DALLAS RETIREMENT
ISABEL DIAZ SWIMMING
WOODSHOP Page 7A TO SUCCESS Page 10A
Volume 140, Issue 29
www.Polkio.com
75¢
July 22, 2015
IN YOUR TOWN
DALLAS NEWS
Think you know all of what Dallas and the sur-
rounding area has to offer? You should take a clos-
er look.
That’s what the city of Dallas’ new marketing and
branding campaign will ask outsiders — and even
residents — to do. The product of about six
months of work, the campaign’s official unveiling
will be at Summerfest 2015.
City Manager Ron Foggin said when trying to come
up with a slogan that describes Dallas, the members
of the Economic Development Commission steering
committee struggled to point to one idea.
»Page 5A
INDEPENDENCE NEWS
POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/for the Itemizer-Observer
Quick thinking on the part of Dallas officers and a sheriff’s deputy saved Deputy Shon Latty from a burning car.
Deputy pulled from burning car
Shon Latty OK after Saturday accident on Monmouth Cutoff
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Dallas Police
senior officers Colby Hamil-
ton and Jim Rodriguez were
just about to have lunch on
Saturday when the call came
in.
Polk County Deputy Shon
Latty had been in a vehicle
accident. His patrol car had
rolled over. Send medics.
Get Life Flight on standby.
“We got there and I took
off running toward his vehi-
cle,” Hamilton recalled.
“When I made contact with
him, he was conscious and
alert and able to talk to me. I
told him he was doing OK
and we were waiting for
medics to come.”
Neighbors brought a hose
to Polk County Deputy
Casey Gibson, who was right
behind Latty, to try and keep
the steaming hot car cool.
On the 99-degree day, it
wasn’t successful.
“There was a noise when
the fire started,” Hamilton
said. “It looked like it was in
the engine compartment in
the center by the dash. Now
it was a different story of,
‘we have to do something
right now.’”
He pulled the car door as
hard as he could and got it
ajar far enough that he could
squeeze his body into the
opening while Rodriguez
and Gibson bathed the fire
with extinguishers.
“I took my knife out and
cut his seatbelt and yanked
him out of the car, drug him
down the ditch about 30 feet
away,” Hamilton said.
Latty was taken to the
Salem Hospital Emergency
Room where he was treated
for a broken arm and shoul-
der during the crash, along
with minor injuries.
“He’s doing good for the
condition that he’s in,” said
Polk County Sgt. Mark Gar-
ton. “He’s in good spirits.”
Latty had his lights and
sirens on, heading down
Monmouth Cutoff Road to
aid an Independence Police
officer who had called for
help. The officer, who was
assisting a Marion County
deputy with a domestic call
across the River Road
bridge, was involved in a
physical fight.
“A farmer on a tractor in
the field called dispatch to
say, ‘They aren’t losing, but
they aren’t really winning, ei-
ther,’” said Independence
Police Chief Bob Mason. “It
took a while for the cavalry
to get there.”
The Independence officer
was “banged up a bit,” but
otherwise OK, Mason said.
While Latty and Gibson
were passing vehicles on their
way to the scene, a pickup
truck turned left onto Godsey
Road. Latty’s vehicle and the
pickup collided, sending the
patrol car into the ditch and
an embankment.
The fire started under the
car, Sheriff Bob Wolfe said.
“Hot exhaust pipes, motor,
ignited the fire under the car
due to the dry grass,” he said.
Hamilton recalled a col-
league who died in a car fire
and said he refused to see
that happen to Latty.
See DEPUTY, Page 14A
Truman to lead
‘Krazy’ parade
Sgt. Whittaker’s dog chosen as grand
marshal for Summerfest grand parade
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — When Jody
Germond picked up a call
from the Dallas Area Cham-
ber of Commerce, she didn’t
know what to expect.
She was told it was regard-
ing “an offer.”
What she heard next
brought her to tears.
This Saturday, during the
Summerfest parade, Polk
County Jail Sgt. Randy Whit-
taker’s dog, Truman, will be
the grand marshal. Whittak-
er died in a car accident last
summer.
“It’s very exciting,” said
Germond, a friend of Whit-
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer taker’s who worked with him
Truman, the beloved dog of late Sgt. Randy Whittaker, in the jail. “That’s is the most
will lead the Summerfest Grand Parade on Saturday.
awesome thing I’ve heard.”
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
Truman, a bull mastiff
who is as friendly as he is
big, got a sneak preview of
the attention he will be get-
ting this Saturday at a barbe-
cue in Whittaker’s honor Fri-
day at the jail. Truman
served as a canine greeter for
people waiting in line for
burgers and hot dogs.
“Randy would be excited,”
Germond said, watching as
Truman interacted with peo-
ple.
Chelsea Metcalfe, the ex-
ecutive director of the Dallas
Area Chamber of Com-
merce, said the chamber
wanted to honor Whittaker
and thought choosing his
beloved dog was fitting.
“He was a big man with a
big heart,” she said.
See SUMMER, Page 5A
Rebecca Menke woke up on July 15 to hear
smoke alarms going off.
At first, she thought it might be a mistake —
sometimes boiling water on the stove will set the
alarm off — and then she heard the word, “fire,”
come from her children’s mouths.
“I went to get some water (from the kitchen
sink), and it was spreading like pine needles,”
Menke said. “I have a newborn baby. I went and got
her and we got out.”
Menke and her five children stood outside their
apartment, 1390 Monmouth St., with their neigh-
bors while 31 firefighters battled the blaze.
»Page 2A
MONMOUTH NEWS
For one weekend only, Western Oregon Universi-
ty’s outdoor stage will be transformed into a
Shakespeare festival, or at least kind of like that.
“One weekend doing the same show does not a
festival make,” said David Janoviak, director of “As
You Like it.” “But we want to create a festival envi-
ronment.”
“As You Like it” will be produced by WOU’s Valley
Shakespeare Company, a new endeavor headed by
Janoviak.
“We’ve been talking about doing summer
Shakespeare in the outdoor theater for years.”
»Page 16A
POLK COUNTY NEWS
Michael Henich has lived on gravel Highland
Road for 16 years, but in the last two years, he’s had
a total 20 flat tires and blowouts.
He doesn’t think that is normal, and he believes
it is something about the gravel or the mainte-
nance on the road that is causing the flurry of flats.
“The last two years have been really bad,” Henich
said. “It seems like the wrong-sized rock. It’s an inch
too big. Something is wrong.”
Henich has lodged a number of complaints,
even taking his tire remnants to the Polk County
Commissioners for them to see.
»Page 3A
RICKREALL NEWS
In a year of changes for the Polk County Fair, or-
ganizers have added yet another for 2015: beer
and wine.
Striving to appeal to a broader audience, the fair
will have a beer and wine garden in the 4-H build-
ing and patio hosted by Rogue Ales and Eola Wine
Cellars.
This isn’t the first time the fair has featured
wine — a number of years ago the fair had a wine
and cheese tasting booth — but it is the first year it
will be featured in this manner.
»Page 3A
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Chill to some jazz
and blues with the
Carried Away Trio at
Monmouth’s Music
in the Park at Main
Street Park.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Polk County Bounty
Market opens this
year’s Summerfest
celebrations at the
Academy Building
lawn.
Don’t miss the
Leanne McClellan
Band at Redgate
Winery in Independ-
ence, which hosts
music each Friday.
6-9 p.m. Free.
For two hours, you
can buy a bag full of
books from the
Friends of the Dallas
Library’s annual sale.
2-4 p.m. $3-$5.
Head to Independ-
ence to meet artists
from the River
Gallery during the
“Last Sunday” art re-
ception.
2-4 p.m. Free.
Celebrate National
Take Your Pants for a
Walk day by hitting
some local trails and
breathing some
fresh air. The day is
all about exercise.
James2 Community
Kitchen offers free
meals at United
Methodist Church
to all who are hun-
gry.
4:30-6 p.m. Free.
Cloudy
Hi: 76
Lo: 54
Sunny
Hi: 80
Lo: 53
Mostly sunny
Hi: 84
Lo: 56
Partly sunny
Hi: 81
Lo: 55
Mostly sunny
Hi: 80
Lo: 55
Sunny
Hi: 80
Lo: 55
Sunny
Hi: 89
Lo: 56
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free.