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