Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2015)
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 18, 2015 Polk County News Deputy fights rare blood cancer Storm drains need Alexander welcomes son, finds lymphoma in same week upgrades in Dallas By Jolene Guzman No rate increases planned for now The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Curtis Alexan- der was the picture of health and energy. Alexander, 29, a Polk County Jail deputy and re- serve patrol deputy in Ben- ton County, worked hard and exercised every day. “He was perfectly healthy,” Curtis’ wife, Shau- na, said last week. “He was running three miles a day.” Curtis had his future in mind. He wants to become a police officer some day, and his wife was expecting a son, Colton. The Dallas couple got to meet their little guy on Feb. 10. Only six days later, they received devastating news. Curtis had what he be- lieved was an eye injury, a bump and swelling above his left eye. He tried to treat it, but the swelling just wouldn’t go down. “I work in law enforce- ment,” he explained last week. “Sometimes the job gets physical. I just thought I might have gotten bumped in the eye. I was feeling fine … going about life as nor- mal.” He made an appointment with a doctor in mid-Janu- ary, who referred him to an eye specialist who examined him. Fearing the swelling was a symptom of some- thing more serious, Curtis was told to undergo a CT scan. The scan revealed some- thing that shocked the young couple: Curtis had Burkitt lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood cancer. A biopsy confirmed it and on Feb. 16, Curtis was rushed to Oregon Health & Science University to begin two weeks of chemotherapy. That was the first of what could be six to eight rounds of treatment, with Curtis spending one week in the hospital and two weeks at home in between. The couple said that ini- By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer Photo courtesy of Shauna Alexander Curtis Alexander holds his newborn son, Colton, just days before learning he has a rare and aggressive form of cancer, Burkitt lymphoma. He’s in his second round of treatment. You Can Help • A fundraising site has been set up on youcar- ing.com to help pay for the family’s medical ex- penses. To find the page, go to youcaring.com and search for “Curtis Alexan- der.” The family is hoping to raise $10,000. tial round of treatment was difficult. They only had days to spend with their son be- fore having to put him in the care of a relative during the day so Shauna could be at the hospital with Curtis. She spent the nights with her newborn in a hotel in Port- land. For Curtis, the separation was worse. “I only got to see him for one hour a day when I was in the hospital. That was tough,” he said, adding he has enjoyed the past few weeks at home. “I’m trying to be as normal as I can. I’m pretty tired all the time, so usually there is a relative here, but it’s pretty awesome Photo courtesy of Shauna Alexander Curtis Alexander, with his wife, Shauna, left, has worked as a Polk County Jail deputy for more than two years. being a dad.” Doctors will carefully monitor his recovery from treatment and the fast-mov- ing disease to keep him on a schedule his body can han- dle without letting the can- cer get the upper hand. Alexander has a positive prognosis, according to his doctors, about an 80 to 90 percent chance of being cured. His general health and the fact that the cancer was found early will all help him in this battle, which continued Friday, as he checked in for a second round of chemotherapy. “I really, really appreciate all the support of family and friends,” Curtis said. “It means a lot and it just makes me fight that much harder.” DALLAS — The city of Dallas will be creating a new storm water fund in the 2015-16 budget, but that doesn’t mean an in- crease in rates — yet. Costs of operating and maintaining the storm water system are now in- cluded in sewer rates. The change would simply sepa- rate the cost of current op- erations and put in its own fund. Currently, the city does minimal maintenance on the system. Manage- ment of the system costs $2.57 of the average sewer bill of $42.90. “It wouldn’t affect any- body’s rates,” said Fred Braun, Dallas’ engineering and environmental servic- es director. The recommendation is part of the city’s recently finished storm water mas- ter plan. The plan includes an inventory and condition assessment of infrastruc- ture (i.e. pipes in the ground), system capacity, operational and regulatory requirements, and long- term financial analysis, in- cluding recommended im- provements to the system. Regulatory requirements and upgrades will eventu- ally push rates upward, but when is up to how quickly the council wants to pro- ceed with improvements. The plan found six “problem areas” that cause local flooding during storms: West Ellendale Av- enue and Wyatt Street; Douglas Street; Rickreall, Uglow Avenue, Orchard Drive drainage; Kings Val- ley Highway near the Dal- las Cemetery; the North Fork of Ash Creek; and Hunter Street. The approximate cost to fix those areas is $22.9 mil- lion, but that includes a $19 million price tag for the North Fork Ash Creek area. The creek flows through the former Weyerhaeuser mill, and improving it would require replacing culverts on that property, widening and clearing the creek channel and replac- ing bridges. The city is looking at alternatives — including purchasing prop- erty to create a retention pond — that would reduce that cost by half. Braun said he is uncer- tain when the system im- provements will be made. “We don’t have a sched- ule for that,” Braun said. “It depends on how aggres- sively the council wants to undertake these projects.” Additional federal envi- ronmental regulations on storm water systems would require more maintenance and staff, but those man- dates may be up to 10 years in the future, Braun said. The plan also recom- mended an increase in the storm water system devel- opment charge, to $1,141. The plan is available for review at the Dallas Public Library, 950 Main St., and at City Hall, 187 SE Court St., and will soon be on the city’s website. Braun said the city wel- comes comment on the plan and will address it at another public meeting be- fore the plan goes before the council for approval. In other business, the council: • Approved an ordinance to allow civil citations into the Dallas Municipal Court to be mailed when person- al delivery isn’t an option, such as to property owners who live out-of-state. • Approved an ordinance that specifically prohibits inoperable cars to be cov- ered by a tarp. Dallas city code has long required owners of such vehicles use car covers, but the ordi- nance is in response to an owner who took issue with the requirement.