Polk County
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Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 18, 2015 4A
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Transparency helps
public trust officials
Transparency in our elections, our government, and our
democracy doesn’t just happen. It’s hard work. It takes
funding. It needs staff. Perhaps most of all, it takes an un-
derstanding that the value of transparency can’t be meas-
ured as an immediate return on investment.
Transparency can nurture a culture of trust in our elected
representatives, further an understanding that government
serves important functions for citizens, and provide a meas-
ure of accountability. When the flow of information about
our elections, our government, and our democracy is cur-
tailed, we’re nurturing a culture of mistrust and cynicism.
Sadly, a budget subcommittee in Montana did just that
recently when it took aim at the state political practices
commissioner’s office — the office that educates candi-
dates about how to lawfully campaign, and helps them un-
derstand the laws governing campaign finances and ethi-
cal expectations. The office that compiles campaign dis-
closure reports from hundreds of candidates each election
cycle, and asks candidates to fill out forms properly and in
a timely manner. The office that informs the press and
public about who is funding the campaigns of the candi-
dates who, if elected, will spend taxpayer money. The office
where citizen accountability interests are nurtured.
For doing this important job, for creating “some tremen-
dous efficiencies,” as one committee member noted, the
subcommittee voted to cut the in-house attorney who
helped eliminate a case backlog, and reduce the salary of the
commissioner by 23 percent. The vote was along party lines.
Nurturing the public’s interest in transparency and ac-
countability was trumped by party politics.
Sadly, what happened in Montana isn’t an anomaly. In
state after state, lawmakers are targeting disclosure agencies.
In the face of tight budgets, it’s easy for lawmakers to
argue for cutting ethics and disclosure commissions. But
the citizenry should be alarmed when politics trumps the
public’s right to meaningful information about its elected
representatives and who supports their campaigns. The
public should be outraged when lawmakers directly attack
transparency, for with no transparency there can be no ac-
countability.
By Edwin Bender, Executive Director
National Institute on Money in State Politics
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 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, MARCH 19
• Polk County Fair Board — 8 a.m., Polk County Fairgrounds
and Event Center, Main Building, Meeting Room No. 2, 520 S. Pa-
cific 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, MARCH 23
• Independence Library Board — 4 p.m., Independence
Public Library, 175 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1811.
• Dallas School Board — 6:30 p.m., Dallas School District of-
fice board room, 111 SW Ash St., Dallas. 503-623-9664, ext. 2334.
TUESDAY, MARCH 24
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173.
• Independence City Council — 7:30 a.m., Independence
Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• MINET Financial Advisory Committee — 3:30 p.m., Ore-
gon State Credit Union, 464 Pacific Ave. S., Monmouth. 503-837-
0700.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173.
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
American Legion
celebrates 96 years
This past week, the Amer-
ican Legion celebrated its
96th birthday. It was formed
in Paris on March 15, 1919,
by an American Expedi-
tionary Force group. Among
the service members there
was Sgt. Carl B. Fenton of
Dallas.
Although the American
Legion was started in March
1919, Congress granted the
American Legion its nation-
al charter in September
1919. The American Legion
is a war time veteran organ-
ization for both veterans
who have served overseas
during a time of war, as well
as veterans who have served
in aiding them here at
home. The American Legion
was charted by the U.S.
Congress on Sept. 16, 1919.
From then on, the Ameri-
can Legion has grown and
thrived with many pro-
grams. The American Le-
gion baseball program was
created on July 17, 1925, the
first of the American Legion
Boys State convenes was
held on June 23, 1935, in
Springfield, Ill. On June 1,
1938, the American Legion
held its first National High
School Oratorical Champi-
onship in Norman, Okla.
In August 1919, Post 20 in
Dallas was formed, although
the charter was not issued
until January 1920. It was
named after Carl B. Fenton,
who passed away before the
post was formed.
Beth A. Lillibridge
Dallas
Too many taxes
burden taxpayers
Property taxes increased
this year over last year.
Given the increasing rate of
poverty in Oregon, many
folks are just barely getting
by without the added bur-
den of another tax increase.
Food prices are increasing
and gas prices are going up
along with a possible new
carbon fuel tax being pro-
posed by the Oregon Legis-
lature. I wonder how many
people are being forced out
of their homes due to fore-
closures because they can’t
make ends meet. The taxing
and spending increases
need to stop. Vote no on the
public safety tax.
Shirley Mannenbach
Dallas
Vote ‘no’ on county
public safety levy
Why should we vote yes
on the public safety levy
when the county commis-
sioners control the budget
for the sheriff’s office, and
they can adjust the funding
until it is the same as it is
now? The commissioner’s
office is in full control of the
sheriff’s budget, and if they
wanted his budget bigger
they would have given it to
him. I am certain they will
repeat this history and cut
his funds again. Across the
nation other sheriffs have
encouraged communities to
watch out for their neigh-
bors and stand together. We
encourage everyone to vote
no.
Ron and Annette Coxson
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
Body cams: public records?
Cameras of all sorts are everywhere. Some-
times what they record is routine and in-
nocuous, but often the events that are cap-
tured raise questions.
When video recordings are prepared by or
for a government agency in New York, they are
“records” subject to rights conferred by FOIL
(Freedom of Information Law). As in all in-
stances, their content and the effects of disclo-
sure are the key factors in determining which
portions are public or may be withheld.
If a surveillance camera is mounted on a
police vehicle in plain sight in the park and
captures what anyone in a public place can
see, the video would be available under FOIL
to anyone. Its presence, in fact, deterred bad
behavior. But if a camera is hidden and
placed in a high crime area to record what
may be criminal activity, the recording might
justifiably be withheld.
Those are easy examples, but what about
police officers’ use of bodycams? If a video in-
volves the commission of a crime, disclosure
might interfere with an investigation or de-
prive a person of a right to a fair trial. If it in-
volves the person on the street who’s a wit-
ness, disclosure could jeopardize that per-
son’s safety. If it’s the victim of a crime ..., dis-
closure might result in an invasion of privacy.
By Robert J. Freeman, executive director
New York State Department of State
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
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The Itemizer-Observer does
not guarantee the accuracy of
facts presented by letter writers;
dissenters are welcome to re-
spond. Letter writers who dis-
agree with other published
letter writers should maintain a
civil discourse and address the
subject, not the author.
Letters, like all editorial mate-
rial submitted to the newspaper,
are edited for length, grammar
and content.
Letters must include the au-
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Letters must be submitted
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missions to the I-O, not copies of
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Letters of thanks to busi-
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The deadline for letters to the
editor is 10 a.m. Monday. Let-
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tractable after this deadline.
—
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. 11
(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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Heidi Leppin .................Display Advertising Manager ....................................hleppin@polkio.com
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Dawn Ohren .....................................................................................................................ioads@polkio.com
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Kathy Huggins ..............................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com
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Phone: 503-623-2373
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