Polk County
Voices
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 16, 2015 4A
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EDITORIALS
We need your help
to deck the halls
It’s just a little more than a week before Christmas, when
all through the house, not a creature will be stirring, not
even a mouse — or so the poem goes.
In our newsroom, we’re bustling, not just working to
write stories and editorials, but to make our own homes
and office smell and look festive. To that order, the news-
room reporters have decided to try their hand at some
baking themselves.
This could wind up being a disaster, as not all of our re-
porters have much experience in the kitchen. For one of
them, this will be a first.
But what to make?
This is where you come in! We’d love to give your favorite
holiday recipes a try this year. Even the ones we aren’t
brave enough to try — or don’t have the right ingredients
for — we’d love to include on our recipe page next week.
We will do the baking this week, just on time to try out
the results on other unsuspecting coworkers and report
the findings — what the recipe is, what went wrong or
right, and photos of what it was supposed to look like ver-
sus what it turns out to be.
Who knows? Maybe we have some natural bakers in the
newsroom. We look forward to hearing some of your fa-
vorite recipes, and maybe send us a picture of your suc-
cesses or failures — along with the story that goes with it,
of course.
Send submissions to ionews@polkio.com, with the sub-
ject “Holiday recipes,” or just bring it into our newsroom at
147 SE Court St., Dallas.
PUBLIC AGENDA
Public Agenda is a listing of upcoming meetings for gov-
ernmental and nongovernmental agencies in Polk County.
To submit a meeting, send it at least two weeks before the
actual meeting date to the Itemizer-Observer via fax (503-
623-2395) or email (ionews@polkio.com).
—
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 16
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173.
• Monmouth Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Volunteer
Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0722.
• Chemeketa Community College Board of Education — 5
p.m., Chemeketa Community College, 4000 Lancaster Drive NE,
Salem. An executive session will be at 4:40 p.m. according to
ORS 192.660 (2)(a).
THURSDAY, DEC. 17
• Monmouth Independence Network — 7:30 a.m. Volunteer
Hall, 144 S. Warrant St., Monmouth. 503-837-0700.
• Polk County Fair Board — 8 a.m., Polk County Fairgrounds
and Event Center, Main Building, Meeting Room No. 2, 520 S. Pa-
ciic Highway (99W), Rickreall. 503-623-3048.
• Dallas Economic Development Committee — Noon, City
Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dallas. 503-831-3502.
• Independence Parks and Recreation Board — 6 p.m., In-
dependence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-
838-1212.
• Monmouth Arts and Culture Commission — 7 p.m., Vol-
unteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0722.
TUESDAY, DEC. 22
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173.
• Independence City Council — 7:30 a.m., Independence
Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas. 503-623-8173.
GOVERNOR
Gov. Kate Brown (Dem.)
160 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-378-4582
Email: via website,
http://governor.oregon.gov/
—
STATE LEGISLATORS
Sen. Arnie Roblan
(District 5, Democrat)
S-417 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
sen.arnieroblan@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/roblan
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Polk County craft
fair a huge success
The Polk County Fair Craft
Festival again proved to be a
fantastic shopping experi-
ence. I want to congratulate
the staff at the Polk County
Fairgrounds for putting on a
craft festival that offered an
amazing array of talent from
a variety of vendors.
There truly was some-
thing for everyone. Every
year there is something new
and exciting to see, but not
at the cost of losing out on
longtime favorites.
I would also like to thank
the Polk County Fair Board
members as well as Polk
County Commissioner Craig
Pope and Polk County Com-
missioner Jennifer Wheeler
for volunteering their per-
sonal time to assist with the
event. There is no admis-
sion charged for the event,
but this group of volunteers
to greet shoppers, collect
donations and answer ques-
tions. Your continued sup-
port and dedication to the
Polk County Fairgrounds is
greatly appreciated.
This event is a great way
to kick off the holiday sea-
son. If you missed it this
year, make sure to get it on
your calendar for next year,
the Friday and Saturday of
Thanksgiving weekend.
Anna Scharf
Perrydale
the right address and on
time, but they did it on Sun-
day. I didn’t even know they
delivered on Sunday.
I don’t have reason to visit
the post office very often,
but when I do they are al-
ways cheerful, helpful and
efficient. This is a challeng-
ing time of year for them
with all of the extra Christ-
mas mail and packages, and
they do a great job. Thank
you for the outstanding
service!
Teckla Buller
Dallas
Reader does not
appreciate cartoon
In regards to your cartoon
“Axis of Evil,” the Quran ap-
proves (but does not re-
quire) of Muslims using vio-
lence and lying to promote
and export Shariah law to
every land. Therefore radi-
calized Muslims aren’t doing
anything wrong according
to their faith. There is no di-
versity in Islam, only Shari-
ah law. Most Muslims don’t
approve of the use of vio-
lence. In regards to “Easy
Access to Guns,” if “easy”
access is a contributing fac-
tor, then how do you ex-
plain the use of guns and
bombs in Paris, sense nei-
ther is “easy” in France. Are
bombs “easy” in San
Bernardino? If guns are
“evil,” should the police
have them?
Local postal staff
show great service
Gary Weis
Dallas
I want to express my ap-
preciation for the local post
office staff. I recently had a
package misaddressed, due
to a typo I made. The ven-
dor kept right on top of the
matter with me, as did the
postal service. Not only did
they deliver the package to
Dallas community
embraces family
Our family would like to
express a very heartfelt
thank you to our communi-
ty and our wonderful town.
As many of you know, our
son Josh became very ill
while at George Fox.
Before we knew it, a very
long and difficult journey
had begun.
We spent a week at Salem
Hospital and five weeks at
Oregon Health & Science
University, watching our
son’s health decline. Wit-
nessing his battle was truly
one of the hardest things we
have been through.
Our town truly lifted our
family up; everyone was
amazing.
Words of encouragement,
cards, gifts delivered and,
most amazing, were all the
thoughts and prayers; they
were priceless to us. The
doctors, nurses and — hon-
estly everyone — up at
OHSU was absolutely aston-
ished at our hometown of
Dallas. They all stated they
have never seen anything
like this.
Josh is now home begin-
ning his recovery and getting
ready for two more surgeries.
To say we appreciate your
support, love and prayers is
an understatement; it was
an absolute comfort to not
only our family of three up
at the hospital but also our
family who were here in
Dallas. We are so proud to
have our hometown be Dal-
las, and to feel the love and
support of our community.
We are forever grateful.
Sen. Jackie Winters
(District 10, Republican)
S-301 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1710
sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/winters
Sen. Brian Boquist
(District 12, Republican)
S-305 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1712
sen.brianboquist@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/boquist
Rep. David Gomberg
(District 10, Democrat)
H-471 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1410
rep.davidgomberg@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/gomberg
Rep. Paul Evans
(District 20, Democrat)
H-281 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1420
rep.paulevans@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/evans
Rep. Mike Nearman
(District 23, Republican)
H-378 State Capitol
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1423
rep.mikenearman@state.or.us
www.oregonlegislature.gov/nearman
—
U.S. CONGRESS
Sen. Ron Wyden (Dem.)
221 Dirksen SOB
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-5244
Fax: 202-228-2717
Salem oice: 707 13th St. SE,
Suite 285, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-589-4555
Email: via website,
www.wyden.senate.gov
Mike, Colleen and
Josh Kibbey
Michael Kibbey Family
Dallas
Birthday party is
pleasant surprise
I would like to thank every-
one that attended the sur-
prise birthday party for me at
the Oak Grove Grange Hall.
Leota Lane
Dallas
WANT TO WRITE A LETTER?
Letters to the editor are lim-
ited to 300 words. Longer letters
will be edited.
Election-related letters of all
types are limited to 100 words.
Writers are limited to one elec-
tion-related letter per election
season. Election letters from
writers outside of Polk County
are not accepted.
Each writer is restricted to
one letter per 30-day period.
Letters that are libelous, ob-
scene or in bad taste will not be
printed. Attacks by name on
businesses or individuals will
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The Itemizer-Observer does
not guarantee the accuracy of
facts presented by letter writers;
dissenters are welcome to re-
spond. Letter writers who dis-
agree with other published
letter writers should maintain a
civil discourse and address the
subject, not the author.
Letters, like all editorial mate-
rial submitted to the newspaper,
are edited for length, grammar
and content.
Letters must include the au-
thor’s name, address and tele-
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Letters must be submitted
from individuals, not organiza-
tions, and must be original sub-
missions to the I-O, not copies of
letters sent to other media.
Letters of thanks to busi-
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zations are limited to 10 names.
The deadline for letters to the
editor is 10 a.m. Monday. Let-
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tractable after this deadline.
—
Reach us at:
Mail: Editor, Polk County
Itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108,
Dallas, OR 97338.
Fax: 503-623-2395.
Email: ionews@polkio.com.
Oice: 147 SE Court St., Dallas.
Sen. Jef Merkley (Dem.)
313 Hart SOB
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-3753
Fax: 202-228-3997
Salem oice: 495 State St. SE,
Suite 330, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-362-8102
Email: via website,
www.merkley.senate.gov
Rep. Kurt Schrader (Dem.)
108 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-5711
Fax: 202-225-5699
Salem oice: 544 Ferry St. SE,
Suite 2, Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-588-9100
Fax: 503-588-5517
Email: via website,
www.schrader.house.gov
—
POLK COUNTY
Board of Commissioners
850 Main St.
Dallas, OR 97338
Phone: 503-623-8173
www.co.polk.or.us
—
CITIES
Dallas
187 SE Court St.
Dallas, OR 97338
503-623-2338
www.ci.dallas.or.us
Falls City
299 Mill St.
Falls City, OR 97344
503-787-3631
www.fallscityoregon.gov
Independence
555 S. Main St.
Independence, OR 97351
503-838-1212
www.ci.independence.or.us
Monmouth
151 W. Main St.
Monmouth, OR 97361
503-838-0722
www.ci.monmouth.or.us
HOW TO REACH US
Vol. 140, No. 50
(USPS) - 437-380)
The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875
Winner of 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 General Excellence Awards
from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
Periodicals postage paid at
Dallas, OR, Independence, OR and Monmouth, OR.
Published weekly at 147 SE Court Street
Dallas, Oregon 97338
Phone: 503-623-2373 Fax: 503-623-2395
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Polk County — One Year $27
Other Oregon Counties — One Year $33
Outside of Oregon — One Year $38
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to: Polk County Itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, Oregon 97338
The Polk County Itemizer-Observer assumes no inancial responsibility for errors in adver-
tisements. It will, however, reprint without charge for the portion of an advertisement
which is in error if the Itemizer-Observer is at fault.
NEWSROOM
Nancy Adams ...............Publisher/Editor .............................................................nadams@polkio.com
Lukas Eggen..................Sports Editor......................................................................leggen@polkio.com
Jolene Guzman............Dallas/Falls City/Polk County Reporter ................jguzman@polkio.com
Emily Mentzer ..............Monmouth/Independence Reporter ..................ementzer@polkio.com
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