SECTION C
GROUND AND POUND
FALL HOME GUIDE HOMECOMING
SEE INSIDE
Volume 140, Issue 42
Page 10A
www.Polkio.com
October 21, 2015
75¢
IN YOUR TOWN
DALLAS NEWS
The long-vacant former Tyco building in Dallas
has a new owner.
Dallas City Manager Ron Foggin announced the
closing of the sale to American Gas & Technology
at the Dallas City Council meeting Monday night.
He said the sale was inal on Oct. 2, but the compa-
ny isn’t in production at the facility of Monmouth Cut-
of Road yet. He said the business specializes in the
use of compressed natural gas.
“They will start sooner rather than later and they
will be employing people,” Foggin said.
»Page 5A
FALLS CITY NEWS
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Melanie Doyle watches as her son Darren Doyle packs red potatoes in a bag during Friday’s weekly produce giveaway
at Mountain Gospel Fellowship Church in Falls City. The giveaway serves as many as 120 families each week.
Nourishing a community
Weekly produce giveaway in Falls City provides food, social connections
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — Donna
Creekmore walked to a park-
ing lot beside Mountain
Gospel Fellowship Church in
Falls City and said: “We
started here.”
She’s talking about the
weekly produce giveaway
that happens every Friday at
the church.
The program helps a third
to nearly half the population
of Falls City, but it started
about a year ago as a small
giveaway spearheaded by
people who recognized a
simple way to fill a need.
Back then, it was operated
out of the bed of a pickup truck.
Now a multitude of volun-
teers are needed to deliver,
unload and help families
who visit the giveaway each
week.
It’s moved from the truck
to using the entire front park-
ing lot and covered walkway
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Signs are placed out before the giveaway begins at 4 p.m..
at Mountain Gospel.
“It’s been needed for a
while,” said Charlie Flynn, a
volunteer with the program.
A little more than a year
ago, Falls City resident Angie
Varney found out the weekly
James2 Community Kitchen
meal and food giveaway on
Thursdays at Dallas United
Methodist Church often had
leftover produce. Working
with the late Wayne Kester,
who organized the Thursday
meal, she volunteered to take
the excess to Falls City and
hand it out to residents there.
Each Friday, Varney would
park her truck at Mountain
Gospel, have her kids hold
homemade signs, and gave
out fresh produce to anyone
who needed it. The giveaway
grew so fast, Varney asked
Creekmore to help.
It wasn’t long before Var-
ney and Kester realized that
if expanded, the program
could help more families in
Falls City by providing fresh,
healthy food for free on a
regular basis.
Kester connected the Falls
City volunteers with Mari-
on-Polk Food Share to bring
more fruit, vegetables and
bread to the community on
Fridays.
Last Friday, like many be-
fore it, there was a line out-
side the church at 4 p.m.
when the giveaway opened.
Boxes brimming with water-
melons, apples, corn on the
cob, peppers, potatoes, salad
mixes and much more await-
ed people who signed in.
Melanie Doyle, along with
three of her eight children
were among those who come
to the giveaway on nearly a
weekly basis. She said with
that many children in her
house, food goes fast and is
increasingly expensive.
See PRODUCE, Page 15A
Ready? Tax bills are on the way
Itemizer-Observer staff report
POLK COUNTY — Tax
statements are on their way,
and for most property own-
ers, they won’t contain good
news when it comes to the
size of their property tax bill.
Polk County will collect
6.2 percent more taxes, fees
and special assessments for
the 2015 tax year ($84.5 mil-
lion) on behalf of all the
county’s taxing districts.
Last year, the county col-
lected $79.6 million.
Polk County Assessor
Douglas Schmidt said the
primary contributors for this
increase are the 3 percent
increase in assessed value
allowed by law under Meas-
ure 50, the need to collect
for bond repayment, and
value that has been added to
a property from new con-
struction. Schmidt added
that another contributor to
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
Try holding a physical education class in a room
with an 8-foot ceiling — or having to load kids
onto a bus for PE classes of site.
That is the case at Falls City Elementary School.
Now district oicials have proposed a solution:
building a gym at the school.
It would take a bond measure to pay for it, but
Superintendent Jack Thompson said after intro-
ducing the idea to citizens last week, the response
has been encouraging.
“It was really positive,” Thompson said. “People
believe there is a need.”
»Page 16A
INDEPENDENCE NEWS
Moments after Central’s 20-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-
20 loss to Silverton on Thursday, senior Kylie Nash
was all smiles, joking with her teammates. Despite
the loss, Nash and her teammates believe Central is
ready to unleash its best play of the year during the
postseason.
“In a positive sense, a lot of it came back to our
side and our mistakes,” Nash said. “We know we
can take care of that. I didn’t feel like they out-
played us. We could have taken that (match).”
The Panthers entered the inal week of the regu-
lar season with a 6-10 record overall and 5-7 mark
in Mid-Willamette Conference play.
»Page 10A
MONMOUTH NEWS
Stepping into Hadley’s Radio Bakery, it doesn’t
seem like much. It’s still a work in progress, with
signs being made, art yet to be hung on the walls.
The display case isn’t packed full of goodies like
you might see in a commercial bakery. Instead,
Hadley’s displays a smaller assortment of delicacies.
Be glad. Hadley, 47, takes a small-batch ap-
proach, hoping customers will appreciate the at-
tentiveness to his use of local ingredients and bak-
ing throughout the day. It means the likelihood of
grabbing a cookie fresh out of the oven is high.
»Page 3A
POLK COUNTY NEWS
Graphic by KATHY HUGGINS/Itemizer-Observer
property tax increases is the
fact that last year almost 25
percent of the residential
property owners in Polk
County were paying taxes on
their real market value
(RMV).
The RMV of a property is
wed
thu
fri
The Dallas Library is
hopping today with
events for youth and
teens including read
to Davos, the teen
advisory meeting
and book club.
Have a question
about Dallas
schools? Have cof-
fee with the superin-
tendent at Dallas
Retirement Village.
9:30 a.m. Free.
Tap your feet to the
music at the Guthrie
Park Acoustic Music
Jam at the Guthrie
Park Community
Center.
7-10 p.m. Free.
Partly cloudy
Hi: 67
Lo: 47
A.M. Fog
Hi: 64
Lo: 45
Partly cloudy
Hi: 63
Lo: 43
Thirty years ago, Greg Hansen had what could
be the shortest job interview of any current Polk
County employee.
Now the county administrator, Hansen was seek-
ing a graduate intern position in the general servic-
es department.
“I said ‘yes’ three times and then I was hired,”
Hansen recalled last week after being presented a
30 years of service award and the Polk County
Board of Commissioners meeting Wednesday.
what the assessor believes a
property would sell for if
placed on the market on Jan. 1.
See TAXES, Page 5A
sat
Tour Monmouth
and Independence
while tasting Polk
County wines dur-
ing Discover MI
Town.
Noon-5 p.m. $25.
Partly cloudy
Hi: 65
Lo: 45
»Page 2A
sun
mon
tue
Hand clapping and
loud singing is en-
couraged during the
Jubilee Service at
Calvary Chapel in
Dallas.
6:30 p.m. Free.
Take a moment and
write a thank you
letter to a service
member overseas to
recognize National
Day of the Deployed
today.
James2 Community
Kitchen ofers free
meals to everyone
who needs or wants
one each Tuesday
and Thursday.
4:30-6 p.m. Free.
Chance rain
Hi: 65
Lo: 45
Partly cloudy
Hi: 65
Lo: 46
Mostly sunny
Hi: 65
Lo: 49