Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 8, 2015 3A
Polk County News
District considers
tax on construction
DEADLINES
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
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. Nearly every
story that appears in the
print version of the newspa-
per, as well as some extra
items, appear there.
The Itemizer-Observer is
also on Facebook and Twit-
ter. Watch for breaking
news, links to stories, sports
scores updates and more.
WEATHER
RECORDED
HIGH LOW
June 30............. 95
July 1.................. 98
July 2................ 100
July 3.................. 99
July 4.................. 97
July 5.................. 96
July 6.................. 92
59
63
60
61
59
60
59
RAIN
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
Rainfall during June — 0.67 in.
Rain through July 6 — 15.27 in.
New excise tax could mean more
money for Dallas School District
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Frink’s General Store co-owner Cathy Frink rings up a customer during Friday’s July 3 cel-
ebrations in Falls City. Frink, and her husband, Kirby, opened the new store on July 1.
Frink’s store offers more
General store moves to larger location on Main Street
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — Kirby Frink
spent a lot of time greeting
customers at Frink’s General
Store — formerly A&N Home-
town Grocery — on Friday.
That’s the day Falls City
celebrates Independence
Day, so it’s typically busy at
the market, but this year’s
celebration also marked the
store’s first week under new
ownership.
The new Frink’s General
Store opened July 1 combin-
ing its two locations — gro-
cery, deli and hardware
stores — into the bigger
store at 319 N. Main St.
“We closed (the other
store) at noon on June 30
and opened here at 6 a.m.
July 1,” Frink said.
He said the new location
still is a work in progress, but
has been well-received by
the community.
“We are still moving in,” he
said. “We still have a lot to do.”
Frink and his wife, Cathy,
worked for weeks cleaning
and preparing the store for
opening. That included a
The (new) Frink’s General Store
What: Frink’s General Store
Where: 319 N. Main St., Falls City
Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week
Contact: Find the company on Facebook
new coat of paint on the
outside before opening the
doors last week.
“We’ve been working day
and night for the last
month,” Frink said.
The location had changed
hands twice in the last four
years before the Frinks took
over. Frink said before the store
closed for the last time, busi-
ness hours were inconsistent.
He’s hoping to draw cus-
tomers back with regular
hours and many of the items
offered at his other stores. The
deli will include pre-prepared
items — not made-to-order
food like the previous store.
How e v e r, c u s t o m e r s
streaming through the doors
Thursday just seemed glad
to have the store up and
running again.
“I love the store!” one cus-
tomer said to Frink as she
came through the doors.
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Laura Gilbert works Friday.
On the blistering hot sum-
mer day, Frink said he had yet
another reason to appreciate
the move: air conditioning.
His former location didn’t
have air conditioning, which
meant even relatively mild
summer days could become
unbearable with the smaller
space and coolers running.
“That has been the nicest
thing, it’s cooler,” he said.
DALLAS — The Dallas
School District continues
to gather information
about possibly implement-
ing a construction excise
tax to help pay for capital
improvements.
Similar to systems devel-
opment fees used to ex-
pand infrastructure —
streets, water and sewer
systems — and parks, the
fee could only be used to
acquire land or help pay for
improvements or new
school construction.
In 2007, the Oregon State
Legislature passed a law al-
lowing school boards to
charge the tax, which
would become part of the
permit fees on new resi-
dential or commercial con-
struction.
The district considered
implementing the tax short-
ly after it was approved, but
the Dallas School Board de-
cided it didn’t want to im-
pose the tax on the commu-
nity during a recession.
Now the area is in recov-
ery and could be on the
cusp of a building boom.
That lead the board to con-
sider how it could accom-
modate enrollment increas-
es as the community grows.
“We are looking at what
are we going to do if —
when — we build out 500
(housing) units over in Bar-
berry and bring in a (simi-
lar) number of kids, de-
pending on what kind of
demographics falls into that
area,” said Tami Montague,
Dallas School District’s
business manager, referring
to a large development
planned near Fir Villa Road.
“We don’t have room for 500
elementary kids anywhere.”
Last week, district offi-
cials gave a presentation on
the tax to members of the
Dallas Area Chamber of
Commerce public policy
c o m m i t t e e. Mo n t a g u e
noted the board, which
began discussing the idea
this spring, is just in fact-
finding mode.
“They’ve not gotten very
far in the decision-making
process,” she said of board
members. “They are just
collecting information at
this point. They want folks
to show up and talk about
what the impacts would be.”
About 60 school districts in
the state now charge the tax.
In 2015, the tax is set at a
maximum of $1.17 per
square foot for residential
construction and 58 cents
per square foot for com-
m e rc i a l d e ve l o p m e n t .
Adding the fee would have
increased fees from 12.5
percent to a high of nearly
30 percent depending on
the size of the home, based
on a sampling of permits is-
sued in Dallas this year. For
most, the increase was
below 20 percent.
Montague said had the
district approved the tax
when it was first consid-
ered, it would have gener-
ated about $433,000 in rev-
enue from just residential
construction. That stretch
included a number of years
when building was sparse
in Dallas, she added.
The idea was met with
some concerns at the pub-
lic policy meeting.
“It seems like it puts a lot
of onus or burden on a
smaller group of shoulders
instead of spreading it out
communitywide,” said
committee member Mike
Barker. “It’s a community-
wide issue, not just a new
homeowners’ issue.”
Jim Williams, who is also
on the committee, noted
imposing the tax may influ-
ence builders’ decisions
about where to develop.
Montague said the board
hasn’t given itself a timeline
to weigh the pros and cons.
“They are really just
looking for the input,”
Montague said.
HEALTH DIRECTORY
LABORATORY SERVICES
• WEST VALLEY HOSPITAL provides lab services at
two convenient locations in Dallas and Monmouth.
Both labs are fully accredited, providing collections
and testing with healthcare provider referral. Employ-
ment and self-referral drug testing is offered. The West
Valley Hospital lab in Dallas is open 24 hours, seven
days a week, at 525 SE Washington St., 503-623-7303.
The Monmouth lab is located in the Monmouth Med-
ical Center, 512 Main St., Suite 300, 503-838-1388. It is
open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., closed be-
tween noon and 1 p.m. Appointments are not re-
quired.
MASSAGE
• OUT OF GRAVITY MASSAGE - Julianne Klingberg
DeForest, LMT - 503.510.2256 - NOW IN INDEPEND-
ENCE Enter Stressed, Leave Blessed - Out of Gravity
Massage offers massage sessions to suit a variety of
needs and health concerns. Intuitive and holistic
bodywork are blended with extensive and varied edu-
cation, creating a caring and knowledgeable environ-
ment of healing. Also, with a prescription and a claim
number, up to a year's therapeutic massage sessions
will help in your rehabilitation from a motor vehicle
accident. Relaxation, well care, geriatric and pediatric
massage is available, as well as motor vehicle accident
rehabilitation. Infant massage instructional sessions
available. Call today for an appointment. 503-510-
2256 OR # 7627/ National #295187-00
PHYSICAL THERAPY/
REHABILITATION SERVICES
• WEST VALLEY HOSPITAL provides a wide range of
rehabilitation services in Dallas, offering physical
therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and
aquatic therapy (at Dallas Aquatic Center). Let us
help you get moving again! We are conveniently lo-
cated at 525 SE Washington St., Dallas, 503-623-
7305.
• MONMOUTH MEDICAL CENTER serves Mon-
mouth and Independence locally with a wide range
of rehabilitation services including physical therapy,
occupational therapy, speech therapy and aquatic
therapy (at Dallas Aquatic Center). Let us help you
get moving again! We are conveniently located at
512 Main St., Monmouth, 503-838-1388. Se habla es-
pañol.
• YENNE & SCHOFIELD - SPECIALISTS IN ORTHO-
DONTICS - 580 Main Street, Suite E, Dallas, 503-623-
5002. Providing Polk County with orthodontic care for
children and adults for functions and cosmetics. Open
Tuesdays & Thursdays.
• PINNACLE PHYSICAL THERAPY is an orthopedic
physical therapy facility committed to getting great
results for each patient. We focus on advanced
spine care, women's health issues, sport rehab, ve-
hicle accidents, and work injuries. We offer highly
specialized care including manual therapy, aquatic
therapy, specific deep tissue mobilization tech-
niques, Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) tech-
niques and therapeutic exercise. We have a warm,
caring and friendly staff and accept most private
health insurance, auto insurance, and workers'
compensation insurance. We offer both male and fe-
male physical therapists. Often no physician referral
is needed to start care. Call us today and ask how to
get therapy for your condition or talk to your physi-
cian to see if physical therapy is right for you. Call
us: 503-623-2433. We are conveniently located at
210 W. Ellendale Avenue Dallas, Oregon 97338;
(next to Taco Bell) Check us out on the web:
www.pinnacle-physicaltherapy.com
ORTHOPEDIC SERVICES
PODIATRY SERVICES
ORTHODONTICS
• DR. STEVE YAO specializes in sports medicine and
knee-replacement procedures. Dr. Yao sees patients
at the Hope Orthopedics of Oregon satellite office in
Dallas, and schedules surgeries nearby at West Val-
ley Hospital in the new state-of-the-art surgery
suites. West Valley Hospital is located at 525 SE
Washington St., Dallas, 503-623-8301. Visit
www.salemhealth.org/wvh.
• WEST VALLEY SURGICAL SPECIALTY CLINIC po-
diatrists Dr. Ruben Pollak and Dr. Scott Berg see pa-
tients at West Valley Surgical Specialty Clinic and
provide procedures and surgeries for feet, ankle,
bunions and plantar fasciitis at nearby West Valley
Hospital's state-of-the-art surgery suites. Request
one of these podiatrists and get your surgical care
done locally. Dr. Berg sees patients at West Valley
Surgical Specialty Clinic on Wednesdays, 8 a.m.-
noon. Dr. Pollak sees patients on Wednesdays, 12:30
p.m. - 4:30 p.m. West Valley Surgical Specialty Clinic
is located at
591 SE Clay St., Dallas. Visit
salemhealth.org/specialty.
PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS
• DR. CHARLES ESSEX, family medicine, is accept-
ing new patients at Monmouth Medical Center, lo-
cated at 512 Main St., Suite 300, Monmouth,
503-838-1182. With a proactive healthcare ap-
proach, Dr. Essex provides care for the entire family
and will work with you to build a healthy lifestyle
with annual exams, immunizations, lifestyle coun-
seling, sports physicals, skin care, cancer screenings
and more. New patients are welcome.
• DR. JOHN HADLEY, family medicine, is accepting
new patients at the West Valley Physicians & Sur-
geons Clinic at 555 SE Washington St., Dallas, 503-
623-7301. With a proactive healthcare approach, Dr.
Hadley provides offers family medicine for your en-
tire family from newborns to adults with annual
exams, immunizations, lifestyle counseling, sports
physicals, skin care, cancer screenings and more.
New patients are welcome.
UROLOGY SERVICES
• WEST VALLEY SURGICAL SPECIALTY CLINIC Dr.
Jaffer Bashey, board certified urologist with
Willamette Urology, sees patients on Tuesdays, pro-
viding complete diagnosis and treatment of urolog-
ical disorders and diseases for adults and children.
Dr. Bashey does outpatient surgeries at West Valley
Hospital, including cystoscopy, minor bladder and
prostate surgery, bladder and kidney stones, circum-
cision, vasectomy and other procedures. Physician
referral may be required. Visit salemhealth.org/spe-
cialty.
Call the Itemizer-Observer at
503-623-2373 for more
information or to have your
business listed in this directory.