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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2015)
KEEPER OF THE GOAL COFFMAN FARMS ICE HOCKEY Page 13A BEEKEEPER Page Page 6A 6A Volume 140, Issue 31 www.Polkio.com August 5, 2015 75¢ IN YOUR TOWN DALLAS NEWS Residents of Dallas want the city’s parks to have a variety of activities, be located nearby and pro- vide access to all, including those with disabilities and senior citizens. That is just some of the insight revealed in the city’s parks master plan, approved by the Dallas City Council Monday night. Approval finished the work that consultant, Community Planning Workshop, and the city’s Parks Advisory Board began in 2014. »Page 2A FALLS CITY NEWS EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer Josiah Brown waters plants by hand at Daryll’s Nursery after some Rickreall Creek water rights were suspended. STOPPING THE FLOW Conservation measures requested by all cities in Polk County By Jolene Guzman and Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer POLK COUNTY — A lack of water in Rickreall Creek is forcing Daryll’s Nurs- ery to hold its season-end close out sale early. The Oregon Water Resources De- partment issued Daryll Combs, the owner of the Dallas nursery, notice that his water right was immediately sus- pended due to low creek levels. The amount of water flowing now is not enough to serve all water rights, so those issued after June 1, 1964, have been suspended. Rickreall Creek is dry just east of Rickreall, according to a notice issued by the city of Dallas on Thursday. Combs said this has never happened before. “I’m feeling really sick because I’ve worked really hard to build this busi- ness,” Combs said. “I never dreamed of this happening.” The city of Dallas issued him an emergency permit to use city water from his house to water plants in the nursery. That has helped, but he’s not EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer The water is flowing very slowly in Rickreall Creek near Greenwood Road S. outside Rickreall on Monday. sure how long that will last and how much it will cost. Friends are trying to help as much as possible, too, trucking in tanks of water. “People have come through to give me water from their wells, so it has been nice of them to bring that to me,” Combs said. Still, he’s been forced to sell as much inventory as possible, putting dis- counts up to 80 percent on his plants. “It is just devastating,” Combs said. “I have plants that are dead and plants that are half dead.” Combs said he would normally dis- count plants that much during his fall sale starting in September, but he’s afraid none will be alive by then. “We are not going to make it that far,” he said. “This will take the place of that sale.” Not all Polk County residents are get- ting shutoff notices, but the call to con- serve water is coming everywhere, and just weeks apart from reports to city councils that water levels were fine. On July 14, Independence Public Works Director Mike Danko told the city council that water levels were typi- cal for a dry season, but nothing to worry about. He and his staff were keeping a close eye on them. Not a week had gone by and signs were put up downtown en- couraging water conservation. See WATER, Page 9A ‘Blue jeans, country dreams’ Polk County Fair’s three-day run packed full of fun for young, old By Jolene Guzman See Inside ... The Itemizer-Observer RICKREALL — Beer, wine, and coffee. Apparently, it’s the year of the beverage at the Polk County Fair 2015, “Blue Jeans & Country Dreams,” which kicks off Thursday and run through Saturday. The annual county show- case also will bring many other changes. You will see the first one when you arrive. Admission prices have increased, the first change in fair prices since 1994. Adult single-day tickets THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK For complete coverage of the 2015 Polk County Fair, see Section C. For more on Thursday’s rodeo, see Page 12A. Follow the Itemizer-Ob- server on Facebook for live coverage of the fair. will be $8, up from $7. Adult season passes will now be $20, up from $15. Youth (ages 11-15) and senior (62 and older) single-day tickets are now $5, up from $3. Sea- son passes for youth and seniors are unchanged at $8. Children 10 and younger still get in free. Historically a four-day fair, the fair board decided to eliminate Sunday from the schedule in an effort to balance revenue to costs. That required schedule jug- gling — cramming, really, in some places — so check to see when your favorite event is happening because it could be different than in the past. Also, despite the best ef- forts of Fair Manager Tina Andersen, the event will not feature a traditional carnival with rides. That is what is missing; here’s what’s new or coming back this year. Added to this year’s at- tractions is a beer and wine garden featuring the tasty work of Rogue Ales and Eola Hills Wine Cellars. See FAIR, page 9A Lori Jean Sickles and Laura Britton thought it was about time Polk County had its own LGBT pride festival. Portland does it, Salem does it, Eu- gene does, too — so why not Polk County? Sickles and Britton, owners of The Boondocks in Falls City, paired up with The Bread Board owners John Volkmann and Keith Zinn to put on Saturday’s event, the first pride event in Falls City. “We talked about it last year, but we were still overwhelmed with The Boondocks,” Sickles said. “This year, we made it a priority.” »Page 5A INDEPENDENCE NEWS Carlos Esquivel always thought he’d be a high school soccer coach one day. Turns out, that day has come sooner than he thought. Central Athletic Director Shane Hedrick an- nounced the hiring of Esquivel, a 2009 Central High graduate, as the Panthers’ boys soccer coach. “Carlos will add to the already up-and-coming soccer program at Central High School,” Hedrick said. “We are very excited to have him return home to CHS and guide our boys soccer program on and off the field of play.” »Page 12A MONMOUTH NEWS A fire burned 2 to 3 acres in a cut grass field in Monmouth on Saturday. Polk County Fire District No. 1 Deputy Chief Neal Olson said the cause of the fire is undetermined. The blaze moved to the south and into the trees north of the middle fork of Ash Creek and Burl- wood Avenue, but no evacuations were issued. Seven apparatus responded with 19 fire person- nel, Olson said. They were on scene for about 90 minutes. No estimate was available for the crop value. No equipment was damaged. »Page 14A POLK COUNTY NEWS It’s been more than 15 years in the making, but it’s finally happening: the rodeo is returning to the Polk County Fair. The Hell on Hooves Roughstock Rodeo will hit the fairgrounds Thursday at 7 p.m. “Wayne White from Wild West Events has been bugging us to put on a rodeo for a long time,” Fair Manager Tina Andersen said. “But we just couldn’t afford it in the past.” That all changed in 2015, when White sponsored about $8,000 to help make the rodeo a reality. »Page 12A wed thu fri sat sun mon tue Join members of the First Baptist Church at their annual block party and yard sale, including free food and fun for all. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. With the sun setting sooner already, Movies in the Park will start “Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” earlier. 8:30 p.m. Free. While y ou’re at the fair, stop by the Rickreall Commu- nity Grange Hall for a special community sale this weekend. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Head over to Riverview Park to catch a glimpse of homemade rafts in the Great Willamette River Raft Race. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Why not stop by Rogue Farms Hopy- ard and enjoy live music while sipping on a brew or soda to recover from the fair. 3 p.m. Free. With fire restrictions in full force, you can still enjoy National S’mores Day, just do it responsibly with a barbecue that is well tended. Attention residents of Monmouth: the city wants to hear from you about its future during a meeting tonight. 7 p.m. Free. Sunny Hi: 80 Lo: 52 Sunny Hi: 84 Lo: 55 Sunny Hi: 85 Lo: 56 Partly Cloudy Hi: 79 Lo: 56 Partly Cloudy Hi: 79 Lo: 56 Mostly Suny Hi: 77 Lo: 54 Sunny Hi: 80 Lo: 55