2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 19, 2015
NEWS IN BRIEF
Rogue Farms begins hop harvest
INDEPENDENCE — The seventh annual Rogue Farms hop
harvest kicked off in Independence on Monday morning.
This year’s harvest began with Rogue Farms Freedom hops.
From cutting the bines off the trellises to picking, separating,
sorting, kilning, cooling and baling the cones, it takes at least 24
hours to process one variety of hops, according to a press re-
lease from Rogue.
Rogue grows seven varieties of hops. People may watch the
harvest from the tasting room patio at the farm, 3590 Wigrich
Road, Independence.
Federal disaster loans available
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Small, nonfarm businesses in Polk
County may apply for low-interest federal disaster loans from
the U.S. Small Business Administration.
These loans offset economic losses because of reduced rev-
enues caused by the drought in Clackamas and Marion coun-
ties that began June 16.
Small, nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives,
small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-
profit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury
Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obliga-
tions and operating expenses which could have been met had
the disaster not occurred.
The deadline to apply is April 12, 2016. For more information
or to apply: disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
Driver may have been impaired
WILLAMINA — A Portland man was killed in a single-vehicle
car crash on Saturday morning on Highway 18 near mile post 28.
Jose Bermudez Gutierrez, 30, of Portland was driving a white
Chevrolet Malibu eastbound on SR Highway 18 near mile post 28
when he veered off the road and struck a tree. Alcohol and marijua-
na use are being investigated as contributing factors of the crash.
The right front passenger, Juan Bermudez Gutierrez, 21, of
Portland, was pronounced dead at the scene. Jose Bermudez
Gutierrez was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
The right rear passenger, Brian Quintana, 22, of Portland was
transported to Oregon Health & Science University with critical
injuries.
Oregon State Police troopers are leading the investigation.
OSP was assisted by West Valley Fire, the Polk County District
Attorney’s Office, the Polk County Medical Examiner and the
Oregon Department of Transportation.
MPD cracks down on traffic laws
MONMOUTH — Beginning Monday, Monmouth Police De-
partment officers will participate in a statewide traffic enforce-
ment blitz, on extra alert for proper safety belt and child car
seat use, as well as looking for people speeding or violating the
“hands-free” cellphone law.
This enhanced enforcement is paid for by dedicated funding
through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National High-
way Traffic Safety Administration.
Officers will be working extra hours, dedicating their time to
traffic enforcement and education.
Music in the Park
Main St. Park • Monmouth
Every Wednesday through August 26 ~ 6:30pm
MUSIC, FOOD, BEER & WINE GARDEN
Look for
Music in the Park
Series on Face-
book for more in-
formation about
this year’s artists.
Performing Tonight
August 19
Ramble On
Polk County News
Fair changes prove positive
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
RICKREALL — Anna
Scharf, chairwoman of the
Polk County Fair Board,
could tell something was dif-
ferent — in a good way —
within hours of opening at
the annual fair.
By 11 a.m. on Aug. 6, the
first day of fair — typically not
a gate-buster — she noticed
more people, 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 Thurs-
day morning that something
was working,” Scharf said at
the fair board’s monthly
meeting Thursday.
With a number of changes
this year — including mov-
ing from four days to three,
raising admission prices, and
not having a traditional car-
nival — fair managers were
understandably nervous.
It turns out, Scharf’s early
gut feeling was backed up by
the gate tally, sales statistics
and exhibit participation.
Attendance was up, about
8 percent, even though the
fair was one day shorter.
Gate revenue was up more
than 25 percent, as well.
Food vendors made nearly
10 percent more than last
year, and the fair’s cut was
up 45 percent.
There were more ex-
hibitors (12.5 percent) and
exhibits (15.5 percent). Re-
placing the carnival with in-
flatable attractions was an-
other highlight, with a 160
percent jump in revenue to
the fair.
Worries about moving the
Polk County Livestock Asso-
ciation youth livestock auc-
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer file
A calf nurses during the 2015 Polk County Fair. He en-
joyed his first year being shown at the fair.
tion to earlier on Saturday
proved unwarranted. The
auction posted a 36 percent
increase, pulling in more
than $209,000. Also, there
were numerous new bidders.
“Across the board, every-
thing was up,” Fair Manager
Tina Andersen said.
Suzi Busler, with the Polk
County Extension 4-H Pro-
gram, said club exhibits
were up in numbers and in
quality this year.
“We are going to kick
some butt at the (Oregon)
State Fair,” Busler said.
She added that with
schedule changes necessary
because of the move to a
three-day fair, there were a
few bumps in the road.
Overall, though, she was
pleased.
“There were challenges,
but we were able to meet
them,” Busler said.
Andersen said another
new addition, the Rough-
stock Rodeo on Thursday
night, was such a success
bigger bleachers were need-
ed. American Thunder Mon-
ster Truck rides on Saturday
were a hit, as well.
“The monster truck gave
free rides for five hours Sat-
urday,” Andersen said, not-
ing that some families came
to the fair solely for the free
rides, which other fairs
charge for.
Board members noted a
Led Zeppelin
Tribute Band
FREE AND OPEN
TO THE PUBLIC
For More Information Contact:
Mark Fancey 503-751-0147
Bring
your chairs
and blankets and
we’ll see you in
the park!
Friday Aug 21
through Thursday Aug 27
Pricing does not reflect
3D showings.
presented by
Performing August 21st
Show begins at 7:30
Chance McKinney
Lawn Seating — Bring blankets & chairs
This Week’s FREE MOVIE:
Showing August 19 • 8:45
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
(PG-13)
NEXT WEEK Concert: SHOOT TO THRILL
AC/DC Tribute Band - 7:30 PM
MOVIE: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day! (Comedy, Family) - 8:45 PM
• VENDORS • BEER & WINE GARDEN
Riverview Amphitheater, Independence, OR
Visit our website: independenceamphitheater.com
NEWS DEADLINES
For inclusion in the
Wednesday edition of the
Itemizer-Observer:
Social news (weddings,
engagements, anniver-
saries, births, milestones) —
5 p.m. on Thursday.
Community events —
Noon on Friday for both the
Community Notebook and
Community Calendar.
Letters to the editor —
10 a.m. on Monday.
Obituaries — 4 p.m. on
Monday.
ADVERTISING DEADLINES
Retail display ads — 3
p.m. Friday.
Classified display ads
— 11 a.m. on Monday.
Classified line ads —
Noon on Monday. Classified
ads are updated daily on
www.polkio.com.
Public notices — Noon
on Friday.
CORRECTIONS
The Polk County Itemizer-
Observer is committed to
publishing accurate news,
feature and sports reports. If
you see anything that re-
quires a correction or clarifi-
cation, call the newsroom at
503-623-2373 or send an e-
mail to nadams@polkio.com.
WEBSITE
The Polk County Itemizer-
Observer website,
www.polkio.com, is updat-
ed each week by Wednes-
day afternoon. There, you
will find nearly every story
that appears in the print
version of the newspaper,
as well as some items, in-
cluding additional photos,
that do not appear in print
due to space limitations.
The Itemizer-Observer is
also on Facebook and Twit-
ter. Watch for breaking
news, links to stories, sports
scores updates and more.
WEATHER
RECORDED
HIGH LOW
Aug. 11............. 89
Aug. 12............. 91
Aug. 13............. 87
Aug. 14............. 75
Aug. 15............. 79
Aug. 16............. 86
Aug. 17............. 91
62
61
56
59
62
52
54
RAIN
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
.00
Rainfall during August — 0.00 in.
Rain through Aug. 17 — 15.28 in.
RECYCLE!!
Music from the Redgate Winery & Fieldhouse
Matinees are all shows before 6pm.
New pricing for matinees are:
• Adult $7.25 • Children $6.75
• Senior $7.00
10 Year Anniversary!
few things needed to be
tweaked, namely the loca-
tion of the main stage and
beer and wine garden.
This year, the stage was
near the playground area in
the back, a placement that
one board member thought,
“ l o o k e d l i k e a n a f t e r-
thought.”
Also, on the brainstorm
list is how to make the beer
and wine garden more visi-
ble. This year, it was in the
old 4-H building near the
Umpqua Ice Cream stand.
Attendance in the beer and
wine garden wasn’t high, but
it wasn’t too bad either,
Scharf said.
She said the issue could
be fixed with a different lo-
cation, more signs, or per-
haps putting it under a tent
instead of inside a building.
“I don’t think it was an
epic fail,” Scharf said. “It’s
the first year.”
She said Eola Wine Cellars
has already said it would like
to return next year.
The fair board, represen-
tatives from the livestock as-
sociation, FFA, 4-H, and
other organizations that par-
ticipate in fair will continue
to review the 2015 fair at the
board’s annual recap meet-
ing on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. in
Building B at the fair-
grounds.
Given that 2015 had so
many changes, fair man-
agers were more than happy
with the outcome.
“The attendance numbers
were amazing,” Scharf said.
“And everybody was having
fun.”
DEADLINES
RICKI AND
(12:15 2:35 4:55)
THE FLASH (Digital) (PG13)
AMERICAN ULTRA (Digital) (R)
(12:30 2:45 5:05)
(12:10 2:30 4:50)
SINISTER 2 (Digital) (R)
STRAIGHT OUTTA
COMPTON (Digital) (R)
(12:25 3:35)
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
ROGUE NATION (Digital) (PG13)
(1:20 4:10)
HITMAN: AGENT 47 (Digital) (R) (12:20 2:40 5:00)
MINIONS (Digital 2D) (PG)
(12:25)
ANT MAN (Digital 2D) (PG13)
(2:35)
FANTASTIC FOUR (Digital) (PG13)
(5:10)
MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (Digital) (PG13) (1:50 4:25)
7:15 9:35
7:25 9:40
7:10 9:25
6:45 9:45
7:00 9:50
7:20 9:35
7:30
9:55
7:05 9:40
Fri. August 21, 6-9 PM
featuring
Ted Vaughn
Blues Band
$5.00 cover
Must be 21 • Food Available
Tasting fees & glasses of wine $5.00
8175 Buena Vista Road
Independence • 503-428-7115 • www.redgatevineyard.com