KINGS VALLEY INVENTION FRIENDS JOIN FORCES
CONVENTION Page 7A DOUBLES TENNIS
Page 10A
Volume 141, Issue 18
www.Polkio.com
May 4, 2016
$1.00
Park to be
dedicated
Saturday
IN
YOUR
TOWN
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS
DALLAS — The dedica-
tion for the newly named
Ian Tawney Memorial Park
will be Saturday at 10:30
a.m.
The American Legion,
U.S. Marine Corps, the Pa-
triot Riders and Dallas Fire
& EMS will take part in
the ceremony honoring
park namesake Tawney,
who died in combat in
Afghanistan in 2010.
Community members
selected the park name
through a poll conducted
by the city of Dallas to re-
name what was known as
“Main Street Park” next to
the former Arctic Circle
near the corner of Walnut
and Main streets in Dallas.
When asked to vote on
the top names submitted,
the results left little doubt
as to what the city’s newest
park would be called.
“There was no contest,”
said Chelsea Metcalfe, the
executive director of the
Dallas Area Chamber of
Commerce, which is coor-
dinating Saturday’s event.
“Our community chose to
name that park after Ian
Tawney.”
Metcalfe said parking at
the old Arctic Circle and
across the street at Dallas
Fuel & Food Mart will be
designated for military and
other organizations taking
part in the ceremony.
Parking for the public
will be available at the
Academy Building at the
corner of Academy and
Main streets.
For more information:
503-623-2564.
Bus driver not at
fault in ped crash
By Jolene Guzman
Polk County Bounty
market returns to the
Academy Building lawn
on Thursday.
»Page 14A
FALLS citY
Boys Falls City High
School track and field
finishes second at
Waldport.
»Page 11A
EmIly mEnTzEr/Itemizer-Observer
Fred Maurice shares his love for learning with undergrads through an endowment, funded by selling his estate.
THE ALFRED MAURICE PRIZE
Undergrads may win $5,000 for trying to solve a problem
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Sitting
across the table from Fred
Maurice, an hour flies by
filled with tales of growing
up a French Canadian in
New Hampshire, serving in
World War II, and life at vari-
ous universities both as a
student and professor.
“I was born in 1921, and
this was the beginning of
Prohibition,” Maurice, 95,
said. “The state of New
Hampshire had a lot of im-
migrants from Canada, and
they had a source of liquor.
There was a chain coming
down through New Hamp-
shire and being split to Hart-
ford, New York and Boston. I
think every damn French
Canadian was in the busi-
ness.”
Maurice remembers his
father being caught bootleg-
EmIly mEnTzEr/Itemizer-Observer file
Fred Maurice, right, greets WOU President rex Fuller.
ging liquor from Canada
through New Hampshire.
Maurice accompanied his
dad at court — he was 3.
“We spent the morning in
the state library boning up
on law, then went to plead
his case with me beside him
looking very forlorn,” Mau-
rice recalled. “The judge
gave him a fine, confiscated
our car, and he got away
without going to jail.”
As two-thirds French
Canadian, no one expected
him to go to college, in spite
of high marks in high school.
“Here, we do the same
thing with Latinos,” Maurice
said.
With help from a persist-
ent boss, Mac, and an en-
counter with a state legisla-
tor, Maurice got a scholar-
ship to the University of
New Hampshire.
He served in the Air Force,
a branch of the Army at the
time, during World War II.
He learned Italian, prepar-
ing for occupation there,
w a s s t a t i o n e d i n Ne w
Guinea, and remembers
feeling relieved when he
found out he would not
have to be part of a Japanese
invasion after all.
“When we heard this
bomb had fallen, there was a
sigh of relief heard every-
where,” Maurice said.
See PrizE, Page 2A
The Itemizer-Observer
7
DAYS
PLANNING
FOR YOUR
WEEK
monmouth Inde-
pendence networks
board of directors will
need to work on policy
issues if it hopes to de-
crease the company’s
debt.
»Page 3A
MONMOUtH
Western Oregon Uni-
versity’s 40th annual
Spring Dance Concert
opens Thursday and
has some surprising
acts involving hover
boards.
»Page 3A
SPOrtS
Western Oregon sen-
ior Trevor Podratz
trades game controller
for baseball bat.
»Page 10A
EDUcAtiON
Whitworth Elemen-
tary hosts first science,
technology, engineer-
ing and math night for
parents and students.
»Page 16A
DALLAS — A young girl
was injured on April 26 in
an accident involving a
school bus.
According to Dallas Po-
lice, just before 4 p.m., of-
ficers responded to a crash
in which a pedestrian was
reportedly hit by a bus in
the 400 block of East Ellen-
dale Avenue in Dallas.
Officers investigated
and learned that a Santiam
Christian School bus was
headed west when the girl
entered the roadway from
the north side of the street
and was struck by the bus.
“The bus was being op-
erated appropriately at the
time and there were no
bus driver factors that
contributed to this crash,”
said Lt. Jerry Mott.
Police did not comment
on the reason the girl was
in the road or provide her
name or age. She was ini-
tially taken to Salem Hos-
pital for treatment and will
survive her injuries, Mott
said.
THE NEXT
iNDEPENDENcE
Jones, Nearman face off for District 23
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — House District 23 drew a
crowd of candidates in 2014.
May’s primary is following suit, with
a contested Republican primary and
an Independent Party of Oregon candi-
date on the ballot in November.
Republicans Mike Nearman, the in-
cumbent, and challenger Beth Jones
are seeking their party’s nomination in
the May 17 primary.
On April 24, the two faced off on is-
sues at a debate hosted by the Polk
County Republicans.
They hold similar views on the im-
portance of small government and
fewer regulations, supporting Second
Amendment rights, and how to deal
with increased cost of the state’s Pub-
lic Employee Retirement System
(PERS).
On other issues, the two candidates
show marked differences in philoso-
phy.
On PERS, Jones and Nearman both
said in the absence of reform — courts
have repeatedly rejected attempts at
scaling back benefits — the only an-
swer is smaller government.
“When people retire, resign or go
away, don’t fill that position again,”
Jones said. “We’ve got to shrink the size
of our government.”
The pair disagreed on how they
should work with their fellow lawmak-
ers — those “across the aisle.”
“For 30 years we’ve been trying to
work with them and work across the
aisle and this is what we’ve got, the
state that we have right now,” Nearman
said. “I don’t think that’s been working
so much.”
He said Republicans can accept their
minority role in the legislature and try
to work with Democrats on the is-
sues — or take a hard opposition
stance. He prefers the latter.
“I’m in favor of trying that for a few
years and see how that works be-
cause the reaching-across-the-aisle
thing hasn’t worked so well for us,”
he said.
Jones said she doesn’t believe in
working with a philosophy of opposi-
tion simply based on party.
“That’s not how I’ve been successful
at getting things done,” she said. “I
think that was foolish, especially since
they are generally in the majority.”
She said even though Republicans
may not have the votes to block
bills, committee work on issues
could be productive, especially with
her experience in working with low-
income families through her non-
profit Bambinos.
Both candidates said economic de-
velopment and the well-being of farms
and small businesses will be hampered
by new laws requiring sick leave and
minimum wage increases. If elected,
they both hope to soften the blow.
Jones said small businesses need ad-
vocates, someone to help them navi-
gate regulations and other issues.
“Having businesses know that I’m
available to them and what they need
is my priority,” she said.
See DiStrict 23, Page 2A
Drunk driver
rolls into
orchard field
itemizer-Observer staff report
POlK COUnTy —
Tiffany Garcia, 24, of rick-
reall, had a blood alcohol
level twice the legal limit
when she lost control of
her vehicle and rolled it
into an orchard in the
5300 block of Wigrich
road on Sunday evening,
Sheriff mark Garton said
in a press release.
A male passenger was
transported by ambulance
to the Salem Hospital with
non-life-threatening in-
juries.
Garcia blew a 0.16
blood-alcohol during a
test, Garton said.
She was charged with
driving under the influ-
ence of intoxicants, reck-
less driving and third-de-
gree assault.
wed
thu
fri
sat
sun
mon
tue
Grab your spelling
hat and get ready
for some fun at
Scrabble with Betty
at the Independ-
ence library.
1 p.m. Free.
Get help with math
for your middle-
schooler at hotdogs,
hoops and home-
work at the Dallas
lDS church.
5:30-8 p.m. Free.
The master Garden-
ers annual mother’s
Day plant sale kicks
off today at the Polk
County Fairgrounds
& Event Center.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.
Head to Independ-
ence for two farmers
markets with plants,
baked goods, mas-
sages and vegeta-
bles are ready.
9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free.
Happy mother’s Day
to all our readers.
How will you cele-
brate? Post on the I-
O’s Facebook and let
us know how you
honored the day.
It’s never too late to
start learning an in-
strument with the
new Horizons Or-
chestra, which
meets at CHS.
6:30 p.m. $25/mo.
Are you a caregiver
for a loved one?
Find support at the
monthly group that
meets at the West
Valley Hospital.
2-3:30 p.m. Free.
Showers
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Lo: 48
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Sunny
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Sunny
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Sunny
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Lo: 48