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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2016)
CONGRATULATIONS TO WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MAKES FINAL FOUR Page 10A Volume 141, Issue 13 www.Polkio.com 75¢ March 30, 2016 Rodgers joins the neighborhood IN YOUR TOWN New administrator finds his way to Dallas’ Salem Health West Valley Hospital By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Believe it or not, but it was Port- land’s weather that helped sell Bruce Rodgers on moving to Oregon. OK, so it was July, and the other option was Seattle, which was in the midst of a balmy stretch of 55-degree, cloudy weather at the time. Finding clear skies and warm tempera- tures in the Rose City was just one piece of perfect timing that drew the new Salem Health West Valley (for- merly West Valley Hos- pital) chief administra- tive officer to the state more than 20 years ago. The other was an odd coincidence. Rodgers was looking for a new place to call home and a friend sug- gested checking out Portland, calling it “a cool town.” He drove up and stayed for a day. About an hour be- fore leaving for Seattle, Rodgers heard a famil- iar laugh while waiting for the Max. Glancing around, he noticed a man that looked like a friend of his brother’s, but he dismissed the idea. “I can’t imagine why he would be in Port- land,” Rodgers re- called. But "sure enough, he and his wife had just moved to Portland five days be- fore. They just hap- pened to be downtown and we just ran into each other. I was prob- ably an hour away from going up to Seat- tle. But then they said — it was just me and my dog at the time — hey, come move here. We have a place for your dog.” Rodgers made the trip to Seattle, but ac- cepted the invitation to Oregon and settled in — even becoming a big Portland Trail Blaz- ers fan along the way. Rodgers stepped in as administrator at West Valley on Feb. 22, taking over for Jim Sapienza, who left the post in early February. He’s taking over at a time of transition for West Valley. It has a new name and a new attachment with Oregon Health & Science University through its partnership with Salem Health. “We are in a strong place at West Valley and we want to contin- ue to be strong and be available and be here as a service to the com- munity,” Rodgers said. See RODGERS, Page 13A DALLAS A Dallas couple feels the Luck of the Irish after winning the Ore- gon Lottery’s St. Patrick’s Day rale. »Page 5A FALLS CITY Falls City School Dis- trict will host an infor- mational meeting about the bond to build a new gym at the ele- mentary school. »Page 5A MONMOUTH Students show of their artistic skills dur- ing the Ash Creek Art’s Center art camp. »Page 7A INDEPENDENCE The Independence farmers markets are set to return on Saturday. »Page 3A SPORTS Dallas junior Harrison Broadus takes aim at league’s best javelin throwers. »Page 10A EDUCATION LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Feliciano Mata, Marcos Puente and Eric Penaloza fill out applications at the Polk County Job Fair, held March 23 at Central High School. OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ECONOMY Students, parents and staf worked to- gether to dig out a play structure at Monmouth Elementary School. »Page 14A Local officials see Polk County’s job market, labor force growing By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer POLK COUNTY — In Chelsea Metcalfe’s opinion, Dallas has a “good problem.” Metcalfe, the executive di- rector of the Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce, said she’s been trying to help a local family fulfill their busi- ness dream, but has run into a roadblock. It’s not their business plan, not a perceived lack of customer base in Dallas. It’s something Metcalfe can’t re- call happening in the nearly 15 years she’s worked in Dal- las. “I’ve got a deli-bakery person who wants to come in. It’s their dream to own their business in a small community,” Metcalfe said. “They moved here a couple of years ago, they fell in love with it, but we can’t find a space for them that works. That’s where it’s a good, bad thing.” She said outside some of the prominent Main Street vacancies — such as the old Ray’s Hardware store — re- THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK tail spaces in Dallas are fill- ing up. “As far as storefronts go and availability for a small business, we don’t have much to offer them, which is a good problem to have, but it is a problem we have,” Metcalfe said. That conundrum is a symptom of what appears to be brewing in Polk County’s economy. Optimism reigns After a long slog through the Great Recession and the prolonged recovery, the re- gion seems to catching its breath. When asked about the state of the economy, many local officials and eco- nomic development experts are using the same word: optimism. “Everyone that we’ve talked to, most of the people we have had contact with — folks on the economic devel- opment commission, are all pretty optimistic,” said Jason Locke, Dallas’ economic de- velopment director. Economic new potential in Dallas has settled on the bright side as of late. While still a work in progress, American Gas & Technology is projecting jobs into the hundreds at its newly pur- chased facility in Dallas. Plans for the Blue Garden building now being restored by owner Bob Collins have generated plenty of excite- ment, too. “It was pretty much con- sidered a hopeless case, but there was a lot of effort put into that,” Locke said. “Hopefully this gets people to understand that there is value, and it’s worthwhile to bring these buildings back.” On the construction side, Locke said the city has seen a constant flow of develop- ment applications. “That is a precursor of things to come a year or two down the road,” Locke said. “From the builders and de- velopers standpoint, things are looking really good a year or two out as well as in the present.” In Monmouth, the major employers — Western Ore- gon University and Partner- ships in Community Living Inc. — are providing a stable base. “We’re primarily a com- muter county,” said Mon- mouth City Manager Scott McClure. “Seventy-five per- cent of Monmouth people work outside of Polk Coun- ty.” He said the “local econo- my” for Monmouth actually is Salem and Corvallis, for the most part. McClure said Monmouth has essentially run out of space to grow in both com- mercial and residential zones and has a limited sup- ply of available storefronts. The city is working to solve that with an urban growth boundary expan- sion. “We’ve done most of the housing inventory work,” McClure said. “We know what we need (and) how much we need.” FCR’s call center opened in 2015 and has brought an estimated 100 jobs to Inde- pendence, taking advantage of high-speed fiber provided by Monmouth Independ- ence Network. In downtown Independ- ence, the Cooper Building renovation holds not only the possibility of pulling in new businesses, but is in- spiring other owners to im- prove their buildings. Bigger potential exists in the development on the riverfront at the former Val- ley Concrete site. Shawn Irvine, the eco- nomic development director for Independence, said the project holds implications for the success of down- town. “(The gravel site) has been in our plans for 20 years to develop that,” Irvine said. “The opportu- nity came up and we jumped on it.” See ECONOMY, Page 2A Public invited to join Pinwheels for Prevention Itemizer-Observer staf report DALLAS —Polk Coun- ty and Family Building Blocks will mark Child Abuse Prevention Month on Monday by taking part in the Pin- wheels for Prevention. The campaign, put on by Prevent Child Abuse Oregon, will take place at 12:15 p.m. at the steps of the Court- house, 850 Main St., Dallas. A pinwheel garden will be planted and Judge Sally Avera and District Attorney Aaron Felton will speak about child abuse in Polk County. A walk through downtown Dallas will follow. The public is en- couraged to wear blue. For more informa- tion: www.polkio.com. wed thu fri sat sun mon tue “Pushing the Edge” opens at the Dan and Gail Cannon Gallery of Art at Western Oregon’s campus. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. James2 Community Kitchen ofers meals for all who are hun- gry at United Methodist Church on Thursdays. Friends of the Dallas Public Library will host a book sale today and tomor- row at the Dallas Civic Center. 3-7 p.m. Republic Services will host a spring cleanup on West El- lendale, accepting yeard debris, scrap metal and rubbish. 9 a.m.-2p.m. Free. It’s time for the Polk Flea Market again! The market is at the Polk County Fair- grounds & Event Center in Rickreall. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. $1-$5 . Save a life; donate blood at the Ameri- can Red Cross blood drive at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Join other coloring enthusiasts at Mon- mouth Public Li- brary’s adult coloring club, open to the whole family. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Sunny Hi: 66 Lo: 41 Sunny Hi: 69 Lo: 44 Sunny Hi: 70 Lo: 46 Cloudy Hi: 63 Lo: 42 Cloudy Hi: 66 Lo: 45 Cloudy Hi: 58 Lo: 42 4:30-6:30 p.m. Free. Cloudy Hi: 60 Lo: 43