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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2015)
GEARING UP FOR SOCCER SEASON Page 10A Page 7A Volume 140, Issue 22 www.Polkio.com 75¢ June 3, 2015 IN YOUR TOWN DALLAS NEWS Unless a sales offer comes in at the last minute, Dallas Health & Vitality Center on Oak Street will close its doors at the end of this month. Owner Laurie Vail will hold a liquidation sale, which began Tuesday and will run through June 27. The sale will feature discounts on merchandise and will include equipment and furniture. Vail said after nearly five years, the business she opened to help people avoid driving out of town to find all-natural and gluten-free food and supple- ments is requiring too much time away from her family. »Page 2A FALLS CITY NEWS JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Dallas High School pottery class students from top Hannah Nelson, Isabella Nelson and Grant Tallon work on potter’s wheels in John Beck’s sixth-period session last week. Beck has taught art at DHS for almost 20 years. A LEGACY OF ART John Beck retires from program after 20 years Miya Altermatt, 9, was surprised when Leo the circus clown picked her from the crowd. “He wasn’t looking at me,” she said. Miya, who lives in Dallas, was selected to help entertain the crowd in Falls City during Wednes- day’s first show of the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus. She more than held her own with the practiced professional, who dressed her up in a silly costume, had her perform goofy stunts around the circus ring, and falsely accused her of shooting air darts into his backside. »Page 14A By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — For nearly two decades, John Beck has had crowded classrooms at Dal- las High School. Far from complaining, Beck likes knowing that — unlike in other places — many a DHS student has ex- perienced art while in school. “It’s a place where kids who aren’t successful aca- demically can be success- ful — and really shine. It gives them a place where they can feel good about what they are doing,” Beck said, explaining why he thinks art is a crucial part of K-12 education. While the classes between now and the end of the school year won’t be his last, “Mr. Beck” will retire from the ever-popular program he helped build come June. JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Beck in the sunroom community members helped build and furnish with potter’s wheels after his first year at DHS. Community support has been strong for the program. — Beck, 66, was one of those kids who didn’t have a lot of academic success. He is dyslexic and struggled learn- ing to read. Beck wasn’t di- agnosed until later in his el- ementary school years, but knowing the problem didn’t help much. “They didn’t know what to do with me, so they kept passing me from grade to grade,” Beck said. “I graduat- ed with below a sixth-grade reading level. School wasn’t a lot of fun for me.” He may have found an outlet in art, but an incident during seventh grade dis- couraged that. “I had gotten in trouble, I think it was about seventh- grade, for drawing on my desk when we were supposed to be reading,” Beck said. He was drawing the car- toon character “Li’l Abner,” covering the entire desk. Beck’s punishment: a three- day suspension and scrub- bing all the desks in the classroom. “I didn’t draw again until I was 35,” Beck said. He also had, by that time, taught himself to read, with the help of western novelists Zane Grey and Louis L ’Amour. See ART, Page 15A INDEPENDENCE NEWS Monmouth-Independence Networks (MINET) must find new avenues to increase revenues if it is to be self-sustaining, Director Don Patten said to the board at its Thursday meeting. “As a result in the change in demand and fewer addresses to serve, MINET cannot save for the fu- ture, cover debt and cover operating costs using the traditional business model,” he said. Patten has previously suggested a purchase service model, where the company would lease out excess data infrastructure. While he is working on that, he proposed citywide WiFi or a low-level broadband for Monmouth and Independence. »Page 3A MONMOUTH NEWS By Emily Mentzer It was a moment 17 years in the making. Western Oregon’s Director of Sports Perform- ance Cori Metzgar-Deacon was named a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA) in a ceremony May 7. She joins elite com- pany in her field — there are 160 master coaches nationwide, including fewer than 15 women. Metzgar-Deacon qualified for the honor two years ago. It wasn’t until now that she felt com- pelled to accept when — like throughout her ca- reer — she could accomplish a bigger purpose. The Itemizer-Observer »Page 10A Burglary suspect found in crawl space Indy Police officers seize more than 300 items in search warrant INDEPENDENCE — Eric Spier, 29, of Independence was arrested on May 27 after the Independence Police Depart- ment executed a search warrant at his res- idence, 14 Maple Court, Independence. The search warrant was based on in- formation received from someone who was burglarized that morning and had information that their property was at the address, Sgt. Tino Banuelos said. Upon arriving, Banuelos said an offi- cer was certain he saw two people in the residence, though only Emily Bens- ing, 18, was found. “The situation in general didn’t sit well with our guys,” he said. “We con- tinued to search, checked the attic, but then they found the entrance to the crawl space.” Things didn’t look right, Banuelos THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK POLK COUNTY NEWS INDEPENDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT/for the Itemizer-Observer These items found during the search have been claimed by their owner. said. Officers found a few items near the location, and when the household dog began whining, Banuelos said he wed An artist reception at WOU’s Cannon Gallery will feature students’ works in two and three di- mensions. 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Showers Hi: 68 Lo: 48 It is that time of year again, when school is al- most over for the summer. That means the Class of 2015 is gearing up for graduation and all that goes along with it. Check Page 16A for the schedule of all of Polk County’s high school graduations. Next week, the Itemizer-Observer will feature more details about the Class of 2015 and photos from some of the cer- emonies. Post your pictures to the I-O’s Facebook page and share your high school memories via email at ionews@polkio.com. believed someone was under the house. See SEARCH, Page 6A thu fri Find out what all the “roar” is about at Dallas Lions Club, which meets today at Hong Kong Restaurant. Noon. Free. Independence Grill kicks off weekends of music tonight and tomorrow, fea- turing local acoustic guitar during dinner. 6:30 p.m. Free. Mostly Sunny Hi: 74 Lo: 48 Sunny Hi: 83 Lo: 54 sat »Page 16A sun mon tue Start the day off with a filling break- fast at Monmouth Senior Center’s monthly all-you- can-eat affair. Who knows what you will find at the Polk Flea Market? Check it out today at the Polk Fairgrounds & Event Center. You’re never too old to learn an instru- ment, that’s what the folks at the New Horizon’s Orchestra always say. Monmouth’s Main Street Park fills with music and fresh fruits and veggies during Polk County Bounty Market. 8:30-10:30 a.m. Free. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. $1-$5. 6:30 p.m. $25 monthly. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Sunny Hi: 90 Lo: 56 Sunny Hi: 89 Lo: 55 Sunny Hi: 80 Lo: 55 Sunny Hi: 79 Lo: 52
