Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 29, 2015 9A
Polk County Living
MI TOWN
The springtime days
seem to be flying by so
quickly, and this Friday we
will welcome the merry
month of May. It’s one of my
favorite months of the year
as I recall the stories my
mother and grandmother
would tell about how young
children (usually girls)
would make bouquets of
flowers to place on neigh-
bors’ front porches, ring the
doorbells and call out, “May
Baskets!” I think that was
such a sweet and caring
custom, and am happy that
I heard those stories of long
ago.
—
Friday, I will be honored
to present the Daughters of
the American Revolution
ROTC Medal to three young
women who are students at
Oregon State University —
A s h l e y Sm i t h ( M a r i n e
Corps), Devin Olmstead
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
(Navy) and Thu M. Pham
(Air Force) — who will be on
active duty after graduation
in June. As I was reading of
their accomplishments, I
continue to realize that im-
migrants have always
proudly and honorably
served in our country’s mili-
tary service since when my
seventh great-grandfather,
Daniel Robertson, came to
America from Scotland in
1775 and joined the Army.
Now Thu Pham, whose fam-
ily members are from
Southeast Asia, will serve
our country as an officer in
the Air Force.
—
Today is the Victorian Tea
at the Monmouth Senior
Center, where my yoga pals
and I will be modeling
clothing from a very charm-
ing resale store, First Hand
Seconds, located on First
Street in Albany. Tickets for
the Victorian Tea are sold
out for this year, but you
might want to mark your
calendar for next April if you
weren’t able to attend. The
tea has always been a spe-
cial yearly event, with all
kinds of wonderful dessert
t re a t s f ro m t h e f i n e s t
kitchens in MI Town. As al-
ways, community volun-
teers are the heart and soul
of every event at the center.
—
The first weekend in May
also brings the Community
Breakfast to the Monmouth
Senior Center. Bring the en-
tire family and enjoy pan-
ENGAGEMENT
cakes, scrambled eggs,
sausage, biscuits and gravy,
orange juice, coffee and tea.
The portions are generous
and the food is delicious.
The prices are reasonable
($6 for adults, $3 for chil-
dren younger than 12), and
you’ll be treated to all kinds
of jokes and laughter, cour-
tesy of Jack Hinkle, pancake
baker extraordinaire. See
you there.
—
While dodging spring-
time showers, be sure to
visit the Friends of the Mon-
mouth Library’s annual
Springtime Sale in the
meeting room. Here’s your
opportunity to find all kinds
of books, CDs, DVDs and
more. Sale dates are Friday
from noon until 6 p.m. and
Saturday 10 a.m. until 2
p.m. Sale proceeds help
fund children’s programs
throughout the year.
Fitzgerald Pomeroy-Alicea
Lila Fay Fitzgerald Pomeroy of Dallas and Joseph Alicea
Jr. of Dallas are planning a June 2016 wedding.
The bride-to-be is the daughter of Fay Fitzgerald of Dal-
las and the late
Howard Fitzgerald.
Her fiancé is the son
of Elizabeth Barolow
of Portland and
Joseph Alicea Sr. of
New Port Richey, Fla.
Lila, a 1991 gradu-
ate of Dallas High
School, is currently
employed at Spirit
Mountain Casino in
the Environmental
Service Department.
Jo s e p h , a 1 9 9 4
graduate of Sam Bar-
low High School in
Gresham, is also cur-
rently employed at
Spirit Mountain Casi-
no in their Environmental Services Department.
The wedding is set for June 3, 2016, at Chinook Winds
Casino Lincoln City on the beach.
BIRTHS
PEDEE NEWS
The winners of the 2014
U.S. Air Force Chaplain
Corps Annual Awards were
announced last week and
Amanda Bennett, grand-
daughter of Pete and LaV-
erne Bennett, received the
Richard C. Schneider Award,
given to a chaplain assistant
airman. That means she was
the best assistant chaplain
in the whole Air Force!
As chaplain Maj. Gen.
Cecil R. Richardson stat-
ed, “All of the nominees had
outstanding packages and
the winners truly represent
the best of the best. The
winners exemplify our vi-
sion of glorifying God, serv-
ing airmen and pursuing ex-
cellence.”
Amanda is the daughter
of Jim and Julie Bennett of
Salem and is stationed at
Sheppard Air Force Base in
Texas. She has been in the
Air Force for six years.
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
—
Pete and LaVerne Bennett
attended the grandparents’
breakfast at Schirle Elemen-
tary School in Keizer with
grandson Reese recently.
LaVerne thought someone
at that school had great
marketing skills: the break-
fast and the book fair were
scheduled at the same time.
They also spent Thursday
through Sunday at Yachats
with their square dance
club, The Independence
Wagon Wheelers. There
were about 45 people at-
tending and the weather
was perfect.
—
Derek Burbank and Ash-
ley Grucza announced their
engagement on April 18
much to the happiness of
their parents and grandpar-
ents, who were hoping for
that result. Ashley works for
Farm Credit Services in Red-
mond and Derek will be get-
ting his master’s degree
from Oregon State Universi-
ty this June. He is applying
for a job as an agricultural
teacher in Central Oregon,
since Ashley is there. Derek
is the son of Dave and
Suzanne Burbank and Ash-
ley is the daughter of Scotty
and Tina Grucza of Turner.
—
Last week the students at
the Pedee campus of the
Luckiamute Valley Charter
School participated in two
local science-related proj-
ects. They removed ivy from
the stream bank at Ritner
Flande
Creek Park for the Luckia-
mute Watershed Council,
and they used fish traps to
do a survey of an unnamed
stream to see if fish were
making it past stream ob-
stacles to spawn. The kids
were excited to do these
projects, which benefited
the community.
—
Both Diane Telfer and I
had three quilts in the Mid-
Valley Quilt Guild’s quilt
show in Rickreall last week-
end and Diane’s quilt, “Be-
Attitudes Through the Year,”
was given the award for best
machine appliqué. The
Pedee Women’s Club met at
the show, then after check-
ing out the quilts, went to
lunch at Murphy’s in Dallas.
Nine members and friends
and one husband attended,
while Dorothy McBeth
stayed at home to keep an
eye on a new-born calf.
COMMUNITY
NOTEBOOK
2nd Annual
Continued from 8A
RFL celebration
dinner Saturday
May 3rd 10am to 6pm
at Guthrie Park
4320 Kings Valley Hwy, Dallas
Contact John or Nancy Kurz
503-689-7424
NANCYWATSONKURZ@GMAIL.COM
Website:
nancy-watson-kurz.myshopify.com
On Facebook at:
“O UR SON
N ETHANIEL ,
A PERSON WITH A UTISM ”
Lenora Oswin Flande was born to Benjamin and
Katherine Flande of Dallas at 4:27 p.m. on March 27 at
Salem Hospital Family Birth Center.
She weighed 9 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 23 inches
long.
Lenora is the couple’s first child.
Grandparents are Charlene McCloskey of Forest Grove,
and Joseph and Vicki Flande of Dallas.
Great-grandparents are Don and Marlene Hallauer of
Salem, and Barbara Ortman of Forest Grove.
Platt
Cadence Mackay Platt was born to Benjamin and Ste-
fanie Platt of Wilsonville at 4:20 p.m. on March 28 at Sil-
verton Hospital Family Birth Center.
She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and was 20 inches
long.
Cadence joins Chloe, 4.
Grandparents are Stan and Kelly McKinley of Dallas,
and Gerald and Beverly Platt of Salem.
Great-grandparents are Don and Joyce Talbott of Wood-
lawn, Wash.
Van Patten
Nikolai Jim Van Patten was born to Zachery and Jen-
nifer Van Patten of Monmouth at 5:51 p.m. on April 20 at
Salem Hospital Family Birth Center.
He weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 20 inches
long.
Nikolai joins Danielle, 8, and Giovanna, 5.
Grandparents are Peter and Betsy Roy of Independence,
Michael Van Patten of Monmouth, and Rona Coleman of
Mt. Angel.
Great-grandparents are Adam and Kathy Nieratko of
Dallas, and Phyllis Nash of Monmouth.
Survivors of cancer will be
honored at a dinner hosted
by Eola Hills Wine Cellars on
Saturday. The second annual
Survivor Dinner and Cele-
bration is sponsored by the
American Cancer Society
Relay For Life of Polk County
and Team Perrydale.
The event begins at 5:30
p.m. at the winery, 501 S. Pa-
cific Highway 99W, Rickreall.
Dinner and entertainment
starts at 6:15 p.m.
Reservations are encour-
aged. For more information:
Vicki Bailey at 503-623-5241
or email vickibaile@aol.com.
Local artists at
Guthrie Park
Opening Day May 7
Mother and son artist
team Nethaniel and Nancy
Kurz’s “Riding the Wave” art
show and sale will be Sunday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Guthrie
Park, 4320 Kings Valley High-
way, Dallas.
Riding the Wave will offer
handmade pottery by Nancy
Kurz with collaboration of
her son, Nethaniel Kurz, who
has autism. The show also
will feature Nethaniel’s
painting and drawings.
For more information, go
to nancywatsonkurz.com,
email nancywatsonkurz
@gmail.comor call 503-689-
7424.
Solution on Page 6A
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May 5
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