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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2015)
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 17, 2015 3A Polk County News A smokin’ hit: Black Rock BBQ By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Lucky Hal- com and Robert Coe were going nonstop on a recent Thursday afternoon. As soon as one order was filled at the increasingly popular Black Rock BBQ truck, another person was in line trying to decide be- tween a pulled pork and brisket sandwich. “It’s been busy ever since we pulled in here today,” Coe said as he manned the stove in the truck. Every Thursday for the last five weeks, Halcom has set up his truck — along with his impressive wood- fired smoker — at the Pill Box parking lot at 625 SE Miller Ave. Halcom travels the coun- ty in his bright blue truck, making stops at Mon- mouth’s Polk County Boun- ty Market on Tuesdays and the Siletz Trucking parking lot in Independence on Fri- days. Dallas has been the fastest growing of the three locations, and that was evi- dent on June 4. “By the time we opened up today it’s been nonstop,” JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Lucky Halcom (left) and Robert Coe of Black Rock BBQ prepare to fill lunch orders on a recent Thursday in Dallas. Halcom said. “We actually had to shut down because we were out of cut meat. We’ve never had to do that before.” Black Rock’s pulled pork and brisket are slow cooked over 13 to 14 hours to pre- pare for the lunch rush, which begins about 11:30 a.m. in each location. Once they arrive, Halcom puts ribs in the smoker to have them ready for dinner. “We go until we run out of meat. It’s not going to be long today,” Halcom said. “We’ll be here waiting on our ribs to cook.” His ribs are just as popu- lar as the sandwiches, so much so that to guarantee an order, you have to re- serve it ahead of time. Once a hobby — Halcom and Coe are former log- gers — Halcom would like to see his barbecue truck and catering business take off. He’s certainly equipped to take on the challenge. “(When) I started out, I built a small little smoker pit. Then I built another bigger one. Then I built a bigger one. Then I built that,” he said pointing out the truck window. This latest in his line of smokers has its own trailer. Halcom’s recipes are a hit, too. He and his wife, Carmen, created the rubs and sauces and even the sides — cole slaw, macaroni salad, potato salad, and baked beans — are home- made. “Everything is made from scratch,” Halcom said. “Nothing is store-bought. All the sides, beans, any- thing we do is made from scratch.” For Black Rock’s schedule and menu for the day, go to: www.facebook.com/black- rockbbq. Ducks receive nod from Monmouth council By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer MONMOUTH — Monmouth City Council approved expanding the city’s chicken ordinance to include ducks. Under the new rule, which will go into effect sometime this summer, the ordinance, which allows five hens per residence, will be altered to allow ducks as well. The number of total poultry will remain five, but property owners may choose to have a mix of fowl. Marianne Novotny of Monmouth testified at the council’s June 2 work session that she hadn’t come across any issues with poultry, including ducks, in her research of city codes that allow the birds. “If there was a noise problem, they (other cities) handle it just like a bark- ing dog,” she said. Novotny had approached the coun- cil with the idea of allowing ducks in 2014, when the council was deciding whether or not to make the temporary chicken ordinance permanent. She explained that she has an aller- gy to chicken eggs, but may eat duck eggs, which are very costly. Having her own flock would let her enjoy baked goods and other egg-con- taining things more economically. Councilors had a few concerns about expanding the ordinance. “I was opposed to expanding at that time (2014) because this was new terri- tory. We hadn’t gone down the poultry path, as it were, but if we can write it in such a way that it is only ducks and not geese — geese are a different deal — I would guess that there’s not going to be a huge stampede to the duck shop,” Councilor Jon Carey said. Councilor Steve Milligan asked if al- lowing ducks was opening the door to “menageries.” “I know some people who have chickens, who also have a couple of dogs,” he said. Milligan continued by noting that a homeowner could have five fowl, four dogs and an unlimited number of cats. “Are we going to get to the point where we have to set boundaries where people have to set a limit on do- mesticated animals?” he asked. When Monmouth enacted its first chicken ordinance, it was on a trial basis. Some councilors suggested a trial basis with ducks, also. Councilor Marshall Guthrie made the motion to make the modification to allow ducks without a trial period. The motion passed. Another animal brought to the council on June 2 was backyard goats. A citizen requested that the city allow pigmy goats within city limits. The council decided not to discuss it. NEWS IN BRIEF Museum to host authors of books RICKREALL — The Polk County Museum is hosting the au- thors of “Oregon’s Main Street U.S. Highway 99: The Stories” and “Oregon’s Main Street U.S. Highway 99: The Folk History” on Sat- urday at 1:30 p.m. Jo-Brew and Pat Edward’s books cover the entire length of the highway through Oregon, with information on communi- ties and residents that can be found along the highway. The event is free and light refreshments will be available. The Polk County Museum is located at 560 S. Pacific Highway (99W), Rickreall. For more information, call 503-623-6251 or go to http://polk- countyhistoricalsociety.org/. Merkley to hold town hall Saturday GRAND RONDE — Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley will hold a town hall meeting in Grand Ronde on Saturday at 5 p.m. During the event, Merkley will update constituents on his work in Washington, D.C., answer questions and take sugges- tions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and America. The town hall meeting will be at the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde. Man charged with illegal hunting DALLAS — Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife troopers have cited a Dallas man on game violations. On May 24, OSP trooper Heather VanMeter located an active bear bait site near Logsden, in Lincoln County, according to OSP. Two days later, troopers found John Hamblin, 50, at the bait site. He was in possession of a rifle, compound bow, and a gallon bag of grain and tallow. Hamblin had a Southwest Ore- gon spring bear tag. He was cooperative with troopers and cited for unlawful hunting bear with the aid of bait, and spring bear hunting outside unit boundary. Using bait to attract black bears is illegal in Oregon, as is the use of dogs to locate and chase black bears into trees. The pub- lic is asked to notify OSP if locating a bear baiting site, or any other gaming violation, at 800-452-7888. No suspect in purse snatching DALLAS — Officers are still searching for the man who stole a woman’s purse at the Dallas Rite-Aid on May 28. Police are also still on the lookout for the purse, which contained a gun. On May 28, Dallas Police responded to a report of a theft of a purse from Rite-Aid in Dallas. The victim reported a man grabbed her purse from next to her while she was in the garden center and ran in the direction of the field west of the store. During in the investigation, police learned the purse was de- signed to carry a concealed pistol and did have a firearm inside of it. Police ask that anyone finding a discarded purse to use caution. It is very common for thieves to do a quick search of purses for money and other valuables then discard it. In this case, it is possible the thief may have disposed of the purse without knowing it contained a gun. Anyone with infor- mation about this case or who has found a purse should call Dallas Police at 503-831-3539. Broken power pole causes outage DALLAS — Saturday morning at 11:47, 4,539 Pacific Power customers in Dallas went without power after a farmer in Perry- dale caught a phone cable on his tractor, which broke the power pole and sparked a small fire on the lines, according to a spokesman from Pacific Power. By 12:30 p.m., 667 customers remained without power. Power was restored to the majority of customers by re-routing power around the damaged lines. Power wasn’t completely restored until 8:30 p.m. on Satur- day. Polk County Association of Realtors SATURDAY JUNE 27 Open House Saturday, June 20, 2015 from 1 to 4 6:30 OPEN • 7:00 SHOW $15.00 Group of 5 at door $10.00 Each Forest River Employees $10.00 ADULT* PRO WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT *Not recommended & HEAVY, THRASH METAL MUSIC for under age 13. 1823 Blackwood Drive, Monmouth 3 bd. 2.5 ba, 2,453 SF $309,900 MLS# 687052 Sandra Paoli 503-580-0160 436 NW Reed Lane, Dallas 3 bd 2.5 bath, 1,700 SF $259,900 MLS# Yolanda Zuger 503-580-7031 541 10th St, Independence 4 bd, 2.5 ba, 2,172 SF $210,500 MLS# 686671 Jake Dalton 503-420-2386 194 NW Hillcrest Dr, Dallas 3 bd, 2 ba, 2,408 SF $224,900 MLS# 688842 Jill Wyatt 503-910-1679 1169 Gwinn St, Monmouth 3 bd, 2.5 ba, 3,378 SF $399,900 MLS# 687789 Lisa Sheirman 503-949-2411 431 Fairhaven, Dallas 3 bd, 2 ba. 1,790 SF $259,500 MLS# 690226 Cheri Jacobsen 503-551-5807 POLK CO. FAIRGROUNDS BLDG C 520 SOUTH PACIFIC HWY W., RICKREALL, OREGON FACEBOOK: Dan Closser/Revolution Pro • TWITTER: @RevProWrestling All are welcome! Open Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner FATHER’S DAY BUFFET 275 Douglas, Dallas 3 bd, 1.5 ba, 1,144 SF $189,000 MLS# 689979 Jana Fogg 503-930-1047 386 Stadium Dr, Monmouth 3 bd, 2.5 ba, 2,548 SF $299,900 MLS# 691099 Larry Dalton 503-580-3460 Sunday, June 21 • 3-8 PM • Country Style Pork Ribs • Prime Rib • Beef Brisket • Eight Flat Screen TVs • 13 Brews on Tap • Pool Tables • Video Poker • Oregon Lottery Scalloped Potatoes, Baked Beans, Asst. Salads 170 E. Ellendale Ave., Dallas • 503-623-4494 405 SW Crider, Dallas 3 bd, 2 ba, 1,675 SF $238,500 MLS# 691535 Chet Grahm 503-932-4051 2133 SE Magnolia Ave, Dallas 3 bd, 3 ba, 1,625 SF $325,990 MLS# 690779 Chad Woods 503-910-7124 Tim Davis 503-559-6439 534 Edwards Road S, Monmouth 3 bed, 2 ba, 1,714 SF $294,000 MLS# 687322 Chandra Reynolds 503-428-4491 1902 Bentley St E, Monmouth 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 1,816 SF $245,000 MLS# 687946 Chandra Reynolds 503-428-4491 9755 Church Street, Rickreall 3 bed, 3.5 bath, 1,847 SF $260,000 MLS# 687274 Chet Grahm 503-932-4051 1486 SE Barberry Ave, Dallas 3 bd, 3 bath, 2,521 SF $355,990 MLS# 685567 Nancie Rogers 503-930-7655