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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2015)
Polk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 22, 2015 4A EDITORIALS How to Contact Officials SB 322’s death provides hope The Oregon Senate Committee on Education made a wise choice when it allowed Senate Bill 322 to die in com- mittee The bill would have phased out what are called fifth- year programs, referenced in recent stories including “Fifth-year programs OK, for now” on Page 15A of this newspaper, affecting 26 school districts in the state, in- cluding three in Polk County. We believe this was not because the concerns behind the bill — the source of the funding for the programs, the K-12 state school fund — were invalid or that the programs couldn’t be improved to better serve students. Our concern — and that of many school officials — is that there was no guarantee of a replacement for what dis- tricts were offering if they were forced to shut down in two years. Legislation to create “free community college for all” is working its way through the legislative process. Furthermore, while an idea worth exploring, free college may not offer one of the aspects that made fifth-year pro- grams so critical: building a “bridge to college.” Extra sup- port, counseling and college preparation classes gave stu- dents who otherwise might have faltered in their first year the help they needed, and more importantly, the knowl- edge they could succeed. Is that not among the goals education leaders have for students in Oregon? That made the efforts to end the programs as baffling as it was worrisome before the committee took no action Thursday. Dallas School District invited anyone interested in pro- moting — or ending — the programs to learn more about its version, Extended Campus. District officials were willing to share success stories and had statistics to back them up, in- cluding the fact that nearly 80 percent of those enrolled in their first year of college through Extended Campus contin- ued into a second. Also, 130 of the 472 students who have participated in the program were the first in their families to attend college. Dallas and other districts with fifth-year programs weren’t given the opportunity to share those stories, if the response at a March public hearing on the bill was any in- dication. Testimony provided at that hearing was heard — and now with more school districts at the table, a better plan can be created. We hope the phase-out idea, supported by Hilda Rossel- li, the college and career readiness director for the Oregon Education Investment Board, doesn’t return. For those students or former students who took the time — and courage — to testify before the committee, in- cluding two from Dallas, this was more than just a chance to see how government works. It was proof that, though it may be rare, not everything comes down to dollars and cents. Your successes are important, your experiences do matter and your opinions count. In this case, it appears your elected officials and school leaders are ready to roll up their sleeves to save programs that are a proven avenues to higher education in Oregon. We wish them luck. PUBLIC AGENDA Public Agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for govern- mental and nongovernmental agencies in Polk County. To sub- mit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Observer via fax (503-623-2395) or email (ionews@polkio.com). — MONDAY, APRIL 27 • Independence Library Board — 4 p.m., Independence Public Library, 175 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1811. • Dallas City Budget Committee — 6 p.m., City Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dallas. 503-831-3502. • 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, APRIL 28 • 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. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29 • 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 Sheriff services helps system Please support the public safety levy. County officials have not come to this deci- sion easily. Budget cuts have been made for years to avoid ask- ing for extra taxes. I have closely reviewed the county budget and I find no fluff or hidden reserves. What the county is asking for is truly needed. City residents might won- der why the levy is impor- tant to us. Consider the criminal jus- tice system as a car with the county services being the transmission. It will not matter how powerful our local engine is, without the transmission we will never get full performance from our vehicle. Vernon Wells Independence Stand up for sheriff, vote ‘yes’ I read with interest Emily Mentzer’s excellent article on background checks. Our sheriff has stood up for our rights against those who would destroy them. We should stand up for our sheriff and help him do the job that we elected him to do by providing him the staff that he needs to get the job done. Vote yes for Public Safety. Gary Weis Dallas Gun rights story felt one-sided A couple of heavily slant- ed articles in the past month — each article bi- ased in favor of Second Amendment gun ownership and opposed to further reg- ulation of firearms — are beginning to make it appear that the Itemizer-Observer has taken to using news ar- ticles as editorial columns. Most recently (April 8) the I-O ran an “article,” “More background checks not the answer,” in which not a sin- gle opinion in favor of the background checks pro- posed in Senate Bill 941 was even mentioned. Any competent reporter could easily have found someone to offer a support- ing position, but apparently Ms. Mentzer decided that was not important. Compounding her edito- rializing errors was the Page 5A, continued from Page 1A headline, “New bill infringes on Second Amendment.” Besides merely being an opinion, nowhere in the ar- ticle itself is there any, even the slightest, mention of the Second Amendment. How does the bill infringe on the Second Amendment which explicitly gives the right to regulate firearms? Ms. Mentzer apparently thinks that just dropping the term “Second Amend- ment” in a prominent head- line will suffice in making what has become her argu- ment. To his credit Sheriff Bob Wolfe offers a couple of other ways to combat the problem of gun violence in the U.S.: “addressing ... mental health issues and crimes committed by indi- viduals while using a gun,” both of which, by the way, will cost lots and lots of tax- payer money. Others cited in the article offer rational — even if self- serving from gun-shop own- ers — criticisms of the bill, to wit, that the new back- ground checks won’t do much to keep potentially vi- olent and/or incompetent persons from owning guns. To some extent this is true, but how true is certainly de- batable. A balanced, unopinionat- ed article from the I-O would be more helpful for its readership’s understand- ing of the bill. John Mark Krenkel Dallas Gasoline prices too high in Dallas I like to spend my money locally when I am able. I drove through Salem and the price at several stations is at or below $2.38 a gallon. I came back to Dallas and checked prices and they were quite a bit higher. When the gas started dropping last fall, Dallas tracked Salem very closely. Not this time. Shop around and save some money. It all comes out of the same place. John Engelien Dallas Public safety levy no longer needed 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 I’m wondering if the property tax increase is nec- essary. With increased property tax collections due to growth and what appears to be some timber money from Congress, it looks like the county will have over half the funds they need to fund increased patrols. Join me in voting no on the property tax levy. Debora Nearman Independence More LETTERS, Page 6 A 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 not be printed. Letters to the editor that are obvious promotions for a busi- ness, products or services will not be printed. 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- thor’s name, address and tele- phone number. This includes letters submitted via the I-O’s website. Names and cities of res- idence are published; street ad- dresses and telephone numbers are used for verification pur- poses only. Letters must be submitted from individuals, not organiza- tions, and must be original sub- missions to the I-O, not copies of letters sent to other media. Letters of thanks to busi- nesses, individuals and organi- zations are limited to 10 names. The deadline for letters to the editor is 10 a.m. Monday. Let- ters submitted may not be re- 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. 16 (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/Editor .............................................................nadams@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 DISPLAY ADVERTISING Heidi Leppin .................Display Advertising Manager ....................................hleppin@polkio.com Rachel Best ....................Display Advertising.............................................................rbest@polkio.com Karen Sanks...................Client Services ...................................................................ksanks@polkio.com CLASSIFIED LINE ADVERTISING Dawn Ohren .....................................................................................................................ioads@polkio.com PRODUCTION Kathy Huggins ..............................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com Karyn Pressel .................................................................................................................iosales@polkio.com BOOKKEEPING Pat Letsch ......................................................................................................................pletsch@polkio.com Web: www.polkio.com Phone: 503-623-2373 Fax: 503-623-2395