COMPETITION POWWOW
BEATING THE HEAT IN
GRAND RONDE
FALL
PRACTICE
Page 7A
Page 10A
Volume 140, Issue 33
www.Polkio.com
August 19, 2015
75¢
IN YOUR TOWN
DALLAS NEWS
FIRE
HAZARD
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Norm Silvey and Jim Schmaltz are displeased in the way a neighbor’s tall, dry weeds are being handled.
Neighbors fret over dry weeds growing adjacent to property
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Looking over a
hay field bordering his
neighbors’ property, Norm
Silvey knows one thing for
certain:
“I think it meets the defi-
nition of dry,” he said with a
chuckle.
The problem for Silvey
and other residents of the
Ceres Gleann area of Dallas
is that they don’t view the
unharvested field as a laugh-
ing matter, but a potential
fire hazard.
Silvey said his neighbors
have raised the issue with
the city of Dallas, Dallas Fire
& EMS, as well as field owner
Fowler Homes on a number
of occasions this summer,
and not enough has been
done to settle their con-
cerns.
A strip of the field border-
ing the homes was mowed
in late June; however, with
the extremely dry conditions
this summer, people living
Got tall weeds?
The abatement procedure has three steps:
• An initial letter giving the owner a 10-day deadline to
address the problem.
• If the first deadline is not met, a notice is posted on
the property and a second letter is sent, this time with
seven business days to mow.
• If those conditions are not met, the city can contract
with a business to mow the property at the owner’s ex-
pense.
next to the field believe the
fire danger persists.
“They know, but nothing
is happening,” said Jim
Schmaltz, another resident
of the neighborhood.
Mike Schilling with
Fowler Homes said the
farmer renting the field was
unable to harvest this year,
but the company is looking
at other options.
“We are working with
other farmers to get it done,”
Schilling said.
That may take some time,
though.
Schilling said with condi-
tions this dry, mowing the
field may become a fire haz-
ard in itself.
If the machine hits a rock
or had a bad bearing, that
could ignite a fire. He said
the plan at this point is to
wait for rain in significant
enough quantity to lower
the fire risk.
Schilling added it may be
into fall before the field
could be safely mowed.
The city of Dallas re-
sponded to the concerns in
June, issuing letters and
posting a “weed abatement”
notice on the property. The
city’s weed abatement pro-
gram addresses “nuisances
caused by weeds, grass and
other debris.”
City administrators added
another condition to ad-
dress agricultural fields
within city limits, which
would apply to the property
in question. Fields are re-
quired to have a 50-foot
buffer zone mowed around
the perimeter adjacent to
homes, sidewalks or road-
ways.
The abatement procedure
has three steps:
• An initial letter giving
the owner a 10-day deadline
to address the problem.
• If the first deadline is
not met, a notice is posted
on the property and a sec-
ond letter is sent, this time
with seven business days to
mow.
• If those conditions are
not met, the city can con-
tract with a business to mow
the property at the owner’s
expense.
See HAZARD, Page 6A
Expansion at DRV to cost $27 million
Project to break ground Thursday; will offer more dining, entertainment
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — A project three
years in the making will offi-
cially break ground on
Thursday when Dallas Re-
tirement Village (DRV) be-
gins its expansion.
“After nearly three years of
research and planning, to
see new construction begin
to bring the total vision to
life is tremendously excit-
ing,” said David Parrett,
DRV’s executive director.
“We are fortunate that our
forward-thinking board of
directors and strong finan-
cial standing are making it
possible to enhance the
lifestyle for current and fu-
ture residents of Dallas Re-
tirement Village.”
DRV will be marking the
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
occasion with a ground-
breaking ceremony Thurs-
day at 10 a.m. at 377 NW
Jasper St.
New construction will in-
clude apartments and an ac-
tivity lodge, providing more
entertainment and dining
options for DRV residents.
Inspired by classic resort
lodges of the Northwest, the
new “lodge residences” will
offer 40 apartment-style
floor plans.
The adjacent “lodge club-
house” will be a 15,000-
square-foot activities center,
providing restaurant-style
bistro and buffet dining,
gathering and socializing
spaces, library, arts studio,
business center, game room
and more. A second phase of
construction includes a fit-
ness/wellness center, indoor
Throughout her life, Dallas resident Sarah Haus-
man has always watched sports from the sidelines.
Since discovering roller derby five and a half
years ago, Hausman is no longer just a spectator.
She’s become what she thought would never get
the chance to be — an athlete.
“I had never done a sport in my life,” Hausman
said. “To start a sport at the age of 32 and to be
considered an athlete, it still blows my mind. It
seemed out of the realm of possibility.”
Hausman’s determination and new found love
helped her to achieve the seemingly impossible.
»Page 10A
FALLS CITY NEWS
Lincoln King’s face lit up when he looked in the
mirror Thursday night.
An incoming Falls City second-grader just had
his hair cut and was liking his new look, grinning at
his reflection.
Lincoln, and more than 180 fellow school chil-
dren, took part in “Tools for School” Thursday at
Falls City’s Upper Park. Tools for School is a back-to-
school event sponsored by the Salvation Army
Salem Kroc Corps.
The event provided more than just backpacks
filled with grade-required school supplies.
»Page 16A
INDEPENDENCE NEWS
Some of the last remaining buildable land along
the Willamette River is for sale, but not to just any-
one.
The city of Independence bought the 20-acre
parcel of riverfront land in December 2014 for
$800,000 from Valley Concrete with the goal to sell
it to a developer who would make good use of the
property and allow public access to the nearly 2
and ½ miles along the river itself.
To help find the right person for the job, the city
hired Leland Consultants to help market the prop-
erty.
»Page 5A
MONMOUTH NEWS
Imagine Monmouth being known far and wide
as the most bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly town
in Oregon.
“Bike trails, better sidewalks, safer crossings,” said
Libby Barg, with Barney and Worth, the consultants
for Monmouth’s visioning process. “The idea is that
Monmouth is relatively flat; it’s a college town,
great for biking. What can we do to stand out as a
bike friendly, pedestrian friendly city?”
That’s one of the four main focus points of the
Monmouth Engaged project, the city’s visioning
process that is wrapping up.
»Page 3A
POLK COUNTY NEWS
Itemizer-Observer file
The expansion will provide more dining options.
pool, salon and spa.
Life Care Services of Des
Moines, Iowa, is the devel-
oper of the project. Design is
by LRS Architects. R&H Con-
struction is the general con-
tractor on the project.
See DRV, Page 5A
Anna Scharf, chairwoman of the Polk County Fair
Board, could tell something was different — in a
good way — at the annual fair within hours of
opening.
By 11 a.m. on Aug. 6, the first day of fair — typi-
cally not a gate-buster — she noticed more peo-
ple, including quite a few families, were coming in.
Soon, overflow parking was being used, again not
a normal occurrence that early in the fair’s run.
“I instantly knew Thursday morning that some-
thing was working,” Scharf said at fair board’s
monthly meeting Thursday.
»Page 2A
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Head out to Rogue
Hop Farm for the
monthly bingo at
the farm. The event
is family and dog
friendly.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Enjoy music and
light refreshments
while you mingle
with other business
people at MI Cham-
ber’s after hours.
5:30-7 p.m. Free.
Pick up a new pair of
kicks at the scrub
and shoe sale at
West Valley Hospital.
Proceeds benefit
high school seniors.
7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Don’t miss the farm-
ers markets in
downtown Inde-
pendence for fresh
berries, fruits and
vegetables.
9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.
Learn about flying
remote control air-
planes at the
Wingdingers RC Fly-
ing Club at Whit-
worth Elementary.
1-3 p.m. Free.
Donate blood to the
American Red Cross
at the Academy
Building in Dallas
and help save a life
today.
Check out the
youth Chess Club at
the Independence
Public Library,
where kids learn
chess and compete.
4:30 p.m. Free.
Sunny
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Lo: 56
Sunny
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Mostly Sunny
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Lo: 53
Sunny
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Lo: 56
Sunny
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Sunny
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Lo: 52
9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Free.
Mostly Sunny
Hi: 80
Lo: 53