GRAND RONDE
Remington looks to
WOU POW WOW
VAULT
TO
STATE
Page 7A
Page 10A
Volume 140, Issue 16
www.Polkio.com
April 22, 2015
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IN YOUR TOWN
DALLAS NEWS
Dallas’ 2015-16 budget increased slightly from
the current fiscal year, but will essentially offer a
“status quo” level of service.
City Manager Ron Foggin provided an overview
of the city’s proposed approximately $39 million
budget Monday night during a Dallas Budget Com-
mittee meeting. About $10.4 million is in the city’s
general fund, which includes police, fire, finance,
administration and community development de-
partments.
“We are trying to keep up with current service
levels,” Foggin said.
»Page 3A
FALLS CITY NEWS
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Rex Fuller speaks with Western benefactor Fred Maurice at Fuller’s community reception on April 7.
WOU LEADER CHOSEN
Fuller will be Western’s 23rd president in July
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
M O N M O U T H — Re x
Fuller doesn’t want to wait
until July 1, when he takes
over as Western Oregon’s
23rd president, to begin the
first thing on his to-do list:
listening and learning.
“I hope to be able to
arrange for some of that dur-
ing the transition days be-
tween now and July,” Fuller
said.
Fuller, 62, an economist
and professor of public ad-
ministration, has served as
provost and vice president
for the division of academic
affairs at Eastern Washing-
ton University in Cheney,
Wash.
He said the Mid-
Willamette Valley is a perfect
fit. He and his wife, Susan,
have already begun search-
ing for a home in the Mon-
mouth area.
A competitive tennis play-
er and golf enthusiast, Fuller
said Oregon has a great
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Rex Fuller and his wife Susan enjoy a sunny reception at
Western Oregon’s Historic Gentle House on Thursday.
lifestyle.
More important than the
geographical area, Fuller is
excited to serve as WOU’s
next president.
Throughout his short
two-day tour and interview
April 7 and 8, Fuller said
WOU’s commitment to stu-
dent success was evident
around every corner.
“During the interview
(process), the messages just
reinforced each other,” he
noted. “They were different
voices and different per-
spectives, but there was a
thread that tied things to-
gether.”
Students voiced their con-
cerns using language de-
scribing hopes and dreams,
while faculty talked about
their work using words more
commonly associated with
educational professionals,
but it all boiled down to one
thing: a deep commitment
on everyone’s part for stu-
dents to succeed.
Fuller is ready to honor
Western’s past while moving
the university forward.
“I look forward to learning
more about (WOU’s core
values) and then working
with colleagues to say,
what’s the next level? What’s
the opportunity for us to
take Western to one more
level of distinction, because
I think it’s poised to do that,”
Fuller said.
See FULLER, Page 14A
Medicare bill carries timber payments
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — The U.S. Senate
approved legislation including a two-
year extension of the Secure Rural
Schools program, which would bring
$185 million to Oregon.
The bill was signed by President
Barack Obama’s last week.
The extension was attached to legis-
lation that addresses how Medicare re-
imburses doctors and other health care
professionals for providing care to pa-
tients.
The Senate voted 92-8 to approve it,
while the U.S. House of Representative
passed it on a 392-37 vote in March.
“This extension ends months of un-
certainty for Oregon’s rural communi-
ties, who have grappled with on-again,
off-again funding for roads, schools
and first responders,” said Sen. Ron
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Wyden (D-Ore.). “Renewed county pay-
ments buy us time to build support for
solutions that address the broader eco-
nomic issues that plague too many of
our rural areas.”
So, what does that mean for Polk
County?
Polk County Commissioner Craig
Pope said the county is estimating Polk
will see about $400,000 for 2014 and
$700,000 for 2015, but those numbers
could change when the details are
worked out.
The 2014 payment, combined with
$388,000 received previously from the
Bureau of Land Management, is down
5 percent from what the county re-
ceived in 2013.
It won’t plug the hole the county is
trying to fill with a public safety levy
that will appear on ballots next month.
The levy would tax 45 cents per $1,000
of assessed value on properties, gener-
ating $2.25 million in the first year
alone.
Pope said the county will levy less to
offset funding received in payments,
and they should know the final
amounts soon.
The legislation says the payments
are to be sent 45 day after the bill is
signed into law. Pope said there is a
chance counties will receive the pay-
ments for both years in 2015 because
of that clause.
This latest reauthorization was
moved forward separate from require-
ments demanding increased timber
harvests, a limitation that stopped an
extension last year.
“There is clear momentum in Con-
gress for the idea that we need the safe-
ty net — unencumbered with unrealis-
tic logging levels — as well as separate
legislation that gets the harvest up,”
Wyden said.
The appeal in the code violation case against
Falls City’s Akha Farm has been postponed until
July.
Thursday, a pre-trial hearing was held in the
case, with a trial slated for April 29. However, the
trial is now set for July 7.
Falls City City Prosecutor Moe Brown said this
week the delay in the trial is due to scheduling
conflicts with Polk County Circuit Court.
Akha Farm owner Matthew McDaniel is appeal-
ing code violations he was convicted of last fall in
Falls City Municipal Court.
»Page 5A
INDEPENDENCE NEWS
The Independence Police Department has been
doing things right for a number of years, and now
it is an accredited agency through Oregon Accred-
itation Alliance (OAA).
“One of the things we learned right away is we
were doing really well,” Lt. Rick Igou said about the
process of accreditation. “We were already per-
forming at the national standards.”
To qualify for accreditation, law enforcement
agencies must prove that they meet national stan-
dards based on best practices in 102 categories, for
everything from oaths of office to job descriptions,
high-speed chases to use of force.
»Page 2A
MONMOUTH NEWS
In the cool, sunny morning on Saturday, about
50 people picked up shovels in Madrona Park.
“Let’s go plant some trees!” Monmouth Mayor
John Oberst exclaimed.
It was Monmouth’s celebration of National Arbor
Day, and the 13th year the city has been named
Tree City USA.
Volunteers young and older planted 26 trees in
Madrona Park, including two large trees.
Community Development Director Mark Fancey
gave tree-planting instructions before everyone
got started.
»Page 3A
POLK COUNTY NEWS
Luckiamute Valley Charter School seventh-grad-
er Chris Seiber wore his favorite pants to school on
April 14. That was a mistake.
By the afternoon, he was covered in mud —
along with the rest of his class. Dodging rain and
hail, LVCS seventh- and eighth-graders helped staff
from the Luckiamute Watershed Council (LWC) re-
move invasive ivy from Ritner Creek Park on Gage
Road near Pedee.
“You should have made the announcement soon-
er,” Seiber said to teacher Steve Diehl, referring to
the warning about attire for the afternoon’s project.
»Page 16A
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Helping Hands
Emergency Food
Bank provides food
assistance to eligible
community mem-
bers each week.
10 a.m.-noon. Free.
A community health
fair at Talmadge
Middle School pro-
vides health screen-
ing and information
and activities to all.
5-7 p.m. Free.
Enjoy an evening of
art and cheesecake
at Dallas Public Li-
brary. Live music
also will be provided
at this event.
6 p.m. $5.
Cheer on Western
students at their
Relay For Life event.
Celebrate survivors
and join the fight
against cancer.
6 p.m.-8 a.m. Free.
Grab your scrap-
booking stuff and
hit the Majestic to
scrap for a cure, sup-
porting Team Hope
and Relay For Life.
11 a.m.- 5 p.m. $20.
The Dallas Chamber
lunch topic is “Visual
Content for Web
and Social Media,”
presented by Marlin
Brownell.
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. $10.
James2 Community
Kitchen offers free
meals to everyone
in the community
each Tuesday and
Thursday.
4:30-6 p.m. Free.
Mostly sunny
Hi: 60
Lo: 38
Partly cloudy
Hi: 59
Lo: 41
Mostly sunny
Hi: 58
Lo: 40
Rain
Hi: 60
Lo: 47
Rain
Hi: 60
Lo: 47
Showers
Hi: 59
Lo: 44
Showers
Hi: 60
Lo: 41