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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2015)
Polk County Living Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 25, 2015 9A Clueless about composting? WEDDINGS McGrath-Blocher Expert shares timely tips on creating sustainable system As leaves fall and yard debris bins fill up, it’s a good time to think of a dif- ferent solution to having all those resources trucked away. “Compost is good for the environment and for the garden,” said Ross Penhal- legon, horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “You take all these things you don’t know what to do with — grass clippings, leaves, garden refuse, anything left over — and throw it into the compost pile. Then it de- composes and you put it back into the soil. It’s a sus- tainable system. “Plus, compost provides inexpensive, nutrient-rich material,” he added. “It’s one of the best soil builders there is.” For beginners, Penhalle- gon teaches the easy “one- third” system of compost- ing. Layer a third manure or carbon material, a third ni- trogen material and a third soil. The carbon ingredient, known casually as brown stuff, includes dried leaves, woody plant prunings, straw and sawdust. The ni- trogen part, or green stuff, is composed of grass clip- pings, soft prunings and an- imal manure. Other things such as cof- fee grounds, tea leaves, egg shells and kitchen scraps can be thrown in as well, but Penhallegon warns they can attract unwanted guests like rats, opossums and raccoons. Don’t add pet waste, meat, dairy prod- ucts, fats or diseased or poi- Kali McGrath and Jorel Blocher, both of Dallas, were married Oct. 17 at The Buell Grange Hall in Sheri- dan. Aaron Hodges offici- ated the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Pam Ball, of Silverton; Rick Mc- Grath, of Keizer; Aaron Hodges, of Dallas, and Monty Ball, of Silverton. The groom is the son of Wayne and Rose Blocher, of Dallas. Matron of honor was Tajza Josephson. Bridesmaid was Ashley Zeller. Flower girls were Ralie Padgett and Phoebe Blocher. Best man was Hero the dog. Ring bearer was Evan Blocher. The couple honeymooned on the Oregon Coast. They make their home in Dallas. K YM P OKORNY Your Garden sonous plants. Getting the right amount of air and water into the pile is key, he noted. You don’t want too much water or the microbes and other critters that break down the material can’t do their job. On the other hand, a too- dry situation stops the process, too. The idea is to keep the pile moist, but not soggy, especially during the winter months. Too little air can also bring decomposi- tion to a halt. The more you turn the pile, the more air gets introduced, keeping everything on track. Of course, everything de- composes given time, but following a few steps makes it happen a whole lot faster. Penhallegon’s tips for making compost: Locate the compost pile on well-drained soil in sun or shade. Place on plastic to prevent unwanted insects from moving into the com- post pile. You can build containers out of materials such as wood pallets, concrete blocks or chicken wire, but a large pile works just as well. Start pile with a layer of twigs or small branches to enhance air circulation and drainage. Add material — carbon, nitrogen and soil — in three layers of about 2 inches. You LIBRARY CALENDAR OREGONSTATE.EDU for Itemizer-Observer Compost is good for the environment and for the garden. It’s one of the best soil builders there is. can repeat the layers, but don’t make it much taller than 3 feet. Sprinkle the pile with water. Check moisture peri- odically by squeezing a handful of compost ingredi- ents. It should feel like a wrung-out sponge. If it’s too wet, add some dry material and turn to mix. To retain heat and keep rain from saturating pile, cover it if possible with a piece of plywood, plastic, tarp or burlap sacks. Turn the pile once a week to keep air circulating. Re- cover the pile after each turning. Check pile periodically to monitor the amount of heat being generated. If it’s heat- ing up, the right balance of ingredients has been added. If it isn’t, add green material and turn the pile to mix and aerate. Water if necessary. After two to three months, the pile should no longer heat up and will smell and look like fresh, crumbly soil. The original material shouldn’t be readi- ly recognizable; though small pieces may still be ev- ident. MI TOWN Before we celebrate the annual Thanksgiving holi- day, when we gather togeth- er to think about all that is good in our world, I’d like to take a few moments to ex- press my appreciation for those who won’t be relaxing with family and friends on Thursday, but will be work- ing hard to make sure every- thing goes as well as possi- ble for the rest of us. As we drive over the river and through the woods, our local, county and state po- lice officers and our fire- fighters and emergency medical technicians will be on the job to do what they can to make sure we arrive at our destinations safely. Those men and women are in uniform 24 hours of every day to help keep our neigh- borhoods, our communities and our roads and highways safe and secure. P ATTY T AYLOR D UTCHER Columnist — Let’s be thankful to our utility workers who are out there despite the nasty win- ter weather to make sure our lights are on, our hous- e s a re w a r m a n d t h e Thanksgiving turkey is bak- ing to perfection at the turn of a switch. — I’m thankful to live in a community where neigh- bors and friends reach out to those in need. For caring church members and food banks and civic organiza- tions that make MI Town really special. I appreciate all our school employees who go the extra mile to be sure that the younger members of our communi- ty — and our future leaders — are getting the best edu- cation possible. Thank you for the tutoring programs, activities and for all the good athletic events. — Whether we celebrate Thanksgiving this year at home in MI Town or far- away, with family members or with good friends, enjoy- ing a sumptuous dinner or a supper of soup and bis- cuits, let’s try to set aside all the doom and gloom of mean-spirited politics, and think about those we love and who share our lives. Are the kids all grown up and far away and won’t be home for Thanksgiving din- ner? Be thankful — and grateful — they are healthy and happy and are but a telephone call away. If you’re alone and don’t have any friends or family to share the day with there are numerous restaurants and social service organizations who would welcome you as either a guest or a volun- teer server, or both. Before we launch ourselves head- long into the busyness of Christmas shopping or traveling, let’s take time to think of all the good things and special people in our lives, and be thankful for our blessings. — At Thanksgiving — or any season — let us do whatever we can to help others who are bearing so many burdens of war and poverty and medical con- cerns. May our hearts be grateful and caring and lov- ing this day and always. DALLAS 950 Main St. 503-623-2633 www.ci.dallas.or.us/library • Thursday, Nov. 26-Nov. 27 — Library closed for Thanksgiving. • Tuesday, Dec. 1, 11:15 a.m. — Story time. • Tuesday, Dec. 1, 3:30 p.m. — Afternoon story time. — INDEPENDENCE 175 Monmouth St. 503-838-1811 www.ci.independence.or.us/library • Wednesday, Nov. 25, 10:30 a.m. — Family story time. • Wednesday, Nov. 25, 5:30 p.m. — Cuentos in Español. • Thursday, Nov. 26-Sunday, Nov. 29 — Library closed for Thanksgiving. • Wednesday, Dec. 2, 10:30 a.m. — Family story time. • Wednesday, Dec. 2, 5:30 p.m. — Cuentos in Español. • Wednesday, Dec. 2, 1 p.m. — Scrabble with Betty (adults). — MONMOUTH 168 S. Ecols St. 503-751-0182 www.ci.monmouth.or.us/library • Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2 p.m. — Movie, “Shaun the Sheep.” • Thursday, Nov. 26-Monday, Nov. 30 — Library closed for Thanksgiving. • Tuesday, Dec. 1, 10:15 a.m. — Tales for tots (story time for ba- bies and toddlers). • Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2:30 p.m. — Builders club (K-5) — WAGNER COMMUNITY LIBRARY 111 N. Main St., Falls City 503-787-3521, ext. 319 www.facebook.com/WagnerCommunityLibrary/timeline • See the library’s Facebook page for upcoming events. Furniture Upholstery All types: for homes, offices, equip- ment. Also, repairs, RV cushions, slipcovers, High Quality since 1966 Stephen Winters Sewing 503-838-4999 or 503-375-9266 Emmy Joseph 440 E. St • Independence, OR 97351 www.winterssewing.com Serving Polk County 16yrs PEDEE NEWS The Pedee Women’s Club holiday fair is over and all went well. They had more people than usual, probably because of the relatively nice weather. The women baked 77 pies and made more than 22 kinds of soup for lunch. At the end of the day, they drew the winning ticket for the patriotic quilt they raffled off to benefit the soldiers’ fund; Tammy Ames of Silverton was the lucky winner. Pam Burkhal- ter was the chief promoter and helped sell most of the tickets, being the super salesman she is. — Last week, Nick and Suzanne Cates and their 2- A RLENE K OVASH Columnist year-old son, Tristan, came down from their home in Bainbridge Island to be w i t h N i c k ’s p a r e n t s , Kendall and Debbie Cates, as Nick’s brother, Sam, had been killed in a logging ac- cident south of Lincoln City on Nov. 13. Nick and Sam both grew up in Pedee and their parents still farm here, although they live in Dallas. Memorial service for Sam Cates is Dec. 5 at 1:30 p.m. at the Pedee Women’s Club. — Dave Burbank spent ten days with Willamina friend, Ron Smith, hunting moose in Canada. He is happy to say they both got one. They did get mighty cold as they drove around 150 miles a day in an openair Jeep tracking them down, the last few days in 20 inches of snow. — Nic Heller is now the ad- ministrative assistant at Pedee Church. Secretary Lyndsey Zarfas was getting overwhelmed juggling sec- retarial duties, preschooler Estelle, and baby Derek, so happily turned over some of her duties to Nic. — The kids at the Luckia- mute Valley Charter School at Pedee have been selling dilly beans, apple sauce, pear sauce, and pear butter. All the fruits and vegetables were locally grown, and the green beans were picked by the students, who also did the prep work and canning. Email the school at d.shimek@ lvcs.k12.or.us to see if there is still some available. They are asking if people could please donate the empty jars back to the school for future canning projects. Wood-Betthauser Pencil us in! www.polkio.com Matthew James Wood and Heidi Betthauser were married on August 4, 2015 in Portland. A reception was held at the home of the bride’s parents. Heidi is a 2010 graduate of Warner-Pacific College in Portland and is employed as a manufacturing analyst at Precision Cast Parts in Milwaukee. Matt is a 2002 graduate of City Bible College in Portland and is a Sargeant in the Oregon Army National Guard. He is employed as a Black Hawk Crew Chief at the Armory in Salem. Parents are Rob and Wendy Betthauser of Boring, OR, Rob and Elaine Wood of San Marco, CA, and Tim and Fran Oliver of Sand Point, Id. Grandparents are Ron and Glenda Schmoyer of Dallas and James and Mildred Caruso of Berlin, MD. Visit our website, www.polkio.com ...for local news, sports and community events. Follow us on
