Polk County
Voices
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 2, 2016 4A
EDITORIALS
Local events achieve
something rare
The Mid-Valley AgFest and Polk County Home and Gar-
den Show proved to be a smashing success last weekend —
and perhaps for a bigger reason than you might expect.
The two-day events attracted attendees of all ages —
and they didn’t leave disappointed.
The kids had plenty to keep them busy. From watching a
model train set, to getting their faces painted and taking a
seat on a tractor or covered wagon, to receiving a balloon
and enjoying tasty treats, this was a truly family-friendly
event.
But this wasn’t just a kids affair.
The AgFest helped urban and rural life connect. Satur-
day Market vendors and small farms showed off their
hand-crafted products and food. Speakers and seminars
provided information about the world of agricultural, the
challenges it is facing and what is changing.
The AgFest was a unique opportunity for families to
connect through one of the county’s defining features.
The Home and Garden Show provided inspiration and
information to help kickstart people’s latest projects. From
flooring to furniture, spas to window coverings, the Home
and Garden Show gave the community a chance to find
what’s new in the world of home improvement.
Those green thumbs found plenty at the show as well.
Garden treasures like birdhouses and other decorations
were on full display, as well as a variety of plants.
Presentations from author Gretchen Anderson and the
State of Oregon assistant veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholtz
gave adults important information on raising a flock of
chicken and on avian influenza.
The Polk County Museum gave the public a chance to
discover the county’s history and heritage.
The AgFest and Home and Garden Show was more than
a chance to shop, eat and learn. It was a unique opportuni-
ty for families to come together, one that truly had things
to interest you, no matter what your age.
In a time when families seem to have countless things
happening all the time, events that can give everyone in
something to look forward to are a rarity. That may be both
shows’ greatest triumphs.
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).
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2
• Monmouth Historic Commission — 6 p.m., Volunteer Hall,
144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Monmouth Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Volunteer
Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, irst loor conference room, 850 Main St.,
Dallas. 503-623-8173.
MONDAY, MARCH 7
• Central School District Board of Directors — 6:30 p.m.,
Henry Hill Education Support Center, 750 S. Fifth St., Independ-
ence.
• Independence Planning Commission — 7 p.m., Independ-
ence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• Dallas City Council work session — 5:30 p.m., Dallas City
Hall, 187 SE Court St., Dallas. 503-831-3502.
• Dallas City Council — 7 p.m., Dallas City Hall, 187 SE Court
St., Dallas. 503-831-3502.
TUESDAY, MARCH 8
• Independence City Council — 7 p.m., Independence Civic
Center, 555 S. Main St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• Polk County Board of Commission work session — 9
a.m., Polk County Courthouse, BOC oice, 850 Main St., Dallas.
503-623-8173.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9
• Independence Heritage Museum Commission — 4 p.m.,
Independence Heritage Museum, 112 S. Third St., Independ-
ence. 503-838-1212.
• Monmouth Library Advisory Board — 7 a.m., Monmouth
Public Library, 168 Ecols St. S., Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Monmouth Parks and Recreation Board — 7 p.m., Volun-
teer Hall, 144 S. Warren St., Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, irst loor conference room, 850 Main St.,
Dallas. 503-623-8173.
• Polk Soil and Water Conservation District Board — 6
p.m., USDA Service Center, 580 Main St., suite A, Dallas. 503-623-
9680, ext. 5.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
More trouble for
Oregon retirees
KOIN 6 NEWS reported a
story about the 10 worst
states for retirees, and guess
what, Oregon is in the top
10. Huffington Post listed
Oregon eighth worst place
for seniors, due to high taxes
and low income. Kiplinger
Report listed Oregon eighth
also for the worst place for
seniors to retire due to the
cost of living, which is 14.3
percent higher than the na-
tional average.
The average household
income for seniors in the
state of Oregon is 18.1 per-
cent less than the national
average, and the state and
local tax burden is 10.1 per-
cent, which is above the na-
tional average according to
the tax foundation.
Bank rate.com lists Ore-
gon as the 10th worst place
for seniors.
The state has the seventh
highest cost of living in the
nation according to retail
statistics from the Council
for Community and Eco-
nomic Research.
Now some of our state
representatives and our gov-
ernor are going to raise the
minimum wage to $14.25
per hour by 2022 in Port-
land.
The current minimum
wage is $9.25. If a person
only works 20 hours a week,
this gives them an extra
$400 per month, approxi-
mately.
Do you honestly feel that
your Social Security will rise
that fast to meet the cost of
living?
Now let’s look at the city
of Dallas. Dallas City Coun-
cil is looking at a gas tax;
isn’t gas higher here in town
than in Salem?
So besides you paying
more taxes or fees, the store
or restaurant you frequent
most likely will pass on the
cost to you.
We don’t care about your
shortfall; we have our own
cash flow problems.
Kenneth Mayer
Dallas
Raising minimum
wage is right thing
There are so many rea-
sons why raising the mini-
mum wage was the right
thing to do. It helps the
working poor climb out of
poverty.
It puts more money into
the pockets of working fam-
ilies. It can stimulate the
economy. It demonstrates to
workers that their service is
both valuable and valued.
Corporations and business-
es will always say that they
can’t afford an increase, but
the reality is that they can.
Decades of opposition to
a minimum wage increase
would have resulted in pal-
try salaries that in no way
could keep up with the cost
of living.
And what kind of society
would that be? Simple —
one in which the rich get
richer at the expense of, and
on the backs of, the working
poor. I am glad I voted for
Rep. Paul Evans. He prom-
ised to help working fami-
lies, and by supporting the
minimum wage increase, he
did. Oregon needs more leg-
islators like him.
Amanda Deyerle
West Salem
Vote ‘no’ to a
Clinton dynasty
In Harper’s Magazine of
November 2014, I realized
that Hillary Clinton’s major
goal in this election is to be-
come the first female presi-
dent of our still evolving
democratic republic.
Bernie Sanders’ goals are
to make our government
genuinely of, by, and for its
many millions of struggling
citizens.
Also, as viable life on our
planet is threatened by our
and natural abuses, it is for-
tunate that Bernie has the
acumen to deal with all na-
tional emergencies.
So I say: No way, Hillary
and always Bernie.
Walden Joura
Dallas
Think about what
candidates say
Why am I not surprised
that Chris Christie endorsed
Donald Trump in the GOP
race? Mostly it’s because
both of them are bloviating
bullies who use insult over
logical argument in their
dealings. Plus, they both
are completely disdainful of
any person or group which
does not slavishly follow
their line of ill-conceived
thought. But, I should not
be so limited in my think-
ing. All of the members of
the GOP primary clown bus
seem to be at an elementary
school level of thought.
Dr. (believe it or not) Ben
Carson stated that the pyra-
mids were built as grain stor-
age sites, even though the
available cubic area within
this structure is microscopic.
When my older grandson’s
age was in the late single
digits he was, as all boys are,
enormously humored by
bodily functions. Sadly, the
GOP clown bus passengers
have not gotten over this
adolescent fascination.
Marco Rubio, supposedly
one of the slightly more sane
passengers, claims that Don-
ald Trump “... wet his pants
...” during a recent debate.
Those of you who plan to
vote for one of these awk-
ward choices sincerely need
to stop, take a deep breath
and listen to exactly what
the candidates are saying
out loud. Christians are sup-
posed to be all about love
and forgiveness. Do you see
any of that, especially as ap-
plied to gay people, immi-
grants, Muslims, refugees
and the poor? The real
question here is who does
the right-wingers not hate.
The list is very short.
Fred Brown
Dallas
Council shows
leadership
A shout out and salute to
the Dallas City Council. As
the I-O reported on Feb. 24
in words of Councilor Wil-
son, “This has got to be
taken care of.”
“This” being decades of
underfunded street mainte-
nance.
So thank you to the Dal-
las City Council for demon-
strating community leader-
ship by asking Dallas voters
to come forward and sup-
port the repair of your dete-
riorating streets.
It is great to learn that
Dallas citizens recognize
that good infrastructure
promotes civic pride, and
that good infrastructure
sustains and attracts indus-
try and commerce in your
community.
E.M. Easterly
West Salem
WANT TO WRITE A LETTER?
It’s that time of year again,
with an election around the cor-
ner. With the ballot to be inal
on March 8, we will start our
election letter season in the
March 9 issue.
Letters regarding anything
having to do with the election
will be limited to 100 words. Let-
ter writers are allowed one elec-
tion letter per election season.
The Itemizer-Observer sticks
strictly to these guidelines in an
efort to allow as many people
to express their opinions on our
opinion page. Election letters
from outside Polk County will
not be accepted.
Let’s try and keep it clean this
season. When responding to a
letter writer, please be courteous
and address the topics rather
than take shots at the writer.
Also, please remember the
following about letters:
Non-election letters to the
editor are limited to 300 words.
Each writer is restricted to
one letter per 30-day period.
Non-election letters that are
libelous, obscene or in bad taste
will not be printed. Attacks by
name on businesses or individ-
uals will not be printed.
Letters to the editor that are
obvious promotions for a busi-
ness, products or services will
not be printed. The Itemizer-Ob-
server does not guarantee the
accuracy of facts presented by
letter writers; dissenters are wel-
come to respond.
Letter writers who disagree
with other published letter writ-
ers should maintain a civil dis-
course and address the subject,
not the author.
Letters, like all editorial mate-
rial submitted to the newspa-
per, are edited for length,
grammar and content.
Letters must include the au-
thor’s name, address and tele-
phone number. This includes
letters submitted via the I-O’s
website. Names and cities of
residence are published; street
addresses and telephone num-
bers are used for veriication
purposes only.
Letters must be submitted
from individuals, not organiza-
tions, and must be original sub-
missions, not copies of letters
sent to other media.
Letters of thanks to busi-
nesses, individuals and organi-
zations are limited to 10 names.
The deadline for letters to the
editor is 10 a.m. Monday. Let-
ters submitted may not be re-
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.
HOW TO REACH US
Vol. 141, No. 9
(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
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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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