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.
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