2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 17, 2015
Polk County News
Blue Garden sign to be restored
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Blue Garden’s
sign is gone, but downtown
Dallas history buffs
shouldn’t fret. It will back —
restored — soon.
The building’s new owner,
Bob Collins, had the iconic
sign, put up in 1924, taken
down last week to be assessed
and refurbished by Martin
Bros Signs out of Salem.
“The idea is to do as little
to it as we can,” Collins said.
“We are trying to keep as
much of it original as possi-
ble.”
Collins estimates the sign
will be gone three weeks to a
month and return, he hopes,
as good as new.
“In the interim, we will be
working on the front facade,
putting the tiles back on and
getting it ready for the sign,”
he said. “It won’t be time
wasted.”
Collins has applied for fa-
cade grants from the Dallas
Urban Renewal Agency and
a state program called “Dia-
monds in the Rough,” which
is for historical building
restorations. As to the tiles,
Collins is working to find the
perfect replicas of the cobalt
blue tiles that were on the
building previously.
“Whatever we can do to
bring it back to its original
luster, we will do it,” he said.
Collins began the process
of buying the building in
March, with hopes to have
the sale go through by April.
That did not happen, how-
ever, due to a number of title
liens and holds on the prop-
erty. He said it took a
“marathon closing,” but the
sale is final now.
“I was beginning to think
we weren’t going to get there
for a while,” Collins said.
“But it’s onward and upward
from here.”
The daunting task of re-
pairing and restoring the in-
side also will begin soon.
Collins planned to do an
evaluation of the inside of
the building last weekend.
His initial assessment re-
vealed just how much work
will have to be done.
“It is totally atrocious in-
side. It would be easier to
start over,” he said. “That’s
OK. I knew what I was get-
ting into. We just have to go
in and figure out how we are
going to eat our elephant
and start eating.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Workers examine the Blue Garden sign on June 10 morn-
ing. The sign will be restored.
Summer heat dangerous for animals
Owners should take extra precautions to keep pets from developing heatstroke
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — If the
temperatures are uncomfort-
ably hot for you, your pets
are probably feeling the
same way.
Keeping your pets cool
and comfortable goes be-
yond not leaving them
locked up in a hot car and re-
membering to keep the
water dish full.
Bill Fullmer, a veterinarian
with Dallas Animal Clinic,
said he’s seen a number of
cases of heatstroke in ani-
mals caused by their owners
not thinking about how dan-
gerous heat can be.
“It’s nothing malicious,
just an oversight,” he said.
“People just forget about the
pets.”
His general rule of thumb
for gauging the danger: “If
you are too hot, your pet’s
too hot.”
Overworking in hot tem-
peratures is another heat-
stroke risk. For example, trail
JOLENE GUZMAN/
Itemizer-Observer
Taking extra steps to en-
sure pet safety in the sum-
mer is imperative.
riding on a hot day, your
horse is going to be working
harder than you are. If you
are uncomfortable, keep in
mind: it’s worse for the horse.
Exercise is just as impor-
tant for animals as it is for
humans, but on hot days,
owners need to be careful.
Again, if you are exercising
with your dog on sunny day,
if becomes too hot for you,
it’s dangerous for your pet.
The Oregon Veterinary
Medical Association (OVMA)
suggests exercising pets in
the cooler morning and
evening hours. Also, remem-
ber hot pavement and as-
phalt can burn their paws.
Fullmer said cats are a lit-
tle more independent than
dogs when it comes to regu-
lating their temperature.
However, it’s still necessary to
make sure they have access
to shade and plenty of water.
“Make sure that water
bowl is full,” Fullmer said.
If you have a cat door,
check that it’s not blocked so
your pet isn’t stuck in the sun
for long periods of time.
Traveling with pets — or
even taking them along while
you run errands –— comes
with its own set of risks.
Fullmer suggests keeping
an extra supply of water in
case there isn’t safe water for
them to drink where you are
going. Also, he suggests al-
ways keeping your pets with
you when you are on vaca-
tion. Don’t leave your dog
tied to a tree at a campsite
because the sun’s position
will shift, perhaps eliminat-
Heatstroke Symptoms
If you notice these symptoms in your pet, call your vet im-
mediately:
• Panting.
• Dehydration.
• Excessive drooling.
• Increased body temperature — above 103 degrees.
• Reddened gums and moist tissues of the body.
• Production of only small amounts of urine or no urine.
• Rapid heart rate.
Source: Oregon Veterinary Medical Association
ing shade.
If you leave your pets at
home — even for a few
hours — remember to leave
the air conditioner on at a
level that will keep them
cool.
“That’s when tragedy hap-
pens, when they leave the
pets alone in a potentially
hot environment,” Fullmer
said.
As for keeping pets unat-
tended in cars, that very
quickly lead to serious — or
even fatal — consequences.
Even in 70-degree weath-
er, temperatures inside a car
can climb to 110 degrees or
hotter in a matter of minutes,
according to the OVMA.
Fullmer said he doesn’t
ever risk leaving an animal in
a car, especially in the sum-
mer. He’s even conducted his
own experiment, shutting
himself up in his car in the
sun for just five minutes.
“Before anything got criti-
cal, I wanted to get out of
that car,” he said. “There is
no safe amount of time in the
summer to leave a (pet) in
the car.”
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NEWS DEADLINES
For inclusion in the
Wednesday edition of the
Itemizer-Observer:
Social news (weddings,
engagements, anniver-
saries, births, milestones) —
5 p.m. on Thursday.
Community events —
Noon on Friday for both the
Community Notebook and
Community Calendar.
Letters to the editor —
10 a.m. on Monday.
Obituaries — 4 p.m. on
Monday.
ADVERTISING DEADLINES
Retail display ads — 3
p.m. Friday.
Classified display ads
— 11 a.m. on Monday.
Classified line ads —
Noon on Monday. Classified
ads are updated daily on
www.polkio.com.
Public notices — Noon
on Friday.
CORRECTIONS
Detective Sgt. Mark Gar-
ton’s last name was mis-
spelled in a subhead to a
story headlined “Sheriff set to
retire” on page 1A of the June
10 edition of the Itemizer-Ob-
server. The I-O regrets the
error.
The Polk County Itemizer-
Observer is committed to
publishing accurate news,
feature and sports reports. If
you see anything that re-
quires a correction or clarifi-
cation, call the newsroom at
503-623-2373 or send an e-
mail to nadams@polkio.com.
WEBSITE
The Polk County Itemizer-
Observer website,
www.polkio.com, is updat-
ed each week by Wednes-
day afternoon. There, you
will find nearly every story
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news, links to stories, sports
scores updates and more.
WEATHER
RECORDED
HIGH LOW
June 9................ 92
June 10............. 82
June 11............. 82
June 12............. 77
June 13............. 79
June 14............. 88
June 15............. 84
RAIN
57
47
48
50
46
47
51
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
Rainfall during June — 0.67 in.
Rain through June 15 — 15.27 in.
We sell Carhartt, Key, and Prison Blues. Red Wing,
Irish Setter, Georgia, and Danner boots.
Our #1 selling item in the store is Georgia Romeos.
FATHER’S DAY
SPECIAL
Buy 2 Get 1 FREE!
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Expires 6/21/15
*Must present ad for FREE shirt.
1355 E Ellendale Ave • Dallas • 503-623-5650
www.polkio.com
By Jolene Guzman
DEADLINES
M-F 10-6 • Sat 10-5 • Sun CLOSED
ROBERT F. WILLEY
M.D., F.A.A.F.P.
Physician • Family Practice
Dr. Willey is retiring
from his practice after 42 years.
Please join us for an
Open House to celebrate
June 30, 2015
10 a.m to 3 p.m.
You may pick up records that day
if you notify us in advance.
After June 30th, request records to:
Dr. Robert Willey
P.O. Box 1113
Dallas, OR 97338
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us in!
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