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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2015)
Polk County Voices Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 10, 2015 4A EDITORIALS How to Contact Officials Class of 2015 blazes ahead Congratulations, high school graduates. As you go into the “real world” and into “life after high school,” remember that tests are more high stakes than the Smarter Balanced Assessments, but if you fail, keep trying. Life gets better from here, honest, but the choice is yours — what will you do with it? Here’s some advice — the more you put into life, the more you get out of it. The first 13 years of your education was paid for with tax dollars — you’re more than welcome! — totalling about $120,000. We think it’s worth it, do you? To paraphrase a 2015 Falls City graduate, the only way we can make the world better is to have an educated populace. If you attended public school, taxpayers gave you a foundation, now the rest of your education is on you, whether you choose to get it on the job, by traveling, hav- ing a family, getting married or going to a university or community college. Whatever your choice, keep learning. It’s a big world out there, and it’s yours for the taking if you work hard and keep at it. And know this: mistakes are just lessons. Learn from them. In this day of selfies, Instagram and Twitter, unplug now and then. See the world with your own eyes, not someone else’s. Anyway, it’s hard to remember to smell the roses or watch the birds and be inspired to fly when you’re looking at your cellphone. And be safe. As you go make mistakes — which you un- doubtedly will (we all have) — try your hardest not to make a mistake that will cost a life, yours or someone else’s. That means don’t drink and drive or drive distracted (yes, that means texting while driving). As the song “Everybody’s Free” goes, “wear sunscreen. Be kind to yourself, and don’t tolerate those who aren’t. Travel. Respect your elders. Stretch. Floss. Don’t expect anyone else to support you.” Learn to dance in the rain. When you fall down, get back up and do it better. We’re counting on you to do it better. That’s part of how this thing called life works. It’s going to be your world soon, and we are cheering for you to go out there and make waves. 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 (ionews@polkio.com). — WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10 • Monmouth Library Advisory Board — 7 a.m., Monmouth Public Library meeting room, 168 S. Ecols St., Monmouth. 503- 838-0722. • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. • Monmouth Park and Recreation Board — 7 p.m., Volun- teer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0722. — THURSDAY, JUNE 11 • Polk County Fire District No. 1 Board — 6 p.m., Central Station 90, 1800 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1510. • Luckiamute Watershed Council — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-837-0237. • Falls City City Council — 7:30 p.m., Falls City Community Center, 320 N. Main St., Falls City. 503-787-3631. — MONDAY, JUNE 15 • Dallas City Council — 7 p.m., City Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dal- las. 503-831-3502. — TUESDAY, JUNE 16 • Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173. • Independence Historic Preservation Commission — 4 p.m., Independence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212. • Falls City School Board — 5:30 p.m., Falls City High School resource room, 111 N. Main St., Falls City. 503-787-3521. • Monmouth City Council — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0722. — WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17 • 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. 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 Graffiti at park not appreciated I’d like to give a big shout out to the person who tagged our back fence. Our family is so excited to have your “art” to share with the rest of the neighborhood. Why you picked our home when you had a lot of fence to choose from will forever be a mystery, but rest as- sured we have removed it. Our taste in art and yours just isn’t the same. To my neighbors and friends in the Madrona Park area, our home borders the park. The tag was on our back fence facing the park. Please keep your eyes open for tag- gers. Hopefully this is just kids having “fun” and not something more. Diane McBurnett Monmouth Remember vets with poppies The small red paper pop- pies that you see being dis- tributed at Walmart here in Dallas several times a year have more of a history than you might think. The red poppies date back to 1921, to commemo- rate soldiers who had died in war. As returning soldiers from the First World War came home they brought back with them the memory of the battlefield poppies that lined the devastated battlefields of Flanders and France. They brought back with them the memory of the fallen soldiers. As time went on, the poppies were used to remember the fallen of other wars. In 1921, the American Le- gion Auxiliary adopted the poppy as a symbol of re- membrance and distributes them for donations around Memorial and Veterans Day. The proceeds go to Veteran based programs such as the Wounded Warrior Project and the Portland Transplant Center. Each of the poppies that is distributed by members of the American Legion Auxiliary is handmade. We have three Veterans in the State of Oregon who make all the poppies for our state, as well as for several other states. American Legion Auxil- iary Unit 20 will be at the Dallas Walmart on Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and we would very much appre- ciate your support. Peggy Ortman Dallas Businesses help students ‘Achieve’ I’d like to thank the fol- lowing businesses for pro- viding work experience op- portunities to my students in Project ACHIEVE, Dallas High School’s post-high pro- gram, during the 2014-15 school year. Students received on-the- job training while doing a variety of tasks for these businesses. This training is invaluable in preparing my students for paid work once they fin- ish school. Many thanks go to: Dallas City Library, Dal- las Retirement Village, Dal- las School District Office and Print Shop, Dragonfly Preschool, Future Images, Jefferson Manor, Lyle Ele- mentary and Oakdale Heights Elementary. Betsy Seth Dallas Rally helps hospitalized vets On behalf of the Ameri- can Legion and American Legion Riders Post 20 of Dallas, I would like to ex- press special thanks to Sweeney’s Pub and Todd Keys for hosting a motorcy- cle rally there on May 23 for the benefit of Veterans in 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 hospitals. They raised a very nice donation for “Opera- tion Comfort Warrior.” Also thanks to the Dallas Police Department for their coop- eration. 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 David Christian Dallas 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 Welcome home warmed hearts I wanted to say thank you to the Chamber of Com- merce, the students at Lyle school and the residents of Dallas for the Welcome home parade on the 22nd of May. We were surprised at how many people were there and all the signs the students made. It was heartwarming. I am proud to be a resident of Dallas and wanted to say thank you to the communi- ty for the parade. SFC Richard Merrill Dallas Thanks to all who support recital I, as owner and instructor of the Polk County France School of Dance located at the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall, would like to thank Jacque Jacobs and family, Kermit Martin, Dena Lund, Scott Wagner, Erica Rodriguez and family, and the music teacher at Tal- madge Middle School, Diane Nelson for all their help with the May 19 per- formance/food drive. More than 500 pounds of food was collected for Joan Schmitt’s Children’s Fund and $274 for the Dallas Emergency Food Bank. Thank you to all the stu- dents and families for your ongoing support. The studios have collected over 52,000 pounds of food and thousands of dollars for Marion Polk counties. 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 Linda France Martin Polk County France School of Dance WANT TO WRITE A LETTER? Letters to the editor are lim- ited to 300 words. Longer letters will be edited. Letters may be edited for grammar and style. 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. Letter writers who disagree with other published letter writ- ers should maintain a civil dis- course and address the subject, not the author. Letters must include the au- thor’s name, address and tele- phone number for verification purposes. Addresses and phone num- bers will not be printed. This in- cludes letters submitted via the I-O’s website. 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. Letters submitted may not be retractable 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. 23 (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
