UNEXPECTED VISITOR
DANIEL GLADE TRIES TO
ENJOYING SNOW
RETURN TO FORM
Page 7A
Page 10A
Volume 140, Issue 1
www.Polkio.com
January 6, 2016
75¢
First snow
IN
YOUR
TOWN
DALLAS
Greg Ellis works to
market Dallas to resi-
dents and outsiders
alike.
»Page 6A
FALLS CITY
Dallas Police and Polk
County Sherif deputies
serve a search and
seizure warrant at a
Falls City residence.
»Page 14A
INDEPENDENCE
Monmouth-Indepen-
dence YMCA restruc-
tures membership dues
to relect household in-
comes.
LUKAS EGGEN (TOP) EMILY MENTZER (RIGHT)/Itemizer-Observer
Kids enjoyed an unexpected snow day on Sunday, the irst widespread
snow Polk County has seen since February of 2014. Total precipitation
amounted to 0.29 inches, but it was enough to keep the sleds moving
and the laughter coming.
»Page 3A
Above: Alexandrea Cavan (left) and Sadie Pond enjoy a trip down a hill at
Dallas City Park on Sunday morning. The pair went sledding until their
sleds broke, along with Sienna and Zoey Pond.
MONMOUTH
Casa Burrito Tequila
Grill ofers a range of
Mexican dishes, from
combination plates to
oferings at the taco
cart in front.
Right: Caleb Duncan, 4, doesn’t have to go far for a wild ride. The drive-
way on his quiet street in Monmouth will work just ine. He and his sib-
lings played with friends and family on Sunday, throwing snowballs and
making the trip up the driveway to sled back down.
»Page 5A
Soggy December weekends means fewer trees sold
All in all, it’s a good year for Christmas tree growers, big and small, as owners get ready to replant
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The record December
rains — 15.24 inches in all, 6.86
above what’s considered “nor-
mal” — didn’t spoil the Christmas
tree harvest too much.
“We had a pretty soggy year with
all the rain,” said Ken Brown, co-
owner of Brown’s Westwinds Farms
in Dallas. “We were down a little bit
on the number of trees sold, but it
was really a good year.”
The long, hot summer did not
hurt the fir trees much, Brown said,
because they got enough moisture
in spring.
“We do worry if it stays particular-
ly dry into the harvest season,” he
said, adding that the fall rains was
enough so trees didn’t suffer.
However, the heavy rains, partic-
ularly during the weekends, kept a
few cut-your-own-tree folks away.
“Of course, that slows things
down pretty dramatically,” Brown
said.
But overall, he said, “We were only
down maybe 20 trees from the year
before.”
With a U-cut farm, any trees that
don’t sell aren’t wasted, Brown said.
“Not like somebody on the (park-
ing) lot that has a few trees leftover,”
he said. “They’re not worth a thing
the day after Christmas. Mine, I can
use mine again.”
The wholesale tree growers
weren’t as affected by the late rains,
as their harvests were already in
trucks and on boats to retail sellers.
The summer heat affected some
trees, said Tom Norby, past-presi-
dent and member of the Oregon
Christmas Tree Growers Association.
“Those first trees that we sent
overseas really needed a bit more
moisture for them,” he said. “The
ones we cut in November for do-
mestic were a lot healthier.”
Wholesale tree growers start their
harvests in late October and keep
pushing right through Thanksgiving,
Norby said.
See TREES, Page 13A
Cyclist dies in car accident on Hoffman
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — No ci-
tations have been issued,
but the investigation is on-
going in Dec. 30’s fatal acci-
dent involving a bicyclist
and car.
Polk County Sheriff’s Of-
fice said bicyclist John Shap-
ley, 52, of Independence died
in the accident that occurred
in the 9000 block of Hoffman
Road, on the outskirts of
Monmouth city limits.
At about 6:40 p.m., Polk
County deputies responded
to what was reported as a
vehicle versus pedestrian
crash on Hoffman Road be-
tween 16th Street North and
S o u t h H i g h w a y 9 9 W.
Deputies were told CPR was
in progress.
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
Courtesy of the POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
A man died in an accident on Hofman Road on Dec. 30.
Additionally, officers from
Monmouth and Independ-
ence responded to the call.
Polk County Fire District
No. 1 EMS personnel arrived
wed
Pick up your knitting
needles and crochet
hooks and join oth-
ers making clothing
and accessories for
those in need.
3-5 p.m. Free.
Showers
Hi: 39
Lo: 32
on the scene at 6:46 p.m.
and soon determined that
Shapley had died as a result
of the crash.
Police said Shapley was
thu
The Dallas Lions
Club welcomes
everyone to its
twice-monthly
meetings at Hong
Kong Restaurant.
11:30 a.m. Free.
Cloudy
Hi: 40
Lo: 31
struck from behind while
riding a bicycle west on
Hoffman Road, causing sig-
nificant damage to both
the bicycle and the in-
volved vehicle, driven by
Daniel Major, 40, of Falls
City.
It was believed Shapley
was killed upon impact.
The investigation showed
a secondary impact with
Shapley's body by a separate
vehicle had occurred, but it
was not thought to be a fac-
tor in his death.
All parties remained at the
scene and cooperated with
investigators, police said.
Sheriff Mark Garton said
that stretch of Hoffman
Road is dark with no street
lights. It has very little shoul-
der with no bike lane.
Shapley had been wearing
dark clothing. Garton said.
Speed didn’t appear to be a
factor in the crash.
No criminal charges have
been filed thus far in the in-
vestigation, which is ongo-
ing, Garton said.
Both the Polk County
Medical Examiner's Office
and the Polk County District
Attorney's Office had per-
sonnel respond to the
scene.
Law enforcement arriving
on scene closed Hoffman
Road between 16th Street
North and South Highway
99W.
The road was closed for
several hours while deputies
conducted an investigation,
which included assistance
from Oregon State Police, at
the request of the sheriff’s
office.
SPORTS
Former Western Ore-
gon wide receiver Tyrell
Williams caught his irst
pass in the NFL. The San
Diego Charger scored
on an 80-yard touch-
down against the Den-
ver Broncos.
»Page 11A
SPORTS
Central sophomore
Krista Omlid has transi-
tioned quickly from in-
experienced newcomer
to a leader.
»Page 12A
Dallas fire put
out quickly
Itemizer-Observer staf report
DALLAS — A small ire
was mostly extinguished
by a resident of a recre-
ational vehicle at 573 E. El-
lendale Ave. on Friday, but
when personnel from Dal-
las Fire & EMS responded,
it was still smoldering.
The ire department
was on scene for about an
hour working to com-
pletely extinguish the ire.
The occupant was as-
sessed by Dallas medics
for possible smoke inhala-
tion.
The ire appears to have
been started from smok-
ing materials, said April
Welsh, Dallas Fire & EMS
community liaison.
“There was no informa-
tion as to how much dam-
age there was to the RV,”
she said.
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Bring your new elec-
tronic devices to
free community
technology courses
at Dallas United
Methodist Church.
10-11:30 a.m. Free.
Pentacle Theatre will
present “Mary Pop-
pins” at Central High
School, a fundraiser
for the community
theater.
2 and 7:30 p.m. $15-20.
Head to Buell
Grange Hall, just of
Highway 22 north-
west of Dallas, for
all-you-can-eat
breakfast.
8-11 a.m. $6.
With the excitement
of resolutions and
holidays behind you,
it’s time for National
Clean Of Your Desk
Day, the second
Monday of the year.
Are you a caregiver,
or know someone
who is? A support
group meets at
West Valley Hospital
to ofer help.
2-3:30 p.m. Free.
Partly cloudy
Hi: 41
Lo: 31
Showers
Hi: 40
Lo: 31
Partly cloudy
Hi: 41
Lo: 30
Showers
Hi: 40
Lo: 33
Showers
Hi: 43
Lo: 36