NONPROFIT WISH LISTS
NASH NAMED PLAYER OF
THE YEAR
Page 10A
SPIRIT OF GIVING
Page 7A
Volume 140, Issue 46
www.Polkio.com
75¢
November 18, 2015
Gas and
tech co.
to make
new fuel
options
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
Dallas School District
B o a rd o f D i re c to r s
makes clariication to
its weapons policy.
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
»Page 16A
DALLAS — In a matter
of months, the former
Tyco building in Dallas
could be known around
town by a new name: the
American Gas & Technolo-
gy building.
The company pur-
chased the building on
Monmouth Cutoff Road in
Dallas in October, and the
facility has been buzzing
with activity in the last
few weeks.
The company will pro-
duce liquid natural gas
(LNG) as an alternative
fuel for the transportation
industry, John Temple, the
company’s director of cap-
ital markets, said in an
email.
The company’s patent-
ed technology could de-
velop LNG fueling sta-
tions.
Temple said the Dallas
location will have “the
only nano-scale, on-site
production of LNG in the
world.”
“Although we’ve been
around a while, we’re es-
sentially a new start-up
technology,” Temple said.
“Our Dallas facility will not
only be our corporate
headquarters, but it will be
where we’ll be our manu-
facturing and fabrication
of the actual liquefiers.”
He said the company is
busy with preparing the
facility. It will take a few
months before it’s ready to
open its doors.
Dallas city officials said
they are looking forward
to working with the com-
pany and are excited
about the potential for its
future.
“We continue to try to
be helpful to them,” said
Dallas City Manager Ron
Foggin. “What they are
doing, I’m super excited
that they
bought
the
building
and are
moving
forward.
I think
the sky’s
Foggin
the limit
for what they can do for
this community.
Foggin said, given the
amount of natural gas
available in the United
States, the technology
could prove groundbreak-
ing.
“This easily could be an
international company
with what they developed,”
Foggin said. “Having them
start here in Dallas, Ore.,
it’s awesome. We are excit-
ed to have them here.”
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
FALLS CITY
Falls City City Council
deines “meeting”; hits
dead end in marijuana
regulations.
»Page 2A
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Becca Hazel folds a box after unpacking boxes of macaroni and cheese on Monday at Western’s food pantry.
HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF
INDEPENDENCE
The Independence
Elks join forces with
local businesses to help
retire old lags.
»Page 3A
WOU pantry food drive aims to help at least 50 families
By Emily Mentzer
How you can help
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — More
than half of the students at
Western Oregon University
don’t know where their next
meal is coming from. One in
four classified staff members
need help getting food.
“We’re not talking about
students who are eating
ramen,” said Jackson Stalley,
chairman of Friends of the
Food Pantry. “We are talking
about students who aren’t
eating.”
WOU’s food pantry was
established in 2011 to help
both struggling staff mem-
bers and students. To help
organize the efforts, Christie
Colasurdo was hired this
year to be the student direc-
tor of the pantry.
What: Western Oregon University’s Food Pantry Thanks-
giving food drive.
When: Now through Friday.
Where: Donation boxes are outside the ASWOU’s oice in
the Werner University Center, or at the food pantry itself, lo-
cated in the Academic Programs and Services building on
the bottom loor.
Of note: The food pantry needs donations throughout
the week and year, but for this occasion, it is looking for
things speciically for a traditional Thanksgiving meal: stuf-
ing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, turkey or ham,
cranberries, and pumpkin pie. Cookbooks and cooking sup-
plies also are accepted. Thanksgiving dinners will be distrib-
uted on Monday while supplies last at Werner Center.
For more information: 360-704-9315.
Along with the task of get-
ting the word out about the
pantry’s mission, Colasurdo
wanted to make sure every
student has a good meal for
Thanksgiving. A special food
drive to help accomplish
that is underway this week,
ending on Friday.
“We always have the food
pantry open five days a
week, so they can always
come in, but I really wanted
to get people a nice Thanks-
giving meal,” she said.
Colasurdo comes from a
large Italian family and has
fond memories of very tradi-
tional holiday celebrations.
“It’s something I look for-
ward to, not just because I
get to eat — I mean, obvi-
ously the food is a great
bonus — but it’s just the
community and having
something to look forward
to and having a meal to
bring people together, and
that’s what the importance
of it is,” she said. “Imagine if
you didn’t have a turkey; that
would be awkward.”
This isn’t the first time the
food pantry has aimed to
collect donations for some-
thing specific.
See FOOD, Page 5A
Dallas reacts to city councilor’s posts
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — After a week of
media scrutiny, public de-
bate, protest and calls for
council action, testimony at
Monday’s Dallas City Coun-
cil meeting displayed more
support than disagreement
with Councilor Micky Garus’
remarks about Muslims
posted last week.
“That is the beauty about
this country, we can say what
we want,” Garus said. “… I
raised awareness about
things that are important to a
lot of Americans and, be-
cause I said what I said, and
we are having a conversa-
tion.”
Many who spoke Monday
thanked Garus for bringing
attention to the topic.
“He brings up things that
people think about, but don’t
say in the open,” said Dallas
resident Lynnette Henshaw.
“He says them and we all
start talking, like we are now,
and bringing it up and I
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas City Councilor Micky Garus listens to testimony.
think it’s a good thing.”
Not all people at the
meeting agreed with what
he said or that he posted his
views on a Facebook page
entitled “Micky Garus Dallas
City Councilman.” One resi-
dent called for him to resign
and another called his opin-
ions “hate speech.”
“When these views are
prefaced by your position as
a councilman, they are seen
as a reflection of values of
the entire city,” said Dallas
resident Deborah Kelley.
“Mr. Garus’ statements were
made in a public forum as a
councilman. These words do
not reflect my values as a cit-
izen of Dallas.”
On Nov. 7, Garus wrote,
and then deleted, a Face-
book post in response to a
city in Michigan electing a
majority of Muslims to its
city council. Garus wrote he
believed that was the “be-
ginning of a new era in our
country” and feared the im-
plementation of Sharia Law.
Quoting passages from the
Quran, he asserted Muslims
wish to harm those who do
not practice the religion.
“The simple truth is Islam
does not allow you to pick
and choose, it does not
allow for other interpreta-
tions...” he wrote. “If you
support Islam, you believe
in Jihad and wish to kill all
nonbelievers.”
On Nov. 10, in response to
criticism, Garus issued a
statement, saying his posts do
not represent the position of
the city of Dallas, or the opin-
ions of his fellow councilors.
But he did not back down
from what he said.
Ken Kirby, an adjunct as-
sistant professor who teach-
es all religion classes at
Western Oregon University,
said Garus’ comments are a
mischaracterization of Islam
and its followers. He said the
passages Garus refers to in
his remarks have been taken
out of context.
See POSTS, Page 5A
MONMOUTH
Western Oregon Uni-
versity sophomore
races to the NCAA
Championship.
»Page 10A
SPORTS
See who made the
2015 all-region volley-
ball team.
»Page 12A
EDUCATION
After more than 10
years in the making, the
irst steps come true for
the Bridgeport Commu-
nity Center dream.
»Pages 16A
CRIME
Oicers have been
diligent in arresting
people driving under
the inluence of intoxi-
cants.
»Pages 14A
WVH volunteers
to hold fundraiser
DALLAS — West Valley
Hospital Volunteer Servic-
es will hold a jewelry
fundraiser Monday and
Tuesday.
The sale will be from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. in the main
conference room at the
hospital, 525 SE Washing-
ton St., Dallas.
All pieces will be on
sale for $5.99, including
fashion accessories, jew-
elry, educational, gifts,
toys, books, games and
more.
Proceeds from the sale
will provide scholarships
to Po l k Co u n t y h i g h
school students pursuing
a medical-related ield.
For more information:
503-623-7311.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
“Book of Days” con-
tinues tonight
through Saturday at
Western Oregon
University’s Rice Au-
ditorium.
7:30 p.m. $7-$12.
Come down to the
Three Legged Dog for
“Suds and Science,” a
talk about salmonids
and ishing in the
Luckiamute.
7-8:30 p.m. Free.
Feeling blue? Head
to the bluegrass
music jam at Faith
Evangelical Free
Church and listen or
play along.
7-10 p.m. Free.
Falls City will host its
annual Thanksgiving
dinner, free for
those who want to
join, at the Falls City
Community Center.
Today is National
Take a Ride Day.
What better time to
destress on a bike,
horse, motorcycle,
car, bus or train be-
fore Thanksgiving.
Take a break from
the day and explore
your emotions in
“Inside Out,” during
family movie time at
the Indy library.
3 p.m. Free.
Bring your creativity
with you to the
Monmouth library
for a “crafternoon”
with a Thanksgiving
theme.
2 p.m. Free.
Cloudy
Hi: 51
Lo: 44
Rain
Hi: 53
Lo: 42
Partly cloudy
Hi: 51
Lo: 41
Partly cloudy
Hi: 52
Lo: 38
Partly cloudy
Hi: 53
Lo: 38
Showers
Hi: 52
Lo: 38
Showers
Hi: 47
Lo: 33
11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free.