Polk County
Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 6, 2016 7A
LET IT SNOW (EVEN A LITTLE)
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNT Y — It
wasn’t much, less than an
inch, in fact, but it brought
out the kid in many, as peo-
ple pulled out their sleds and
headed for the hills in local
parks or their driveways.
The birds seemed to enjoy
the quiet Sunday morning
snowfall. Dogs joined their
owners on walks in the white
stuff, while cats preferred to
stay indoors, unsure what all
the fuss was about.
The snow gave way to
sleet, “ice pellets,” and freez-
ing rain, which made walk-
ing — or driving — less fun
and more dangerous.
The overnight freezing
rain predictions caused Polk
County schools to close for
Monday. Even Western Ore-
gon University got a late
start.
Polk County Fire District
No. 1 responded to three
weather-related accidents,
said Deputy Chief Neal
Olson. On Sunday at 9:57
a.m., a car rolled over south
of Monmouth, and no one
was injured.
At 9:50 p.m. on Sunday, at
North Main and Polk streets,
Independence, firefighters
assisted with cleanup after a
minor collision.
The third accident came
at 5:11 Monday morning, on
Corvallis Road near Prather
Road when a vehicle went
into the ditch. The driver
was transported to a hospi-
tal, Olson said.
EMILY MENTZER/Itemizer-Observer
Left: Dallas City Park
showed of a wintery scene
on Sunday thanks to the
snowfall in Polk County.
The cold didn’t stop peo-
ple from having snowball
ights, going for walks or
sledding.
Top: Kahu, a young Ger-
man shepard, enjoys
catching snowballs on ten-
nis courts near the dog
park in Monmouth. Faith
McGovern readies to make
another one for the pup.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Bottom: Zoey Pond (white)
takes a ride down a hill at
Dallas City Park with Jenn
Pond on Sunday morning.
The Ponds took advantage
of the weather to take part
in a sledding adventure.