6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 29, 2015
Fire: Fast response
gets blaze controlled
Continued from 1A
The fire was contained
before it got that far, thanks
to changes in wind and the
diligence of the fire crews,
Welsh said.
“The crews working so
diligently and aggressively
on that fire was just remark-
able,” she said.
Several agencies came
from Yamhill, Marion and
Benton counties. Units were
on their way from Lincoln
City and Linn County.
“We had called in for
Washington County’s strike
force, but they may have
been called off,” Welsh said.
It wasn’t just the sheer
number of departments, ve-
hicles and resources that re-
sponded to the fire, but how
quickly they arrived, Welsh
noted.
“It was really beneficial (to
combating) this fire,” she said.
Other factors that con-
tributed to getting the field
fire under control quickly in-
cluded the weather condi-
tions being cooler than they
had been in previous weeks.
The response from the
community — volunteers
and family members — was
equally amazing, Welsh said.
“They pulled together re-
sources and food and water,
and took it up to the crews
that were working,” she said.
“It was an incredible display
of support.”
Welsh noted that she ap-
preciated the patience and
understanding of the com-
munity when Dallas Fire had
to cancel Friday evening’s
Summerfest events.
“It was a difficult deci-
sion,” she said. In fact, Welsh
did not want to officially call
off the water games until 5
p.m. “In the long run, it was
the right thing to do.”
Polk County News
Red Cross erects shelter at Central
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE —
When Dianne Mekkers ar-
rived at Central High
School, the would-be
American Red Cross shel-
ter during Friday’s wildfire,
she had an important an-
nouncement to make.
Mekkers, a site manager
for the Red Cross, told
everyone they could go
home.
She had just heard from
officials that the fire was
out, and families who had
been evacuated were able
to return to their houses.
“We train, train and
train,” she said. “And we
are really happy when we
don’t have to use it.”
If not for the well-orga-
nized effort of firefighters
and volunteers from
throughout the region,
Friday’s 250-acre fire could
have been a time when all
the training and prepara-
tion was needed.
Seemingly able to set up
an emergency shelter in-
stantly, the Red Cross has
a detailed “behind the
scenes” process. Volun-
teers train, of course, but
supplies are gathered and
stored, and possible shel-
ter sites are surveyed long
before an emergency oc-
curs, allowing the organi-
zation to move fast.
That process was tested
Friday.
“This is a small event
and we hope it stays that
way.” said Ann Fenderson,
the shelter manager, during
a walkthrough of Central.
She said in most emer-
gencies, about 10 percent
of affected people show
up at a shelter. At that
point, five homes had
been evacuated and sever-
al more were on notice.
Central Principal Greg
Mitchell said the school
had been surveyed several
months ago to be placed
in a database of possible
shelter locations. They had
a “table top” plan in place
in case the school was
called upon.
“Us e a n y t h i n g y o u
need,” he said.
Logistics coordinator
Kate Redding was im-
pressed, noting the school
could shelter many more
people than those who may
have needed help Friday.
“This is like the Taj
Mahal,” she said. “We
could probably put up all
of Monmouth and Inde-
pendence here if we need-
ed to.”
The Red Cross depends
on agreements like it has
with Central School Dis-
trict and the time and ef-
fort of local volunteers.
Mekkers said the agency
might be best known for
its work on large-scale
emergencies, but people
don’t have to travel far to
lend a hand.
“They (volunteers) have
a passion for this type of
work and they are here to
serve their community,”
Mekkers said. “We can al-
ways use folks … and they
can do this in their own
community.”
That dedication was on
display Friday.
Volunteers were noti-
fied through an emer-
gency dispatch-like sys-
tem at about 5 p.m. Short-
ly after 6 p.m., it wasn’t
fully set up yet, but still
ready.
“If they need us, the
doors are open,” Fender-
son said.
About 20 minutes later,
Mekkers arrived to report:
“They have knocked down
the fire. We are breaking it
down. Everybody can go
home.”
For more information:
RedCross.org.
OBITUARIES
Ruby Weiss
June 13, 1924 – July 21, 2015
Ruby Weiss, 91, of Dallas
died July 21 in Salem.
She was born to Hans and
Ailcey Sund in Clarissa,
Minn.
The family moved to
Texas and later settled in
Hopewell when she was a
preteen. She met her hus-
band George when she was
13, and they married three
years later
on Oct. 14,
1940, in
Vancouver,
Wash. To-
gether,
they raised
three sons.
Settling in
Dallas, they bought a small
fruit farm on what is now
Mistletoe Road and raised
prunes, gooseberries, mari-
onberries, cherries and
peaches.
After George’s death in
1989, Ruby kept busy with
gardening, crocheting, vol-
unteering with the Dallas
Food Bank and going to
Curves five days a week until
a back injury prevented her
from doing so.
She was preceded in
death by her husband,
George; grandson, Jeff; three
brothers; and a sister.
Survivors include her
sons, Jim (Sherry) of Glad-
stone, Tim (Mary) and Larry
(Charlene), all of Dallas; 13
grandchildren: nine great-
grandchildren; and four
great-great-grandchildren.
Graveside service was
Monday at Dallas Cemetery.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments. To send an online
condolence: www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
David Leroy
Carlson
July 22, 1947 – July 21, 2015
David Leroy Carlson, 67,
of Monmouth died July 21 at
Salem Hospital following
surgery.
He was born in Raymond,
Wash., to Conrad Leroy Carl-
son and Florence Lillian
Harrington-Carlson.
He was born with cerebral
palsy and endured multiple
surgeries early in life. He was
proud to have overcome
many of the challenges his
disabilities presented. He
had lived in several places in
Washington and Oregon
throughout his early years,
and settled in Monmouth in
1976.
David began his retail ca-
reer with J.K. Gill in 1969,
and by the 1970s was man-
aging the Salem store. In
1981, he
became an
outside
salesman
for Com-
mercial
Business
Supply. He
loved that
job. It let him do what he en-
joyed the most, meeting
new people and traveling
around the valley. His job af-
forded him time to spend
with his family, as well. After
Commercial Business Sup-
ply closed, Dave began a
new phase of his career
working for the Department
of Corrections in Salem. He
especially enjoyed running
the Hobby Shop at OSCI.
He retired in November
2013, which gave him time
to pursue his many inter-
ests. Gardening, sporting
events, traveling, hunting for
treasures in thrift stores,
spending time at the casino
and attending his grandchil-
dren’s various functions
were his favorite things to
do. Dave’s greatest love in
life was watching his family
grow.
He married his wife, Mar-
garet Chambers Carlson, in
1969.
Survivors include his wife
of 46 years, Margaret;
daughters, Katie (Garrett)
Hardin, Jennifer (Paul)
Levesque, and Sarah (Cody)
Crockett; son, Will; brothers,
Robert (Jereyln) and Ray
(Bev); 10 grandchildren; and
one great-grandchild.
Celebration of life was
Tuesday at Farnstrom Mortu-
ary in Independence. Private
family burial will be held.
To send an online condo-
lence: www.FarnstromMor-
tuary.com.
Vesta Olson
June 20, 1915 – July 20, 2015
Vesta Olson, 100, of St.
Helens died July 20 in St. He-
lens.
She was born in Pedee to
Edwin and Denna (Hoppe)
Freer.
She married Clarence
Olson in Stevenson, Wash.,
on Aug. 11, 1934. He died in
1996.
Prior to Vesta’s retirement
in 1980, she worked in the
medical field as a nurse as-
sistant at Columbia District
Hospital. As a longtime resi-
dent of St. Helens, she was
very involved with her com-
munity. Among other things,
she was a member of the St.
Helens Methodist Church
women’s circle, board mem-
ber and past president of the
women’s club. She was a
member of the Pythian Sis-
ters and had served as Most
Excellent Chief, ITTC (travel
group), PTA and Brownie’s
leader. When she wasn’t in-
volved with all of her organi-
zations, she enjoyed quilting
and hand crafts, such as cro-
cheting and embroidery
work, and reading and play-
ing the piano. Vesta also
loved the mountains and
wildlife they brought, but
above all things she loved
spending time with her
grandkids.
Survivors include her son,
Ronald Olson; daughter,
Beverly McCutcheon; and
several grandchildren.
Private service was held
under the direction of Dallas
Mortuary Tribute Center. To
send an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Rosemary Malo
Sept. 13, 1925 – July 23, 2015
Rosemary Malo, 89, of
Dallas died Thursday.
She was born in Kulm,
N.D., to William and Hulda
(Scheidt) Wilken.
Rosemary grew up in
North Dakota until the age
of 12 and then moved to the
Helvetia and North Plains
area of
Oregon.
She gradu-
ated from
Hi l l s b o r o
H i g h
School and
continued
her educa-
tion as a
teacher at Oregon College of
Education (now Western
Oregon University). After
graduating, she began
teaching in Albany and met
her future husband, Stan
Malo. They were married on
Dec. 14, 1946. Stan died in
1995.
In 1951, Stan bought an
insurance company in Dal-
las and the family settled
there soon after in 1952.
Rosemary co-owned the
business “Stan Malo Insur-
ance Company” with her
husband, and they made it a
very successful business.
When they retired, they en-
joyed spending time at Black
Butte Ranch in the summers
and in Yuma, Ariz., in the
winters.
Rosemary was very active
and loved helping others,
even if it was just to make
them smile. She loved to vol-
unteer in the community in-
cluding the senior center in
Monmouth. Rosemary was a
cancer survivor and lived life
to its fullest. She enjoyed
things such as skiing, camp-
ing, fishing, biking, tennis,
crafts, painting, and most of
all, travel, as long as there
was no flying involved.
She was a member of the
Dallas United Methodist
Church, the Red Hat Ladies
Society and the Dallas
Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi,
and had received her 60-
year pin as an original char-
ter member in 1955.
Survivors include her
sons, David and Douglas
Malo; daughter, Carolyn
Horak; five grandchildren;
and seven great-grandchil-
dren.
Me m o r i a l s e r v i c e i s
Thursday at 1 p.m. at Dallas
Mortuary Tribute Center.
Private interment will be at
Dallas Cemetery.
Contributions are sug-
g e s t e d t o t h e Un i t e d
Methodist Church in Dallas.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments. To send an online
tribute: www.dallastribute.
com.
Lucille Irene
Derksen
Nov. 29, 1925 – July 26, 2015
Lucille Irene Derksen, 89,
of Salem, formerly of Dallas,
died Sunday in Salem.
Graveside service is today
(Wednesday) at 10 a.m. at Salt
Creek Cemetery in Dallas.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments. To send an online
tribute: www.dallastribute.
com.
Obituary
Information
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Monday before publication to
be included in the newspaper.
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submitted directly from family
members.
Color and black-and-white
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photos will only be published
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er-Observer uses a flag logo in
the obituaries of people who
served in the armed forces.
Obituaries — like all infor-
mation submitted to the news
department — are subject to
editing for style, content and
length.
Information can be brought
or mailed to the Itemizer-Ob-
server, 147 SE Court St., Dallas,
OR 97338, or emailed to
nadams@polkio.com.
For more information:
Nancy Adams, 503-623-2373.
Salem
412 Lancaster Drive NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 581-6265
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Simple Direct Cremation $495
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