Winema DAR group meets the first Wednesday of every month in Corvallis. You can find us on the Web at www.DAR.org. — We’ve all had the time to vote for our selection of the best of our local businesses and organizations, and now we’ll find out the choices at the Monmouth-Indepen- dence Chamber of Com- merce’s 50th Annual Com- munity Awards Banquet on Friday at Eola Hills Wine Cel- lars. Congratulations to Megan Stutzman and Michael Wills, who have al- ready been announced as winners of the Junior Citizen of the Year award. — “Oregon’s Main Street: U.S. Highway 99” authors Jo-Brew and Pat Edwards are appear- A RLENE K OVASH Columnist formed by Pedee Church’s previous pastor, Mitch Lee. Michelle is the daughter of Sid and Sara Eves of Terre- bonne, in Central Oregon. After the rehearsal dinner on Feb. 27, Pastor Lee baptized Aaron, who had somehow missed that sacrament even though he’d been a Christian all his life. — Diane Telfer, who volun- SONrise Ministries presents in concert: Evergreen 3 and SONrise teers with the Red Cross with her husband, Paul, spent part of Feb. 28 with 100 other Red Cross volunteers going door to door in Salem to stress the importance of smoke detectors and to in- stall them for anyone who didn’t have them. Diane said that only 4 percent of homes do not have them, but 40 percent of deaths or injuries from home fires occur in those homes. If any of you reading this do not have smoke detectors, consider getting them as they save lives — it might be yours that is saved. — Alan and Sue Garton and Sue’s sisters, Nancy Dorey of 24 hour Service Key Leela Ocean Key was born to Chad Key and Megan O’- Driscoll Key of Dallas at 7:16 a.m. on Feb. 23 at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland. She weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Leela joins Blaze, 10. Grandparents are David and Debra Driscoll of Dallas and Gary Key of Dallas, Texas. Gillins Clara May Gillins was born to Luke and Rachel Gillins of Dallas at 7:59 a.m. on Feb. 26 at Salem Hospital Family Birth Center. She weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 20¾ inches long. Clara joins Caroline, 2. Grandparents are Steve and Brenda Large of Dallas and Mark and Michelle Gillins of Rickreall. Great-grandparents are Ray and Mary Donnell of Dallas, Joe Johnson of Rickreall, Alda Large of Salem and Leola Gillins of Monmouth. Music from the Vineyard ing at the Independence Civic Center on Monday at 7 p.m. Here’s your opportunity to learn about the history of the highway that begins at the Columbia River and ends at the California border — and runs right through MI Town. Books will also be available for purchase. If you’d like to take a peek, go to http://orheritage.org/shop/p ublications/. — One of the best signs of springtime is the Soup and Pie Sale at the Monmouth Senior Center. Get ready to savor outstanding home- made soups and pies from the kitchens of the best cooks in MI Town. Mark your calendars for March 19, when good food is available from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The center is located at 180 S. Warren St. in Monmouth. PEDEE NEWS Marguerite Nice reported that her brother, Curtis Mc- Beth, died March 3 at age 75. He was born and raised in Pedee and lived here his whole life, most recently on Burbank Road with his wife Marcie, although he had been in the Dallas Care Cen- ter for several years. He was the Polk County animal con- trol officer for several years. His funeral is Saturday at 11 a.m. at Dallas Church, 450 SE Washington St., Dallas. — On the brighter side, Aaron Goetzinger, son of Chuck and Gail Goetzinger, was married to Michelle Eves at Pedee Church on Feb. 28 in a joyous ceremony per- Young Brooke Fallon Young was born to Nathan and Kendall Young of Dallas at 4:54 a.m. on Feb. 19 at Silverton Hospital Family Birth Center. She weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces, and was 21 inches long. Brooke is the couple’s first child. Seattle and Jan Barsi of Puyallup, Wash., drove down to Klamath Falls for the week of President’s Day for the an- nual Winter Wings Festival, as Sue and her sisters are all birders. More bald eagles fly through the Klamath Falls area than in any other place in the lower 48 states, and the Gartons were hoping to see them all at the festival, but only saw a few, although they saw several birds they hadn’t seen before. On their first night, they stayed at the Run- ning Y Resort, where they saw eight to 10 juvenile bald ea- gles and hundreds of ducks, then on the way home they saw thousands of tundra swans on Klamath Lake. Sun. Mar. 15, 1- 4 PM featuring Irish Laddies $5.00 cover & 1 can of food for the Ella Curran Food Bank Food may be available Tasting fees & glasses of wine $5.00 8175 Buena Vista Road Independence • 503-428-7115 • www.redgatevineyard.com A little effort. A big difference. West Valley Housing Authority will hold their Work Session Meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 beginning at 11:30 a.m. at 204 SW Walnut in Dallas, Oregon. The Regular Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at 204 SW Walnut in Dallas, Oregon. An Executive Session pursuant to ORS 192.660 will be held immediately following the Regular Meeting. Agenda for the meeting is posted on the Housing Authority website at www.wvpha.org. The location for the meeting is handicapped accessible. Please advise the West Valley Housing Authority if you need any special accommodations to attend the meeting. For information, please call 503-623- 8387, TDD 1-800-735-2900. AM, PM, & Lunch YOGA Teaching inner peace through breath work, flexibility and balance. Pick up & Drop Off All levels & bodies welcome. Beginning yoga series. March 14, 2015 • 6pm Salt Creek Baptist Church Dallas, Oregon 15075 Salt Creek Rd, Dallas, OR YOGA For more information call 503-623-3989 Food and fellowship after the concert. Love Offering. 184 SE Oak St • 999-8016 www.dallasoregonyoga.com Matinees are all shows before 6pm. New pricing for matinees are: Adult $7.25 Children $6.75 • Senior $7.00 Pricing does not reflect 3D showings. Friday, Saturday & Sunday March 13 - March 15 MCFARLAND (Digital) (PG) (1:10 4:00) UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Digital) (R) (12:50 3:05 5:20) SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (Digital) (PG) (1:35 4:20) Disney’s CINDERELLA (Digital) (PG) (11:30 2:00 4:30) RUN ALL NIGHT (Digital) (R) (1:25 4:05) CHAPPIE (Digital) (R) (1:40 4:25) FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (Digital) (R) (1:00) KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (Digital) (R) (3:45) THE DUFF (Digital) (PG13) (12:25 2:50) FOCUS (Digital) (R) (5:10) 6:50 9:30* 7:35 9:45* 7:05 7:00 6:45 7:10 6:40 9:20* 7:40 9:50* Monday - Wednesday March 16 - March 18 MCFARLAND (Digital) (PG) (1:10 4:00) 6:50 UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Digital) (R) (3:05 5:20) 7:35 SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (Digital) (PG) Disney’s CINDERELLA (Digital) (PG) RUN ALL NIGHT (Digital) (R) CHAPPIE (Digital) (R) FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (Digital) (R) KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (Digital) (R) THE DUFF (Digital) (PG13) FOCUS (Digital) (R) (1:35 4:20) (2:00 4:30) (1:25 4:05) (1:40 4:25) (3:45) (2:50) (5:10) 7:05 7:00 6:45 7:10 6:40 7:40 Thursday March 19 MCFARLAND (Digital) (PG) (1:10 4:00) SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (Digital) (PG) (1:35 4:20) KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (Digital) (R) (3:45) INSURGENT (NEC Dolby 3D) (PG13) UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Digital) (R) (3:05 5:20) INSURGENT (Digital 2D) (PG13) THE DUFF (Digital) (PG13) (2:50) DIVERGENT (Digital 2D) (PG13) Double Feature w/INSURGENT (5:30) INSURGENT (Digital 2D) (PG13) 9:35* 9:15* 9:10* 9:40* 6:50 7:05 8:00 8:00 Double Feature w/DIVERGENT 8:20 Disney’s CINDERELLA (Digital) (PG) (2:00 4:30) 7:00 RUN ALL NIGHT (Digital) (R) (1:25 4:05) 6:45 CHAPPIE (Digital) (R) (1:40 4:25) 7:10 *Only showing 3/13-3/14 Friday – Saturday