Polk County
Voices
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 23, 2016 4A
EDITORIALS
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Prepare now
for more PE
Bird cannons could
be thing of past
Kids in fourth grade will have a couple years to get used
to it, but by the time they enter middle school, new physi-
cal education requirements will ask them to be active for at
least 45 minutes a day, Monday through Friday.
Right now, they are getting between 15 to 18 minutes a
day, depending on if they are in Central or Dallas schools.
We’re not talking marathon training, but that’s a lot of
extra time spent moving if you’re not used to it.
The new regulations are from House Bill 3141, passed in
2007 by the Oregon Legislature. As is typical, no additional
money was provided to K-12 schools to figure out how to
increase the physical education programs.
New PE teachers will need to be hired and trained. Gym
space is cramped throughout elementary and middle
schools. How will it affect the entire school day?
We’re not just talking lengthening the time of recess,
where kids may stand in line more than actually play a
sport, but increasing physical education.
Districts are scrambling to figure out how to meet the
needs of these requirements, which will go into effect for
the 2017-18 school year.
During the 2016 short session, the Legislature passed
323 measures, but none of them dealt with the pending
budget dilemma the new PE requirements will present to
schools. It’s an example of how disconnected the state
Capitol is when it comes to policy and budget.
On the bright side, the Department of Revenue collected
nearly $3.5 million in taxes from recreational marijuana,
with 40 percent of that slated for schools. Perhaps there
will be some help for the issue there?
Meanwhile, get your kids ready to move more by making
it a family affair. When was the last time you got out for 45
minutes of exercise each day for a week? If it’s been a while,
set the example for your children and get moving yourself.
The communities in Polk County have excellent trail
systems through parks, by creeks and rivers. Explore them
and see spring flowers popping up. Bring binoculars and
download an app on a smartphone or tablet to identify
local birds.
Sign up for swim lessons with your family. Playing in the
pool is good exercise, and knowing how to swim could save
a life.
Get out in the garden and start pulling those weeds be-
fore the ground gets too hard. Prepare the beds for new
flowers and a vegetable garden, something that can bring
joy all spring and summer long.
Keep track of days you accomplished your 45 minutes of
exercise with a sticker on the calendar or some other fun
reward.
It will help your kids be ready for the increase in time,
even if the schools are not.
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, MARCH 23
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, irst loor conference room, 850 Main St.,
Dallas. 503-623-8173.
THURSDAY, MARCH 24
• Monmouth-Independence Networks Board of Direc-
tors — 7:30 a.m., Henry Hill Education Support Center, 750 S.
Fifth St., Independence. 503-837-0700.
MONDAY, MARCH 28
• Independence Library Board — 4 p.m., Independence
Public Library, 175 Monmouth St., Independence. 503-838-1212.
• Dallas School Board — 3:15 p.m., LaCreole Middle School,
701 SE LaCreole Drive, Dallas. 503-623-5594.
TUESDAY, MARCH 29
• Polk County Board of Commission work session — 9
a.m., Polk County Courthouse, BOC oice, 850 Main St., Dallas.
503-623-8173.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30
• Polk County Board of Commissioners — 9 a.m., Polk
County Courthouse, irst loor conference room, 850 Main St.,
Dallas. 503-623-8173.
• Rickreall Watershed Council — 2 p.m., Delbert Hunter Ar-
boretum House, Dallas City Park. 503-623-9680, ext. 104.
An earlier letter (2-17-16)
asked if there was a solution
to bird cannons (ie. agricul-
ture cannons) blasting
neighbors day and night.
There is an answer, but it
will probably take a judge to
provide it.
I was in the House of
Representatives when Sena-
tor Meekers’ Right to Farm
bill was going through the
process, and a constituent
asked if the bill would over-
ride objections of his neigh-
bors if he used a cannon to
keep birds out of his vine-
yard. I referred the question
to legislative counsel, which
replied back that nothing in
the bill permits trespass.
Therefore it becomes a
question of whether the
noise is trespass and will ul-
timately, I believe, be settled
in the courts.
Aside from that, the prob-
lem may resolve itself. I live
in a rural area surrounded
by grass seed fields and
vineyards and have noticed
considerably less use of
cannons in very recent
years. As one grape grower
told me, “The birds don’t
pay attention to them any-
more.”
members into our post.
The America Legion Post
20 meets each month (ex-
cept for August) on the sec-
ond Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Auxiliary meets the third
Thursday of each month
also at 7 p.m. Both meetings
are held in the Academy
Building, Room 108. Veter-
ans are invited to attend.
Al Ratzlaff
Post 20 Adjutant
Dallas
John Schoon
Former State Representative
Rickreall
Foundation’s
donation valued
Wheeler honest
hard-worker
A big thank you to Dallas
Community Foundation
(DCF) for granting Bambi-
nos with $1,000 to use to-
ward diapers in 2016. Our
community is greatly bene-
fited by DCF, and they can
be trusted to prudently ad-
minister your donations.
I support the re-election
of Jennifer Wheeler for Polk
County Commissioner. A
hard worker, she is honest
and brings to the job in-
tegrity and knowledge of
Polk County government.
She is open and accessible.
She grew up in Polk County
and respects and under-
stands the needs of Polk
County. She is willing to
make decisions in the best
interests of our citizens. She
has a thoughtful under-
standing of the local plan-
ning and land use laws that
protect our environment.
Jennifer Wheeler deserves
support from a wide range
of voters in the county.
Tremaine Arkley
Independence
American Legion
numbers soar
We would like to let read-
ers know that our American
Legion Post 20 has achieved
a record high membership
of 154 members. This is the
highest number we’ve
recorded during the 21st
century. The last time we
had more members was
way back in the 1920s.
When our ladies Auxiliary
members read this you may
pat yourself on the back for
renewing your membership
and for recruiting new
Beth Jones, Bambinos
Director
Dallas
Yes on bond; fix
Dallas city streets
How did the Dallas city
streets get so bad?
The city has federal and
state funding to pay for
minor street repairs. Howev-
er, there is not enough to re-
pair all streets.
The city council has had
to repair only arterial and
collector streets that carry
the most and the heaviest
vehicles. Residential streets
have been allowed to wear
to the large cracks, alligator-
ing, and potholes found on
our streets today.
It is time to fix our streets
now. Please join me by vot-
ing yes on the street bond
measure in May.
Sue Rohde
Dallas
Ford program
benefits community
The Ford Institute Lead-
ership Program’s Dallas/
Falls City Cohort 2 would
like to extend a big thanks
to everyone that came out
to celebrate our installation
of the interpretive/way-
finding signs on the Rickre-
all Creek Trail System on
Friday.
We had a great turnout,
and the weather cooperated
nicely.
The signs were funded,
designed and erected by the
Ford Institute Leadership
Program’s Dallas/Falls City
Cohort 2.
The Ford Institute Lead-
ership Program, funded by
The Ford Family Founda-
tion and administered by
Rural Development Initia-
tives Inc., teaches groups of
motivated community
members how to lead. In re-
turn, the groups promise to
complete a project benefit-
ting their respective com-
munities, with the opportu-
nity to earn financial sup-
port from The Ford Family
Foundation by raising
matching funds.
The Dallas/Falls City Co-
hort 2 chose a project that
enhances outdoor recre-
ation opportunities in Dal-
las and Falls City by improv-
ing safety, lighting and elec-
trical service at Falls City’s
Faye Wilson Memorial Park;
and by adding three inter-
pretive/way-finding signs to
the Rickreall Creek Trail Sys-
tem in Dallas.
These are turn-key proj-
ects that are designed to be
scalable, easy to maintain
and reasonably priced; and
have the full support of lead-
ers in both communities.
For the Dallas project, we
decided on the signs be-
cause there was an obvious
need for them — to draw at-
tention to the wonderful
trail system and to provide
way-finding and local his-
torical facts for visitors and
trail users.
The signs are located
where the trail crosses Main
Street, Southwest Levens
Street and Southeast LaCre-
ole Drive in Dallas.
Please get out and take a
walk on the trail — your
trail — and check out the
new signs. Thank You.
Joe Koubek
Dallas
Vote Wheeler for
Polk County
I support Jennifer Wheel-
er for Polk County Commis-
sioner. I have known Jen-
nifer for a number of years
and she is an honest, trust-
worthy, integrity-based
woman who cares greatly
for her community and im-
proving that community for
all. She works tirelessly in
support of many projects:
public safety, domestic vio-
lence, and promoting busi-
nesses. Her most attractive
asset, in my opinion, is the
fact that she is responsive to
her constituents; she actual-
ly listens and responds with
compassion and common
sense, a trait horribly lack-
ing in our elected officials. I
urge you to vote for Jennifer
Wheeler.
Tina Musshorn
Dallas
Wheeler qualified
for commish job
Jennifer Wheeler’s back-
ground and experience
makes her an outstanding
Polk County commissioner.
She has infinite knowl-
edge of Polk County’s needs
because of her 20-plus years
of service for the citizens of
Polk County.
She worked in the District
Attorney’s Office for three
years and as secretary for the
board of commissioners for
13 years, and for the past five
years as a commissioner.
Jennifer is readily avail-
able to us and welcomes
our concerns and input.
As a resident of Polk
County since 1966, please
join me in re-electing Jen-
nifer Wheeler to the board
of commissioners.
Don Milligan
West Salem
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—
Reach us at:
Mail: Editor, Polk County Itemizer-Ob-
server, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, OR 97338.
Fax: 503-623-2395.
Email: ionews@polkio.com.
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Vol. 141, No. 12
(USPS) - 437-380)
The official newspaper of Polk County • Serving Polk County families since 1875
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from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
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