KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS
DALLAS HITS MIRACLE
WHO’S WHO Section C SHOT VS. CHS
Page 10A
Volume 141, Issue 3
www.Polkio.com
January 20, 2016
75¢
Recreational marijuana OK’d in Polk
Board of Commissioners define where marijuana may be grown, processed, sold in county limits
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The Polk
County Board of Commis-
sioners approved amend-
ments to the county’s zon-
ing ordinance to allow
production, process and
sales of recreational mari-
juana.
The amendment, which
designates the zones in
which each type of activity
can take
p l a c e
passed by
a 2-1 vote
Jan. 13 fol-
l ow i n g a
p u b l i c
hearing.
Commis-
Ainsworth
s i o n e r
Mi k e A i n s w o r t h vo t e d
“no.”
The board approved al-
lowing marijuana produc-
tion — growing and primary
processing — in the exclu-
sive farm use (EFU),
farm/forestry (FF),
farm/forestry overlay (FFO)
and timber conservation
(TC) zones.
Austin McGuigan, the
county’s community devel-
opment director, said House
Bill 3400, the legislation reg-
ulating recreational marijua-
na and making changes to
medical marijuana laws,
specifically allows marijua-
na production on EFU lands
and other zones in the coun-
ty.
The bill gives local juris-
dictions the discretion to de-
cide the “time, place and
manner.”
“We, at the staff level, took
and identified every zone by
similar uses,” McGuigan
DALLAS
Calmlee’s Bookstore
brings paperbacks to
downtown, with plans
for comic books.
»Page 5A
FALLS CITY
Falls City needs to
make repairs to its
wastewater system.
»Page 7A
INDEPENDENCE
The city of Independ-
ence can now be ac-
cessed on your smart-
phone through the In-
dyWorks app.
»Page 5A
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
The Polk County Board of Commissioners approved regulations that would allow farmers to grow marijuana in ex-
clusive farm use (light yellow), timber conservation (dark green) and farm/forest (light green) zones in the county.
said. “The idea is we are
looking at these land-use ac-
tivities to make sure that
these are compatible with
uses that you would expect
on similarly zoned proper-
ties.”
He said the Polk County
Planning Commission
thought growing marijuana
was a compatible use to
other activities taking place
in the FF, FFO and TC
zones.
“Our policies and our
comprehensive plan really
are to encourage both agri-
culture and forestry in those
zones, both of those activi-
ties,” he said. “They found
that, for those reasons, it
was appropriate to identify
all those primary (resource)
zones for marijuana produc-
tion.”
He added in looking at the
issue in its totality, the Polk
County Planning Commis-
sion took geography and
available infrastructure in to
account in deciding where
processing, wholesaling and
retail and medical sales
should take place.
McGuigan said for sales,
the planning commission
believed retail and medical
dispen-
s a r i e s
should be
allowed
only in
p l a c e s
where ac-
cess to dis-
pensaries
located in
Pope
urban areas
would be difficult.
Therefore, the commis-
sion identified only the
Northwest Polk County
Community Commercial
zone, near the unincorpo-
rated communities of
Grand Ronde, Fort Hill and
Valley Junction, for dispen-
saries and retail outlets.
For marijuana processing
wholesaling activities, the
commission selected light
industrial zones and the
Rickreall unincorporated
community industrial zone.
Light industrial zones are
located within city urban
growth boundaries.
See POT, Page 6A
Schellenberg named to Farm Bureau’s Hall of Fame
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
POLK COUNTY — Near the con-
clusion of the agenda, Don Schellen-
berg, a longtime member of the Polk
County Farm Bureau (PCFB), finally
figured out why he was sent to Ore-
gon Farm Bureau’s (OFB) annual
meeting in December.
That’s when OFB Barry Bushue
and Executive Vice President Dave
Dillion announced the organization
was inducting Schellenberg into its
hall of fame. Schellenberg also had
worked for OFB as a lobbyist for al-
most 30 years.
Schellenberg said the announce-
ment was a surprise, but admits to
being suspicious about being select-
ed to attend on behalf of the Polk
County branch’s board, of which he
is a member.
He had to skip a meeting last year
and found out afterward the board
had voted to send him to the annual
meeting.
“I figured out what happened,” he
said. “You miss a meeting and you
are selected for an award.”
In decades of service to local and
state farm bureau organizations,
Schellenberg did a lot more than
miss a meeting. To be nominated,
hall of fame candidates must have at
least 35 years of active involvement.
“This year’s nominee comes with
THE NEXT
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
IN
YOUR
TOWN
a record of service that far exceeds
35 years,” Bushue said. “Don joined
Farm Bureau in the late 1960s and
wasted no time making an impact,
winning the Young Farmers &
Ranchers Discussion Meet in 1968.”
Schellenberg has farmed his entire
life, working his father’s land before
purchasing his own outside Dallas in
1970. That 30-acre prune orchard
grew into a 300-acre farm producing
prunes, grain, sheep and wheat.
In 1980, Schellenberg decided to
take on a different kind of challenge,
becoming OFB’s first lobbyist.
During his career, Schellenberg
was on a team that helped craft leg-
islation to create Oregon’s farm
property tax and land-use regula-
tions.
His work on behalf of farmers ex-
tended beyond Oregon. He traveled
to Kyrgyzstan after the breakup the
Soviet Union to help farmers there
organize a representative group.
Schellenberg also served on the
OFB’s century farm and ranch com-
mittee and served three terms as
PCFB’s president.
When presented with honor last
month, Schellenberg deflected
praise to others.
“Farm Bureau’s members are the
heart of the organization — and the
democratic, grassroots policy devel-
opment process is its soul,” he said.
“Those two things make Farm Bu-
OREGON FARM BUREAU/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Don Schellenberg, left, speaks to a group of people in front of the Cap-
ital building in Salem in 2007. Schellenberg was a lobbyist for the Ore-
gon Farm Bureau for decades was recently named to its hall of fame.
reau the best agriculture organiza-
tion in Oregon.”
That said, learning he would be
inducted was an emotional experi-
ence.
“I worked for 28 years at the state
level and my whole life at the local
level,” Schellenberg said. “It’s been a
privilege to be recognized for that
work.”
MONMOUTH
Monmouth City
Council debates ex-
tending waterline to
property outside city
limits.
»Page 2A
SPORTS
Falls City’s girls bas-
ketball team hopes to
prove it belongs with
the Casco League’s top
teams.
»Page 10A
Owner located
for found pigs
DALLAS — The Dallas
Fire and Police Depart-
ments located the owner
of two pigs on Tuesday.
The ambulance service
received an unofficial call
on Sunday night at 7:21
p.m. about two pigs in
the area of Oakdale and
Hayter streets.
Responders on duty ar-
rived along with three po-
lice oicers to corral the
pigs, who appeared to be
well-maintained fed and
not wild.
The pigs were kept on
a farm where they are
being fed and main-
tained until the owner
was located.
A description of the pigs
was required.
The Fire Department
responded to another an-
imal-related call on Jan.
12.
Responders received a
call around 2:15 p.m.
concerning a horse that
had become stuck in the
side door of its trailer
near the intersection of
Orchard View and Laura
Lane.
Four ireighters re-
sponded to the call.
Responders used extri-
cation tools to help re-
move the horse from the
trailer in a little under an
hour.
The horse did not sufer
injuries.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Join St. Thomas Epis-
copal Church for its
“Brew and BS” series
discussing the Old
Testament. Bring
your own brew.
7 p.m. Free.
Dallas Lions Club
will host an Ameri-
can Red Cross disas-
ter preparedness
introduction at its
meeting today.
11:30 a.m. Free.
Learn how you can
help the Willamette
Valley Hospice in a
free volunteer train-
ing for people of all
ages.
8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Free.
Independence Her-
itage Museum will
present “Stories of
the Farm Worker” at
the Indy civic center
today.
1:30 p.m. Free.
Make someone
smile today in honor
of National Compli-
ment Day. It gives
them a boost, and
makes you feel
good, too.
Come out and play
with the Willamette
Valley New Horizons
Orchestra. All skills
levels are welcome.
6:30-8:30 p.m. $25
monthly fee.
James2 Community
Kitchen ofers free
meals for all who
are hungry at St.
Philip Catholic
Church.
4:30-6 p.m. Free.
Showers
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Lo: 44
Rain
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Lo: 45
Showers
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Lo: 41
Showers
Hi: 48
Lo: 38
Showers
Hi: 48
Lo: 39
Rain
Hi: 47
Lo: 45
Rain
Hi: 50
Lo: 45