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.
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